Great Seimas of Vilnius - Aftermath

Aftermath

During the night from December 5 to December 6, Petras Vileišis printed 36,000 copies of the resolution for distribution. After the assembly, notorious for its loud, lengthy and intense debates, the delegates returned to their communities and started to carry out its resolutions. The old Russian administrations were replaced in 125 out of the 280 volosts (82 in Kovno, 33 in Suwałki, and 10 in Vilna Governorates). These communities elected their own representatives, organized their own schools where classes were taught in the Lithuanian language, and stopped paying taxes. While the first Russian responses were disorganized and confused, the authorities soon marshaled their armed forces and returned the situation back to normal. The process was relatively peaceful; there were only a few clashes between armed groups of peasants and Tsarist military forces. Unlike in neighboring Latvia or Estonia, peasants did not rise against their landlords. A number of the most prominent activists of this movement were arrested and sent to Siberia.

The Lithuanian Democratic Party and Ernestas Galvanauskas used the Seimas as an opportunity to organize the Lithuanian Peasants Union, which largely represented the interests of large and mid-size farmers. The Union helped spread the influence of the Seimas into the countryside. A few days after the Seimas, Jonas Basanavičius founded the Lithuanian National Democratic Party (Lithuanian: Tautiškoji lietuvių demokratų partija), the first nationalistic party in Lithuania.

The plan for autonomy was not accomplished at this time, but the Seimas was an important development in the Lithuanian bid for independence. It consolidated efforts, spearheaded the organization of political parties, strengthened national conscience, and energized the rural populace. The assembly resolutely rejected ideas to restore the old Grand Duchy of Lithuania and for the first time voiced the demands for autonomy. Many of the political and religious rights that were granted by the October Manifesto were retained. A number of agricultural, educational, scientific, literary and artistic societies emerged.