He had to deal with the issue that shaped the entire interwar foreign policy of Lithuania – the loss of Vilnius Region to the Second Polish Republic in the Żeligowski's Mutiny in October 1920 and the subsequent ineffectual mediation efforts of the League of Nations.

He was editor of the official daily Lietuva [lt] (1925–1930) and magazine on economy Tautos ūkis (since 1930) and author of numerous articles in Lietuvos aidas, Trimitas, Vairas, Mūsų Vilnius.

According to his baptismal records discovered in early 2000s, Purickis was born on 19 April 1883 in Petrošiškės [lt] about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of Semeliškės in the present-day Elektrėnai Municipality.

Local priest Vincentas Butvydas, who was implicated in a book smuggling operation set up by bishop Motiejus Valančius,[4] took care of the boys and encouraged them to pursue priesthood.

His contemporaries often disagreed with Purickis' harsh criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, but he took a rather novel approach at evaluating the Reformation in the larger political, social, and economic context.

A number of Polish nobles belonged to the committee and soon Lithuanian representatives began clashing with them over the political issues of future independent Poland and Lithuania.

[16] Purickis became secretary of a six-person committee that organized the world-wide donation drive on the Lithuanian Day – 20 May 1917 as declared by Pope Benedict XV.

[22] Lithuanians in Switzerland established contacts with Matthias Erzberger, an influential German politician of the Centre Party and an alumnus of the University of Fribourg.

[24] Three Lithuanian representatives – Purickis, Konstantinas Olšauskas, and Antanas Steponaitis – traveled to German-occupied Lithuania to report on the proposal to the Vilnius Conference held on 18–22 September 1917.

[29] Erzberger further helped Purickis and Olšauskas to arrange a meeting with Eugenio Pacelli, then an Apostolic Nuncio to Germany and future Pope Pius XII.

On 13 December 1917, the council decided to send Jurgis Šaulys as its diplomatic representative to Berlin and appoint Purickis and Antanas Janulatis as his deputies.

[37] Living conditions were difficult due to the post-war chaos and the German Revolution of 1918–1919; in a surviving letter to Vilius Gaigalaitis, Purickis asked send him food.

[41] During Purickis' tenure, Lithuania was recognized de jure by Sweden, Norway, Latvia, Soviet Union, Estonia, Argentina, Mexico, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Brazil and became a full member of the League of Nations on 22 September 1921.

Under pressure from the League of Nations, Poland signed the Suwałki Agreement on 7 October 1920 but immediately staged the Żeligowski's Mutiny and captured Vilnius from the Lithuanians.

Purickis and a delegation of the Constituent Assembly visited political and religious leaders in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome in largely unsuccessful attempt to garner support for the Lithuanian cause.

The three countries concluded various conventions on communications, extradition of criminals, consular services, but Purickis great hope for the Baltic Entente was not realized until 1934.

[47] The scandal created a government crisis and forced Grinius' Cabinet to resign on 18 January 1922[48] and is cited among the reasons for the poor Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party results in the May 1926 parliamentary elections.

[57] The Tribunal portrayed the so-called saccharin case as an isolated episode, but there is plenty of evidence that the practice of smuggling items in diplomatic packages was well known and widespread.

Due to the famine, Russians lacked food but had plenty of valuables (including furniture, rugs, tableware, jewelry, art, fur) that were confiscated from nobles and bourgeoisie.

A business plan was developed – food items purchased in Germany would arrive to Kaunas legally and then would be transported to Russia in diplomatic packages where they would be exchanged for valuables.

[58] In his memoirs, Lithuanian diplomat Bronius Kazys Balutis wrote that the practice was justified as a way to recover at least some of the confiscated property and at one point it was even semi-legalized when a special commission assessed a 10% tax on the items brought back from Russia.

[59] Surviving letters by Avižonis show that he moved items worth billions of roubles (then subject to hyperinflation) and that he planned to use the money to purchase a building for the Lithuanian legation in Moscow.

[66] Purickis was issued a fake passport under a Prussian Lithuanian-sounding last name Pėteraitis and helped rebels (mostly members of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union) handle diplomatic aspects of the revolt[67] – writing manifestos, negotiating with the French administration, organizing propaganda efforts, etc.

[71] Purickis also dealt with a complaint of the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region to the League of Nations regarding the division of tax revenue and helped negotiate the Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact.

On 20 December 1926, during trade negotiations in Moscow, Purickis married Elena Skriabina, a Ukrainian lady of Eastern Orthodox faith born in 1900, in a civil ceremony.

[74] Purickis began writing articles to the Lithuanian press, mainly the official daily Lietuva [lt], after leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 1921.

[75] He improved the newspaper by bolstering its international coverage as well as creating a new dedicated section for articles on economy and an 8-page illustrated supplement on domestic and foreign culture and politics.

[78] Purickis was replaced as the editor by Pranas Dailidė [lt] after the May 1926 elections to the Third Seimas of Lithuania in which the Christian Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority.

[89] In addition, the union organized various events, such as the 100th anniversary celebration of the first Lithuanian periodical Nusidavimai apie evangelijos prasiplatinimą tarp žydų ir pagonių in 1932, annual fundraising balls, educational courses in journalism (at the time, there were no specialized schools or university classes in Lithuania), the first journalist congress in summer 1933.

During Purickis' tenure, the entente organized three meetings in which journalists discussed cooperation, information exchange, and coordination of political views (this was particularly important for Lithuania as Latvian press often republished anti-Lithuanian texts from Polish periodicals).