Lietuvos aidas, Lietuvos Taryba skelbia Lietuvos nepriklausomybę (The Council of Lithuania Proclaims the Independence of Lithuania), front page, Vilnius
Front page of the Vilnius daily Lietuvos aidas, Tuesday 19 February 1918, with the Vytis (mounted knight) seal in the masthead and a page-wide declaration under the headline 'Lietuvos nepriklausomybę' (the independence of Lithuania). The tell is the justification built from virtue terms: the declaration rests the new state on 'the right of nations to self-determination' and 'democratic foundations', and sets a democratically elected Constituent Assembly as the final authority.
- Date
- February 19, 1918
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Lietuvos aidas, Vilnius (Lithuanian-language daily, editor A. Smetona per its masthead), printing the declaration of the Council of Lithuania
- Country
- Lithuania
- Medium
- Newspaper pages
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Council of Lithuania
- Leader
- Antanas Smetona
- Audience
- Mixed
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Techniques
- Glittering generalities
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (source cited on the sister file page: National Museum of Lithuania), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (published 19 February 1918, before 1931; PD-old per Wikimedia Commons)
Lietuvos aidas, Vilnius, No. 22, 19 February 1918, via Wikimedia Commons (source cited: National Museum of Lithuania)
Text on the object
[masthead:] LIETUVOS AIDAS № 22 ([illegible]) Vilnius, antradienis, 1918 m. vasario mėn. 19 d. II metai LIETUVOS TARYBA skelbia Lietuvos nepriklausomybę Lietuvos Taryba savo posėdyje vasario m. 16 d. 1918 m. vienu balsu nutarė kreiptis: į Rusijos, Vokietijos ir kitų valstybių vyriausybes šiuo pareiškimu: Lietuvos Taryba, kaipo vienintelė lietuvių tautos atstovybė, remdamos pripažintąją tautų apsisprendimo teisę ir lietuvių Vilniaus konferencijos nutarimu rugsėjo m. 18—23 d. 1917 metais, skelbia atstatanti nepriklausomą, demokratiniais pamatais sutvarkytą Lietuvos valstybę su sostine VILNIUJE ir tą valstybę atskirianti nuo visų valstybinių ryšių, kurie yra buvę su kitomis tautomis. Drauge Lietuvos Taryba pareiškia, kad Lietuvos valstybės pamatus ir jos santykius su kitomis valstybėmis privalo galutinai nustatyti kiek galima greičiau sušauktas Steigiamasis Seimas, demokratiniu būdu visų jos gyventojų išrinktas. Vilnius, vasario 16 d. 1918 m. Lietuvos Tarybos nariai: Dr. J. Basanavičius, K. Bizauskas, M. Biržiška, S. Banaitis, P. Dovydaitis, St. Kairys, P. Klimas, D. Malinauskas, V. Mironas, St. Narutavičius, A. Petru[illegible], Dr. J. Šaulys, K. Šaulys, J. Šernas, A. Stulginskis, A. Smetona, J. Smilgevičius, J. Staugaitis, J. Vailokaitis, J. Vileišis.
[masthead:] ECHO OF LITHUANIA [Lietuvos aidas] No. 22 ([illegible]) Vilnius, Tuesday, 19 February 1918, 2nd year THE COUNCIL OF LITHUANIA proclaims the independence of Lithuania At its session on 16 February 1918 the Council of Lithuania resolved by one voice [unanimously] to address the governments of Russia, Germany and other states with the following declaration: The Council of Lithuania, as the sole representative of the Lithuanian nation, relying on the recognised right of nations to self-determination and on the resolution of the Lithuanian Vilnius conference of 18-23 September 1917, proclaims the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state, organised on democratic foundations, with its capital in VILNIUS, and the severing of that state from all state ties which have existed with other nations. At the same time the Council of Lithuania declares that the foundations of the Lithuanian state and its relations with other states must be finally determined by a Constituent Assembly [Seimas], to be convened as soon as possible and elected by all its inhabitants in a democratic manner. Vilnius, 16 February 1918. Members of the Council of Lithuania: Dr. J. Basanavičius, K. Bizauskas, M. Biržiška, S. Banaitis, P. Dovydaitis, St. Kairys, P. Klimas, D. Malinauskas, V. Mironas, St. Narutavičius, A. Petru[illegible], Dr. J. Šaulys, K. Šaulys, J. Šernas, A. Stulginskis, A. Smetona, J. Smilgevičius, J. Staugaitis, J. Vailokaitis, J. Vileišis.
