Experiences of returnees to Lithuania in the early 1920s

The article analyses the experiences, in Lithuania, of the re-emigrants who returned from the USA in the period from 1920 to 1925. These returnees noted that Lithuanian society still had many of the social problems inherited from Tsarist Russia (such as bureaucracy in state institutions and others). Although the re-emigrants appreciated the work that had been done in re-establishing the Lithuanian state, they also noted an insufficient level of activities, too frequent changes in government, too much political discord, and an inability to unite for common purposes. Lithuanians living in Lithuania believed that the capital brought back by re-emigrants would help restore the Lithuanian economy. The re-emigrants themselves often had unrealistic prior beliefs about conditions of life and business in Lithuania. The integration of re-emigrants into Lithuania was also aggravated by unfavorable provisions in the laws relating to them with respect to Lithuanian citizenship, land acquisition etc