1931 - International Mail to Rhode Island from Pagegiai, Lithuania

Rhode Island Around the World - International Mail
1931 Postcard from Pagegiai, Lithuania to Providence, RI
Real Photo Postcard of Pagegiai Railroad Station
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Face of Postcard

The Postcard above was mailed on June 12, 1931 from Pagegiai, Lithuania to Providence, Rhode Island The card is franked with a pair of 15-centai 1929-31 reissue of the 1926 "Double Barred Cross" stamp, (Scott #237 - RED). The message on the card is in Lithuanian.

Lithuania was the last pagan nation in Europe to convert to Christianity in the late 14th century

Lithuania, during the 15th century had become a powerful nation-state and by 1430 under Vytautas the Great the the realm extended from the Baltic Sea south to the Black Sea and east to within 100 miles of Moscow. However, after the death of Vytautas the Kingdom began a decline with the the Russians grabbing land from the east and the Germans from the west.

In 1915 the German Army occupied Lithuania and after their defeat in 1918, the Russians occupied the country and installed a puppet communist government. By 1919 the Russians had been driven out and the country once again became an independent nation. In 1921 Lithuania joined the League of Nations and in 1922 the currency standard was changed, (to 100 centai = 1 Litas), which was the currency in place when this PC was mailed.

During World War II, the Soviet Army occupied Lithuania once again and on August 3, 1940 after a rigged vote, Lithuania officially became a Soviet State. This state of affairs lasted until 1991, after which Lithuania regained its independence; becoming a full member country of both the European Union and NATO in 2004.

Pagegiai is a small city in the southwest of Lithuania just north of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, (prior to 1918 area was part of East Prussia).