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112-474: The Belovezhskaya Pushcha Biosphere Reserve spans ab area of 216,200 ha (2,162 km; 835 sq mi) (2015), subdivided into transition, buffer, and core zones. The national park occupies 150,069 ha (1,500.69 km; 579.42 sq mi) (2015). It is located 70 km (43 mi) north of Brest . The nature reserves and the national parks cover 2.7% of the Brest Region territory and 2.6% of

224-621: A bow (both silver) on a sky-blue shield. An alternative coat of arms has a red shield. Sigismund II Augustus , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, first granted Brest a coat of arms in 1554. As a town, Brest – Berestij in Kievan Rus – was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle in 1019 when the Kievan Rus' took the stronghold from the Poles. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. It

336-518: A branch of Belarusian National Technical University . Among the secondary specialized educational institutions of the city: Being situated on the main railway line connecting Berlin and Moscow, and a transcontinental highway (the M1 highway is part of the European route E30 running from Cork to Omsk , where it links with Asian Highway 6 leading to Busan ), Brest became a principal border crossing out of

448-640: A ceremony marking the park's centennial. In July 2009, the Millennium Monument of Brest was unveiled. Sovetskaya Street is a popular tourist destination in Brest; it was dramatically reconstructed in 2007–2009. Other important landmarks include the Brest Railway Museum . Brest is home to two Universities: A.S. Pushkin Brest State University and Brest State Technical University . There is also

560-422: A conversation with Prime Minister David Lloyd George , commented sarcastically: "The war of giants has ended, the wars of the pygmies begin." The Polish–Soviet War was the longest lasting of the international engagements. The territory of what had become Poland had been a major battleground during World War I and the new country lacked political stability. It had won the hard-fought Polish–Ukrainian War against

672-588: A definitive ruling in regard to Poland's eastern border but on 8 December 1919, the Allied Supreme War Council issued a provisional boundary (its later version would be known as the Curzon Line ). It was an attempt to define the areas that had an "indisputably Polish ethnic majority". The permanent border was contingent on the Western powers' future negotiations with White Russia , presumed to prevail in

784-786: A group of mathematicians from the University of Warsaw and the University of Lwów (most notably the founders of the Polish School of Mathematics  – Stanisław Leśniewski , Stefan Mazurkiewicz and Wacław Sierpiński ), who succeeded in breaking the Soviet Russian ciphers as well. During the Polish–Soviet War, the Polish decryption of Red Army radio messages made it possible to use Polish military forces efficiently against Soviet Russian forces and to win many individual battles, most importantly

896-592: A joint Nazi-Soviet military parade took place on 22 September 1939. While Belarusians consider it a reunification of the Belarusian nation under one constituency (the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic at that time), Poles consider it the date when the city was lost. During the Soviet control (1939–41), the Polish population was subject to arrests, executions and mass deportations to Siberia and

1008-539: A local Polish offensive action of 13–16 February, led by General Antoni Listowski, near Byaroza , Belarus. The event has been presented as the beginning of the war of liberation by the Polish side, or of Polish aggression by the Russian side. By late February, the Soviet westward offensive had come to a halt. As the low-level warfare continued, the Polish units crossed the Neman River, took Pinsk on 5 March and reached

1120-647: A mass grave containing the remains of 1,214 people were found in the Brest Ghetto area during a construction project. Most are believed to have been Jews murdered by Nazis. Brest lies astride the Mukhavets River which flows west through the city, dividing it into north and south, and meets the Bug River in the Brest Fortress. The river flows slowly and gently. Today the river looks quite broad in Brest. The terrain

1232-845: A part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569. In 1795, it was incorporated into the Russian Empire with the Third Partition of Poland . After the Polish-Soviet War , the city became part of the Second Polish Republic . In 1939, the city was captured by Nazi Germany during the invasion of Poland and then transferred to the Soviet Union per the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty . In 1941, it

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1344-492: A seat of the starost in the newly created Trakai Voivodeship . Under Władysław II and Vytautas the city was significantly developed and granted privileges similar to those of the Polish city of Lublin . In 1425, the city hosted a congress attended by Władysław II, Vytautas, dukes of Masovia and Polish and Lithuanian nobles. In 1440, a Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was held in the city, at which Casimir IV Jagiellon

1456-549: A small garrison of four infantry battalions under General Konstanty Plisowski against General Heinz Guderian 's XIX Panzer Corps . After four days of heavy fighting , the Polish forces withdrew southwards on 17 September. The Soviet invasion of Poland began on the same day. As a result, the Soviet Red Army entered the city at the end of September 1939 following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 's Secret Protocol, and

1568-543: A takeover of the western part of the province. The Polish–Ukrainian warfare there was discontinued from late May, and in early September an armistice was signed. On 21 November 1919, after contentious deliberations, the Allied Supreme War Council mandated Polish control over eastern Galicia for 25 years, with guarantees of autonomy for the Ukrainian population. The Conference of Ambassadors , which replaced

1680-614: A year and a half for a full-scale war to develop. The Western powers considered any significant territorial expansion of Poland, at the expense of Russia or Germany, to be highly disruptive to the post-World War I order. Among other factors, the Western Allies did not want to give Germany and Russia a reason to conspire together. The rise of the unrecognized Bolshevik regime complicated this rationale. The Treaty of Versailles , signed on 28 June 1919, regulated Poland's western border. The Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) had not made

1792-578: Is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol , where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town . It serves as the administrative center of Brest Region and Brest District , though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2024, it has a population of 344,470. Brest is one of the oldest cities in Belarus and a historical site for many cultures, as it hosted important historical events, such as

1904-463: Is also referred to as the "War of 1920" ( Polish : Wojna 1920 roku ). The ending year of the conflict is variously given as either 1920 or 1921; this confusion stems from the fact that while the ceasefire came into force on 18 October 1920, the official treaty ending the war was signed on 18 March 1921. While the events of late 1918 and 1919 can be described as a border conflict and only in spring 1920 were both sides engaged in an all-out war ,

2016-413: Is fairly flat around Brest. The river has an extremely broad floodplain , that is about 2 to 3 kilometres (1 to 2 miles) across. Brest was subject to flooding in the past. One of the worst floods in recorded history occurred in 1974. Part of the floodplain was reclaimed with hydraulic mining . In the 1980s, big cutter-suction dredgers mined sand and clay from the riverbed to build up the banks. In

2128-588: The Battle of Warsaw . On 5 January 1919, the Red Army took Vilnius, which led to the establishment of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (Litbel) on 28 February. On 10 February, Soviet Russia's People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgy Chicherin wrote to Polish Prime Minister Ignacy Paderewski, proposing resolution of matters of disagreement and establishment of relations between

2240-609: The Belarusian Men's Handball Championship , as well as the current (2018–19) champions. Also, there is a Women's handball club in Brest – HC Victoria-Berestie . HK Brest of the Belarusian Extraleague are the local pro hockey team. Another popular sport in Brest is football. FC Dynamo Brest is a local club playing in Belarusian Premier League . The sports venues are located on the northern riverside on

2352-901: The Estonian War of Independence , the Latvian War of Independence , and the Lithuanian Wars of Independence were all fought in the Baltic Sea region. Russia was overwhelmed by domestic struggles. In early March 1919, the Communist International was established in Moscow . The Hungarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in March and the Bavarian Soviet Republic in April. Winston Churchill , in

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2464-543: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1319. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth formed in 1569, the town became known in Polish as Brześć , historically Brześć Litewski (literally: "Lithuanian Brest", in contradistinction to Brześć Kujawski ). Brześć became part of the Russian Empire under the name Brest-Litovsk or Brest-Litovskii ( Russian : Брест-Литовск , Брест-Литовский , literally "Lithuanian Brest") in

2576-800: The Habsburg monarchy . After the collapse of the Central Powers and the Armistice of 11 November 1918 , Vladimir Lenin 's Soviet Russia annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and moved forces westward to reclaim the Ober Ost regions abandoned by the Germans. Lenin viewed the newly independent Poland as a critical route for spreading communist revolutions into Europe . Meanwhile, Polish leaders, including Józef Piłsudski , aimed to restore Poland’s pre-1772 borders and secure

2688-722: The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic . Many Poles were imprisoned in the local prison, and then moved to a prison in Minsk . It is suspected that they were murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn massacre in 1940. On 22 June 1941, Brest Fortress and the city were attacked by Nazi Germany on the first day of Operation Barbarossa , Nazi Germany 's invasion of the Soviet Union . The fortress held out for six days . Nearly all its Soviet army defenders perished. The Germans placed Brest under

2800-634: The Kiev offensive with the goal of securing favorable borders for Poland. On 7 May, Polish and allied Ukrainian forces captured Kiev , though Soviet armies in the area were not decisively defeated. The offensive lacked local support, and many Ukrainians joined the Red Army rather than Petliura’s forces. In response, the Soviet Red Army launched a successful counteroffensive starting in June 1920. By August, Soviet troops had pushed Polish forces back to Warsaw . However, at

2912-650: The Kingdom of Poland and for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In the first half of the 14th century, the Principality of Kiev and the land between the Dnieper , Pripyat , and Daugava (Western Dvina) rivers became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1352, Poland and Lithuania divided the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia between themselves. In 1569, in accordance with the terms of the Union of Lublin between Poland and Lithuania, some of

3024-509: The Lithuanian word brasta ' ford '. Traditionally, Belarusian speakers called the city Берасце ( Bieraście ), similar to the Ukrainian name Берестя ( Berestia ). Once a center of Jewish scholarship, the city has the Yiddish name בריסק ( Brisk ), hence the term "Brisker" used to describe followers of the influential Soloveitchik family of rabbis . Brest became a part of

3136-525: The Polish census of 1931 . In early September 1939, the Polish government evacuated a portion of the Polish gold reserve from Warsaw to Brześć, and then further southeast to Śniatyn at the Poland- Romania border, from where it was transported via Romania and Turkey to territory controlled by Polish-allied France . During the German Invasion of Poland in 1939, the city was defended by

3248-965: The Polish–Soviet War it was occupied by the Soviet Russians on 1 August 1920, and recaptured by the Poles on 20 August, with borders formally recognized by the Treaty of Riga of 1921. In 1921, it became the temporary capital of the Polesie Voivodeship instead of Pińsk . It was renamed Brześć nad Bugiem ( Brest on the Bug ) on 20 March 1923. The city was developed significantly and a number of representative public buildings were erected in Neoclassical and Modernist styles, especially at Ulica Unii Lubelskiej ( Union of Lublin Street, now Lenin Street), including

3360-753: The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland, a body installed by the Central Powers . Subsequently, he was recognized by many Polish politicians as temporary chief of state and exercised in practice extensive powers. Under the Small Constitution of 20 February 1919, he became chief of state . As such, he reported to the Legislative Sejm . With the collapse of the Russian and German occupying authorities , virtually all of Poland's neighbours began fighting over borders and other issues. The Finnish Civil War ,

3472-726: The Roman-Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church . The 1596 council established the Uniate Church (also known as the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church in Belarus and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine ). A Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was held in the city in 1653. A royal mint was founded in the city by King John II Casimir Vasa in 1665. In 1657, and again in 1706,

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3584-677: The Romanian border. A Red Army assault between the Daugava and Berezina Rivers was repelled in October and the front had become relatively inactive with sporadic encounters only, as the line designated by Piłsudski to be the goal of the Polish operation in the north was reached. In autumn 1919, the Sejm voted to incorporate into Poland the conquered territories up to the Daugava and Berezina Rivers, including Minsk. The Polish successes in summer 1919 resulted from

3696-501: The Russian Civil War . The Russian state lost territory due to the German offensive and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , signed by the emergent Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic . Several nations of the region saw a chance for independence and seized their opportunity to gain it. The defeat of Germany on the Western Front and the withdrawal of the Imperial German Army in the Eastern Front had left Berlin in no position to retaliate against Soviet Russia, which swiftly repudiated

3808-417: The Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (Litbel). It is however unlikely that the Soviet forced plannes further incursions westward. From late 1919, Lenin, encouraged by the Red Army's civil war victories over the White Russian forces and their Western allies, began to envision the future of world revolution with greater optimism. The Bolsheviks proclaimed the need for the dictatorship of

3920-441: The Union of Brest and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . Furthermore, the Brest Fortress was recognized by the Soviet Union as a Hero Fortress in honour of the defense of Brest Fortress in June 1941. In the High Middle Ages , the city often passed between Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus' , and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . From the Late Middle Ages , the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later became

4032-440: The West Ukrainian People's Republic by July 1919 but had already become embroiled in new conflicts with Germany (the 1919–1921 Silesian Uprisings ) and the January 1919 border conflict with Czechoslovakia . Meanwhile, Soviet Russia focused on thwarting the counterrevolution and the 1918–1925 intervention by the Allied powers . The first clashes between Polish and Soviet forces occurred in autumn and winter 1918/1919, but it took

4144-425: The Western Rifle Division in October 1918. In summer 1918, a short-lived Polish communist government, led by Stefan Heltman, was created in Moscow. Both the military and civilian structures were meant to facilitate the eventual introduction of communism into Poland in the form of a Polish Soviet Republic . Given the precarious situation resulting from the withdrawal of German forces from Belarus and Lithuania and

4256-451: The hydraulic fill , consisting of an indoor track-and-field centre, the Brest Ice Rink , and Belarus' first outdoor baseball stadium. On the opposite riverside is a large rowing course opened in 2007, home of the National Center for Olympic Training in Rowing. It meets international requirements and can host international competitions. Moreover, it has accommodation and training facilities, favourable location, 3 kilometres (2 miles) away from

4368-445: The 2000s, two new residential areas were developed in the southwest of Brest. To the east of Brest, the Dnieper–Bug Canal was built in the mid-nineteenth century to join the river to Pina , a tributary of the Pripyat River which in turn drains into the Dnieper . Thus Brest has a shipping route all the way to the Black Sea . If not for a dam and neglected weirs west of Brest, north-western European shipping would be connected with

4480-399: The AGSSt 3 prisoner-of-war assembly center, the Dulag 314 transit POW camp for Italians , the Stalag 397 POW camp for Soviet POWs and a subcamp of the Stalag 360 POW camp in the city. The Polish resistance movement , including the Polesie District of the Home Army , was active in the city. The city was re-occupied by the Red Army on 28 July 1944, and eventually annexed from Poland

4592-416: The Bank of Poland, Tax Chamber, Regional Chamber of the State Control, Healthcare Fund and Voivodeship Office. Other notable projects include the officials' housing estate, stylistically inspired by historic manor houses of Polish nobility and the garden city movement , and the Warburg Residential Colony, dedicated to poor Jews who had lost their homes in World War I, founded by Felix M. Warburg, chairman of

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4704-431: The Battle of Warsaw cemented its position as a significant player in Eastern European geopolitics in the interwar period. The war is known by several names. "Polish–Soviet War" is the most common but other names include "Russo–Polish War" (or "Polish–Russian War") and "Polish–Bolshevik War". This last term (or just "Bolshevik War" ( Polish : Wojna bolszewicka )) is most common in Polish sources. In some Polish sources it

4816-423: The Black Sea also. Brest has a humid continental climate but slightly leans towards oceanic due to the irregular winter temperatures that mostly hover around the freezing point. However, summers are warm and influenced by its inland position compared to areas nearer the Baltic Sea . A majestic Soviet-era war memorial was constructed on the site of the 1941 battle to commemorate the known and unknown defenders of

4928-407: The Brest Fortress at the confluence of the Bug and Mukhavets rivers on the city' western outskirts, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, ending the war between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers and transferring the city and its surrounding region to the sphere of influence of the German Empire . This treaty was subsequently annulled by the Paris Peace Conference treaties which ended

5040-466: The Brest Fortress. This war memorial is the largest tourist attraction in the city. The Berestye Archeological Museum of the old city is located on the southern island of the Hero-Fortress . It has objects and huts dating from the 11th – 13th century that were unearthed during the 1970s. The Museum of Rescued Art Treasures has a collection of paintings and icons. Brest City Park is over 100 years old and underwent renovations from 2004 to 2006 as part of

5152-412: The Brześć population or 21,518 citizens. Some 80.3% of private enterprises were run by Jews. The Polish Army troops of the 9th Military District along with its headquarters were stationed in Brześć Fortress. The city had an overwhelmingly Jewish population in the Russian Partition : 30,000 out of 45,000 total population according to Russian 1897 census, which fell to 21,000 out of 50,000 according to

5264-446: The German front by mid-June. The offensive in the east was resumed at the end of June, following the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty, signed and ratified by Germany, preserved the status quo in western Poland. On the southern front in Volhynia, in May and in July the Polish forces confronted the Red Army, which was in process of pushing Petliura's Ukrainian units out of the contested territories. The rural Orthodox population there

5376-415: The Great and Khan Jalal al-Din Khan ibn Tokhtamysh under the Polish Deputy Chancellor Mikołaj Trąba 's initiative, to prepare for war with the Teutonic Knights , which resulted in the Tatars aiding Poland and Lithuania in the Battle of Grunwald the following year. In 1410 the city mustered a cavalry banner that participated in the Polish-Lithuanian military victory at Grunwald. In 1419 it became

5488-405: The Great the following year. From 1199 it was ruled by the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia , remaining under Polish suzerainty until 1205, when Roman the Great rebelled against Poland, but was killed in action in the Battle of Zawichost . Passing under Polish suzerainty again, in 1207, it was granted by Leszek the White as a fief to Princess Anna-Euphrosyne and her children. From 1210, it

5600-409: The Grodno Region. The park is home to a large population of European bison , the continent's heaviest land animals. It has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of black and white storks , Eurasian eagle-owls , European honey-buzzards , and lesser spotted and greater spotted eagles . Most of the Białowieża Forest

5712-517: The Joint Distribution Committee of American Funds for Jewish War Sufferers. In 1929, city limits were greatly expanded. In the twenty years of Poland's sovereignty, of the total of 36 brand new schools established in the city, there were ten public, and five private Jewish schools inaugurated, with Yiddish and Hebrew as the language of instruction. The first-ever Jewish school in Brześć history opened in 1920, almost immediately after Poland's return to independence. In 1936 Jews constituted 41.3% of

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5824-457: The Museum of Nature, was built. Approximately 300,000 people visit the park annually. The border between the two countries runs through the forest with the Białowieża National Park on the Polish side of the border. Since May 2015 there has been a visa-free regime within the forest for hikers and cyclists at the Pierarova - Białowieża border crossing. Brest, Belarus Brest , formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, Berestia ,

5936-597: The Paris Peace Conference. At the conference, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ignacy Paderewski declared Poland's support for self-determination of the eastern nations, in line with Woodrow Wilson 's doctrine and in an effort to secure Western support for Poland's policies in regard to Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. The Polish offensive was discontinued around the line of German trenches and fortifications from World War I, because of high likelihood of Poland's war with Weimar Germany over territorial and other issues. Half of Poland's military strength had been concentrated on

6048-466: The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth was partitioned for the third time in 1795. During Russian rule in the 19th century, Brest Fortress was built in and around the city. The Russians demolished the Polish Royal Castle and most Old Town "to make room" for the fortress. The main Jewish synagogue in the city, the Choral Synagogue , was completed c. 1862. In 1895, a massive fire rendered 15,000 people homeless, and dozens were killed. During World War I ,

6160-558: The Polish Army. The Polish Self-Defence forces were defeated by the Soviets at a number of locations. Minsk was taken by the Russian Western Army on 11 December 1918. The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was declared there on 31 December. After three days of heavy fighting with the Western Rifle Division, the Self-Defence units withdrew from Vilnius on 5 January 1919. Polish–Soviet skirmishes continued in January and February. The Polish armed forces were hurriedly formed to fight in several border wars. Two major formations manned

6272-419: The Polish borders in Galicia and Volhynia and crush a Ukrainian attempt at self-determination in the disputed territories east of the Curzon Line, which contained a significant Polish minority. On 7 February 1919, Piłsudski spoke on the subject of Poland's future frontiers: "At the moment Poland is essentially without borders and all that we can gain in this regard in the west depends on the Entente  – on

6384-439: The Polish claim to Lwów and eastern Galicia was indisputable; in April 1919, the Legislative Sejm unanimously declared that all of Galicia should be annexed by Poland. In April to June 1919, the Polish Blue Army of General Józef Haller arrived from France . It consisted of over 67,000 well-equipped and highly trained soldiers. The Blue Army helped drive the Ukrainian forces east past the Zbruch River and decisively contributed to

6496-422: The Red Army. In late autumn 1918, the Polish 4th Rifle Division fought the Red Army in Russia. The division operated under the authority of the Polish Army in France and General Józef Haller . Politically, the division fought under the Polish National Committee (KNP), recognized by the Allies as a temporary government of Poland. In January 1919, per Piłsudski's decision, the 4th Rifle Division became part of

6608-456: The Russian Civil War. Piłsudski and his allies blamed Prime Minister Ignacy Paderewski for this outcome and caused his dismissal. Paderewski, embittered, withdrew from politics. The leader of Russia's new Bolshevik government, Vladimir Lenin , aimed to regain control of the territories abandoned by Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 (the treaty was annulled by Russia on 13 November 1918) and to set up Soviet governments in

6720-424: The Russian Governor-General at Warsaw. In the aftermath of World War I , the map of Central and Eastern Europe changed drastically. The German Empire 's defeat rendered obsolete Berlin 's plans for the creation of Eastern European German-dominated states ( Mitteleuropa ), which included another rendition of the Kingdom of Poland . The Russian Empire collapsed, which resulted in the Russian Revolution and

6832-423: The Russian front in February 1919: the northern, led by General Wacław Iwaszkiewicz-Rudoszański , and the southern, under General Antoni Listowski . On 18 October 1918, the Ukrainian National Council was formed in Eastern Galicia , still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire ; it was led by Yevhen Petrushevych . The establishment of a Ukrainian state there was proclaimed in November 1918; it had become known as

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6944-439: The South and South-east, Russia could easily move into the status of second-grade power. Poland, as the largest and strongest of the new states, could easily establish a sphere of influence stretching from Finland to the Caucasus ". Piłsudski's concepts appeared more progressive and democratic in comparison with the rival National Democracy 's plans, although both pursued the idea of direct incorporation and Polonization of

7056-500: The Soviet Union in the postwar era. Today it links the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States . The city of Brest is served by Brest-Tsentralny railway station . Because of the break-of-gauge at Brest, where the Russian broad gauge meets the European standard gauge , all passenger trains, coming from Poland , must have their bogies replaced here, to travel on across Belarus . The freight must be transloaded from cars of one gauge to cars of another. Some of

7168-422: The Supreme War Council, recognized the Polish claim to eastern Galicia in March 1923. Jan Kowalewski , a polyglot and amateur cryptographer , broke the codes and ciphers of the army of the West Ukrainian People's Republic and of General Anton Denikin 's White Russian forces. In August 1919, he became chief of the Polish General Staff 's cryptography section in Warsaw. By early September, he had gathered

7280-415: The Ukrainian lands passed to the Polish Crown . Between 1772 and 1795, many of the East Slavic territories became part of the Russian Empire in the course of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania . In 1795 (the Third Partition of Poland ), Poland lost formal independence. After the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, much of the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw was transferred to Russian control and became

7392-446: The West Ukrainian People's Republic and it claimed Lwów as its capital. Because of Russia-related political considerations, the Ukrainian attempts failed to generate support of the Entente powers. Key buildings in Lwów were seized by the Ukrainians on 31 October 1918. On 1 November, Polish residents of the city counterattacked and the Polish–Ukrainian War began. Lwów was under Polish control from 22 November. To Polish politicians,

7504-405: The White forces elsewhere, withdrew from its positions. The Polish "Lithuanian–Belarusian Front " was established on 15 May and placed under command of General Stanisław Szeptycki . In a statute passed on 15 May, Polish Sejm called for the inclusion of the eastern borderline nations in the Polish state as autonomous entities. It was intended to make a positive impression on the participants at

7616-418: The administration of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine . The remaining municipal Jewish population (about 20,000) was sequestered in the Brest ghetto established by the German authorities in December 1941 and later murdered in October 1942. Only seven Jews survived the Nazi executions. The Germans also operated a Nazi prison, a forced labour "education" camp for men and women, a forced labour camp for Jews,

7728-544: The autonomous Congress Poland (officially the Kingdom of Poland). After young Poles refused conscription to the Imperial Russian Army during the January Uprising of 1863, Tsar Alexander II stripped Congress Poland of its separate constitution, attempted to force general use of the Russian language and took away vast tracts of land from Poles. Congress Poland was incorporated more directly into imperial Russia by being divided into ten provinces, each with an appointed Russian military governor and all under complete control of

7840-400: The border crossing along Warsaw Highway (the European route E30 ). Polish-Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , following World War I and the Russian Revolution , over territories previously controlled by the Russian Empire and

7952-437: The city became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and Grand Duke Gediminas stayed in the city in the winter of 1319–1320, preparing to capture Kyiv . In 1349, it was captured by King Casimir III of Poland , however, it was restored to Lithuania in 1352. Its suburbs were burned by the Teutonic Order in 1379. In 1385, it became part of the Polish–Lithuanian union . During the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) , in 1390,

8064-567: The city was administratively located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship . In 1566, following the decree of Sigismund II Augustus , a new voivodeship was created – Brest Litovsk Voivodeship . During the union of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Swedish Empire under king Sigismund III Vasa ( Polish–Swedish union ), diets were held there. In 1594 and 1596, it was the meeting-place of two remarkable councils of regional bishops of

8176-422: The city was captured by Polish forces of Władysław II Jagiełło . In 1390, Brześć became the second city in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (after the capital Vilnius ), and the first in the lands that now are Belarus, to receive Magdeburg rights . Given its proximity to Poland, it was a significant centre for trade with Poland. In 1409 it was a meeting place of King Władysław II Jagiełło , Grand Duke Vytautas

8288-626: The country's position in the region. Throughout 1919, Polish forces occupied much of present-day Lithuania and Belarus , emerging victorious in the Polish–Ukrainian War . However, Soviet forces regained strength after their victories in the Russian Civil War , and Symon Petliura , leader of the Ukrainian People's Republic , was forced to ally with Piłsudski in 1920 to resist the advancing Bolsheviks. In April 1920, Piłsudski launched

8400-553: The course of the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. After World War I, and the rebirth of Poland in 1918, the government of the Second Polish Republic renamed the city as Brześć nad Bugiem ("Brest on the Bug") on 20 March 1923. After World War II, the city became part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic with the name simplified as Brest. Brest's coat of arms, adopted on 26 January 1991, features an arrow pointed upwards and

8512-611: The decisive Battle of Warsaw (1920) , Polish forces achieved an unexpected victory between 12 and 25 August 1920, turning the tide of the war. This battle, often referred to as the "Miracle on the Vistula," is considered one of the most significant military triumphs in Polish history. The war ended with a ceasefire on 18 October 1920, and peace negotiations led to the Peace of Riga , signed on 18 March 1921. The treaty divided disputed territories between Poland and Soviet Russia. Poland’s eastern border

8624-419: The defending Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army , under the leadership of Szymon Zabiełło , and the invading Imperial Russian Army fought a battle near Brześć. On 19 September 1794, the area between Brest and Terespol was the site of another battle won by the Russian invaders led by Alexander Suvorov over a Polish-Lithuanian division under General Karol Sierakowski . Thereafter, Brest was annexed by Russia when

8736-460: The disputed eastern lands. However Piłsudski used his "federation" idea instrumentally. As he wrote to his close associate Leon Wasilewski in April 1919, (for now) "I want to be neither an imperialist nor a federalist. ... Taking into account that, in this God's world, an empty talk of the brotherhood of people and nations as well as the American little doctrines seem to be winning, I gladly side with

8848-460: The east, the Polish forces took Lida on 17 April, Novogrudok on 18 April, Baranavichy on 19 April and Grodno on 28 April. Piłsudski's group entered Vilnius on 19 April and captured the city after two days of fighting. The Polish action drove the Litbel government from its proclaimed capital. Upon the taking of Vilnius, in pursuit of his federation objectives, Piłsudski issued a "Proclamation to

8960-549: The east. They had been incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1772–1795 and had remained its parts, as the Northwest Territory , until World War I . After the war they were contested by the Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian , and Latvian interests. In newly independent Poland, politics were strongly influenced by Józef Piłsudski . On 11 November 1918, Piłsudski was made head of Polish armed forces by

9072-509: The emerging countries in the western parts of the former Russian Empire. The more ambitious goal was to also reach Germany, where he expected a socialist revolution to break out. By the end of summer 1919, the Soviets had taken over most of eastern and central Ukraine (formerly parts of the Russian Empire) and driven the Directorate of Ukraine from Kiev . In February 1919, they set up

9184-685: The expected arrival of the Red Army there, Polish Self-Defence had been organized in autumn 1918 around major concentrations of Polish population, such as Minsk , Vilnius and Grodno . They were based on the Polish Military Organisation and were recognized as part of the Polish Armed Forces by the decree of Polish Chief of State Piłsudski, issued on 7 December 1918. The German Soldatenrat of Ober Ost declared on 15 November that its authority in Vilnius would be transferred to

9296-477: The extent to which it may wish to squeeze Germany. In the east, it's a different matter; there are doors here that open and close and it depends on who forces them open and how far". Polish military forces had thus set out to expand far in the eastern direction. As Piłsudski imagined, "Closed within the boundaries of the 16th century, cut off from the Black Sea and Baltic Sea, deprived of land and mineral wealth of

9408-492: The fact that the Soviets prioritized the war with the White forces, which was more crucial for them. The successes created an illusion of Polish military prowess and Soviet weakness. As Piłsudski put it, "I am not worried about the strength of Russia; if I wanted to, I could go now, say to Moscow, and no one would be able to resist my power ...". The offensive was restrained in late summer by Piłsudski, because he did not want to improve

9520-521: The federalists". According to Chwalba, the differences between Piłsudski's vision of Poland and that of his rival National Democratic leader Roman Dmowski were more rhetorical than real. Piłsudski had made many obfuscating statements, but never specifically stated his views regarding Poland's eastern borders or political arrangements he intended for the region. From late 1917, Polish revolutionary military units were formed in Russia. They were combined into

9632-576: The first time and the town of Babruysk was captured. By 2 September, Polish units reached the Daugava River. Barysaw was taken on 10 September and parts of Polotsk on 21 September. By mid-September, the Poles secured the region along the Daugava from the Dysna River to Daugavpils . The frontline had also extended south, cutting through Polesia and Volhynia; along the Zbruch River it reached

9744-607: The following year. In 1945, the Związek Obrońców Wolności ("Freedom Defenders Association") Polish resistance organization was founded in the city, with its activities including secret Polish schooling, rescuing historical Polish monuments from devastation and organising aid for repressed people and those in a difficult material situation. The organization was crushed by the NKVD in 1948, and its members were deported to Gulag forced labour camps for 25 years. In early 2019,

9856-544: The future Polish state by structuring it as the Polish-led, multinational federation." Piłsudski had wanted to break up the Russian Empire and set up the Intermarium federation of various different states: Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and other Central and East European countries that emerged from the crumbling empires after World War I. In Piłsudski's vision, Poland would replace a truncated and vastly reduced Russia as

9968-435: The great power of Eastern Europe. His plan excluded negotiations prior to military victory. He had hoped that the new Poland-led union would become a counterweight to any potential imperialist intentions of Russia or Germany. Piłsudski believed that there could be no independent Poland without a Ukraine free of Russian control, thus his main interest was in splitting Ukraine from Russia. He used military force to expand

10080-469: The historian Andrzej Chwalba , however, the scenario was different in late 1919 and winter–spring 1920. The Soviets, facing decreasing revolutionary fervor in Europe and having to deal with Russia's own problems, attempted to make peace with its neighbors, including Poland. According to Aviel Roshwald , (Piłsudski) "hoped to incorporate most of the territories of the defunct Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into

10192-414: The inhabitants of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania" on 22 April. It was sharply criticized by his rival National Democrats, who demanded direct incorporation of the former Grand Duchy lands by Poland and signaled their opposition to Piłsudski's territorial and political concepts. Piłsudski had thus proceeded to restore the historic territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by military means, leaving

10304-485: The land in the Brest rail yards remains contaminated due to the transhipment of radioactive materials here since Soviet days. However, cleanup operations have been taking place. The local airport, Brest Airport (code BQT), operates flights on a seasonal schedule to Kaliningrad in the Russian Federation and seasonal charter flights to Burgas and Antalya . HC Meshkov Brest is the most successful team of

10416-471: The necessary political determinations for later. On 25 April, Lenin ordered the Western Front commander to reclaim Vilnius as soon as possible. The Red Army formations that attacked the Polish forces were defeated by Edward Rydz-Śmigły 's units between 30 April and 7 May. While the Poles extended their holdings further, the Red Army, unable to accomplish its objectives and facing intensified combat with

10528-589: The outcome of the war. The West Ukrainian People's Republic was defeated by mid-July and eastern Galicia had come under Polish administration. The destruction of the West Ukrainian Republic confirmed the belief held by many Ukrainians that Poland was the main enemy of their nation. From January 1919 fighting also took place in Volhynia, where the Poles faced the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic led by Symon Petliura . The Polish offensive resulted in

10640-699: The outskirts of Lida ; on 4 March, Piłsudski ordered further movement to the east stopped. The Soviet leadership had become preoccupied with the issue of providing military assistance to the Hungarian Soviet Republic and with the Siberian offensive of the White Army , led by Alexander Kolchak . By July 1919 Polish armies eliminated the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Secretly preparing an assault on Soviet-held Vilnius, in early April Piłsudski

10752-480: The principalities of Turov and Volhynia . In 1164, it was briefly captured by Lithuanians. In 1178, it was captured by Casimir II the Just of Poland, and made the seat of his fraternal nephew Leszek, Duke of Masovia , who, however, soon lost it to the Principality of Minsk . In 1182, Casimir II the Just captured the city once again, and built a castle there, and then granted it as a fief to his sororal nephew Roman

10864-505: The proletariat and agitated for a worldwide communist community. They intended to link the revolution in Russia with a communist Revolutions and interventions in Hungary (1918–1920) they had hoped for and to assist other communist movements in Europe. To be able to provide direct physical support to revolutionaries in the West, the Red Army would have to cross the territory of Romania. According to

10976-600: The top leaders of the Soviet state and their guests from friendly countries. In 1991, the forest acquired its current status as a state national park. In 2009 the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park celebrated the 600th anniversary of its reserve status. The park's headquarters are in Kamieniuki .All of the hotels and cafes were rebuilt and new ones were added to the park. The Eco Education Center, which houses

11088-705: The town and castle were captured by the Swedish Army during its invasions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Then, in an attack from the other direction, on 13 January 1660, the invading Streltsy of the Tsardom of Russia under Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky took the Brest Castle in an early morning surprise attack, the town having been captured earlier, and massacred the 1,700 defenders and their families (according to an Austrian observer, Captain Rosestein). On 23 July 1792,

11200-666: The town was captured by the Imperial German Army under August von Mackensen on 25 August 1915, during the Great Retreat of 1915 . Shortly after Brest fell into German hands, war poet August Stramm , who has been called "the first of the Expressionists " and one of "the most innovative poets of the First World War," was shot in the head during an attack on nearby Russian positions on 1 September 1915. In March 1918, in

11312-489: The treaty and proceeded to recover many of the former territories of the Russian Empire. However, preoccupied with the civil war, it did not have the resources to react swiftly to the national rebellions. In November 1918, Poland became a sovereign state . Among the several border wars fought by the Second Polish Republic was the successful Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919) against Weimar Germany . The historic Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth included vast territories in

11424-560: The two states. It was one of the series of notes exchanged by the two governments in 1918 and 1919. In February, Polish troops marched east to face the Soviets; the new Polish Sejm declared the need to liberate "the northeast provinces of Poland with their capital in Wilno [Vilnius]". After the German World War I troops had been evacuated from the region, the Battle of Bereza Kartuska , a Polish–Soviet skirmish, took place. It occurred during

11536-623: The war and even more so by events and developments in Central and Eastern Europe . During 1918, the city became a part of the Volhynia Governorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic as a result of negotiations and own treaty between the delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada and Central Powers. On 9 February 1919, Polish troops entered the city, and it returned to Poland , which regained independence three months earlier. During

11648-401: The warfare that took place in late April 1920 was an escalation of the fighting that had begun a year and a half earlier. The war's main territories of contention lie in what is now Ukraine and Belarus . Until the mid-13th century, they formed part of the medieval state of Kievan Rus' . After a period of internal wars and the 1240 Mongol invasion , the lands became objects of expansion for

11760-563: Was able to shift some of the forces used in Ukraine to the northern front. The idea was to create a fait accompli and to prevent the Western powers from granting the territories claimed by Poland to White Russia (the Whites were expected to prevail in the Russian Civil War). A new Polish offensive started on 16 April. Five thousand soldiers, led by Piłsudski, headed for Vilnius. Advancing to

11872-471: Was chosen Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1446, a meeting of Casimir IV, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Polish senators regarding the political affiliation of Volhynia took place in the city, and in 1454 Casimir IV met with Lithuanian nobility to convince them to participate in the Polish–Teutonic War on the side of Poland. In 1500, it was burned again by Crimean Tatars . From 1513,

11984-748: Was declared a national park on August 11, 1932 during the Second Polish Republic . After World War II the forest was divided in accordance with the Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 between the People's Republic of Poland and the Byelorussian SSR of the Soviet Union . Poland reopened the Białowieża National Park in 1947. In 1957, the Belarusian part received a new status – “The State Reserve-Hunting Farm” ( Russian : Государственное заповедно-охотничье хозяйство ), intended for recreation of

12096-2067: Was directly part of Poland, until it passed to Galicia–Volhynia either in 1215 or 1217. In 1220, it passed to the Principality of Pinsk as a fief of Galicia–Volhynia. It was laid waste by the Mongols in 1241, and was not rebuilt until 1275. Possibly since the 1270s, the city was contested by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia . [REDACTED] Kievan Rus' (1170–1178) ∟ Principality of Volhynia (1170–1177) ∟ Principality of Minsk (1177–1178) [REDACTED] Kingdom of Poland (1178– c.  1179 ) ∟ Duchy of Masovia (1178– c.  1179 ) [REDACTED] Kievan Rus' ( c.  1179 –1182) ∟ Principality of Minsk ( c.  1179 –1182) [REDACTED] Kingdom of Poland (1182– c.  1217 ) ∟ Principality of Galicia–Volhynia (1199–1205) [REDACTED] Principality of Galicia–Volhynia ( c.  1217 –1246) [REDACTED] Golden Horde (1246–1319) ∟ Principality of Galicia–Volhynia (1246–1253) ∟ Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (1253–1319) [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1319–1320) [REDACTED] Golden Horde (1320–1321) ∟ Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (1320–1321) [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1321–1349) [REDACTED] Kingdom of Poland (1349–1351) [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1351–1569) [REDACTED] Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) [REDACTED] Russian Empire (1795–1812) [REDACTED] French occupation (1812) [REDACTED] Russian Empire (1812–1915) [REDACTED] German occupation (1915–1918) [REDACTED] Second Polish Republic (1918–1919) [REDACTED] SSR Byelorussia (1919) [REDACTED] Second Polish Republic (1919–1939) [REDACTED] Soviet occupation (1939–1941) [REDACTED] German occupation (1941–1944) [REDACTED] Soviet occupation (1944–1945) [REDACTED]   Soviet Union (1945–1991) [REDACTED]   Belarus (1991– present ) In 1319,

12208-479: Was established about 200 km east of the Curzon Line , securing Polish control over parts of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus . The war resulted in the official recognition of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as Soviet states, undermining Piłsudski’s ambitions for a Intermarium federation led by Poland. Despite this, Poland's success at

12320-530: Was hostile to the Polish authorities and actively supported the Bolsheviks. Also in Podolia and near the eastern reaches of Galicia, the Polish armies kept slowly advancing to the east until December. They crossed the Zbruch River and displaced Soviet forces from a number of localities. The Polish forces took Minsk on 8 August. The Berezina River was reached on 18 August. On 28 August, tanks were deployed for

12432-581: Was hotly contested between the Polish rulers (kings, principal dukes and dukes of Masovia ) and Kievan Rus princes. It was recaptured by Poland in 1020, and unsuccessfully besieged by Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev in 1022. It was captured by Yaroslav the Wise, according to various sources, either in 1042 or 1044, then by 1076 recaptured by King Bolesław II the Bold of Poland, but then lost again by his successor Władysław I Herman . Afterwards, it often passed between

12544-550: Was retaken by the Germans during Operation Barbarossa . In 1944, it was retaken by the Soviet Red Army during the Lublin–Brest offensive . The city was part of the Byelorussian SSR until the breakup of the USSR in 1991. Since then, Brest has been part of independent Belarus . Several theories attempt to explain the origin of the city's name. The name could originate from Slavic root berest ' elm '. It could likewise have come from

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