Kriwe

Kriwe Kriwaito (Latvian: krīvu krīvs, Lithuanian: krivių krivaitis) or simply Kriwe (Latvian: krīvs, Lithuanian: krivis) was the chief priest in the old Baltic religion. The Baltic peoples call their eastern neighbours krievs or krievai, and Russia is called Krievija. Scientists believe that, most likely, such a name comes from the name of an ancient union of tribes that lived at the source of the rivers Dvina, Volga and Dnieper, and called Krivichi, or Krivichs. Primarily from the 16th-century writings of Simon Grunau, the concept of kriwe became popular during the times of romantic nationalism. However, lack of reliable written evidence has led some researchers to question whether such pagan priest actually existed. The title was adopted by Romuva, the neo-pagan movement in Lithuania, when Jonas Trinkūnas was officially installed as krivių krivaitis in October 2002.