Description

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will issue a common circulating commemorative €2 coin celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Latvian and Estonian states and the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of Lithuanian statehood.

After the last Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, both the Lithuanians and the Poles attempted to restore their independence. Lithuanians rebelled during the 1830 November Uprising and the 1863 January Uprising, but their first real opportunity arose when both Russia and Germany were weakened during World War I.

In 1915, Germany occupied western parts of the Russian Empire. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Germany conceived the geopolitical strategy of Mitteleuropa – a regional network of puppet states that would serve as a buffer zone. However, this strategy backfired; the conference, held from September 18–22 of 1917, adopted a resolution that an independent Lithuania should be established and that a closer relationship with Germany would be conditional on Germany's formal recognition of the new state. The Council of Lithuania (Lietuvos Taryba) declared the independence of Lithuania and the re-establishment of the Lithuanian State on 16 February 1918.