investments, its sales reach 400 million litas (about 155 million USD). 60% of the production is sold in foreign markets. The company is a very important employer in the region. It is also an important supporter of community initiatives. Jewish history There was a vibrant Jewish community in Rokiškis () for hundreds of years. The first Jewish settlement may have been prior to 1574 and was located at the present site of the old Jewish cemetery (about half a kilometer southwest from the market square) until the mid-1700s, when the community moved to the area near the market square and Kamai Street (now Respublikos gatvė). In 1847 there were 593 Jews in the town and in 1897 2,067 (75% of the total population). The community had a strong Hasidic movement with Lubavitch, Babroiser, and Ladier shuls. By the early 20th century, however, the haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) had had an impact and a Jewish school with secular subjects had started, some Jewish students attended the gymnasia in Rokiškis and Dvinsk, and in 1910 a Russian gymnasium for Jewish students was established. There was also a significant revolutionary movement in the community. In May 1915, during World War I, Jews in central Lithuania were forcibly deported to the east by order of the Czarist government. Although Jews in the Rokiškis area were not the subject of the deportation order, as the Russian forces retreated Cossacks serving in a rearguard capacity terrorized the Jews in northeastern Lithuania and most of the Jews in the Rokiškis fled to the interior of Russia. One of those who left was Yakov (Yankel) Smushkevich who later became the commander of the Soviet Air Forces before being purged and executed in 1941. The Germans occupied Rokiškis until 1918. When World War I ended and the Republic of Lithuania was established, Lithuanian Jews were permitted to return home. The Jewish community of Rokiškis numbered 2,013 in 1923. Initially the community thrived, shuls reopened and in addition there were strong, competing socialist and Zionist movements. Rokiškis developed rapidly after World War I but under different economic conditions. Before the war, for example, Rokiškis could trade with nearby Dvinsk/Daugavpils/Dunaburg, Latvia, to which it was connected by a rail line. During the 1920s, however, Lithuania's border with Latvia was closed. As a result, trade increased with towns to the west which were connected by rail lines, such as Panevėžys/Ponevizh, Šiauliai/Shavli, and Kaunas/Kovno.