As a biology student at the Saint Petersburg University, Višinskis conducted anthropological research on Samogitians which included detailed anthropometric measurements.

After the university studies, he returned to Lithuania earning a living as a private tutor in various locations (near Pašvitinys, Kurtuvėnai Manor, Šiauliai).

[2] He contributed some 86 articles and 120 short correspondences to various Lithuanian periodicals, most notably Varpas, Ūkininkas, Naujienos,[3] that were published in East Prussia and then smuggled into Lithuania.

After the death of Vincas Kudirka, these newspapers suffered financial losses and frequent staff changes, and he stepped in to fill the leadership gap.

He was an ardent opponent of the Tsarist regime and one of the first to declare that full independence was the ultimate goal of the Lithuanian National Revival.

He edited the first issues of Vilniaus žinios and Lietuvos ūkininkas, but quickly resigned due to ideological differences with their publishers.

[11] In summer 1891, manor owners in Užventis invited Višinskis to tutor their children, including Marija Pečkauskaitė who later became known as Šatrijos Ragana.

[13] Višinskis introduced Pečkauskaitė to the Lithuanian National Revival, Narodnik ideas, and encouraged her to write the first poems and short stories.

[27] Višinskis attended lectures of botany by Andrey Beketov, anatomy by Peter Lesgaft, histology by Alexander Dogiel, organic chemistry by Nikolai Menshutkin, geology by Vasily Dokuchaev, and other famous professors.

[30] He continued to participate in Lithuanian cultural life, writing his first fiction Paparčių žiedai (Fern Flowers) during the Christmas break in 1894.

He recruited several members, firstly Petras Avižonis, to help edit and critique works by Pečkauskaitė and Žymantienė[37] and thus established an informal Lithuanian literary circle.

[43] He visited 31 locations, including Varniai, Tverai, Plungė, Salantai, Mosėdis, Ylakiai,[44] taking about 170 photographs[45] and measuring 67 men and 55 women.

[67] He met with Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė and Petras Avižonis in Joniškėlis and they decided to visit Vincas Kudirka, the publisher of Varpas living in Naumiestis in Suvalkija.

He first visited Šiauliai where he met members of the intelligentsia and developed a friendship with Augustinas Janulaitis, at the time law student at the University of Moscow.

[76] He then went on to visit Petkevičaitė-Bitė who recruited him to organize the first Lithuanian-language theater performance in Palanga, which was part of the Courland Governorate where anti-Lithuanian Russification policies were less strictly enforced.

[78] They settled on a comedy America in the Bathhouse (Amerika pirtyje), which required only nine actors and simple props and was already performed in Saint Petersburg and thus had been approved by the state censors.

[88] In spring 1900, Višinskis responded for a call for Lithuanian exhibits to the world's fair held in Paris by sending 70 photographs and 16 items, including kanklės.

[94] Nevertheless, Višinskis continued to contribute articles and reports to Varpas using a multitude of pen names, including some of those used by the arrested people, to confuse the police.

[100] It was the first clear and unambiguous declaration calling for an independent Lithuania that, due to Višinskis' efforts, was later adopted as an official goal of the Lithuanian Democratic Party.

[101] The clergy replied in Tėvynės sargas by rejecting the idea of full independence as a pipe dream, instead arguing for autonomy and professing loyalty to the Tsar.

[102] In summer 1901, on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, members of the intelligentsia gathered under the pretext of celebrating the name day of Petkevičaitė-Bitė's father in Puziniškis.

While its owner disapproved Lithuanian activities, the locations was much closer to Šiauliai where could more easily reach other members of the intelligentsia, including Biliūnas with whom he developed a close friendship.

The meeting was attended by Biliūnas, Kazys Grinius, Jurgis Šaulys, Jonas Vileišis, Antanas Smetona, Stasys Matulaitis, Andrius Bulota, and others.

It was a small fine, but he appealed the decision arguing that the Lithuanian press ban had no legal basis and that the censorship law did not apply to those posters.

[119] Only the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904 forced the Russian government to relax restrictions placed on the minorities and the ban was officially lifted on 26 April 1904.

Before starting the new job, Višinskis traveled to Warsaw to visit editorial staff of Polish publications Ogniwo (to which he had contributed two articles and three correspondences),[124] Kurier Codzienny, Gazeta Handlowa.

Višinskis used his literary contacts to obtain submissions to Vilniaus žinios, but Vileišis – more conservative and loyal to the Tsarist government – blocked the publication of more liberal pieces.

[137] He was delegated by the Lithuanian Democratic Party as a representative from the Vilna Governorate to the congress of zemstvos, organized by Pyotr Dmitriyevich Dolgorukov in October 1905.

[141] At the Seimas, Višinskis delivered at least four longer speeches on Lithuania's autonomy and borders, on the congress of zemstvos in Moscow, on difficulties faced by Lithuanian schools, and other topics.

[141] After the Seimas, he became editor of Lietuvos ūkininkas, sponsored by the Lithuanian Democratic Party, but his strong support to the revolution attracted criticism and after the first two issues he was replaced by Antanas Smetona.