Author: Raminta Mačytė

This priest was exiled to Siberia for distributing forbidden literature, where he became a shepherd of the largest parish in the world. When he was allowed to return to his Homeland after amnesty, the priest remained a priest of exiles of his own volition, and in 1855 he was appointed a permanent cleric of Irkutsk and a military chaplain of Siberian troops. When priest K. Švirmickas celebrated his 50th anniversary of the priesthood in 1887, he received a special gift from Siberian priests – a cup crowned with thorns. Pope Leon XIII sent him a gold cup. In a letter sent together, he called it "the pride of Catholic missionaries, the decoration of the marion and the joy of the Pope's heart." On October 30, 2014, a chapel-monument to the book-spreader was created by sculptor Algimantas Sakalauskas and unveiled in Varnupiai village near Daukšiai. The monument arose in the place where the Švirmickai homestead-manor once stood.

Vincas Šlekys-Stagaras was a Lithuanian book-spreader, journalist, editor and ethno-artist. He was born into a family of a wealthy farmer. His father taught him to read and write Lithuanian. In 1879–1882, he attended a Russian elementary school in Marijampolė. He continued to study at Marijampolė Gymnasium, participated in a secret Lithuanian circle and distributed the prohibited press. The parents' offer to join the Seminary of Seinai priests was refused. In 1894, he started collaborating in the newspapers “Vienybė lietuvninkų ", “Varpas", “Ūkininkas", etc. In 1894, he set up a secret society "Sietynas" to distribute Lithuanian press. He prepared the articles of the association, and since 26 March 1894 he was its chairman. After retiring, he returned to his native Mokolai village, collected old valuables, and organized an exhibition of kapsai folk art in Kaunas. This became the basis for the establishment of Marijampolė Museum of Regional Studies. V. Šlekys was considered its founder. On November 16, 1945, the Soviet occupiers arrested him and exiled him to Siberia.

Jonas Pranas Aleksa (1879–1955) was a Lithuanian state and public figure, agronomist, sociologist and economist. In 1942, he presented a memorandum to the German Commissioner-General in Kaunas with K. Grinius and M. Krupavičius protesting against the colonization of Lithuania and the killing of Lithuanian citizens (Lithuanians, Jews, Russians, Poles). In 1948, he was deported to Siberia, where he died. The remains were brought back to Lithuania in 1990 and buried in Palanga. Julius Aleksa (1855–1891) – Lithuanian publicist, doctor, belligerant. In 1890–1891 he wrote for the newspapers “Varpas" and “Vienybė lietuvninkų ". He was imprisoned in Warsaw in 1891. He collected Lithuanian folk songs and their melodies, formed a Lithuanian-Latin botanical dictionary, the manuscript of which disappeared. Konradas Juozas Aleksa (1881–1956) was a Lithuanian veterinarian, agricultural scientist, archeobiologist and cultural figure. One of the creators of the Veterinary Academy and the founders of the Lithuanian Veterinary Doctors' Union, its chairman for several years. Due to genetics, private ownership, recognition of the works of Western scientists, he was criticized and persecuted by the Soviet authorities. The first in Lithuania he studied the ruins of horses dug in cemeteries: determined their age, gender, height. Konstantinas Aleksa (1863-1935) was a teacher and public figure. With others he established Lithuanian schools in Suvałkai region. He cooperated in the Lithuanian press.

Jonas Kriščiūnas was a Lithuanian agronomist, beekeeper, political and public figure. He was born in Stebuliškiai village, studied at Liudvinavo Elementary School, graduated from Marijampole Gymnasium in 1907. In 1919, he organized an agricultural school in Kvietiškis. J. Kriščiūnas, a pioneer of sugar beet growing and Lithuanian agronomic literature, published about 1000 articles on agricultural issues. In the booklet "Plant Diseases", the first in Lithuania he described insect pests and called them in Lithuanian terms. He promoted plant protection, beekeeping and seed production.

Pijus Bielskus was a Roman Catholic priest, doctor of philosophy, professor, head of the Office of the President of Lithuania. On May 17, 1903, he was ordained a priest in Warsaw. On June 16, 1919, as one of the representatives of Lithuanian Americans, he went to the Peace Conference in Paris. The delegation was tasked with strictly demanding recognition of Lithuania's independence by not being allowed into any other combinations until the issue of Lithuania's independence was properly tied up. On March 1, 1920, he was appointed adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in issues with the Vatican, participated as secretary and treasurer of the Lithuanian delegation in Riga to establish the Lithuanian-Latvian border. In 1940, P. Bielskus went to his brother the book-spreader V. Bielskus and hid the original Act of Independence of Lithuania in his house, the further fate of which is unknown.