Today, November 16, marks the 99th anniversary of the establishment of the Post Office of the restored State of Lithuania. As the joint-stock company Lietuvos paštas enters its hundredth year of existence, it shares interesting facts that deepen the history of the postal service.
- 1918 On November 16, the then Minister of Finance, Trade and Industry of the Republic of Lithuania, Martynas Yčas, signed the decree establishing the Lithuanian Postal Board. To the German-owned Oberost post office, which operated in the present capital's Great and St. At the intersection of John's streets, no one allowed the representatives of the Post Office, so in the first months the employees of the Post Office temporarily worked sheltered in the corridor of the Council of Lithuania. Not receiving German goodwill, the heads of the Postal Board arbitrarily moved to an empty room in the Oberost post office building.
- The first postage stamps of independent Lithuania - the so-called "baltukas" - were issued during Christmas 1918. They were hastily released after the German military administration announced that the Oberost post offices were ceasing service to the civilian population. On the night of December 25th to 26th in Vilnius, at the printing house of Martynas Kukta, the first Lithuanian postage stamps modestly printed on newsprint announced to the world the existence of a new state - Lithuania.
- In the first years of independent Lithuania, it was not possible to send postal correspondence abroad by airmail, because there were no planes flying to Lithuania. The first international air liline Kaunas–Karaliaučius–Danzig–Berlin was opened 1921 metres. July 21 day.
- 1922 January 1 Lithuania joined the Universal Postal Union.
- in 1933 at the beginning of February from Lithuania and JAV postal institutions for the first time in history air mail permits. American Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas, who planned to fly across the Atlantic and reach Lithuania without landing, sought additional funds to organize the flight. It was proposed to transport letters to Lithuania by "Lituanica" plane. in 1933 July 15 the pilots who took off from America carried a special canvas mail bag with 983 letters on the plane. After the crash, the bag was found in Soldin forest, near the place where the pilots died.
– The 1935 edition, which became famous in interwar Lithuania, is related to the first issue of litas-denominated postage stamps. stamp forgery case, otherwise known as "The Strand Case". Almost 10 years after the appearance in circulation of stamps marked with the national currency - 3 and 5 litas denominations, it became clear that Director of the Postal Board, famous the brother of the writer Balis Sruoga, the diplomat Adolfas Sruoga sold the most sought-after real 1922-1931 to foreign merchants for the common purpose of profit. issued Lithuanian postage stamps, and to hide the shortage, they kept fakes in the warehouse, which they produced as much as was needed to cover the value of the illegally realized marks. Sruoga was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in prison, and in 1941 together with other criminals of the Kaunas hard labor prison, he was deported to Siberia, to the Inta camp, where he died in the same year.
- 1940 after the Soviet occupation of the country, eight Lithuanian postage stamps were overprinted with "LTSR". During the Second World War, Lithuanian postal services were terminated, and the further activities of Lithuanian communications became completely dependent on Moscow.
- 1990 appeared in circulation on October 7 the first series of postage stamps of independent Lithuania "Angelas", she preached to the world about the newly restored state, which was guarded by an angel.
- in 2011 in October, keeping pace with postal innovations in the world, The first self-service parcel terminals started operating in Lithuania. Currently, there are as many as 111 self-service "LP EXPRESS" terminals in 45 cities across the country.
- In the summer of 2017, he went to rural areas the first mobile mailers. Equipped with tablets and other smart equipment, postmen go to people's homes, where they can provide full postal services. XNUMXst century the postman becomes not only more modern, but also closer to the customer.
