Profesoriaus Antano Kriščiukaičio gyvenimo prioritetai: teisė ir gimtoji kalba: (140-osioms gimimo metinėms)

Abstract

This article is dedicated for commemoration of the 140 year birth anniversary of the famous Lithuanian lawyer – Professor Antanas Kirščiukaitis. A. Kriščiukaitis (1864-1933) belonged to the old generation of Lithuanian intellectuals who cared not only about their profession, but also about culture, literature and art. The czarist Russification evoked resistance and the wish to preserve the mother tongue even in the most difficult circumstances. After becoming a certified lawyer in 1890, A. Kriščiukaitis served as apprentice judge, interrogator and a judge outside Lithuania, in various cities of the Russian empire. Although during more than thirty years he spoke Russian and barely encountered the use of the Lithuanian language, A. Kriščiukaitis remained a true Lithuanian. The long breakaway from his homeland did little negative effect on his appealing speech. Constantly having in mind his mother tongue, he wrote a primer of the Lithuanian language which was published in four editions. He started writing in his high-school and remained an active writer during the years when the Lithuanian print was banned. He wrote poems, but most of all he liked the genre of short-stories. The mother tongue and its problems remained important for him for the rest of his life...