The Flag of Perloja
Yes, it actually happened, would you believe that a small village in Northern Europe actually became an independent state, a republic and it even had it’s own flag!
It was all as a result of the chaos across Europe after World War I. This village was situated in what today we call Lithuania, which at the time was struggling to establish itself as an operational state, while at the same time it was defending its independence from not just Germany but also the might of both Soviet Russia and Poland.
The result was that in November 1918 the village of Perloja’s parish committee decided to take matters into their own hands, they established the self-governing Republic of Perloja.
They were serious and felt they needed someone highly respected to chair their Republic , therefore they chose a veteran of the Russian Imperial Army, Jonas Cesnulevicius, and they described him as the Commissar.
To be an independent Republic they set up their own court system, police force and even a prison. They then went even further and had their own currency, which they called “Perloja litas”. Of course, they knew that to survive they needed an army, so, of course, they created one of 300 men. It was a force that, in fact, actually saw action on several occasions.
The Republic survived the Lithuanian–Soviet War in 1919; then after the Polish–Lithuanian War for Vilnius Region, Perloja was put in the neutral zone established by the League of Nations. Unfortunately, they were only able to continue as a republic until 1923.
However, this is when we come to the intriguing bit, you see, this wasn’t the first Republic of Perloja. The earlier one was established in 1253, it also had a flag with a Bull with a cross on its head. It actually grew quite large, but unfortunately in 1710, during the Great Northern War, the plague wiped out almost all the inhabitants.
Isn’t history fascinating?
10 questions to discuss:
- What historical event led to the creation of the Republic of Perloja?
- In what year was the first Republic of Perloja established?
- Where is Perloja located today?
- What were some of the institutions established by the Republic of Perloja?
- What was the name of the currency used by the Republic of Perloja?
- How many soldiers did the Republic of Perloja have?
- What major conflicts did the Republic of Perloja survive?
- Why was the Republic of Perloja forced to disband in 1923?
- What symbol was featured on the flag of the earlier Republic of Perloja?
- What caused the demise of the first Republic of Perloja?
For more information on this extraordinary event go to: