This paper analyses Lithuanian cultural policy in terms of its core values, operational principles, and objectives. It considers a number of aspects: the prevailing understanding of culture and cultural policy; the administrative system and funding mechanisms for cultural policy; and the issue of future-proofing, which may or may not be present in the area of cultural policy. The aim of the paper is to provide a context for the Lithuanian cultural policy. To achieve this, the paper covers and compares the principles behind the functioning and future-proofing of cultural policy systems in less populated Nordic countries, namely Finland and Iceland, neighbouring Estonia, and Lithuania. The introduction describes cultural policy issues specific to small states, which are the focus of this paper, including their need to address the existential anxiety of the nation’s survival using cultural policy tools, as well as the challenges of future-proofing the cultural policy. The next section analyses the principles of cultural policy in the Nordic region, followed by a more detailed description of the Lithuanian case and those of the previously mentioned countries. Notably, the Nordic countries have a rather instrumental model of cultural policy, with a strong emphasis on the role of culture as a social cohesion tool. Furthermore, the analysed cases are characterised by frequent and in-depth reflections on issues related to future-proofing, such as globalisation, digitalisation, and the direct impact of other megatrends. The Baltic countries, namely Estonia and Lithuania as selected for this analysis, tend to focus of the narrative of supporting, fostering, and preserving national and other local cultures. However, there is an emerging need observed in the Baltic countries to integrate certain elements and values of the Nordic model, such as social equality and social cohesion. This sort of value integration along with elements of a future-proof cultural policy is currently more evident in Estonian rather than in Lithuanian cultural policy documents.