After the Uprising of 1863, Tsarist authorities closed all institutions of higher education in Lithuania and implemented a radical Russification program. According to this program, Lithuanian schools would be closed or replaced with Russian schools. To prepare teachers for these new Russian schools, two teachers' seminaries were established: one in Veiveriai for the Suwałki Governorate and another in Panevėžys for the Vilna and Kovno Governorates. The Veiveriai Seminary was open only to Catholics of Lithuanian origin, while the seminary in Panevėžys was open only to Eastern Orthodoxs. It was hoped that these Lithuanian teachers prepared in Russian spirit would work in Polish provinces and would turn their students away from Polish language and culture.