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The Belarusian Democratic Republic (Belarusian: Белару́ская Наро́дная Рэспу́бліка, IPA: [bʲeɫaˈruskaja naˈrodnaja rɛsˈpublʲika], translit. : Belaruskaya Narodnaya Respublika, historically referred to as the White Ruthenian Democratic Republic (German: Weißruthenische Volksrepublik[1], French: République Démocratique de la Ruthénie Blanche[2])) was an independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian People's Republic or the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from communist People's Republics. The BNR was recognized by several other countries, but ceased to exist since Belarus was taken under Soviet control and foundation of Belorussian SSR in 1919, though BNR authorities later formed a government in exile.
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History
The Belarusian People's Republic was declared on March 25, 1918 during World War I, when Belarus was occupied by the Germans according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
After the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, active discussions started in Belarus about either gaining autonomy within the new democratic Russia or declaration of independence. Representatives of most Belarusian regions and of different (mostly left-wing) political powers, including the Belarusian Socialist Assembly, the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Bund, formed a Belarusian national council in late 1917. The Council started working on establishment of Belarusian governmental institutions. Both Bolsheviks and Germans did not recognize it and interfered in its activity. However, the Germans saw an independent Belarus as part of implementation of their plan for buffer states within Mitteleuropa. The Bolsheviks have had negotiations with the Belarusian Democratic Republic regarding an eventual recognition, but later decided instead to establish a Soviet puppet government of Belarus - the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus.
Parallel with negotiations that started between the Germans and Bolsheviks, the Belarusian Council started actively demanding recognition of an autonomous status for Belarus, with continuing internal discussions on whether it should be an autonomy within Russia or national independence.
Sitting, left to right: Aliaksandar Burbis, Jan Sierada, Jazep Varonka, Vasil Zacharka;
Standing, left to right: Arkadz Smolich, Pyotra Krecheuski, Kastus Jezavitau, Anton Ausianik, Liavon Zayats
In its First Constituent Charter passed on February 21, 1918 the Belarusian Council declared itself the only legitimate power on the territory of Belarus. On March 9, following signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germans and Bolsheviks, the Belarusian Council issued a Second Charter where it declared establishment of the Belarusian People's Republic. The Belarusian Council was declared provisional government of Belarus and renamed to the Council of the Belarusian People's Republic.
On March 25, 1918 the Council issued a third charter declaring independence of Belarus. Following that, in many cities of Belarus local meetings have been held that issued resolutions supporting the creation of an independent republic.
Territory
In its Third Constituent Charter, the following territories were claimed for BNR: Mogilev Governorate (province), as well as Belarusian parts of Minsk Governorate, Grodno Governorate (including Belastok), Vilna Governorate, Vitebsk Governorate, and Smolensk Governorate, and parts of bordering governorates populated by Belarusians, rejecting the then split of the Belarusian lands between Germany and Russia.[3] The areas were claimed because of a Belarusian majority according to demographic research, although there were also numbers of Lithuanians, Poles and people speaking pidgins of Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish, as well as many Jews, mostly in towns and cities (in some towns they made up a majority). Some of the Jews spoke Russian as their native tongue; others spoke Yiddish.
Military
There were attempts to create regular armed forces of the newly established Belarusian republic[4]. Belarusian military units started to form within the disorganized Russian army already in 1917.
According to the historian Oleg Latyszonek, about 11 thousands people, mostly volunteers, served in the army of the Belarusian Republic[5]
General Stanislau Bulak-Balakhovich supported the Government of BNR and openly positioned his army as a Belarusian national army. However, he ignored orders of the Belarusian Government, cooperated with White Russian military leaders that opposed the idea of Belarus' independence and had ambitions to become dictator of Belarus, therefore the Council of the BNR had mostly a negative attitude towards Bulak-Balakhovich.
The major military action of the Belarusian People's Republic army was the Slutsk defence action in late 1920. The Council of the BNR, based at that time in Lithuania, sent officers to help organize armed anti-Bolshevik resistance in the town Slutsk. The Belarusian army managed to resist a month against larger powers of the Red Army.
Other actions of the independent Belarusian government
During its short existence the government of Belarus established close ties with the Ukrainian People's Republic, organized food supplies to Belarus from the Ukraine and have thereby prevented hunger in the country[6]. Diplomatic representations of Belarus have been created in Germany, Estonia, Ukraine and other countries to lobby Belarusian interests or support Belarusian soldiers and refugees who landed in different parts of the former Russian Empire.
Besides that, the government managed to create between 150 and 350 schools, preparations for the creation of a University in Minsk were initiated.
Being surrounded by more powerful neighbors and having no allies, the BNR lost its independence very fast and did not become a real state with a constitution, definite territoriality, etc. However, many modern Belarusian historians suggest that creation of the Belarusian People's Republic was the reason for Bolsheviks creating the puppet Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and allowing some elements of national cultural life in the 1920s.
Exile
After the German army retreated from the territory of Belarus and the Red Army started moving in to establish the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus, in December 1918, the Rada (Council) of the BNR moved to Hrodna, which was the centre of a semi-autonomous Belarusian region within the Republic of Lithuania.[4] During the subsequent 1919 Polish invasion, the Rada went into exile and facilitated an anticommunist struggle within the country during the 1920s.
Struggle for international recognition in the 1920s
The Belarusian Democratic Republic was officially recognized as representative of Belarus by Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey[7]. Belarusian diplomatic missions have been established in many of these countries.
Beginning in 1918 Anton Lutskevich, prime minister of Belarus, had negotiations with Vladimir Lenin on recognition of the independence of Belarus by Soviet Russia. The Belarusian delegation even proposed creation of a federation with the RSFSR and introduction of the Soviet Constitution in Belarus in exchange for Russia recognizing an independent status for Belarus, but Lenin did not agree on that[8].
With the Bolshevist invasion to Belarus in 1919, the government of Belarus had to evacuate to Vilnia and then to Hrodna. The government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic actively protested against Polish military mobilization in the area of Vilnia and against Polish Sejm elections held there as well as against the annexation of Augustow area to Poland. The government also appealed to the League of Nations, Great Britain, France, USA and other countries to recognize independence of Belarus[9].
In April of 1919 the Polish army took Hrodna and Vilnia. A statement was issued by Jozef Pilsudski to the inhabitants of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania that the new Polish administration would grant them cultural and political autonomy. The statement was welcomed by the Belarusian leadership, especially considering Soviet Russification plans for Belarus[10]. However, in later negotiations with the Belarusian leaders Pilsudski proposed to limit the Belarusian government's functions to purely cultural issues, which was rejected by the Belarusian prime minister Anton Lutskevich. The government of Belarus managed to include a statement on minorities rights in Poland in the resolutions of the Paris Peace Conference[10].
In late 1920 the Belarusian government had new negotiations with the Bolsheviks in Moscow and tried to convince them to recognize the independence of Belarus and liberate Belarusian political prisoners held in Russian jails[11]. The negotiations weren't productive either.
On November 11, 1920 the Belarusian Democratic Republic signed a partnership treaty with the Republic of Lithuania to cooperate in liberation of Belarusian and Lithuanian lands from Polish occupation. The Council the government of the Belarusian Republic relocated to Kaunas. At that moment the government's main goal was to prevent the Polish-Soviet Peace of Riga where neither a delegation of the Belarusian democratic government, nor a delegation from the Belarusian Soviet puppet government was invited and that was going to divide Belarus in two parts.
In 1925 the exiled government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic was discussing abandonment of its authority in favour of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic controlling the eastern part of Belarus. By that time the Soviets had implemented a rather liberal regime towards Belarusian language and national culture and this has attracted sympaties of many Belarusian organizations and activists in West Belarus and abroad. Despite many members of the democratic government advocating this idea, the decision has not been approved[12].
In the Second World War
During World War II, the Belarusian government-in-exile refused to cooperate with the pro-German puppet government Belarusian Central Rada and issued statements in support of Western allies.
After the war
After the war, when many Belarusian Central Rada leaders and supporters emigrated from Belarus, tensions between pro-BNR and pro-BCR parties of the Belarusian diaspora remained. As time passed, the pro-BCR party dissolved and was mainly absorbed by the pro-BNR party. Many former Belarusian Central Rada activists became leaders of the Belarusian democratic government in exile.
Upon declaration of independence of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990, the interest to the Belarusian Democratic Republic has increased in the Belarusian society. The Belarusian Popular Front, that was the main pro-Perestroika anti-communist opposition party, has in many aspects appealed to restoration of the independent Belarus as the Belarusian Democratic Republic. A campaign of symbolic acceptation of citizenship of the Belarusian Democratic Republic by people in Belarus has been organized by the BPF in the 1990s. In 1991 the Belarusian parliament adopted state symbols of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, the Pahonia and the White-red-white flag, as state symbols.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s similar governments-in-exile of the neighboring countries (Lithuania, Poland and others) handed back their symbolic "authorities" to the corresponding independent governments. The BNR council has not done this because it did not want to hand its authority to the Communist-dominated parliament of Belarus in early 1990s. More than that, it also sees the current Belarusian government of president Alexander Lukashenka as an anti-Belarusian, anti-independence, and an anti-democratic power[13].
Current state
The exiled government still exists and attempts to lobby interests of the Belarusian diaspora in countries where it has its representatives: USA, Canada, Great Britain, Estonia and others. It also makes regular statements about the current political situation in Belarus strongly opposing the rule of president Lukashenka. The Rada became a consolidating center for some exiled Belarusian opposition politicians like Zianon Pazniak.
Since late 1980s March 25, the Independence Day of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, is widely celebrated by the Belarusian national democratic opposition as Freedom Day (Belarusian: Дзень волі). It is usually accompanied by mass opposition rallies in Minsk and by celebration events of the Belarusian diaspora ogranizations supporting the Belarusian government in exile.
Presidents
Chairmans of the Council of BNR:
- Jan Sierada (1918–1919)
- Piotra Krečeŭski (1919–1928)
- Vasil Zacharka (1928–1943)
- Mikoła Abramčyk (1944–1970)
- Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič (1970–1982)
- Jazep Sažyč (1982–1997)
- Ivonka Survilla (1997–present)
Symbols
A national flag of three stripes — white-red-white — was adopted, as well as a state seal (Pahonia), which was based on an emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
 Postage stamp of BNR. 10 hr. |
 Postage stamp of BNR. 25 hr. |
Archives
In 1998, Belarusian linguist and translator Siarhiej Shupa published a two-volume collection of BNR archives (Архівы Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі. Менск-Вільня-Прага-Нью-Ёрк). The total size of the two volumes is more than 1700 pages. Essentially these are the processed and re-organized documents from the Lithuanian archival fund #582 in Vilnius and they constitute roughly 60% of all the BNR official documents from 1918. Another 20% of BNR official documentation is located in the Minsk archives, and the fate of the remaining 20% is unknown.
See also
References
- ^ http://be-x-old.wikipedia.org/wiki/Файл:Passport_of_BNR.jpg
- ^ http://arche.by/by/12/30/522/?st-full_text=all
- ^ 3rd Constituent Charter of the BNR Rada
- ^ a b Selected Bibliography of works on the struggle for Belarusian Independence 1900-1921 in the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library in London
- ^ 25 пытанняў і адказаў з гісторыі БНР
- ^ Баба с красным обозом перед «Европой»
- ^ Belarusian Language Society greets nation on forthcoming BNR anniversary
- ^ Яго імя — сімвал нашай незалежнасці
- ^ Імёны Свабоды: Васіль Захарка
- ^ a b А. Сідарэвіч. Абвяшчэнне Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі
- ^ ВАСІЛЬ ЗАХАРКА. ПРЭЗІДЭНТ БЕЛАРУСКАЙ НАРОДНАЙ РЭСПУБЛІКІ
- ^ Уладзімер Арлоў. Васіль Захарка
- ^ The March 20, 2006 Memorandum of the BNR Rada
External links
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