The Seimas
It took two hours of intense discussion to elect the presidium of the Seimas. Jonas Basanavičius, officially nonpartisan, was elected as the chairman and Steponas Kairys, leader of the Social Democrats, was chosen as vice-chairman. Other members were Antanas Smetona, priest Petras Būčys, and Juozas Stankūnas; the secretaries were Liudas Gira, Pranas Klimaitis, and Juozas Gabrys-Paršaitis. The organizational committee proposed a rather academic agenda geared toward cultural issues for the assembly; this initial agenda was vetoed by the delegates. They adopted a new schedule that was more political and highlighted two main goals: holding hearings on the current situation in Lithuania, and deciding which political demands should be submitted to the Tsarist authorities. A major portion of the first day's proceedings was devoted to reports presented by delegates from rural areas. The content of these reports was repetitious and did not carry much weight. The most important question was that of Lithuanian autonomy.
There were rumors that some Russian politicians were seriously considering granting autonomy to Poland, and that Polish activists wished to incorporate Lithuanian lands into their autonomous region, calling on the historic tradition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In light of these rumors, the demands of the delegates were much more radical than were expected. Most demanded autonomy in ethnographic Lithuanian lands along with any border areas that would decide to join. The region would be governed by a democratically elected seimas in Vilnius and bound by federal ties with neighboring lands. The "ethnographic Lithuanian lands" at issue were not clearly defined, but resistance to tsarist authorities was to be organized in Kovno, Grodno, and Vilna Governorates; special attention was given to Suwałki Governorate. The Seimas' resolution, adopted on the second day, explicitly stated that Lithuanians from Suwałki Governorate had decided to join the fight for autonomous Lithuania. This was largely an attempt to prevent the potential Polish autonomous region from claiming Suwałki, then part of Congress Poland, for itself. The election to seimas was to be universal, equal, direct and secret; all persons were to be granted suffrage without regard to sex, religion, or nationality. If the election had taken place, it would have been the first in Europe where women were granted an equal right to vote.
This demand was far-reaching and required transformation of the empire into a federal state, placing Lithuania on a par with the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian constitutional system. Heated discussions continued on the means to achieve this transformation. Some argued for armed resistance, but were reminded that the previous uprisings in November of 1831 and January of 1863 had failed. Others suggested peaceful and passive resistance: refusing to pay taxes, boycotting products from monopolistic companies (mostly those selling alcoholic beverages), not allowing children to attend Russian schools, evading drafts into the Russian army, and organizing factory worker strikes. The delegates, who were mostly small farmers, also discussed land reform, demanding that all land would be confiscated from large landlords and distributed to those who actually cultivated it. However, no conclusions in that area were reached as there was a perception that any resolution on land reform would encourage the peasants to rise against their landlords as it was happening in other parts of the Russian Empire.
At the end of the second day, the Seimas adopted a four-paragraph resolution. The first paragraph declared that the Tsarist government was Lithuania's most dangerous enemy. The second paragraph demanded autonomy; the third outlined the means towards this goal that were deemed acceptable. The resistance was to be peaceful and passive. The fourth and final paragraph demanded that children be taught in their native language by teachers chosen by the people. The Seimas, unlike the 1917 Vilnius Conference, did not attempt to elect an institution that could carry out these resolutions and act as a Lithuanian government. After the Seimas, rural areas were left on their own without central guidance. After the resolution was adopted by the Seimas, near midnight, Jonas Basanavičius read aloud his proposal to include an attachment condemning Polish ecclesiastical authorities for suppressing the use of the Lithuanian language in churches within the diocese of Vilnius. The church matters had not been discussed during the sessions, but the majority agreed to the proposal by a show of hands. Because the attachment was not fully discussed, Social Democrats did not consider it officially adopted.
Read more about this topic: Great Seimas Of Vilnius