History of Lithuania
On February 16, 1918, Lithuania was re-established as a democratic state. It remained independent until the outset of World War II, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Following a brief occupation by Nazi Germany after the Nazis waged war on the Soviet Union, Lithuania was again absorbed into the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. In 1990–1991, Lithuania restored its sovereignty with the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Lithuania joined the NATO alliance in 2004 and the European Union as part of its enlargement in 2004.
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; , "Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika"), one of the USSR republics that existed in 1940–1941 and 1944–1990, was formed on the basis of the Soviet occupation rule. It was also known as Soviet Lithuania. After 1946, its territory and borders mirrored those of today's Republic of Lithuania (with the exception of minor adjustments at the Belarusian border).