Tsarist Russian occupation
The former territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, annexed in 1795, was restructured in accordance with the structure of the Russian Empire administration, where the name Lithuania was completely erased. All icons and symbols that reminded of the long-standing statehood of Lithuania were being destroyed. Former territories of the state of Lithuania became simply known as the “Western” and, from the seventh decade of the 19th century, “Northwestern land” of the Russian Empire. Many ethnic Lithuanian lands formed part of Vilnius, Kaunas (since 1843), Augustow (since 1867 referred to as Suwalki) and Grodno governorates. Governors had control of the civil government of their territories, meanwhile in the districts the most power was concentrated in the hands of the chief officials of the district, also known as “ispravniks”. The latter were directly responsible to the governor. The nobility had a separate government in the districts and governorates, nobility superintendents, which were elected from the district nobility and were directly responsible to the governor.
