Jonas Kriaučiūnas

Jonas Kriaučiūnas (18 June 1864 – 5 February 1941) was a Lithuanian activist during the Lithuanian National Revival mostly noted for editing and publishing Lithuanian periodicals ''Varpas'' and ''Ūkininkas'' in 1891–1895 and ''Vilniaus žinios'' in 1905–1906.

Born in Suvalkija, Kriaučiūnas studied medicine at Moscow University but did not complete his studies. In 1889, to avoid conscription to the Russian Army, he moved to Tilsit in East Prussia where he worked at printing presses. When Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas fled East Prussia due to troubles with the police, Kriaučiūnas became responsible for editing and publishing ''Varpas'' and ''Ūkininkas''. He attracted German police attention after he directed a Lithuanian historical play by the Birutė Society in early 1895. He returned to Lithuania but was arrested and imprisoned by the Tsarist police in Kaunas and Saint Petersburg. For violating the Lithuanian press ban, he was sentenced to three years of exile in Tallinn. In 1904, Petras Vileišis offered him a job publishing the first Lithuanian daily ''Vilniaus žinios'' (he resigned in January 1906). In late 1905, Kriaučiūnas was one of the main initiators and organizers of the Great Seimas of Vilnius. He later published and edited ''Rygos garsas'' in Riga and German-sponsored ''Dabartis''. After World War I, he retired from public life. Provided by Wikipedia