He briefly studied agriculture at the University of Halle but had to return to Lithuania to work at his estates.

Putvinskis also organized large scale smuggling and distribution of the illegal Lithuanian publications.

After the press ban was lifted, he smuggled weapons and provided shelter for various political activists hiding from the Tsarist police.

Upon his return to Lithuania, he joined a group of Lithuanian intellectuals who organized shooting practices in Kaunas.

This group evolved to become the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union in August 1919 and Putvinskis became its chairman and commander-in-chief.

Their daughter Marija [lt] (1876–1959) was also active in Lithuanian public life and the Riflemen's Union.

Books and periodicals were smuggled in large batches from East Prussia and divided into small parcels by Putvinskis for local distribution.

[11] Via his former classmate Vincas Kalnietis, Putvinskis established contacts with Lithuanian intellectuals, firstly Povilas Višinskis and Augustinas Janulaitis.

[3] In summer 1902, Povilas Višinskis organized the first meeting of Lithuanian authors at Putvinkis' manor.

[3] Other visitors included Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas, Balys Sruoga, Martynas Jankus, Steponas Kairys, Lev Karsavin.

[13] During the meetings, the activists coordinated the publication of Varpas, a Lithuanian periodical published in East Prussia.

He started smuggling weapons and providing shelter for various political activists hiding from the Tsarist police.

[19] In July 1914, just days after the outbreak of World War I, Putvinskis was arrested as "politically unreliable" on orders of Nikolai Gryazev [ru], governor of Kaunas.

[24] In response, city residents organized their own self-defense committees that patrolled assigned streets.

[27] In June 1919, Putvinskis moved to Kaunas to care for his ill son Stasys who had volunteered for the Lithuanian Army.

[28] As Lithuanian Wars of Independence continued, Kaunas residents felt the need for a paramilitary group.

On 1 July 1919, Lietuva published the first announcement that the Lithuanian Sports Union (Lietuvos sporto sąjunga) established a new section for riflemen who practiced shooting and handling guns.

[30] Putvinskis cited his experience with self-defense units in Novocherkassk as well as examples of Sokol in Czechoslovakia and Civil Guard in Finland as an inspiration.

[33] The riflemen assisted the Lithuanian government in suppressing the attempted Polish coup in September 1919, fighting the West Russian Volunteer Army, and working on military intelligence during the Polish–Lithuanian War.

[34][35] The union grew rapidly, absorbing various local partisan groups By the end of 1919, it boasted 16 regional branches and 39 units.

[36] In spring 1920, Putvinskis left his job at the ministry to work at the Riflemen's Union full-time.

[38] As military situation stabilized, Putvinskis worked to formulate the ideology of the Riflemen's Union and strengthen its internal structure.

He cultivated lubins, improved drainage, bred Žemaitukas horses,[3] established a steam-powered dairy and exported butter to Denmark.

[52] In interwar Lithuania, he took Lithuanian language lessons from Julija Jablonskytė-Petkevičienė (daughter of linguist Jonas Jablonskis).

[53] After his release from prison in 1906, he wrote Kudlių šeima (Kudliai Family), a short story that was published in a supplement of Lietuvos aidas in 1918.

The story, written as a mythical legend, depicts a young noble shunned by his traditional family chasing a bright and elusive goddess (idea of the Lithuanian nation).

[58] During his exile years (1914–1917), he wrote several increasingly more philosophical works about the relentless struggle of enlightenment and progress against the darkness and destruction.

[21] In summer 1915, when the German Army occupied his estates and split his family, he wrote several optimistic works that joy and positive outlook should trump suffering and hopeless despair.

[60] In the same garden, a monument with names of 100 most prominent Lithuanian book smugglers (including Putvinskis) was unveiled in 1940.

[62] For the occasion, Edita Mildažytė and Saulius Pilinkus created a documentary film Civilių kariuomenės vadas (Commander of the Civilian Army) about Putvinskis.