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147-469: The Academy has its origins in the Institute of Belarusian Culture (Inbelkult), a Belarusian academic and research institution founded on 30 January 1922. In the early 1920s, a key policy of newly established Soviet Belarus was the advancement of science, aimed at accelerating the technological, economic and social development of the republic and resolving a broad range of regional issues. The idea of creating

294-603: A military conflict , with Poland winning. Facing Denikin and Kolchak, Soviet Russia could not spare men for the western front. A stalemate with localised skirmishes developed between Poland and Lithuania. The Polish Sejm had also declared that the territories of Belarus were an inalienable part of the Polish Commonwealth. As the Sejm was voting for annexation, Józef Piłsudski offered the Belarusians federal ties instead; however,

441-554: A Belarusian Central Council. However, the national parties in Belarus were unable to secure mass support, and the nationalist movement was confined to a small, divided and ineffective intelligentsia . Towards the autumn, political stability continued to shake, and countering the rising nationalist tendencies, were the soviets led by Bolsheviks when the October Revolution hit Russia; that same day, on 25 October (7 November) 1917,

588-542: A Belarusian academic and research institution was discussed during 1920 - 1921 and by November 1921, a commission consisting of academicians Yefim Karsky , Jazep Dyla and Ściapan Niekraševič prepared a founding charter of Inbelkult. Pursuant to the charter, Inbelkult was both research and cultural-educational institution, a multidisciplinary organisation focusing on ethnographic, linguistic, literary, artistic, cultural, historical, natural and geographical studies. The first meeting of Inbelkult took place on 30 January 1922, which

735-515: A German-centered hegemony of buffer states , called Mitteleuropa . On the eve of Germany's occupation of Minsk, some members of the disbanded Belarusian National Council emerged from hiding and formed a provisional government, hoping to achieve German recognition. However, the Germans did not recognise it as another assembly in Vilna was created under their auspices. The Minsk and Vilna organisations issued

882-597: A core part of the Belarusian national identity, with Belarus continuing to refer to itself as the "partisan republic" since the 1970s. Following the war, many former Soviet partisans entered positions of government, among them Pyotr Masherov and Kirill Mazurov , both of whom were First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia. Until the late 1970s, the Belarusian government was almost entirely composed of former partisans. Numerous pieces of media have been made about

1029-605: A different course of events, and eventually the accession of Joseph Stalin saw a new policy adopted: Socialism in One Country . In accordance with which, expansionist and irredentist claims were removed from Soviet ideology, which instead would focus on making regions economically viable. Thus in March 1924, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee , Russia returned most of territories that made up

1176-523: A disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Żeligowski later in his memoir which was published in London in 1943 condemned the annexation of the Republic by Poland, as well as the policy of closing Belarusian schools and general disregard of Marshal Józef Piłsudski 's confederation plans by Polish ally. In January 1919, a part of Belarus under Bolshevik Russian control

1323-521: A joint proclamation on 25 March establishing the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) with German approval. The new government also sought material aid from Germany. The more radical nationalists who disapproved of collaboration with the Germans went to the communists and fled to Russia. The communists who did not escape to the east during the German occupation were driven underground. In

1470-518: A national consciousness. In western Belarus under Polish control, Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno during the interwar period. The term Byelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was used officially only until 1991. Officially, the full name of the country is Republic of Belarus ( Рэспубліка Беларусь , Республика Беларусь , Respublika Belarus ). In Russia,

1617-708: A natural history museum. By the end of the 1920s, Inbelkult has attained significant academic achievements in the areas of humanities and natural sciences and further broadened its studies, which prompted the Soviet Belarusian government to reorganise Inbelkult into the Belarusian Academy of Sciences on 1 January 1929. During the Soviet period, the Academy was called the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in 1929–1936 and

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1764-591: A quarter of its population and half of its economic resources. In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations and the Soviet Union. The republic was home to a widespread and diverse anti-Nazi insurgent movement which dominated politics until well into the 1970s, overseeing Belarus' transformation from an agrarian to an industrial economy. The parliament of the republic proclaimed

1911-662: A result, the Soviets were not only forced to abandon their World Revolution targets, but Western Belarus too. However early autumn rains halted the Polish advance, which exhausted itself by October. A cease-fire agreed on 12 October, came into effect on 18 October. As the negotiations between the Polish Republic and the Russian Bolshevik government took place in Riga , the Soviet side saw

2058-502: A staggering quarter of the prewar population . In the 1990s some raised the estimate even higher, to 2.7 million. The Jewish population of Belarus was devastated during the Holocaust and never recovered. The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. Belarus was also hit hard economically, losing around half of its economic resources. The borders of the Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn, in accord with

2205-563: A vast East Slavic state ruled by the Rurikids . Upon the death of its ruler Yaroslav the Wise in 1054, the state split into independent principalities. The Battle on the Nemiga River in 1067 was one of the more notable events of the period, the date of which is considered the founding date of Minsk . Many early principalities were virtually razed or severely affected by a major Mongol invasion in

2352-552: Is landlocked , relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. About 40% of Belarus is covered by forests. The country lies within two ecoregions: Sarmatic mixed forests and Central European mixed forests . Many streams and 11,000 lakes are found in Belarus. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman , the Pripyat , and the Dnieper . The Neman flows westward towards

2499-414: Is considered its foundation date. At first Inbelkult consisted of two departments - ethnological-linguistic and natural science and had among its members a number of prominent academics, poets and writers such as Ściapan Niekraševič (who was the first Chairman of Inbelkult), Yefim Karsky , Jasep Losik , Janka Kupala , Jakub Kolas , and Źmitrok Biadula . Meticulous work was carried out to standardise

2646-437: Is in the transitional zone between continental climates and maritime climates . Natural resources include peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite , dolomite ( limestone ), marl , chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. About 70% of the radiation from neighboring Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster entered Belarusian territory, and about a fifth of Belarusian land (principally farmland and forests in

2793-779: Is the capital and largest city ; it is administered separately as a city with special status. Between the medieval period and the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including Kievan Rus' , the Principality of Polotsk , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and the Russian Empire . In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid

2940-567: Is the problems of vital interest for the economical development of the country. The first centers of this kind created in 2006 specialize in agriculture . Later in 2006 an e-commerce Previously known as Navuka i Tekhnika ("Science and Technology"). 53°55′14″N 27°35′55″E  /  53.92056°N 27.59861°E  / 53.92056; 27.59861 Inbelkult turns 100 https://csl.bas-net.by/inbelcult/eng/ Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic State atheism (de facto) Belarusian Orthodox Church (autonomy granted by

3087-608: The Reichskommissariat Ostland in 1941, but in 1943 the German authorities allowed local collaborators to set up a client state, the Belarusian Central Council . During World War II, Belarus was home to a variety of guerrilla movements , including Jewish, Polish, and Soviet partisans. Belarusian partisan formations formed a large part of the Soviet partisans , and in the modern day these partisans have formed

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3234-627: The Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR in 1936–1991. The first president of the Academy was Usievalad Ihnatoŭski (1881-1931), Belarusian politician and historian, professor of the Belarusian State University . Although at inception the Academy had only 128 staff members, among them 87 scientists, it became a leading academic center influencing the economic, technological, social and cultural development of Soviet Belarus. By 1941

3381-568: The Bandkeramik predominated in what now constitutes Belarus, and the Cimmerians as well as other pastoralists roamed through the area by 1,000 BC. The Zarubintsy culture later became widespread at the beginning of the 1st millennium . In addition, remains from the Dnieper–Donets culture were found in Belarus and parts of Ukraine . The region was first permanently settled by Baltic tribes in

3528-872: The Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church was formed by the Poles to bring Orthodox Christians into the See of Rome . The Belarusian church entered into a full communion with the Latin Church through the Union of Brest in 1595, while keeping its Byzantine liturgy in the Church Slavonic language. The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the Third Partition of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia , and Austria . The Belarusian territories acquired by

3675-641: The Belarusian People's Republic . Immediately afterwards, the Polish–Soviet War ignited, and the territory of Belarus was divided between Poland and Soviet Russia. The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic exists as a government in exile ever since then; in fact, it is currently the world's longest serving government in exile. The Belarusian People's Republic was the first attempt to create an independent Belarusian state under

3822-527: The Belarusian Popular Front campaigned for early elections later in the year, two years before they were scheduled. By May of that year, about 383,000 signatures had been collected for a petition to hold the referendum, which was 23,000 more than legally required to be put to a referendum at the time. Despite this, the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus to ultimately decide

3969-623: The Belarusian minority was no exception. The polonization drive was inspired and influenced by the Polish National Democracy , led by Roman Dmowski , who advocated refusing Belarusians and Ukrainians the right for a free national development. A Belarusian organization, the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union , was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions. Nonetheless, compared to

4116-798: The CIS , the CSTO , the EAEU , the OSCE , and the Non-Aligned Movement . It has shown no aspirations of joining the European Union but maintains a bilateral relationship with the bloc , and also participates in the Baku Initiative . The name Belarus is closely related with the term Belaya Rus' , i.e., White Rus' . There are several claims to the origin of the name White Rus' . An ethno-religious theory suggests that

4263-776: The Civil War , ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian SSR , which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. After the Polish-Soviet War (1918–1921), Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland , and were finalized after World War II. During World War II, military operations devastated Belarus, which lost about

4410-772: The Lake Naroch offensive in late spring 1916, and General Alexei Evert 's inconclusive thrust around the city of Baranovichi in the summer of that year, during the Brusilov offensive further south, in western Ukraine. The abdication of Nicholas II in light of the February Revolution in Russia in February 1917, activated a rather dormant political life in Belarus. As central authority waned, different political and ethnic groups strived for greater self-determination and even secession from

4557-548: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany , occupied eastern Poland after the 1939 invasion of Poland . The former Polish territories referred to as West Belarus were incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, with an exception of the city of Vilnius and its surroundings that were transferred to Lithuania . The annexation was internationally recognized after the end of World War II. In the summer of 1941, Belarus

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4704-504: The Moscow Patriarchate ) (majority) The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( BSSR or Byelorussian SSR ; Belarusian : Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка ; Russian : Белорусская Советская Социалистическая Республика ), also known as Byelorussia , was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and afterwards as one of fifteen constituent republics of

4851-622: The Partitions of Poland more than a century earlier. During the war, the Great Retreat in the Western Front in August–September 1915 ended with the lands of Grodno Governorate and most of Vilna Governorate being occupied by Germany. The resulting front, passing at 100 kilometres to the west of Minsk, remained static towards the end of the conflict, despite Russian attempts to break it at

4998-513: The People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia, Georgy Chicherin , sent a note to Lithuania with a proposal for a peace treaty . It was a de facto recognition of the Lithuanian state. Similar negotiations with Estonia and Latvia , gave way for a peace treaty with the former on 2 February 1920 and a cease-fire agreement with the latter a day earlier. Lenin feared that a Polish offensive

5145-535: The Republic of Belarus , is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe . It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) with a population of 9.1 million. The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into six regions . Minsk

5292-513: The Second Polish Republic after the withdrawal of German forces. However, the conflict with Poland did not break out and the Soviet High Command's 12 January directive was to cease advance on the Neman - Bug rivers. However, the region to the east of those lines was historically mixed among a population of Belarusians, Poles and Lithuanians, with a sizeable Jewish minority. The local communities of each respective group wanted to be part of

5439-752: The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was established in its place by the Bolsheviks in December, and it was later merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919 to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia , which ceased to exist as a result of the Polish occupation during the Polish–Soviet War . Following a peace treaty with Lithuania, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia

5586-407: The Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB). This was conferred by the First Congress of deputies, composed of workers, soldiers and Red Army soldiers, which met on 2–3 February 1919, to adopt a new socialist constitution. The Red Army continued its westward advance, capturing the city of Grodno on New Year's Day 1919, Pinsk on 21 January, and Baranovichi on 6 February 1919, thereby enlarging

5733-602: The Soviet Union after the war ended in 1921, and the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922. In the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet agricultural and economic policies, including collectivization and five-year plans for the national economy , led to famine and political repression. The western part of modern Belarus remained part of the Second Polish Republic . After an early period of liberalization, tensions between increasingly nationalistic Polish government and various increasingly separatist ethnic minorities started to grow, and

5880-427: The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty in 1990. On 25 August 1991, the Byelorussian SSR declared independence, and on 19 September it was renamed the Republic of Belarus . The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991. The term Byelorussia (Russian: Белору́ссия ), derives from the term Belaya Rus' , i.e., White Rus' . There are several claims to

6027-423: The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR renamed the Soviet republic to the Republic of Belarus, with the short form "Belarus". Conservative forces in the newly independent Belarus did not support the name change and opposed its inclusion in the 1991 draft of the Constitution of Belarus . Prior to the First World War , the territories of modern-day Belarus were part of the Russian Empire , which it gained from

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6174-472: The Tatars (i.e., Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev) had been referred to as White Rus' . A fourth theory suggests that the color white was associated with the west, and Belarus was the western part of Rus' in the 9th to 13th centuries. The name Rus' is often conflated with its Latin forms Russia and Ruthenia , thus Belarus is often referred to as White Russia or White Ruthenia . The name first appeared in German and Latin medieval literature ;

6321-427: The Treaty of Riga putting an end of hostilities in Europe, and Belarus in particular. Six years of war had left the land neglected and looted, and the endless change of occupying regimes, each worse than the previous, left their mark on the Belarusian people, who were now divided. Almost half ( Western Belarus ) now belonged to Poland. Eastern Belarus (Gomel, Vitebsk and parts of Smolensk guberniyas) were administered by

6468-405: The UN Security Council statement condemning "the apparent terrorist attack" intimating the possibility that the Belarusian government itself was behind the bombing. Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election , in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office. Neighbouring countries Poland and Lithuania do not recognize Lukashenko as

6615-442: The creating of well-defined national territorial units . This time, parts of RSFSR's Gomel Governorate were added, including the cities of Gomel and Rechytsa . This increased the area to 126,300 square kilometres and the 1926 Soviet census that was held at the same time reported a population of 4,982,623. Of the latter 83% was rural, and Belarusians made up 80.6% (though only 39.2% of urban, yet 89% of rural). On 11 April 1927,

6762-491: The sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Belarus gained independence on 25 August 1991. Following the adoption of a new constitution in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was elected Belarus's first president in the country's first and only free election after independence, serving as president ever since. Lukashenko heads a highly centralized authoritarian government. Belarus ranks low in international measurements of freedom of

6909-429: The state-owned enterprise industrial sector. Norway and Japan have joined the sanctions regime which aims to isolate Belarus from the international supply chain. Most major Belarusian banks are also under restrictions. Belarus lies between latitudes 51° and 57° N , and longitudes 23° and 33° E . Its extension from north to south is 560 km (350 mi), from west to east is 650 km (400 mi). It

7056-451: The (larger) Ukrainian minority , Belarusians were much less politically aware and active, and thus suffered fewer repressions than the Ukrainians. In 1935, after the death of Piłsudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox churches and Belarusian schools being closed. Use of the Belarusian language was discouraged. Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison . In September 1939,

7203-428: The 13th century, but the lands of modern-day Belarus avoided the brunt of the invasion and eventually joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . There are no sources of military seizure, but the annals affirm the alliance and united foreign policy of Polotsk and Lithuania for decades. Incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania resulted in an economic, political, and ethno-cultural unification of Belarusian lands. Of

7350-454: The 1919-proposed Curzon Line . Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences . This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Byelorussian SSR government. After Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev continued his predecessor's cultural hegemony program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian,

7497-420: The 1920s–1930s, over 250,000 Belarusians were deported as kulaks or kulak family members to regions outside the Belarusian Soviet Republic. The scale of Soviet terror in Belarus was higher than in Russia or Ukraine which resulted in a much stronger extent of Russification in the republic. A Polish Autonomous District was founded in 1932 and disbanded in 1935. In September 1939, the Soviet Union, following

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7644-451: The 3rd century. Around the 5th century, the area was taken over by the Slavs. The takeover was partially due to the lack of military coordination of the Balts, but their gradual assimilation into Slavic culture was peaceful. Invaders from Asia , among whom were the Huns and Avars , swept through c. 400–600 AD, but were unable to dislodge the Slavic presence. In the 9th century, the territory of modern Belarus became part of Kievan Rus' ,

7791-541: The Academy continued its work as the Academy of Sciences of Belarus between 1991–1997. In 1997, it was reorganised as the National Academy of Sciences with the status of the highest state scientific organization of Belarus, responsible for coordinating and conducting fundamental and applied scientific research. The main tasks of the Academy are defined by legislation as: The scientific-application centers (Научно-практические центры, Scientific and Practical Centers) were introduced by Lukashenko's decree in 2006. Their emphasis

7938-494: The Academy had grown to 750 staff and 12 subdivisions. Stalin's purges caused great damage to the Academy's intellectual potential. The first chairman of Inbelkult and famous linguist Ściapan Niekraševič was executed in 1937 and the first president of the Academy Usievalad Ihnatoŭski committed suicide in 1931. During World War II the normal activity of the Academy was severely interrupted. Some scientists continued their research at institutions in Russia and other regions of

8085-745: The Baltic Sea and the Pripyat flows eastward to the Dnieper; the Dnieper flows southward towards the Black Sea . The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132 ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90 m (295 ft). The average elevation of Belarus is 160 m (525 ft) above sea level . The climate features mild to cold winters, with January minimum temperatures ranging from −4  °C (24.8  °F ) in southwest ( Brest ) to −8 °C (17.6 °F) in northeast ( Vitebsk ), and cool and moist summers with an average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F). Belarus has an average annual rainfall of 550 to 700 mm (21.7 to 27.6 in). The country

8232-507: The Belarusian partisans, including the 1985 film Come and See and the works of authors Ales Adamovich and Vasil Bykaŭ . The German occupation in 1941–1944 and war on the Eastern Front devastated Belarus. During that time, 209 out of 290 towns and cities were destroyed, 85% of the republic's industry, and more than one million buildings. After the war, it was estimated that 2.2 million local inhabitants had died, and of those some 810,000 were combatants—some foreign. This figure represented

8379-417: The Byelorussian SSR took place. Though the opposition candidates, mostly associated with the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front , took only 10% of the seats, Belarus declared itself sovereign on 27 July 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic . Wide-scale strikes erupted in April 1991. With the support of the Communist Party of Byelorussia ,

8526-418: The Central Committee of the Belarusian Communist Party). The SSRB sought to join further territories, as the Red Army crossed into Poland, but the decisive Polish victory at the Battle of Warsaw in August ended these ambitions. Once again, the Red Army found itself on the defensive in Belorussia. The Poles were able to successfully break the Russian lines at the Battle of the Niemen River in September 1920. As

8673-445: The Council reorganised the Western Oblast as a Western Commune . After Germany was defeated in the First World War, it announced its evacuation from the occupied territories. The Germans began to depart in November 1918; however, there was no nationalist organisation in Belarus that was capable of assuming political authority, unlike in Ukraine. On 13 November, Moscow annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . Two days later, it transformed

8820-436: The Defence region into a Western army . It began an initial advance westward on 17 November. The Belarusian National Republic barely resisted, evacuating Minsk on 3 December. The Soviets maintained a distance of about 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) between the two armies, and took Minsk on 10 December. As the Red Army re-occupied Belarus, the soviets in the country were dominated by Russian and Jewish parties sympathetic to

8967-439: The Department of Humanities". In July 1924, the government of Soviet Belarus designated Inbelkult "the highest state academic institution" whose role was to coordinate all academic work in the republic, with a right to organise museums, libraries and archives, convene academic conferences and carry out expeditions. Inbelkult was able to purchase foreign publication and research tools duty-free. In January 1925, Usievalad Ihnatoŭski

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9114-412: The Germans and some or all their inhabitants killed (out of 9,200 settlements that were burned or otherwise destroyed in Belarus during World War II ). More than 600 villages like Khatyn were totally annihilated. Altogether, over 2,000,000 people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation , almost a quarter of the region's population. After World War II, the Byelorussian SSR

9261-421: The Lithuanian and Byelorussian republics into the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( Litbel ) on 28 February 1919. Its capital was proclaimed as Vilna , with five governorates: Vilna , Grodno , Kovno , Suwalki and Minsk . The Vitebsk and Mogilev governorates were transferred to the Russian SFSR, and were soon joined by the Gomel Governorate , which was created on 26 April. The two parties of

9408-405: The Minsk Bolsheviks commanded the pro-Soviet troops to disbanded it. Following this, they proclaimed the rule of soviets dominated by the Bolsheviks. The first Soviet government in Belarus was established at the end of December by communist organs in Minsk with the support of Russian troops of the Western Front. However, its authority only extended to the regions occupied by pro-communist forces and

9555-458: The Minsk Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took over the administration of the city. The Bolshevik All-Russian Council of Soviets declared the creation of the Western Oblast , which unified the Vilna, Vitebsk , Mogilev and Minsk governorates that were not occupied by the German army, to administer the Belarusian lands in the frontal zone. On 26 November (6 December), the Executive Committee of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies for

9702-499: The Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. In 1863, economic and cultural pressure exploded in a revolt , led by Konstanty Kalinowski (also known as Kastus). After the failed revolt, the Russian government reintroduced the use of Cyrillic to Belarusian in 1864 and no documents in Belarusian were permitted by the Russian government until 1905. During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , Belarus first declared independence under German occupation on 25 March 1918, forming

9849-449: The Polish occupation authorities disregarded the social radicalism of the masses and nationalist sentiments among parts of the Belarusian intelligentsia, with the Poles ordering for the lands confiscated by the communists to be returned to the landowners, and Polish being introduced as an official language. The stalemate and the occasional, though fruitless, negotiations gave Russia a much needed pause to concentrate on other regions. During

9996-420: The Polish side. Eventually a compromising armistice line was agreed, which would see the Belarusian city of Slutsk handed over to the Bolsheviks. News of Belarus' upcoming permanent division angered the population, and using the town's Polish occupation, the local population began self-organising into a militia and associating itself with the Belarusian Democratic Republic . On 24 November the Polish units left

10143-561: The RSFSR. The rest was the SSRB, a republic with 52,400 square kilometres and a population of a mere 1.544 million people. An interesting paradox arose in the status of SSRB within the future Bolshevik state. On one hand its small geographic, population and almost negligent economic indicators did not warrant it much political weight on Soviet affairs. In fact the leader of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (Bolshevik), Alexander Chervyakov would represent Byelorussian communists at seven party congresses in Moscow, but not once be elected into

10290-400: The Russian Empire under the reign of Catherine II were included into the Belarusian Governorate (Russian: Белорусское генерал-губернаторство ) in 1796 and held until their occupation by the German Empire during World War I . Under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed with policies of Polonization replaced by Russification which included

10437-399: The SSRB. The western winter offensive was not limited to Byelorussia; Soviet forces similarly moved to the north into Lithuania , as the newly created Soviet republic had hoped to include Lithuania. On 16 December, the Lithuanian Socialist Soviet Republic (LSSR) was proclaimed in Vilnius . The Lithuanian operation and continuing conquest of Byelorussia were threatened by the rise of

10584-556: The Soviet Union in 1941. The defense of Brest Fortress was the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa . The Byelorussian SSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II; it remained under German occupation until 1944. The German Generalplan Ost called for the extermination, expulsion, or enslavement of most or all Belarusians to provide more living space in the East for Germans. Most of Western Belarus became part of

10731-551: The Soviet Union invaded and occupied eastern Poland, following the German invasion of Poland two weeks earlier which marked the beginning of World War II . The territories of Western Belorussia were annexed and incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR. The Soviet-controlled Byelorussian People's Council officially took control of the territories, whose populations consisted of a mixture of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews, on 28 October 1939 in Białystok . Nazi Germany invaded

10878-401: The Soviet policy of liquidation of illiteracy ( likbez ). Economically the republic remained largely self-centred, and most of the effort was put into restoring and repairing the war-damaged industry (if in 1923 there was only 226 different fabrics and factories, then by 1926 the number climbed to 246. However, the employed manpower jumped from 14 thousand to 21.3 thousand workers). The majority

11025-588: The Supreme Council at the time and was largely opposed to political and economic reform, with allegations that some of the deputies opposed Belarusian independence. A national constitution was adopted in March 1994 in which the functions of prime minister were given to the President of Belarus . A two-round election for the presidency on 24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994 catapulted the formerly unknown Alexander Lukashenko into national prominence. He garnered 45% of

11172-697: The Treaty of Riga as only a temporary setback to the process, and a future advance would require a prepared bridgehead. This justified giving the SSRB the status of a full union republic within the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR that was signed on 30 December 1922. SSR Byelorussia became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922 and became known as BSSR. However the politics in Moscow took

11319-608: The Tsars, and in 1925 made up almost 44% of the urban population and began to be aided by affirmative action programmes. In 1924 the government created a committee – Belkomzet – to allocate land to Jewish families, in 1926 a total of 32,700 hectares were given for 6,860 Jewish families. Jews would continue to play a major role in Byelorussian politics, society and economy right up to the Second World War ; in fact, between 1928 and 1930,

11466-617: The USSR from 1922 to 1991, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia . It was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . Following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, which ended Russia's involvement in World War I , the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) was proclaimed under German occupation; however, as German troops left,

11613-548: The United States have all imposed sanctions against Belarus because of the rigged election and political oppression during the ongoing protests in the country. Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country's role and complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine; Russian troops were allowed to stage part of the invasion from Belarusian territory. These include not only corporate offices and individual officers of government but also private individuals who work in

11760-575: The Vitebsk and Mogilev Governorates, as well as parts of Smolensk. The passing of land that largely survived the destruction of war not only doubled the SSRB's area to 110,600 square kilometres, but also raised the population to 4.2 million people. According to its entry in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia , in 1925 SSRB was a largely rural country. Out of the 4,342,800 people that inhabited it, only 14.5% lived in urban areas. Administratively it

11907-690: The Western Oblast and Moses Kalmanovich  [ ru ] as the chair of the Obliskomzap . Countering this, the Belarusian Central Council reorganised itself as the Belarusian National Council ( Rada ), and started working on establishing governmental institutions, and discarded the Obliskomzap as a military formation, rather than governmental. As a result, on 7 (20) December, when the first All-Belarusian Congress convened,

12054-564: The Western Oblast was merged with the Western front's executive committee, creating a single Obliskomzap . During the autumn of 1917 and winter of 1918, the Western Oblast was headed by Aleksandr Myasnikyan as the head of the Western Oblast's Military Revolutionary Committee , who passed this duty on to Kārlis Landers . Myasnikyan took over as chair of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party 's (RSDRP(b)) committee for

12201-502: The armistice as only a temporary setback in its western advance. Seeing the failure of overcoming the Polish nationalist rhetoric with Communist propaganda, the Soviet government chose a different tactic, by appealing to the minorities of the Polish state, creating a fifth column element out of Belarusians and Ukrainians . During the negotiations, RSFSR offered all of BSSR to Poland in return for concessions in Ukraine, which were rejected by

12348-598: The capital first to Dvinsk (28 April), then to Minsk (28 April), then to Bobruysk (19 May). As the Litbel lost territory, its powers were quickly stripped by Moscow. For example, on 1 June, Vtsik 's decree put all of Litbel's armed forces under the command of the Red Army. On 17 July, the Defence Soviet was liquidated, and its function was passed to Minsk's Milrevcom . When on 8 August Polish forces captured Minsk , that same day

12495-432: The capital was evacuated to Smolensk . On 28 August, Lithuanian forces took Zarasai (the last Lithuanian town held by Litbel) and the same day Bobruysk fell to the Poles. By late summer of 1919, the Polish advance was also exhausted. The defeat of the Red Army allowed the outbreak of another historic disagreement over territory between Poland and Lithuania; their competition to control the city of Vilna soon erupted into

12642-505: The census of 1920, many chose to be label themselves as Russians . ). To appeal to the Belarusians of Western Belarus and also to prevent the nationalist element of the exiled Belarusian Democratic Republic from having any influence on the population (i.e. to avoid another Slutsk uprising), a policy of Korenizatsiya was widely implemented. Belarusian language, folklore and culture was put at front of everything else. This went on par with

12789-399: The chronicles of Jan of Czarnków mention the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila and his mother at " Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto " in 1381. The first known use of White Russia to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th century by Englishman Sir Jerome Horsey , who was known for his close contacts with the Russian royal court. During the 17th century, the Russian tsars used

12936-588: The city of Slonim (2 March) and crossed the Neman, whilst Lithuanian advances forced the Soviets out of Panevėžys . A final Soviet counter-offensive retook Panevėžys and Grodno in early April, but the Western Army was too thinly spread to fight both the Polish and Lithuanian troops, and the German units assisting them. The Polish offensive quickly gained momentum, and Vilna offensive in April 1919, forced Litbel to evacuate

13083-730: The communists. Encouraged by their success, in Smolensk on 30–31 December 1918, the Sixth Western Oblast Party conference met and announced its split from the Russian Communist Party, proclaiming itself as the first congress of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (KP(b)B). The next day, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was proclaimed in Smolensk, terminating the Western Commune, and on 7 January, it

13230-569: The country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991. Stanislav Shushkevich , the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on 8 December 1991 in Białowieża Forest to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States . In January 1992,

13377-426: The date for said referendum was delayed by six months. However, with no evidence to suggest such, the Supreme Council rejected the petition on the grounds of massive irregularities. Elections for the Supreme Council were set for March 1994. A new law on parliamentary elections failed to pass by 1993. Disputes over the referendum were accredited to the largely conservative Party of Belarusian Communists , which controlled

13524-691: The days of the Russian Empire , and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", as Russia or the Russian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—the Great , Little , and White . This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, that they were variants of the Russian people. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,

13671-404: The economy, with inflation reaching 108.7%. Around the same time the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing occurred in which 15 people were killed and 204 were injured. Two suspects, who were arrested within two days, confessed to being the perpetrators and were executed by shooting in 2012. The official version of events as publicised by the Belarusian government was questioned in the unprecedented wording of

13818-523: The establishment of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1920, the term Byelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was only used officially. In 1936, with the proclamation of the 1936 Soviet Constitution , the republic was renamed to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In English, it was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . On 19 September 1991

13965-411: The faster we shall build communism." Between Stalin's death in 1953 and 1980, Belarusian politics was dominated by former members of the Soviet partisans, including First Secretaries Kirill Mazurov and Pyotr Masherov. Mazurov and Masherov oversaw Belarus's rapid industrialisation and transformation from one of the Soviet Union's poorest republics into one of its richest. In 1986, the Byelorussian SSR

14112-524: The first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia , Yakov Gamarnik , was a Jew. Yet, the titular nation of the SSRB were the Belarusians , which made up 82% of the rural population, but less than half of the urban one (40.1%). The Belarusian national sentiment was a lot weaker than that of neighbouring Ukraine, this was greatly exploited by the Bolshevik-Polish power struggle in the Polish–Soviet War . (In fact to avoid being annexed to Poland, at

14259-464: The former Soviet Union but many employees of the Academy were conscripted. Scientific laboratories, equipment, buildings and library funds were burned or looted. In 1945, the total number of employees of the Academy was only 360 people. However the Academy was rapidly rebuilt after the war. Right after the war's end, eight institutes started their activity again and by 1951 the Academy had 29 subdivisions with 1234 staff including 33 academicians. The Academy

14406-527: The former lands of Kievan Rus' , including the territories of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine . On 2 February 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were joined in a personal union through a marriage of their rulers . This union set in motion the developments that eventually resulted in the formation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , created in 1569 by the Union of Lublin . In

14553-454: The front moved west, and more Belarusian lands were adjoined to the new republic, the first administrative decrees were issued. The entity was divided into seven uyezds : Bobruysk , Borisov , Igumen , Minsk, Mozyr and Slutsk . (Vitebsk, Gomel and Mogilev remained part of the RSFSR.) This time the leaders were Aleksandr Chervyakov (head of Minsk's milrevcom) and Wilhelm Knorin (as chairmen of

14700-621: The increasingly ineffective Russian Provisional Government . The momentum picked up after the incompetent actions of the 10th Army during the ill-fated Kerensky offensive during the summer. Representatives of Belarusian regions and of different (mostly left-wing) newly established political powers, including the Belarusian Socialist Assembly , the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Bund , formed

14847-666: The latter half of 1919, the Red Army successfully defeated Denikin in the south, taking over the Don, North Caucasus and eastern Ukraine, and pushed Kolchak from the Volga, beyond the Ural mountains into Siberia . In the autumn of 1919, Nikolai Yudenich 's advance on Petrograd was checked, whilst in the far north the Evgeny Miller 's army was pushed into the Arctic. On the diplomatic front, on 11 September 1919,

14994-576: The legitimate president of Belarus and the Lithuanian government has allotted a residence for main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and other members of the Belarusian opposition in Vilnius . Neither is Lukashenko recognized as the legitimate president of Belarus by the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States. The European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, and

15141-510: The major cities, where the local soviets followed Bolshevik leadership. The Russo-German front in Belarus remained static since 1915 and formal negotiations began only on 19 November (2 December N.S.), when the Soviet delegation traveled to the German-occupied city of Brest-Litovsk . A cease-fire was quickly agreed and proper peace negotiations began in December. However, the German party soon went back on its word and took full advantage of

15288-563: The militias. On 14 February, the first clash between regular armies took place and a front emerged. The operations in Lithuania brought the front close to East Prussia , and the German units that had withdrawn there began to assist the Lithuanian forces to defeat the Soviets; they repelled the Red offensive against Kaunas in February 1919. Eager to win support, the Bolshevik government decided to merge

15435-475: The modern Belarusian language and between 1922 – 1924 six compilations of Belarusian terminology were published comprising 15 thousand Belarusian terms. In 1923, archaeological and ethnographic expeditions were carried out and the publication of a monthly magazine in this area was initiated. Works of Inbelkult's academics were published in "The Notes of the Department of Nature and National Economy" and "The Notes of

15582-607: The name "Belarus". Despite significant efforts, the state ceased to exist, primarily because the territory was continually dominated by the Imperial German Army and the Imperial Russian Army in World War I , and then the Bolshevik Red Army . It existed from only 1918 to 1919 but created prerequisites for the formation of a Belarusian state. The choice of name was probably based on the fact that core members of

15729-440: The name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by Slavs who had been Christianized early, as opposed to Black Ruthenia , which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts . An alternative explanation for the name comments on the white clothing the local Slavic population wears. A third theory suggests that the old Rus' lands that were not conquered by

15876-600: The names of the Yotvingians . Another hypothesis connects the word with the Gothic Kingdom that occupied parts of the territory of modern Belarus and Ukraine in the 4th and 5th centuries. The self-naming of Goths was Gutans and Gytos , which are close to Gudija. Yet another hypothesis is based on the idea that Gudija in Lithuanian means "the other" and may have been used historically by Lithuanians to refer to any people who did not speak Lithuanian. From 5000 to 2000 BC,

16023-625: The national policies. The republic initially had four official languages: Belarusian , Russian, Yiddish , and Polish , despite the fact that the Russians and the Poles made up only around 2% of the total population (most of the latter lived next to the state border in the Minsk and Borisov districts). The most important minority was the Jewish population of Belarus , which had a long history of targeted oppression under

16170-419: The naturally regenerating forest 2% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 16% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership . Belarus borders five countries: Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to

16317-480: The neutrality of Lithuania (though the peace treaty was still being negotiated), on 6 June the exiled government of Litbel was disbanded. Within a few days, the 3rd Cavalry Corps under command of Hayk Bzhishkyan broke the Polish front, causing a collapse and a retreat. On 11 July Minsk was re-taken, and on 31 July 1920 once again the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belorussia was re-established in Minsk. As

16464-402: The newly formed government were educated in tsarist universities, with corresponding emphasis on the ideology of West-Russianism. The Republic of Central Lithuania was a short-lived political entity, which was the last attempt to restore Lithuania to the historical confederacy state (it was also supposed to create Lithuania Upper and Lithuania Lower). The republic was created in 1920 following

16611-533: The one in Ukraine, which benefitted the communists. The communist underground were directed by the party's Northwestern Regional Committee in Smolensk, which aimed for an alliance with the peasantry. On 11 September 1918, the Revolutionary Military Council ordered the creation of the Western Defence region in the Western Oblast out of Curtain forces which were stationed there. Simultaneously

16758-423: The origin of the name White Rus'. An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by early Christianized Slavs , as opposed to Black Ruthenia , which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts. The latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я ( Russia ), first rose in

16905-490: The party's Central Committee . Moreover, the weak national sentiment of the Belarusian people would easily have allowed SSRB to be disbanded and annexed to the RSFSR, unlike for example Ukraine. On the other hand, the region's strategic role decided its fate, as a full Union republic within the negotiations upon forming the future state. For one Leon Trotsky and his supporters within the Soviet leadership still supported its World Revolution concept, and as said above, viewed

17052-478: The peak of Soviet repressions in Belarus . According to incomplete calculations, about 600,000 people fell victim to Soviet repressions in Belarus between 1917 and 1953. Other estimates put the number at higher than 1.4 million persons., of which 250,000 were sentenced by judicial or executed by extrajudicial bodies ( dvoikas , troikas , special commissions of the OGPU , NKVD , MGB ). Excluding those sentenced in

17199-461: The press and civil liberties . It has continued several Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy . Belarus is the only European country that continues to use capital punishment . In 2000, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty for greater cooperation, forming the Union State . The country has been a member of the United Nations since its founding and has joined

17346-626: The principalities held by the duchy, nine of them were settled by a population that would eventually become the Belarusians . During this time, the duchy was involved in several military campaigns, including fighting on the side of Poland against the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410; the joint victory allowed the duchy to control the northwestern borderlands of Eastern Europe . The Muscovites , led by Ivan III of Russia , began military campaigns in 1486 in an attempt to incorporate

17493-514: The republic adopted its new Constitution , bringing its laws in tie with those of the USSR and changing the name from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The head of government (chairman of the Soviet of People's Commissars) was by now then newly appointed Nikolay Goloded , whilst Vilhelm Knorin remained the first secretary of the Communist Party. The 1930s marked

17640-427: The republics were also combined. The republic was headed by Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas and the combined party was headed by nationalist Zmicier Zhylunovich . However, the Belarusian nationalists disapproved that the republic was being expanded, and Zhylunovich resigned shortly after, followed by other nationalists. In March 1919, Polish units opened an offensive: forces under General Stanisław Szeptycki captured

17787-586: The respective states that were establishing themselves. In the Kresy ("borderland") areas of Lithuania, Belarus and western Ukraine, self-organized militias, the Samoobrona Litwy i Białorusi numbering approximately 2,000 soldiers under General Wejtko, began to fight against the local communist and advancing Bolshevik forces. Each side was trying to secure the territories for its own government. The newly formed Polish Army began sending its organised units to reinforce

17934-435: The return to Orthodox Christianity of Belarusian Uniates . Belarusian language was banned in schools while in neighboring Samogitia primary school education with Samogitian literacy was allowed. In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I prohibited the use of the Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications, and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under

18081-617: The situation, and the Bolsheviks' demand of a treaty "without annexations or indemnities" was unacceptable to the Central Powers , and on 18 February, hostilities resumed. The German Operation Faustschlag was of immediate success, and within 11 days, they were able to make a serious advance eastward, taking over Ukraine, the Baltic region, and occupying eastern Belarus. This forced the Obliskomzap to evacuate to Smolensk . The Smolensk Governorate

18228-591: The southeastern regions) was affected by radiation fallout. The United Nations and other agencies have aimed to reduce the level of radiation in affected areas, especially through the use of caesium binders and rapeseed cultivation, which are meant to decrease soil levels of caesium-137 . In Belarus forest cover is around 43% of the total land area, equivalent to 8,767,600 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 7,780,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forests covered 6,555,600 hectares (ha), and planted forests covered 2,212,000 hectares (ha). Of

18375-452: The spring of 1918, the Germans disapproved of the socialist inclinations of the nationalists in the Belarusian government and forced a change in leadership of the puppet government; however, the Germans were also displeased with him and removed him. As a result, the Germans permitted the government less jurisdiction compared to the one in Ukraine. An increase in repression by the Germans also led to an agrarian revolt, although not as violent as

18522-467: The staged rebellion of soldiers of the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division of the Polish Army under Lucjan Żeligowski . Centered on the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Vilna ( Lithuanian : Vilnius , Polish : Wilno ), for 18 months the entity served as a buffer state between Poland , upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area. After a variety of delays,

18669-462: The term "White Russia" caused some confusion as it became the name of the so-called White military force that opposed the Red Bolsheviks. During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term Byelorussia was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus , under Polish control until World War II, Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno . Upon

18816-456: The term to describe the lands added from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The term Belorussia (Russian: Белору́ссия , the latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я , Russia ) first rose in the days of the Russian Empire , and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", as Russia or the Russian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—the Great , Little , and White . This asserted that

18963-405: The territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, they were variants of the Russian people. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the term White Russia caused some confusion, as it was also the name of the military force that opposed the red Bolsheviks. During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term Byelorussia was embraced as part of

19110-623: The town, and for nearly a month the Slutsk partisans resisted Soviet attempts to re-gain control of the area. Eventually the Red Army had to mobilise two divisions to overcome the resistance, when the last units of Slutsk militia crossed the Moroch River and interned by the Polish border guards. In February 1921, the delegations of the Second Polish Republic and the Russian SFSR finally signed

19257-456: The usage of Belorussia is still very common. In Lithuanian, besides Baltarusija (White Russia), Belarus is also called Gudija . The etymology of the word Gudija is not clear. By one hypothesis the word derives from the Old Prussian name Gudwa , which, in turn, is related to the form Żudwa , which is a distorted version of Sudwa, Sudovia. Sudovia , in its turn, is one of

19404-547: The vote in the first round and 80% in the second, defeating Vyacheslav Kebich who received 14% of the vote. The elections were the first and only free elections in Belarus after independence. The 2000s saw some economic disputes between Belarus and its primary economic partner, Russia. The first one was the 2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute when Russian energy giant Gazprom ceased the import of gas into Belarus because of price disagreements. The 2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute centered on accusations by Gazprom that Belarus

19551-516: The years following the union, the process of gradual Polonization of both Lithuanians and Ruthenians gained steady momentum. In culture and social life, both the Polish language and Catholicism became dominant, and in 1696, Polish replaced Ruthenian as the official language, with Ruthenian being banned from administrative use. However, the Ruthenian peasants continued to speak their native language. Also,

19698-490: Was appointed as new chairman of Inbelkult. By 1926, the number of Inbelkult's departments has grown to include Belarusian language and literature, Belarusian art, historical and archeological (since 1927 socio-historical), the study of the revolutionary movement in Belarus, natural sciences, medicine, agriculture and others. The institute also had two ethnic minorities departments, Jewish and Polish, with independent academic commissions. The Institute also boasted its own library and

19845-507: Was contaminated with most (70%) of the nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant located 16 km beyond the border in the neighboring Ukrainian SSR . By the late 1980s, political liberalization led to a national revival, with the Belarusian Popular Front becoming a major pro-independence force. In March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of

19992-421: Was declared the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB) for just two months, but then merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (SSR LiB), which lost control of its territories by August. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was created in July 1920. The contested lands were divided between Poland and

20139-415: Was food industry followed by metal and wood working combines. A lot more was centred in local and private sector, as allowed by the New Economic Policy of the USSR, in 1925 these number 38.5 thousand who employed almost 50 thousand people. Most being textile workshops and lumber yards and blacksmiths. On 6 December 1926, the SSRB was once again enlarged, in order to make the republic prosperous and continue

20286-565: Was given a seat in the United Nations General Assembly together with the Soviet Union and Ukrainian SSR, becoming one of the founding members of the UN. This was part of a deal with the United States to ensure a degree of balance in the General Assembly , which, the USSR opined, was unbalanced in favor of the Western Bloc. A Byelorussian, G.G. Chernushchenko, served as President of the United Nations Security Council from January–February 1975. Belarus in Europe  (dark grey)  –  [ Legend ] Belarus , officially

20433-445: Was incoming, and offered to accept the current frontline as a permanent border between Poland and Russia, which would include nearly all of Belarus going to Poland. However, Piłsudski had greater ambitions, and he also made an agreement with Symon Petliura in Ukraine to exchange Galicia in return for a promise to force out communists in right-bank Ukraine. In April 1920, Poland initiated its major offensive on Kiev, which although

20580-402: Was initially successful, ended in a Polish defeat. The Soviet Red Army was much more organised than it was a year earlier, and though Polish troops managed to make several gains in Ukraine, notably the capture of Kiev , in Byelorussia, both of its offensives towards Zhlobin and Orsha were thrown back in May. In June, the RSFSR was finally ready to open its major Western advance. To preserve

20727-405: Was moved to Minsk. Aleksandr Myasnikyan emerged as head of the All-Byelorussian Central Executive Committee and Zmicier Zhylunovich as head of the provisional government. The new Soviet republic initially consisted of seven districts: Baranovichi , Vitebsk , Gomel , Grodno , Mogilev and Smolensk . On 30 January, the republic announced its separation from the Russian SFSR and renaming as

20874-457: Was occupied by Nazi Germany. A large part of the territory of Belarus became the General District Belarus within the Reichskommissariat Ostland . Nazi Germany imposed a brutal regime, deporting some 380,000 people for slave labour , and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. 800,000 Belarusian Jews (about 90 percent of the Jewish population) were killed during the Holocaust . At least 5,295 Belarusian settlements were destroyed by

21021-405: Was passed to the Western Oblast. At the end of February, the Germans entered Minsk, which the Soviet authorities had already cleared a few days prior. Faced with the German demands, the Bolsheviks accepted their terms at the final Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , which was signed on 3 March 1918. For the German Empire, Operation Faustschlag achieved one of their strategic plans for World War I, to create

21168-419: Was re-founded on 31 July 1920 and later became known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The BSSR became one of the four founding members of the Soviet Union in December 1922, together with the republics of Russia , Transcaucasia , and Ukraine . Byelorussia was one of several Soviet republics occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II . Towards the final years of the Soviet Union's existence,

21315-441: Was siphoning oil off of the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Belarus. Two years later the so-called Milk War , a trade dispute, started when Russia wanted Belarus to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and through a series of events ended up banning the import of dairy products from Belarus. In 2011, Belarus suffered a severe economic crisis attributed to Lukashenko's government's centralized control of

21462-402: Was split into ten okrugs : Bobruysk , Borisov , Vitebsk , Kalinin , Minsk , Mogilev , Mozyr , Orsha , Polotsk and Slutsk ; all of which contained a total of 100 raions and 1,229 selsoviets . Only 25 towns and cities and an additional 49 urban settlements. Trotsky's plan for the SSRB to act as a future magnet for the minorities in the Second Polish Republic is clearly evidenced in

21609-532: Was supported by the governments of Belarus and the USSR as well as by leading scientific centres in Moscow , Leningrad and other Soviet cities. Through its history the National Science Academy of Belarus has grown up to a respectful scientific center. A USSR-wide fame had Belarusian scientists like Panas Achrem ( chemistry ), Mikałaj Barysievič ( physics ), Fiodar Fiodaraŭ (physics), Vienijamin Vaciakoŭ (medicine, biology), Uładzimier Ułaščyk ( medicine , biology ). After Belarus gained its independence,

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