Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union

Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union Lietuvos valstiečių liaudininkų sąjunga
Abbreviation	LVLS
Founded	1922
Banned	1936
Merger of	Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party Peasant Union
Ideology	Agrarianism
Political position	Centre-left
International affiliation	International Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties
Politics of Lithuania Political parties Elections

For party known as the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union between 2006 and 2012, see Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union.

The Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union (Lithuanian: Lietuvos valstiečių liaudininkų sąjunga, LVLS) was a centre-left political party in Lithuania between 1922 and 1936. The party's leaders included the third President Kazys Grinius and three-term Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius.

History

The party was established in November 1922 by a merger of the Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party and the Peasant Union. At the time the two parties held a combined 19 seats, making it the largest in the Seimas. The new party emerged as the largest faction in the 1923 elections, winning 16 of the 78 seats. The 1926 elections saw the party increase its seat tally to 22, remaining the largest party in the Seimas. From the 1920s, party internationally participated in the International Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties.

The LVLS formed a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party, but it was overthrown by a military coup in December 1926 which installed the Lithuanian Nationalist Union as the ruling party. The LVLS was banned in 1936.

Further reading

• Blažytė-Baužienė, Danutė (2018-06-01). "Liaudininkai Seimų laikotarpiu (1920–1927): keletas istoriografijos dilemų [Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union in Parliamentary Period (1920–1927): Some Historiographical Dilemmas]". Parliamentary Studies (in Lithuanian) (25): 140–169–140–169. doi:10.51740/ps.vi25.50. ISSN 1822-749X.