Misconception: He’s
an anxious person without a backbone.

Reality: He’s an
anxious person with an exceptionally strong backbone.

Lithuania used to be a world superpower. While he’s quiet
and introverted – like the other two Baltic countries – the fierce warrior
aspect of his personality hasn’t quite left him.

The most common piece of information that is used to
characterize him is that he “tends to think too much, which gets him depressed
and a stomach ache,” [x].

Ex: In his volume
3 character note, he’s described as a “serious young man with a strong body.”

Ex: In Italy’s
Chest Test series, Italy is surprised at how tough and muscular Lithuania is [x].

Ex: He loves
martial arts [x].

Ex: During the
Battle of Tannenberg, we learn from Finland that Lithuania is a “sharp” person.

In other words, he’s not someone to be underestimated on the
battlefield. 

Prussia does exactly this, and it doesn’t turn out very well for
him. He actually hides from Poland and Lithuania after the battle, although he later
becomes a lackey to Poland.

Misconception: He’s
a sweet, pushover type.

Reality: He’s a
sweet, pushover type that has admirable moments of defiance. Lithuania isn’t only
defined by the above [partial] misconception. Even though he’s often bossed around and
later plays servitude to Russia, he’s still able to exercise his own agency.

Ex: The common
mistake is to only conceive him as someone who is introverted and good-natured.
He’s also a big brother type [x].

Ex: In addition,
he’s also noted to be bossed around frequently in Volume 5 – keep in mind that this
strip occurs during the Soviet Era.

Nonetheless, Lithuania’s seriousness and “strong perseverance”
is something that has consistently prevailed in him, no matter how dire the
circumstance.

Ex: Despite being pressured, Lithuania refused to convert to
Catholicism and holds defiance toward Prussia over this [x].

Ex: In strips that presumably take place during the Soviet Era
– as the setting is in Russia’s house – Lithuania’s old defiance for Prussia is
still alive and well. He gives him a “cold stare” and asks Prussia to leave him
alone [x].

Despite admitting to not liking him, Lithuania’s still civil
toward Prussia and gives him advice on living in Russia’s house [x].

Ex: It was
Lithuania who rallied the other Baltics to declare their independence from the USSR [x].

Misconception: He and Poland don’t have good relations
anymore.

Reality: He has some issues with Poland, stemming from their
past, but for the most part the two of them still share a good relationship in
the present.

Ex: Lithuania pulled a lot of the weight during their
union.

Ex: The fact that Poland laughed in his face as Russia
dragged him away during their forced separation didn’t sit well with Lithuania.
He holds clear bitter feelings about it [x].

Ex: On the other hand, Lithuania still cares about Poland
and tries to warn the latter of Russia’s intentions to partition him once again
in WW2.

Ex: While Lithuania is “dragged” around by Poland, he’s stated to still “enjoy himself” as this happens. My understanding
of this is that even though Lithuania does a lot of things for Poland, he doesn’t
mind the company [x].

On a similar note, in the World Academy AU, Lithuania is too
busy to attend the Choral Club’s meetings because he’s doing favors for Poland [x].
While he may be a pushover, I don’t think Lithuania would be doing this if he
didn’t care about Poland.

Misconception: He hates Russia.

Reality: He doesn’t have great relations with Russia, but he’s
civil.

Obviously, they’re not ‘friends-friends’ due to their past
together; however, it’s not pure hatred either.

Ex:  He received many
scars during his time spent under Russian control.

Ex: He’s noted to be rehabilitating with Poland in the
post-Soviet era.

Ex: It’s alluded that Lithuania may suffer from PTSD. As he
recalls declaring his independence, he also remembers that Russia used to
squeeze his shoulders – a metaphor for political pressure. Without realizing it,
he begins squeezing Estonia’s and Latvia’s shoulders. It’s hard enough to cause
them pain [x].

Ex: Upon gaining independence, he was eager to get rid of
any belongings that were associated with Russia [x].

Ex: When asked if he considered Russia a friend, Lithuania
doesn’t “want anything in particular” and yet realizes that it’s probably
better to placate Russia. Of course, this is to be expected. The transition
toward a healthier relationship with Russia will take a long time for the ex-Soviet
countries to achieve. There’s also the fact that Russia’s sanity is unpredictable.

On the other hand, they still attend events together, so it’s
not as if the possibility of friendship – or at least acquaintanceship – isn’t
something on the horizon [x].

Bonus Facts:

Following WW1, Lithuania lived with America. This is done to
represent the Lithuanians who out-sourced themselves during this time.

Lithuania is later taken back by Russia once the Great
Depression hits [x].

America’s pets were very fond of Lithuania.

He has a crush on Belarus. On their first date, which predictably
didn’t last all that long (three minutes!), Belarus breaks his fingers [x].

In sum, as sweet, meek, and good-natured as Lithuania is, he’s definitely not someone to be underestimated. He’s an amazing, well-fleshed out character that is far more than the nervous wreck he’s commonly portrayed as.