Editing Kaunas (section)

===Russian Empire===
[[File:Kaunas.Lietuva.Kaunas Castle.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Kaunas Castle]] with [[Church of St. George the Martyr, Kaunas|Church of St. George the Martyr]] in the distance, painted in the 19th century]]
[[File:Kowno ca 1915 (118737593) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Panorama of Kaunas, ca 1915]]
After the [[Third Partition of Poland|third and final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state]] in 1795, the city was taken over by the [[Russian Empire]] and became a part of [[Vilna Governorate]].<ref name="datos.kvb.lt"/> During the [[French invasion of Russia]] in 1812, the [[Grande Armée|Grand Army]] of [[Napoleon]] passed through Kaunas twice, devastating the city both times. A hill fort mound in Kaunas is named Napoleon's Hill.<ref name="datos.kvb.lt"/>

To prevent possible easy access through the city and protect the western borders of Russia, the [[Kaunas Fortress|Kovno Fortress]] was built. It is still visible throughout the town.<ref>{{citation|title=Kauno tvirtovės istorija|publisher=Gintaras Česonis|url=http://tvirtove.kaunas.lt/|year=2004|access-date=20 March 2011|language=lt|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510074436/http://tvirtove.kaunas.lt/|archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

[[Kovno Governorate]], with a centre in Kovno (Kaunas), was formed in 1843. In 1862, a railway connecting the [[Russian Empire]] and [[German Empire|Imperial Germany]] was built, making Kaunas a significant railway hub with one of the first [[Kaunas Railway Tunnel|railway tunnels]] in the Empire, completed in 1861. In 1898 the first [[power plant]] in Lithuania started operating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lpc.lt/en/main/about/short/development |title=Lietuvos Energija > About us > Profile > Development of Lithuanian energy sector |access-date=20 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203021715/http://www.lpc.lt/en/main/about/short/development |archive-date=3 February 2011}} AB [[Lietuvos Energija]]. Development of Lithuanian Energy Sector.</ref>

[[File:Kaunas Priest Seminary, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kaunas Priest Seminary]] was one of the centres of the [[Lithuanian National Revival]] during the [[Russification#Lithuania and Poland|Russification era]]]]
[[File:VIIth fort barracks.jpg|thumb|right|One of the [[Kaunas Fortress]] barracks]]
After the unsuccessful [[January Uprising]] in 1863 against the Russian Empire, the tsarist authority moved the Catholic Seminary of [[Varniai]], prominent bishop [[Motiejus Valančius]] and [[Samogitian diocese]] institutions to Kaunas, where they were given the former [[Bernardines (Franciscans)|Bernardine]] Monastery Palace and [[St. George the Martyr Church, Kaunas|St. George the Martyr Church]].<!-- Formerly used by what religious body? --><ref>{{cite web |title=Žemaičių vyskupystės istorinis ir dailės palikimas |url=https://www.limis.lt/virtualios-parodos/-/virtualExhibitions/view/26111 |website=www.limis.lt |access-date=2 November 2017 |language=lt-LT |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182444/https://www.limis.lt/virtualios-parodos/-/virtualExhibitions/view/26111 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Only selected [[Lithuanian nobility|noblemen]] were permitted to study in the Seminary, with the only exception being peasant son [[Antanas Baranauskas]], who illegally received the nobleman documents from [[Karolina Proniewska|Karolina Praniauskaitė]]. He began lectures using the [[Lithuanian language]], rather than Russian, and greatly influenced the spirit of the seminarians by narrating about the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|ancient Lithuania]] and especially its earthwork mounds. Later, many of the Seminary students were active in Lithuanian [[knygnešiai|book smuggling]]; its chief main objective was to resist the [[Russification#Lithuania and Poland|Russification policy]]. [[Kaunas Priest Seminary|Kaunas Spiritual Seminary]] finally became completely Lithuanian when in 1909 professor [[Maironis|Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis]] became the rector of the Seminary, and replaced use of the Polish language for teaching with the Lithuanian language.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kauno kunigų seminarija – katalikybės ir lietuvybės židinys|url=http://www.xxiamzius.lt/numeriai/2004/12/10/ora_02.html|website=www.xxiamzius.lt|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=28 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428213621/http://www.xxiamzius.lt/numeriai/2004/12/10/ora_02.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Prior to the [[World War II|Second World War]], Kaunas, like many cities in [[Eastern Europe]], had a significant Jewish population. According to the [[Russian Empire Census|Russian census of 1897]], Jews numbered 25,500, 35.3% of the total of 73,500. The population was recorded as 25.8% Russian, 22.7% Polish, 6.6% Lithuanian.<ref>Robert Blobaum, Feliks Dzierzynski, ''The SDKPIL: a study of the origins of Polish Communism'', p. 42</ref> It established numerous schools and synagogues and were important for centuries to the culture and business of the city.

During the [[Imperial Russian Army]]'s [[Great Retreat (Russian)|Great Retreat]] of [[World War I]], [[Paul von Hindenburg]]'s [[10th Army (German Empire)|German Tenth Army]] occupied Kaunas in August 1915.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robson |first=Stuart |url=http://archive.org/details/firstworldwar0000robs_r5x1 |title=The First World War |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4058-2471-2 |edition=1 |location=Harrow, England |pages=25 |ref=None |via=Archive Foundation}}</ref>