Why were Lithuanian books printed in Latin script smuggled into Lithuania from East Prussia?

Following the 1863 uprising in Poland, the tsarist Russian government implemented a policy of Russification across Lithuanian lands to suppress local culture and consolidate control. As part of this effort, the government mandated that the Russian language be used in all areas of public life, including education.123

Crucially, authorities prohibited the printing of Lithuanian language publications in the traditional Latin alphabet, decreeing that any such materials could only be produced using the Cyrillic alphabet. This act of cultural imperialism was met with widespread resistance from the Lithuanian people, who boycotted the Cyrillic-printed books. To preserve their language and national identity, Lithuanians organized an informal network of "schools of the hearth" and smuggled books and magazines printed in the Latin script from neighboring East Prussia into the country. This clandestine activity became a vital component of the Lithuanian national renaissance, which persisted until the press prohibition was finally annulled in 1904.123