Neo Westphalian Europe Part 49: Republic of Samogitia

The Samogitian republic is another territory forged out of Europe’s many border tensions. The Samogitians are a tribe of the Lithuanians, however they gained a distinct culture in their own right after spending years on the border between the Lithuanian state and the Teutonic Knights. During the numerous conflicts between these forces they passed back and forward between the two rulers.

Whilst under Teutonic control they were subject to a different style of feudal system and thus developed a more unique life style from the rest of Lithuania, which has left them with a nascent independence movement brewing in its own right. Despite this it was ironically in Samogitia that the initial drive for Lithuanian independence was born, in the 19^th Century.

The region had passed from the Polish-Lithuanian state and was now a part of the Russian Empire. A policy of Russification had attempted to erase Lithuanian language and culture. It is clear however deeper threads of Nationalism will always once again bubble to the surface. This is another reason why the current attempt to create a single world empire, which erases all these national identities, will never work. The Samogitians began to produce Lithuanian language writings again and smuggled them throughout Lithuania, giving the population an identity again.

During the 1831 Polish uprising, against the Russian Empire, there was a move to create an independent Samogitia that was separate of both Poland and Lithuania. This however ended when the revolution failed. Later rebellions saw the Samogitians join the Lithuanian side as they pushed for independence. Eventually, as with all the Baltic States, they finally found independence as part of Lithuania in the chaos that preceded World War 1.

This independence ended after World War Two and the region was once again under Soviet rule. Finally in 1990 they gained full independence again, as the Soviet Union fell apart. At that time Samogitia moved with Lithuania for a unified state. However a decade later, in the 2000’s, an independent Samogitian movement began to assert itself in the region. By 2009 the region had its own Samogitian Party. It is likely that as the map of Europe redraws itself, over the coming years, this will be yet another new nation that arises during the “Springtime of Nations”.

This will leave a new nation made up of the Samogitia Region, currently a part of Lithuania.

The flag of the Samogitia independence movement is based on the current flag of the Samogitia region. This flag has the bear of the Samogitia coat of arms on it, which was revived in the 1990s. The current regional flag of Samogitia however flies a medieval style pennant. The flag that is flown by some separatists is updated to the more modern style of flag and includes the two bears facing a sun. It is also fully red and has no white in it, unlike the current regional flag. This flag also depicts the bears without a collar indicating that they are not in captivity.

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