An uprising against the oppression of tsarist Russia began in Lithuania in the spring of 1863. According to the tsarist court, A. Mackevičius was the first to raise the flag of the uprising in Lithuania. A. Mackevičius was the first to express the idea of an independent Lithuania. He read a rebel manifesto urging the population to revolt in order to restore national statehood, recognize civil rights, and provide free land on the 20th of March at the Paberžė church. Then he went to the rectory, where he took off the sutan, put on short fur coats, tightened his belt and grabbed a pistol. A. Mackevičius led a platoon of about 250 armed people. 8-15 thousand of rebels were suppressed by almost 145 thousand tsarist soldiers.