ENThe state–business nexus represents not only the ultimate concentration of wealth and power in any state, but also sheds light upon the daily functioning of the political regime. In the case of Lithuania, democracy was the “only game in town” since the reestablishment of independence, but only in terms of formal rules and procedures. A closer look reveals the parallel existence of a different set of games attempts to overpower the rule of law and create your own system of laws. The analysis of such gamesmanship helps to understand democracy in its daily practice and to think in a more systematic way about the dynamics of state-business relations on a sub-state level. Keywords: State–business nexus; Central and Eastern European countries; European Union; Daily democracy; Polyarchy. [Annotation in the book]