ILNIUS, LITHUANIA – FEBRUARY 15: The bell tower of Vilnius Cathedral stands illuminated in the colors of the Lithuanian flag to mark the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuanian statehood on February 15, 2018 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Celebrations will take place throughout tomorrow 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.