Обличчям до півдня: міждержавні договори Литви з Персією, Туреччиною та Афганістаном у 1930 р.

Abstract

On February 16, 1918, the restoration of the Lithuanian state was proclaimed. However, the path from declaration to implementation was arduous and prolonged. Initially, Germany opposed Lithuania’s full independence. After Germany and the military bloc under its control were defeated in World War I, Lithuania faced new aggressive challenges. The young country defended its right to a place on the map of Europe through the War of Independence and Unification (1919– 1923). The primary objective was successfully achieved, and the Lithuanian state survived despite confrontations with various imperial projects. Nevertheless, the issue of uniting all Lithuanian lands remained unresolved, which in the long run fueled irredentist sentiments in Lithuania and shaped the entire framework of its foreign policy during the interwar period. The process of Lithuania’s international recognition proved to be lengthy. Between 1918 and 1924, more than 40 states recognized the republic. The integration into the global community involved not only interstate communications and recognition but also the aspiration to join the League of Nations – the leading international organization of the time, established by the Versailles- Washington system. Lithuania was confirmed as a full-fledged member of the League of Nations on September 22, 1921. The activity of Lithuanian diplomacy in the interwar period was primarily driven by the country’s complex geopolitical position. The republic was caught between three major powers – Germany, the Soviet Union, and Poland. Against this backdrop, countries of the Islamic East or the so-called Global South remained on the periphery of interest for both contemporary Lithuanian policymakers and later generations of historians. This article focuses on the expansion of the Lithuanian Republic’s international contacts in Asia during the 1930s. A key component of the study includes the texts of three treaties of friendship concluded in 1930 between Lithuania and the Persian Empire (Iran), Turkey, and Afghanistan. For the first time, all three documents have been translated into Ukrainian by the author of this article and introduced into domestic Lithuanian studies within its historical and legal framework in the context of interwar chronology.