Great Seimas of Vilnius

Date: December 4, 1905 • Location: Moscow, Russia

The Great Seimas of Vilnius met to discuss national concerns within Lithuania: they decided to demand wide political autonomy within the Russian Empire.

The Great Seimas of Vilnius, also known as the Great Assembly of Vilnius or the Great Diet of Vilnius, was a major assembly held on December 4 and 5, 1905, in Vilnius, Lithuania—then part of the Russian Empire. Largely inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905, it was the first modern national congress in Lithuania and dealt primarily not with the social issues that sparked the revolution, but with national concerns. Over 2,000 participants took part in the Seimas. The assembly made the decision to demand wide political autonomy within the Russian Empire and achieve this by peaceful means. It is considered an important step towards the Act of Independence of Lithuania, adopted on February 16, 1918, by the Council of Lithuania, as the Seimas laid the groundwork for the establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.