Mr. Speaker. while the Lithuanians constitute one of the smallest nationality groups in Europe. they have had their grandeur and glory in the distant past. During the late Middle Ages theirs was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Eastern Europe. and as such it was a veritable rampart between the Asiatic hordes invading Europe and the West. At the same time they were redoubtable champions of Christianity in that part of Europe for centuries. Then. at the end of the 18th century. they lost their independence and lived under the czarist regime of Russia for more than 100 years.