The Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty (Lithuanian: Lietuvos-Sovietų Sąjungos savitarpio pagalbos sutartis, Russian: советско-литовский договор о взаимопомощи, romanized: sovetsko-litovskiy dogovor o vzaimopomoshchi) was a bilateral treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Lithuania on October 10, 1939. According to provisions outlined in the treaty, Lithuania would acquire about one fifth of the Vilnius Region, including Lithuania's historical capital, Vilnius, and in exchange would allow five Soviet military bases with 20,000 troops to be established across Lithuania. In essence, the treaty with Lithuania was very similar to the treaties that the Soviet Union signed with Estonia on September 28, and with Latvia on October 5. According to official Soviet sources, the Soviet military was strengthening the defenses of a weak nation against possible attacks by Nazi Germany. The treaty provided that Lithuania's sovereignty would not be affected. However, in reality, the treaty opened the door for the first Soviet occupation of Lithuania and was described by The New York Times as "virtual sacrifice of independence."
Background
Pre-war treaties
Lithuania declared independence from the Russian Empire on February 16, 1918. On June 12, 1920, following the Lithuanian–Soviet War, a Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed. The Soviet Union recognized Lithuania's independence and its right to the Vilnius Region. The region was fiercely contested with Poland and fell under its control after Żeligowski's Mutiny in October 1920. It was then incorporated into the Republic of Central Lithuania, which was a short-lived political entity without international recognition. The region was ceded to Poland in 1922 at the Peace of Riga after the Polish–Soviet War and was confirmed internationally by the League of Nations. The Lithuanians refused to recognize Polish control and continued to claim legal and moral rights to the region throughout the interwar period. The Soviet Union continued to support Lithuanian claims against sovereign Poland. The Soviets also supported Lithuania's interests in the Klaipėda Region after the Klaipėda Revolt and signed the Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact in 1926, later extending it to 1944.
On August 23 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. According to the pact's secret protocols, Lithuania was assigned to the German sphere of influence while Latvia and Estonia, the other two Baltic states, were assigned to the Soviets. This different treatment could be explained by Lithuania's economic dependence on Germany. Germany accounted for approximately 80% of Lithuania's foreign trade and, after the 1939 German ultimatum, had control of Klaipėda, Lithuania's only port. Also, Lithuania and Russia did not have a common border.
World War II
On September 1 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Wehrmacht pushed Polish forces behind the line agreed with the Soviets. Germans took control of the Lublin Voivodeship and eastern Warsaw Voivodeship. When, on September 17, the Red Army invaded Poland, Soviet troops took over the Vilnius Region, which, according to the 1920 and 1926 Soviet–Lithuanian treaties, was recognized as Lithuanian. As a result, Soviets and Germans re-negotiated the secret protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. On September 28 1939, they signed the Boundary and Friendship Treaty. Its secret attachment detailed that to compensate the Soviet Union for German-occupied Polish territories, Germany would transfer Lithuania, except for a small territory in Suvalkija, to the Soviet sphere of influence. The exchange of territories was also motivated by Soviet control of Vilnius; the Soviet Union could exert significant influence on the Lithuanian government, which claimed Vilnius to be its de jure capital. In the secret protocols, both Soviet Union and Germany explicitly recognized Lithuanian interest in Vilnius.
Negotiations
Initial stance
On September 29, the day after the Boundary and Friendship Treaty, Germany canceled planned talks with Lithuania and the Soviet Union informed Lithuania that it wished to open negotiations regarding future relationship between the two countries. The new Soviet–Lithuanian negotiations were supposed to formally resolve the status of the Vilnius Region. Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys arrived in Moscow on October 3 to meet with Soviet leaders. During the meeting, Joseph Stalin personally informed Urbšys about the Soviet–German secret protocols and showed maps of the spheres of influence. He demanded that Lithuania sign three separate treaties, according to which:
- Soviet military bases would be established in Lithuania and up to 50,000 Soviet soldiers would be stationed there (the original mutual assistance pact);
- Lithuanian territory west of the Šešupė River would be ceded to Nazi Germany (as agreed between Germany and Soviet Union in the Boundary and Friendship Treaty);
- One portion of the Vilnius Region would be attached to Lithuania.
Urbšys protested the Soviet bases, arguing that it would mean virtual occupation of Lithuania. The Soviets argued that their army would protect Lithuania from possible attacks from Nazi Germany and that a similar treaty was already signed with Estonia. Urbšys argued that Lithuania's neutrality was enough to guarantee its security and proposed to strengthen the Lithuanian army. According to Lithuanian brigadier general Musteikis, who accompanied him, Urbšys said that Lithuania refused to annex the Vilnius Region as well as rejecting the Soviet garrisons. Stalin, though nervous, replied "No matter if you take Vilnius or not, Soviet troops will enter Lithuania anyway." Finally, the Soviets agreed to reduce the number of troops to 35,000. Urbšys then also bargained for more territories in the Vilnius Region, especially in the vicinity of Druskininkai and Švenčionys, territories with larger Lithuanian populations. The Soviets replied that the boundary drawn by the 1920 peace treaty was inaccurate and that Belarusians also laid claims to the territory. The Soviets tentatively agreed that territories where a Lithuanian majority could be proven would be transferred to Lithuania. Nevertheless, the Soviets threatened the Lithuanians that if they will not accept the Mutual Assistance Treaty, Vilnius will be attached to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The most shocking demand was to cede Lithuanian territory to Germany. Lithuania decided to postpone any negotiations regarding territory transfer to Germany until Germany expressed clear demands.
Acceptance
Urbšys returned to Lithuania to consult the government. German officials confirmed that the secret protocols were real, and informed Lithuanians that transfer of the territory in Suvalkija was not an urgent matter. Eventually, Nazi Germany sold this territory to the Soviet Union for 7.5 million dollars on January 10, 1941, in the German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement. Lithuanians in principle agreed to sign the mutual assistance treaty, but were instructed to resist Soviet bases as much as possible. Alternatives included doubling the Lithuanian army, exchanging military missions, and building fortifications on the western border with Germany similar to the Maginot Line in France. On October 7, the Lithuanian delegation, including General Stasys Raštikis and Deputy Prime Minister Kazys Bizauskas, returned to Moscow. Stalin refused the proposed alternatives, but agreed to reduce the number of Soviet troops to 20,000 – about the size of the entire Lithuanian army. Soviets wanted to sign the treaty right then to commemorate the 19th anniversary of Żeligowski's Mutiny and Lithuania's loss of Vilnius. Political rallies organized in Vilnius, demanding the city's incorporation into the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, put additional pressure on Lithuanians and provided a sense of urgency. Urbšys refused to sign and the talks receded for the second time.
In Lithuania, President Antanas Smetona doubted that it was worth gaining Vilnius for such a price and debated whether the negotiations could be broken off. Bizauskas argued that refusing the treaty would not prevent the Soviet Union from implementing its plan. The Soviet Union had already threatened Estonia with force in the case it refused their mutual assistance treaty and was gathering forces in the Vilnius Region in the east and in Latvia in the north. In such light, the government decided to demand as much territory as possible. However, when the delegation returned to Moscow, it found the atmosphere changed. The Soviets were inflexible, refused further negotiations, and intimidated the delegation to sign the treaty. They presented a new draft, which combined the mutual assistance pact and transfer of Vilnius into one agreement. The Lithuanian delegation had little choice but to sign the proposed treaty. After signing the treaty, Stalin invited the Lithuanian delegation to celebrate and watch two movies with him. Urbšys informed the Lithuanian government about the signing of the treaty only in the morning of October 11 – at the time, the treaty was already published by Soviet news agency TASS.
Provisions
Articles of the treaty
The mutual assistance treaty contained nine articles:
- Article I: Transfer of Vilnius Region and the city of Vilnius to Lithuania
- Article II: Mutual assistance in case of an attack
- Article III: Soviet Union renders assistance to the Lithuanian Army in terms of munitions and equipment
- Article IV: Soviet Union receives right to station its troops in Lithuania. Base locations are to be decided by a separate treaty.
- Article V: Coordinated actions in case of an attack
- Article VI: Agreement not to participate in alliances against the other party
- Article VII: Sovereignty is not affected by this treaty
- Article VIII: Articles II to VII are valid for a period of 15 years with an automatic extension for another 10 (note that transfer of Vilnius is permanent)
- Article IX: Date of effect
The treaty also had a secret supplement, which specified that the Soviets could station only up to 20,000 of their troops.
Location of Soviet troops
The treaty did not decide the exact location of the Soviet bases, and an 18-member Soviet delegation, led by Mikhail Kovalyov, was sent to Lithuania to discuss the specifics on October 22. The Lithuanians sought to limit Soviet bases to the Vilnius Region and southern Lithuania, offering Pabradė, Nemenčinė, Naujoji Vilnia, and Alytus. They considered a base in Samogitia (western Lithuania) to be the worst possible outcome. The Lithuanians preferred fewer, but bigger bases with no permanent runways for the aircraft. The Soviets initially proposed to have their bases in Vilnius, Kaunas, Alytus, Ukmergė, and Šiauliai. The final agreement was signed on October 28, the same day that the Lithuanian army marched into Vilnius. A day before, another agreement determined the new border of eastern Lithuania: Lithuania received 6,739 km2 (2,602 mi2) of territory with a population of approximately 430,000. The territory comprised about one fifth of the Vilnius Region recognized to Lithuania by the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty of 1920; the population of Lithuania reached about 3.8 million.
According to the final agreement, four military bases would be established in Lithuania, with 18,786 military personnel from the 16th Special Rifle Corps, 5th Rifle Division, and 2nd Light Tank Brigade. The bases were to be located in Alytus (infantry, artillery, and mechanized units with 8,000 troops), Prienai (infantry and artillery units with 2,500 soldiers), Gaižiūnai (mechanized and tank units with 3,500 troops), and in Naujoji Vilnia (headquarters, infantry and artillery units with 4,500 troops). For comparison, on June 1 1940, Lithuanian army had 22,265 soldiers and 1,728 officers. While aircraft bases in Alytus and Gaižiūnai were under construction, Soviet aircraft were to be stationed in Kirtimai, a neighborhood of Vilnius. The final location of the bases showed that the Soviets were more concerned with encircling Kaunas, the temporary capital, than with defending the country against a possible foreign attack.