Belarusian National Republic

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Belarusian National Republic

The Belarusian People's Republic ( translit.

Transliteration

Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice....
: Belaruskaya Narodnaya Respublika) was an independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from communist People's Republic
People's Republic

People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxism-Leninism governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with popular sovereignty of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist republic is a people's republic....
s, and the current BNR Rada refers to it as Belarusan Democratic Republic. 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
Government in exile

A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country....
.

Belarusian People's Republic was declared on March 25, 1918 during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, when Belarus was occupied by the Germans according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk between the Russian SFSR and the Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I....
.

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.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Belarusian National Republic'

Start a new discussion about 'Belarusian National Republic'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Belarusian People's Republic ( translit.
Transliteration

Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice....
: Belaruskaya Narodnaya Respublika) was an independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from communist People's Republic
People's Republic

People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxism-Leninism governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with popular sovereignty of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist republic is a people's republic....
s, and the current BNR Rada refers to it as Belarusan Democratic Republic. 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
Government in exile

A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country....
.

History
The Belarusian People's Republic was declared on March 25, 1918 during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, when Belarus was occupied by the Germans according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk between the Russian SFSR and the Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I....
.

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
Belarusian Socialist Assembly

The Belarusian Socialist Assembly, BSA was a revolutionary party in the Belarusian territory of the Russian Empire. It was established in 1902 as the Belarusian Revolutionary Party, renamed in 1903....
, the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Union, 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.

Parallel with negotiations that started between the Germans and Bolsheviks, the Belarusian Council started actively demanding recognition of an autonomous status for Belarus
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
, with continuing internal discussions on whether it should be an autonomy within Russia or national independence.

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
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk between the Russian SFSR and the Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I....
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.

Territory
In its Third Constituent Charter, the following territories were claimed for BNR: Mogilev
Mogilev

Mahilyow is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast....
guberniya
Guberniya

Guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of Imperial Russia, usually translated as government, governorate, or province. A guberniya was ruled by a governor or , a word borrowed from Latin , in turn from Greek ....
(province), as well as Belarusian parts of Minsk
Minsk

Minsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach River and Nemiga rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States ....
, Hrodna
Hrodna

Hrodna or Grodno , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 325,164 inhabitants ....
(including Bialystok
Bialystok

Bialystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the second-densely populated city of the country. It is located near Poland's border with Belarus and is the capital of the Podlachia region....
), Vilnius
Vilnius

Vilnius is the largest city and the Capital of Lithuania, with a population of 555,613 as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality....
, Vitebsk
Vitebsk

Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia and Latvia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city....
, and Smolensk
Smolensk

Smolensk is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler....
Governorates, and parts of bordering governorates populated by Belarusians, rejecting the then split of the Belarusian lands between Germany and Russia. The areas were claimed because of a Belarusian majority according to demographic research, although there were also numbers of Lithuanians
Lithuanians

Lithuanians are the Balts ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland....
, Poles
Poles

The Polish people, or Poles , are a West Slavs ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent....
and people speaking pidgin
Pidgin

A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common, in situations such as trade....
s of Belarusian
Belarusian language

The Belarusian language, or Belorussian is the language of the Belarusians and is spoken in Belarus and abroad, chiefly in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland....
, Lithuanian
Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad....
and Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
, as well as many Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s, 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
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
of the newly established Belarusian republic.

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
White Russian

The term White Russian may refer to:* White Russian , an alcoholic beverage* Members of the White Movement whose military arm is known as the White Army or White Guard comprised some of the Russian forces, both political and military, which opposed the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and fought against the Red Army during the R...
military leaders that opposed the idea of Belarus' independence and had ambitions to become dictator
Dictator

A dictator is an authoritarian ruler who assumes sole and absolute power without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship....
of Belarus, therefore the Rada 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
Slutsk defence action

The Slutsk defence action or the Slutsk uprising was an unsuccessful armed attempt to defend the independence of Belarus in the region of the town of Slutsk....
in late 1920. The Council of the BNR, based at that time in Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
, sent officers to help organize armed anti-Bolshevik resistance in the town Slutsk
Slutsk

Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River 105 km south of Minsk. In 1995 it had a population of 62,800.Slutsk was first mentioned in writing in 1116....
. The Belarusian army managed to resist a month against larger powers of the Red Army.

Impact

The Germans saw an independent Belarus as part of implementation of their plan for buffer state
Buffer state

A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile Great Power, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them....
s within Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa

Mitteleuropa is a German language term equal to Central Europe. The St?ndiger Ausschuss f?r geographische Namen refers to the territory covered by the modern states of:...
. 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
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
, 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
Red Army

The Red Army was the armed force first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union....
started moving in to establish the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus, in December 1918, the Rada
Rada

Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish language from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech language, Ukrainian language, and Belarusian language languages....
(Council) of the BNR moved to Hrodna
Hrodna

Hrodna or Grodno , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 325,164 inhabitants ....
, which was the centre of a semi-autonomous Belarusian region within the Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
n Republic. During the subsequent 1919 Polish invasion
Polish-Soviet War

The Polish-Soviet War was an armed conflict of Russian SFSR and Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic against the Second Polish Republic and the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic, four states in post-World War I Europe....
, the Rada went into exile and facilitated an anticommunist struggle within the country during the 1920s.

It was officially recognized as representative of Belarus by Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
, Latvia
Latvia

Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
, Estonia
Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden across the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russia ....
, Finland
Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic countries situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland....
, Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918 until 1992 . On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia....
, Armenia
Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea....
, Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
and Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
.

During World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the Belarusian government-in-exile refused to cooperate with the pro-German puppet government Belarusian Central Rada
Belarusian Central Rada

The Belarusian Central Rada was nominally the government of Belarus from 1943-1944. It was a collaborationist government established by Nazi Germany within the occupation and colonial administration of Reichskommissariat Ostland....
. After the war, when many BCR leaders and supporters emigrated from Belarus, tensions between pro-BNR and pro-BCR parties of the Belarusian diaspora remained.

Similar governments-in-exile of the neighboring countries (Lithuania, Poland and others) handed back their symbolic "authorities" to the corresponding independent governments in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The BNR council has not done this because it views the current Belarusian government of president Alexander Lukashenka as an anti-Belarusian, anti-independence, and an anti-democratic power.

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
Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
strongly opposing the rule of president Lukashenka. The Rada became a consolidating center for some exiled Belarusian opposition politicians like Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak

Dr. Zianon Pazniak is a famous Belarusian nationalist politician and public activist, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF....
.

Presidents
Chairmans of the Council of BNR:

Jan Sierada (1918–1919)
Piotra Kreceuski (1919–1928)
Vasil Zacharka (1928–1943)
Mikola Abramcyk (1944–1970)
Vincent Žuk-Hryškievic (1970–1982)
Jazep Sažyc (1982–1997)
Ivonka Survilla
Ivonka Survilla

Ivonka Survilla or Survila is the current President of the Belarusian National Republic in exile, a Chief of the Belarusian government in exile....
(1997–present)

Symbols
A national flag of three stripes — white-red-white
Flag of Belarus

The current national flag of Belarus was formally adopted on June 7, 1995, following the result of a referendum voted on by the Belarusian people in the previous month....
— was adopted, as well as a state seal (Pahonia
Pahonia

The Pahonia is a historical symbol of Belarus. The Pahonia was the official coat of arms of Belarus in 1918 and from 1991 to 1995....
), which was based on an emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until the 18th century. It was founded by Lithuanians, at the time one of the Lithuanian mythology Baltic tribes, whose initial lands covered Auk?taitija, the eastern part of present day Lithuania....
.

Archives

In 1998, Belarusian linguist and translator Siarhiej Shupa published a two-volume collection of BNR archives (?????? ?????????? ???????? ??????????. ?????-??????-?????-???-???). 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
Vilnius

Vilnius is the largest city and the Capital of Lithuania, with a population of 555,613 as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality....
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

Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic

The Ukrainian People's Republic was a republic in part of the territory of modern Ukraine Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura....
People's Republic
People's Republic

People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxism-Leninism governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with popular sovereignty of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist republic is a people's republic....

External links

, The Economist
The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international relations publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in London....
, 16 November 2006
, The Economist
The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international relations publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in London....
, March 13, 2008