Le relazioni diplomatiche tra Italia e Lituania fra le due guerre mondiali. Dal riconoscimento de jure (1922) al Patto Ribbentrop-Molotov (1939)

The study deals with the topic of diplomatic relationships between Italy and Lithuania between the two World Wars. Italy played a key role for the Baltic country starting from 1922, the year that Lithuania obtained Italian de jure recognition; as a result, the Baltic republic was able to re-establish diplomatic relations with other countries after gaining independence. Relations between the Kingdom of Italy and Lithuania were strengthened from 1926 when, following a coup d’état, Antanas Smetona assumed the role of President of the Republic, a situation that also involved Augustinas Voldemaras, appointed for the second time as Prime Minister. Both Smetona and Voldemaras felt a deep admiration for Mussolini (the former in a moderate manner, and not mere imitation, while the latter was more fanatical), and they hoped that much-needed political transformation of Lithuania with the support of fascism could transform the Baltic state into an “Organic State” as quickly as possible. The relations between the two countries started to decline in 1939, when the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact divided Eastern Europe into two spheres of influence. At first Lithuania fell under German control, before being overtaken by the Soviet Union in 1940, leading to a brutal and long military occupation.