Lithuania honors the brave smugglers who saved their language from a 19th-century ban
Lithuania celebrates the legendary 'book smugglers' who risked their lives during the 19th century to protect their native language from a strict ban imposed by the Russian Empire.
Following an uprising in 1863, the Russian Empire banned the printing of Lithuanian books in the Latin alphabet, hoping to force cultural assimilation. In response, a secret network of 'knygnešiai' or book smugglers emerged. These brave individuals risked imprisonment or exile to Siberia by trekking across the border to bring illegal literature back to the people.
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