After the Cold War and the disassembly of the USSR, Lithuania relatively recently gained independence (In March, 1990 Lithuania was the first republic to claim independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). However, the Communist movement also severely disrupted Lithuania’s economy. Prior to the Cold War, Lithuania was a farm rich nation, producing much wheat and grains, but during Socialist rule, the economy became dependent on producing both light and heavy metals for her mother state, Russia. The natural resources of Lithuania are few, so industry remains the main economic influx for this small country of 3.6 million.

Lithuania lies in the eastern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. In the north Lithuania borders with Latvia, in the east and south with Byelorussia, in the south-west with Poland and with the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation.