1940 Lithuanian parliamentary election

none September 2026 1940 Lithuanian parliamentary election Lithuania 1918 1936 1947 14–15 July 1940 All 79 seats in the People's Seimas 40 95.51%Lebedeva 2007 92 yes Antanas Sniečkus Union of the Working People of Lithuania Communist Party of Lithuania new 79 99.19Lebedeva 2007 92 Prime Minister Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars after Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius Independent politician Mečislovas Gedvilas Communist Party of Lithuania Parliamentary elections were held in Republic of Lithuania on 14–15 July 1940 to the People's Seimas. The Soviet-appointed puppet government of Lithuania held elections to the parliament in 1940 illegally; the candidate lists were drawn up exclusively by the Communist Party of Lithuania, in coordination with the Soviet envoys.Lebedeva 2007 91Žalimas 2003 25 The elections were held under conditions of terror and the results were falsified.Hiden Salmon 1994 114Eidintas et al. 2013 191-192Kupetytė Rūta Grumbinas Ramūnas 1940 m. rinkimai į Liaudies Seimą: balsuoti „atėjo“ 106 proc. gyventojų https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/108708/1940-m-rinkimai-i-liaudies-seima-balsuoti-atejo-106-proc-gyventoju 2015-07-21 2025-09-23 LRT https://web.archive.org/web/20221128225242/https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/108708/1940-m-rinkimai-i-liaudies-seima-balsuoti-atejo-106-proc-gyventoju 2022-11-28 There was a broad international consensus that the subsequent Soviet annexation of Lithuania was illegal.Dieter Nohlen Philip Stöver 2010 Elections in Europe: A data handbook Nomos Publishers 1189 978-3-8329-5609-7Mälksoo, Lauri Illegal Annexation and State Continuity: The Case of the Incorporation of the Baltic States by the USSR Brill 2003 9041121773 Leiden & BostonŽalimas 2003 25 Background thumb|Soviet troops enter Lithuania, June 1940. Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940) On 23 August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which included the secret protocol dividing most of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.Eidintas et al. 1999 167-168 On 1 September, Germany invaded Poland and, a few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. After inciting several incidents and accusing Lithuania of anti-Soviet policies, on 14 June 1940, the Soviet Union delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania to accept an unlimited number of Soviet troops. Although formally given a 1-day deadline, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov verbally told Juozas Urbšys that Soviet troops would be deployed regardless of Lithuania's response.Eidintas et al. 2013 186-187 On the night of 15 June, President Antanas Smetona and the cabinet debated whether to resist the Soviet Union militarily. Smetona spoke in favor, but only a few ministers supported him, while the army chief Vincas Vitkauskas and former chief Stasys Raštikis spoke against.Eidintas et al. 1999 182Lebedeva 2007 85 In the morning, the government accepted the Soviet ultimatum and President Smetona left the country as two Soviet armies crossed the Lithuanian border; it was the beginning of the occupation of Lithuania.Eidintas et al. 2013 188 Occupation Soviet leader Joseph Stalin sent Vladimir Dekanozov to Lithuania as a special envoy, accompanied by NKVD brigades.Maslauskienė 2000 11 Dekanozov arrived in Lithuania on 15 June 1940 and, together with the Soviet envoy Nikolai Pozdnyakov lt Nikolajus Pozdniakovas, began forming a puppet government.Maslauskienė 2000 11 After the president and defense minister fled the country, Dekanozov effectively took over Lithuania's internal affairs, appointing pro-Soviet Lithuanian figures to key positions.Maslauskienė 2000 13Lebedeva 2007 85Anušauskas 1996 28-29 On 16 June, the Minister of the Interior Kazys Skučas and the Director of the State Security Department (VSD) Augustinas Povilaitis were arrested and imprisoned, while the Prime Minister and acting President Antanas Merkys did not resist Soviet demands and on 17 June illegally approved the Soviet-selected cabinet.Maslauskienė 2000 11, 13Truska 1995 59-60 Justas Paleckis was appointed Prime Minister; Merkys resigned shortly afterwards and Paleckis also took over the presidency.Truska 1995 59-60 On 18 June, Antanas Sniečkus, Secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party, was released from prison and the following day was appointed to be director of the VSD.Maslauskienė 2000 14 In June and July 1940, Soviet envoys gradually took control of the Lithuanian cabinet as well as key government institutions and began to dismantle the country's political system.Maslauskienė 2000 14 There was a gradual removal of civil servants and officials from the state institutions, replacing them with communists or other individuals collaborating with the Soviet regime.Maslauskienė 2000 15 Elections thumb|A campaign poster calling those who do not vote or who encourage others not to vote "enemies of the people". thumb|A polling station in Kaunas. Having taken control of the Lithuanian government and institutions, the Soviet Union sought to complete the occupation process: in order to carry out the annexation, in July 1940, Soviet envoys began planning and directing new elections.Maslauskienė 2000 18Truska 1995 63 At the end of June, the Seimas was dissolved and, on July 1, all political, cultural, and religious organizations were banned.Truska 1995 62 Only three newspapers were allowed to publish and their editors were changed in order to carry out active pro-Soviet agitation.Truska 1995 62 According to the scenario prepared by the Soviet envoy Dekanozov, the organization of the electoral process was entrusted to the Communist Party of Lithuania (LKP).Maslauskienė 2000 19Senn 2007 205 On July 5, the Justas Paleckis cabinet illegally adopted a new electoral law by "resolution"; the law was drafted according to the instructions of Dekanozov and the LKP.Lebedeva 2007 90Truska 1995 64 According to the new electoral rules, only one candidate was allowed to be nominated for one seat.Eidintas et al. 2013 191Truska 1995 64 A new Central Electoral Commission was appointed, with a majority of members composed of communists; Vladas Niunka, a member of the LKP Central Committee, was appointed as the chairman of the commission.Maslauskienė 2000 19 On July 6, the governments of Lithuania and the other Baltic states simultaneously announced new parliamentary elections to be held on July 14.Truska 1995 64 Only one organization was put forward for the elections – the Union of the Working People of Lithuania (lt Lietuvos darbo liaudies sąjunga), founded on July 6; other organizations were prohibited from nominating candidates.Truska 1995 64 The list of candidates was exclusively drawn up by the Communist Party of Lithuania, in close coordination with Soviet envoys.Lebedeva 2007 90-91 Of the 79 candidates, 38, i.e. almost half, were communists.Maslauskienė 2000 19 In order to mislead the public, other candidates were not the members of communist organisations and not necessarily holding the communist views; however, they were selected as willing to cooperate with the Soviet regime or as easily manipulated; some candidates were persuaded to participate using threats and intimidation; also, some candidates were not informed about the nomination and learned about their participation only from public announcements.Maslauskienė 2000 19 In the Ukmergė constituency, "Jonas Abakonis" was nominated as a candidate and introduced as "30 years old, a peasant"; A. Bakonis was the real person who was intended to be nominated, but the wrong surname and name were registered in the candidate list.Senn 2007 228-229 The LKP and the electoral commission realised that the candidate technically did not exist only after the results were announced.Senn 2007 228-229 Among the nominated candidates were also well-known public figures, such as Petras Cvirka, Liudas Gira, Antanas Venclova and others.Truska 1995 64 On July 6–7, pro-Soviet rallies were organized by the communists that started the intense political agitation.Lebedeva 2007 91 Until the elections, the Union of the Working People did not officially announce any plans of Sovietization, collectivization, nationalization of property, or plans for Lithuania to formally join the Soviet Union.Lebedeva 2007 91 However, there was agitation and public calls for a very close relationship and "brotherhood" with the USSR.Senn 2007 212 During the agitation, various greater welfare promises were made to the public, especially focusing on the workers and peasants.Truska 1995 65 However, Soviet envoys ensured that the intimidation tactics would also be used during the campaign: the notion of "enemy of the people" was disseminated in public; people were particularly intimidated by the introduction of passport marking during the election.Truska 1995 65-66Svarauskas 2018 124-125 In the last week before the elections, the first arrests of Lithuanian officials and public figures began; during July 10–17, the VSD, led by Antanas Sniečkus and under the supervision of Soviet NKVD instructors, arrested 504 individuals.Truska 1995 66Maslauskienė 2000 19Svarauskas 2018 109 The elections were formally held on 14–15 July, barely a month after the Soviet military occupation of Lithuania.Maslauskienė 2000 20 The election results were rigged. According to officially published information, the turnout was 95.51%, of whom 99.19% voted for the candidates nominated by the sole Union of the Working People.Svarauskas 2018 106Lebedeva 2007 92von Rauch 1974 225 Voter lists were not compiled, and the Central Electoral Commission did not publish any detailed voting results (e.g., how many voters voted for each candidate).Svarauskas 2018 106Truska 1995 67 Some officially published participation rates exceeded 100%, e.g. in Panevėžys city – 106%, Biržai – 123%, Raseiniai – 105%, Mažeikiai – 102%, etc.Senn 2007 219 Based on surviving documents from some constituencies, it is likely that up to 85% of voters attended the election.Svarauskas 2018 106 However, based on constituency documents, it is likely that many candidates did not receive 50% and could not have been elected even under the new electoral rules.Svarauskas 2018 106 Although there is no precise and reliable data, historians estimate that a larger part of Lithuanian society nevertheless participated in the elections.Svarauskas 2018 124 The main reasons for participation were: psychological pressure and intimidation, passport marking and arrests on the eve of the elections.Svarauskas 2018 124-125 Part of the society also participated believing communist propaganda, due to poor understanding of the political processes of the occupation as well as true intentions of the Soviet Union.Svarauskas 2018 124-125 The communist leadership also sought to conceal the fact that the technically non-existent candidate "Jonas Abakonis" was elected in Ukmergė constituency; on August 17 Antanas Sniečkus simply announced that "Jonas Abakonis did not take up the duties of a representative".Senn 2007 228-229, 241 In his place, Justas Paleckis was "elected" on October 20 - according to the official announcement, with a turnout of 91.82% of voters, of whom 99.24% voted in favour.Senn 2007 229 Aftermath People's Seimas The communists began organising rallies for Lithuania's incorporation into the USSR even before the elections were officially over.Truska 1995 64 On July 17, a meeting of all three Soviet envoys to the Baltic states – Vladimir Dekanozov, Andrey Vyshinsky (envoy to Latvia) and Andrei Zhdanov (envoy to Estonia) – took place, during which they coordinated the tasks of the puppet parliaments.Truska 1995 68 On July 21, People's Seimas adopted the declaration on the introduction of the Soviet system and Lithuania was declared a Soviet Socialist Republic.Truska 1995 68 A declaration on the accession of the Lithuanian SSR to the Soviet Union was also adopted.Truska 1995 68 Essentially identical declarations were adopted on the same day by all three puppet parliaments of the Baltic states.Truska 1995 68 On July 30, a delegation of 20 representatives appointed by the People's Seimas, led by Justas Paleckis, left for Moscow by train; on August 3, they presented the declaration on the accession to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.Truska 1995 69Tutlys Sigitas Liaudies seimas 2014-03-01 Voruta 5 (795) 1392-0677 https://www.voruta.lt/wp-content/uploads/voruta_5_epastas2.pdf 5-6 2026-09-12 voruta.lt lt On 3 August 1940, the Soviet Union formally annexed Lithuania.Eidintas et al. 2013 192 Legality The Soviet-appointed puppet government, elections, and newly proclaimed People's Seimas were illegal. The changes of government were carried out during the Soviet Union's military aggression and occupation of Lithuania; the Soviet Union violated Article 1 of the 1920 Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty; Articles 2, 3, and 5 of the 1926 Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact; and even Article 7 of the 1939 Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty.Žalimas 2003 21-22 The Soviet Union's actions also violated the 1929 Kellogg–Briand Pact, as both Lithuania and Soviet Union were parties to the treaty.Žalimas 2003 25 The elections were rigged throughout the entire process, from the selection of candidates and the election commission to the announcement of the results.Svarauskas 2018 102Maslauskienė 2000 19-20 The elections were organised in rush and the passport marking as well as other forms of intimidation violated the principle of electoral secrecy.von Rauch 1974 225 In addition to the acts of coercion and the falsification of results, the 1938 Constitution of Lithuania and laws in force at the time were also violated. Acting President Antanas Merkys did not have the constitutional right to appoint a new head of government.Eidintas et al. 2013 190Truska 1995 59-60 The election law was amended by decree, a procedure that was also not allowed under the constitution.von Rauch 1974 225 Significance The People's Seimas was an instrument of the Soviet Union to carry out the annexation of independent Lithuania.Žalimas 2003 25 The Soviet leadership organised the sham election in order to create the impression that Lithuania had voluntarily agreed to renounce its independence.Truska 1995 63 The 1940 elections and the decisions of the People's Seimas were later used in Russian disinformation campaigns to create the impression that Lithuania and the other Baltic states had voluntarily joined the Soviet Union.Prieš 85 metus į pirmąjį posėdį susirinko Liaudies Seimas https://www.vdkaromuziejus.lt/pries-85-metus-i-pirmaji-posedi-susirinko-liaudies-seimas/ 2025-07-21 2026-09-07 Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus https://web.archive.org/web/20260412173335/https://www.vdkaromuziejus.lt/pries-85-metus-i-pirmaji-posedi-susirinko-liaudies-seimas/ 2026-04-12 liveDISINFO: In 1940, the Baltic States asked to be incorporated into the USSR https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/in-1940-the-baltic-states-asked-to-be-incorporated-into-the-ussr/ 2021-07-12 2026-09-05 EUvsDisinfo https://web.archive.org/web/20251207062518/https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/in-1940-the-baltic-states-asked-to-be-incorporated-into-the-ussr/ 2025-12-07 live See also 1940 Estonian parliamentary election 1940 Latvian parliamentary election State continuity of the Baltic states References Bibliography Anušauskas Arvydas Arvydas Anušauskas Lietuvių tautos sovietinis naikinimas 1940-1958 metais 1996 Vilnius Mintis 5417007137 Eidintas Alfonsas Alfonsas Eidintas Žalys Vytautas Senn Alfred Erich Alfred Erich Senn Tuskenis Edvardas Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918-1940 1999 New York St. Martin's Press 0-312-22458-3 Eidintas et al. 1999 Eidintas Alfonsas Alfonsas Eidintas Bumblauskas Alfredas Alfredas Bumblauskas Kulakauskas Antanas Tamošaitis Mindaugas Lietuvos istorija 2013 2 Vilnius Vilniaus universiteto leidykla 9786094590924 Eidintas et al. 2013 Hiden Johan https://archive.org/details/balticnationseur00hide The Baltic Nations and Europe Salmon Patrick Longman 1994 058225650X Revised Harlow, England 1991 Lebedeva Natalija SSSR ir Pabaltijys 1939-1941 metais (Lietuvos pavyzdys) Anušauskas Arvydas Arvydas Anušauskas Laurinavičius Česlovas Česlovas Laurinavičius Lietuva Antrajame pasauliniame kare: straipsnių rinkinys Vilnius Lietuvos istorijos instituto leidykla 2007 637 978-9986-780-93-9 Maslauskienė Nijolė Valdininkijos šalinimas iš okupuotos Lietuvos administracijos ir jos keitimas okupantų talkininkais 1940 m. birželio-gruodžio mėn Genocidas ir rezistencija 2000 2 8 7-41 10.61903/GR.2000.201 free Senn Alfred Erich Alfred Erich Senn Lithuania 1940: revolution from above 2007 https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/116999 Amsterdam – New York, NY Rodopi 9789042022256 Svarauskas Artūras Kodėl dalyvauta ir už ką balsuota rinkimuose į Liaudies seimą 1940 metais? https://open.istorija.lt/journal/LIM/article/280/info Lietuvos istorijos metraštis 2018 2018 2 101–128 von Rauch Georg The Baltic States: the years of independence; Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917-1940 1974 Berkeley University of California Press 9780312125219 https://archive.org/details/balticstatesyear0000rauc Truska Liudas Lietuva 1938–1953 metais Kaunas Šviesa 1995 5430019070 https://ibiblioteka.lt/metis/publication/C1BLNB021B4E80 Žalimas Dainius Dainius Žalimas Sovietinė agresija prieš Lietuvą 1940 metais: nepagrįsti mėginimai ją pateisinti tarptautinės teisės požiūriu Jurisprudencija 2003 46 38 https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/37227 11-28 Lithuania Category:Single-candidate elections Parliamentary election Lithuanian parliamentary election Category:Parliamentary elections in Lithuania Category:Russian foreign electoral intervention Category:Soviet involvement in regime change Category:Occupation of the Baltic states