Turning investors into citizens: internal loans in Lithuania, 1918–1922

This article explores popular fundraising in the newly established Lithuanian state during its wars of independence against the Bolsheviks, Bermontians, and Poland. Simultaneous state building and war waging required considerable financial resources. Mimicking the financial policies of the former great-power belligerents, Lithuanian statesmen resorted to internal loans accompanied by nationwide propaganda campaigns. By examining the actors, practices, and places involved in these campaigns, this article reveals that internal loans were used not only as a financial, but, mainly, as a political tool of mobilization and legitimation. The article argues that in this sense popular fundraising provided occasions for negotiating democracy.