Lithuanian-Polish conflict regarding Vilnius and Swedish diplomacy (1920-1924)

The article analyses the efforts of Sweden to settle the Lithuanian-Polish Vilnius conflict in 1920-1924. Material, which was never examined by Lithuanian historians, from the Stockholm archives from the Kingdom of Sweden were used for the research. Sweden's Ministry of foreign affairs started to receive messages about war conflicts between Lithuania and Poland in 1920 autumn and decide to take initiative to settle it. When the League of Nation took the path of plebiscite to regulate the question of Vilnius on the 30th of November 1920, King Gustav V of Sweden ordered to prepare an army unit to be sent to Vilnius to implement the plebiscite. Lithuania and Poland refused plebiscite, and the unit was released. Swedish public opinion during 1921-1924 increasingly criticized Poland, and in particularly because of actions of Zeligowski. Most criticisms took place in 1924, when the Conference of Ambassadors acknowledged the provisional borders of Lithuania as permanent. It was observed with outrage how the moral authority of the League of Nations has been cynically sacrificed on the altar of the French-Polish politics. Support for Lithuania should be evaluated with caution, as the example of Lithuania has been used by Sweden to criticize the League of Nations. The 1922 Swedish Envoy to the three Baltic countries Torsten Ulf Unden supported Lithuania's position and hoped to increase the influence of Sweden in the Baltic countries, if the issue would be settled in Vilnius in a fair and responsible manner. His position changed in May 1924, when he learned about the ambitions of the Soviet Government to make a secret contract with Lithuania about Vilnius. At the time, Lithuania lost the support of Sweden in the question regarding Vilnius