Below will be a list
of events that have contributed to Lithuania’s resilience and strength of
character. There’s a reason why he’s known for his perseverance and willpower
to survive through adversity.

He was routinely targeted by the Teutonic
Knights:

On several occasions,
Prussia attempted to forcefully convert Lithuania. Meanwhile, Lithuania refused
to back down and gained enough reputation to cause Finland to be wary of his
fierce warriorhood [x]. 

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth:

To circumvent against the
threat of larger powers, he and Poland joined forces. The series depicts
Lithuania as the one who held up their partnership, doing most of the work
whilst being bossed around by Poland [x]. 

In modern times this
dynamic remains, as Lithuania still ends up doing a lot of running around for
Poland. It’s important to note that Lithuania chooses to do this, as the two
are close friends that have since smoothed out the hiccups from their past.
Lithuania’s just a bit of a pushover and is too kind to say no.

Ex: In the
intermission between the world wars (given the date that these character notes take
place), Lithuania is said to be seemingly enjoying himself whilst being dragged around by
Poland. He is also said to be rehabilitating with Poland after initially freeing
himself from Russia.

Partitions and The Death of the Commonwealth:

Lithuania bore
considerable resentment towards Poland due to the circumstances of their separation.
As Lithuania was being forcefully dragged away by Russia, Poland laughs and
makes fun of Lithuania’s expression [x]. 

However, it’s likely Poland didn’t understand the severe implications of what
it meant to be under Russia’s rule (e.g., physical abuse and degrading servitude). I say this because after the two gain their independence from
Russia, Poland becomes shocked when he learns that Lithuania acquired many scars
on his back. 

Since Poland and Lithuania had just gained their independence and
there’s a mention of Italy having gained his independence not that far in the
past, this leads me to believe that this strip took place between WW1-WW2 [x]. 

On the other hand,
earlier strips contradict this. Poland is once shown to have found a half-dead
Lithuania after a fatal encounter with Russia. It’s messy to get around, but
you’ll notice that later strips fall more align with the former point.

While Lithuania may
have bore a grudge over Poland’s apathetic reaction to their separation, this
doesn’t stop Lithuania from fretting about Poland and warning the latter of
Russia’s intent to annex him prior to the outbreak of WW2.

Likewise, it seems
that after Poland realized the horrific truth of the adversity Lithuania
experienced under Russian rule, Poland became more protective of Lithuania,
even going so far as to call out Russia on several occasions despite being
scared of him and having also been under USSR influence.

Brief Respite:

Although he was poor
and had to outsource himself for work, Lithuania was able to find a stable and
welcoming environment in America’s home [x] [x].

Unfortunately, America
himself became too poor to host Lithuania during the Great Depression and
Lithuania again found himself being forcefully dragged away by Russia.

USSR:

Lithuania went back to
a life of servitude and lacked full agency (e.g., Russia attended world
meetings on his behalf.)

He was the one who
rallied the Baltics into gaining their independence from the USSR. Afterward, Lithuania
didn’t hesitate to throw away any belongings associated with this period of his
life [x] [x].