Klaipėda region as part of Soviet Lithuania in 1945–1948: problematic issues and legal aspects

Abstract

Referring to the statements of the USSR and Soviet Lithuanian leaderships about the belonging of the Klaipėda Region which were published in 1944–1948, the article focuses on the analysis of the issues and legal aspects related to the Klaipėda Region becoming a part of Soviet Lithuania, which was a constituent part of the Soviet Union. It is revealed what politics was pursued by the Soviet Lithuanian leadership in 1944–1946 and how the belonging of the Klaipėda Region to Soviet Lithuania was presented in the union and republican press of 1944–1946. Also, referring to the elections to the USSR and the Lithuanian SSR supreme and local councils held in 1946–1948 as well as the USSR and the Lithuanian SSR legal acts adopted by supreme authorities in 1945–1948, the course of the Klaipėda Region becoming a part of the territory of Soviet Lithuania is reconstructed in the article.