Lithuania Celebrates 105th Anniversary Of Restoration Of Statehood

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - FEBRUARY 16: People carry a giant Lithuanian flag during a celebration of State Restoration Day on February 15, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Celebrations are taking place throughout today in Lithuania to mark the day on February 16, 1918 when, as World War I was grinding towards its end, signatories launched the Act of Reinstating the Independence of Lithuania. Once a Kingdom and later a Grand Duchy, Lithuania in recent centuries had been divided between its neighbors, Poland and Russia. In World War II Lithuania was occupied by Soviet forces and then Nazi Germany. Afterwards it was absorbed into the Soviet Union until independence in 1990. Today Lithuania is a member of the European Union and NATO. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)