Authorized Representatives of the Council of Lithuania in Moscow in 1918

Abstract

Based on the documents from Lithuanian and German archives, the material kept in the Manuscripts Department of the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the information published in the press and collections of documents, the article analyzes the context and motives of the appointment of Česlovas L(i)andsbergis to the position of the authorized representative of the Council of Lithuania in Moscow (Russia), the content of the powers vested in him, the conflict with the German Consul General in Moscow, and the motives of his removal from office. It also addresses the circumstances of delegating Tadas Šulcas to serve as the general country representative of the State Council of Lithuania in Moscow, the specificities of the activities of the Moscow Representation of the Authorized Representative of the Council of Lithuania, and return to Lithuania. Particular attention is paid to Germany’s position concerning Lithuania’s diplomatic representation (April — May and July — October), the efforts of German consuls general in Moscow and Petrograd to turn the authorized representatives of the Council of Lithuania into the chairmen of the commissions subordinate to them and the continuous opposition of the Presidium of the Council of Lithuania to the plans of the German government.