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“It would be a mistake to blame all the blame for the ‘untapped opportunity’ to strengthen the Republic to overthrow these rulers, even though such attempts were plentiful in the works of historians and publicists, especially in the 19th century.” Here we can observe such a psychological phenomenon, when the fault of oneself, in this case, of the Polish and Lithuanian nobility, is attributed to others, in this case, to the monarchs, who, in addition, were also “Germans”, interviews 15 minutes G.Sliesoriūnas declared.
The historian noted that although the usual birthday of August 2 is May 12, this is because Protestant lands still used the Julian calendar in the second half of the 17th century. The Republic of the Two Nations at that time had already switched to the Gregorian calendar, which is still in use today, according to which the ruler’s birthday is May 22.
On the occasion of the anniversary of August II 15 minutes Invites you to read an interview with G. Sliesoriūnas and to meet this ruler, the Republic of the Two Nations during his reign and a little forgotten history of 18th century Lithuania.
– As for the rulers of the Republic of the Two Nations and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it can be said that the representatives of the Saxony-Vetin dynasty along with Stanislovas Leščinskis are almost forgotten. Why is that? What caused the Saxon dynasty to disappear from the great narrative of Lithuanian history?
– The periods of state decline are generally not very popular in the historical memory of nations. The so-called “Saxon period” (1697–1763) is not popular not only in Lithuania but also in Poland. Furthermore, it is also associated with various defects of the Polish-Lithuanian United State nobility society (egotism, myopia, veto liberum), inertia and resistance to reform. Therefore, it is difficult for people to find inspiring examples that promote pride in their historical past. On the other hand, some extremely tragic events are often deeply embedded in the historical memory of nations. The various complaints experienced in the past can affect the self-awareness of nations in the coming decades.
An example of this could be the collapse of the Republic of the Two Nations in the 18th century. at the end of the year, three divisions of this state, the defeat of the uprising led by Tadas Kosciuska. The Saxon era seems empty in this context. Neither the victory nor the defeat of the Northern War (1700–1721), the stagnation in the process of modernization of state institutions. Perhaps the memory of the Great Plague (1710–1711) is somewhat more deeply rooted in historical memory. Since the loss of the state in the 18th century. In the late twentieth century, the Saxon era was associated with untapped opportunities to modernize and strengthen the state, thus rescuing it from the looming disaster for peoples living in Commonwealth territory, for generations whose greatest wish was to restore a state wiped from the Europe map.
In Lithuania in the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, the desire of the modernizing Lithuanian nation to restore a “different” state to that lost, i. and. national, “Lithuanian-speaking”. Therefore, in addition to all the factors mentioned above, there was a certain alienation with its 17th-18th centuries. historical past. In the “Great History of Lithuanian History”, the Saxon era will probably always remain in a certain shadow, but its knowledge will increase. It is already attracting a lot of attention from historians, art historians, and cultural history researchers. As this period does not awaken special passions in Lithuanian society, the research is not characterized by any juncture. Over time, apparently, that era will become better known to the general public, which, at least in Vilnius, sees its footprints almost everywhere in the old town.
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