Born in the family of farmers Antanas Mikutis and Ona Benetytė (children Antanas (born in 1917), Ona (born in 1918), Justinas (born in 1922), Ignas (born in 1924)).In 1931 he was admitted to the 3rd grade of the Gintališkės Primary School, and graduated from the school in 1934. In the autumn of the same year, he entered the Kretinga Franciscan Gymnasium and graduated in 1941. In 1942, he entered the Faculty of Philosophy of Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University to study Lithuanian language and literature, but in March 1943, when VMU was closed down, he returned to Samogitia. In October 1943, he started working as a teacher at Šiemulių School in Kulių Valsčius, and in December 1943 he moved to Grigaičiai Primary School (Platelių Valsčius, present-day Plungė District). He was arrested in December 1945, falsely convicted under Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the Russian SFSR, and deported to the Uchta camp in June 1946, and transferred to the Vorkuta camp in the Communist Republic of Komi in 1951. He was rehabilitated in 1956, returned to Lithuania and gradually became a symbol of maladjusted culture, influencing not only the cultural activists of Soviet Lithuania, but also dissident circles in Moscow and Leningrad.
Because of his uncompromising attitude towards the Soviet regime and his health, which had been damaged in exile, he had to earn a living by working in jobs that did not correspond to his intellect and erudition: at the Vilnius branch of the Experimental Research Institute for Metal Cutting Machines, he worked as a technical interpreter (he knew Polish, German, French and Russian), and then later as a liftman at the factory. His genius personality was particularly unique when he worked as a poseur at the Vilnius Art School and the Art Institute (1957-1961, 1975-1981). During breaks, at work reviews, exhibition openings and discussions, and on trips, he taught his original ideas about literature, art, architecture, history, religions, philosophy, and especially existentialism to pupils and students (according to prof. Arvydas Šaltenis, students took a course with him in aesthetics, literature, and philosophy of art). From memory, he used to recite in the original language Hölderlin, Georg Trakl, R.M. Rilke, J.W. He died one day before the establishment of the Lithuanian Persuasion Movement. He was buried in the Karveliškių Cemetery in Vilnius. In 1989, on the anniversary of Justinas's death, Monsignor Kazimieras Vasiliauskas consecrated the tombstone carved by Viliaus Orvidas - "The Crucified Christ".
The tombstone of Viliaus Orvidas on the grave of Justinas Mikutis
Justinas Mikutis not only educated, but also developed human values, moral and political consciousness. Justinas was called a Teacher by three generations of artists and considered a friend: Vincas Kisarauskas, Saulė Kisarauskienė, Antanas Kmieliauskas, Vladas Vildžiūnas, Vytautas Šerys, Alfonsas Vincentas Ambraziūnas, Valentinas Antanavičius, Šarūnas Šimulynas, Ignas Budrys, Algimantas Stankevičius-Stankus; Leonardas Gutauskas, Arvydas Šaltenis, Petras Repšys, Povilas Ričardas Vaitiekūnas, Algimantas Švėgžda, Antanas Martinaitis; Arūnas Vaitkūnas, Audrius Naujokaitis, Eugenijus Varkulevičius, Algė Stankutė-Dargienė, Eglė Velaniškytė, Audrone Petrašiūnaitė, Vilius Orvidas and others. Many of them have drawn, painted or sculpted portraits of Justinas (more than 70 works). Exhibitions in memory of Justinas were held from 24 May to 5 June 1989. Art Workers' Palace in Vilnius, 27 April - 31 May 2002.
Justinas's influence was also felt and befriended by cultural people of other professions: Sigitas Geda, Stasys Jonauskas, Petras Juodelis, Vytautas Klova, Marcelijus Martinaitis, Bronius Kutavičius, Edmundas Gedgaudas, Chuvash poet Gennady Aigi, etc.
Justinas is also commemorated in literature: in Leonardas Gutauskas' novels "Wolf's Tooth Necklace", "Letters from Viešvilė", essay "Nebylus Farewell", and the poem "Justinas Mikutis" (in the collection "In Fine"); Genadijus Aigi also dedicated a poem to Justinas.
The talk was "Justin's creative act" (Vladas Vildžiūnas), "one man's philosophical theatre" (Alfonsas Ambraziūnas). Mikutis did not try to put all his thoughts in writing, but he left at least 190 pages of manuscripts, some of which were recorded by his friends on tape recordings. In 1988-1997, the periodicals of the revived Lithuania produced several of his publications, radio broadcasts, memories of Justinas by Lithuanian artists and friends, and a two-part documentary film "Gooseberry Wine" (1991). Tomas Sakalauskas wrote about him in his book "The Fourth Dimension" (1998).
