Page 67 - The Baltic Capitals & St. Petersburg
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were deported to Siberia. It wasn’t until the 1989 elections that a Lithuanian party won the
majority of seats in the USSR’s Congress; not long afterward the Lithuanian Communist Party
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Modern Independence
On March 11th, 1990, Lithuania was declared an independent republic. The Soviets responded
with an economic blockade and a small-scale storming of the Vilnius TV tower, but eventually
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1992 resulted in a win for the former Lithuanian Communist Party (now called the Democratic
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problems, mostly to do with replacing the Russian currency/coupon system with a national
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Russia
Facts & Figures
• Area: 6,601,670 square miles, the largest country on Earth
• Capital: Moscow
• Language: Russian.
• Location: Russia spans two continents, with the part west of the Urals considered to
be in Europe while the rest of the country is in Asia. On its west, Russia is bordered by
Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Black Sea. On the south, the
Russian border touches Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and
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Russia’s north.
• Population: 142,423,773 (estimate)
• Religion: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2%
• Time zone: From April through most of September, Moscow and St. Petersburg are 8
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67

