Гістарычны шлях нацыі і дзяржавы
Радзім Гарэцкі, Міхась Біч, Уладзімір Конан
Выдавец: Беларускі кнігазбор
Памер: 348с.
Мінск 2001
oppression as well. All the higher educational establishments were closed down. Primary and secondary schools became Russian. Since 1864 it was banned by the Ministry of Education even to speak Belarusian in educational establishements. Belarusian was strictly restricted in book printing as well.
Despite these policies, led by Russian Tsars, our people was able to awaken to national life and regain national patriotic consciousness. The works by Yan Barshcheuski, Yan Chachot, Vintsent Dunin-Martsynkievich, Frantsishak Bahushevich, and other national intelligentsia gave the Belarusian word strength. Belarusian as well as Russian patriots took part in the national-liberation movement against the despotism of the Russian Tsars. And it was one of the Belarusian fighters, a nobleman named Ihnat Hryniavitski, who in 1881 made a successful attempt on the life of Russian Tsar Aleksandr II. Two issues of the national magazine Homan were published by the Belarusian fraction of the Narodnaya Volya (the Party of National Freedom), of which Ihnat Hryniavitski was a member. For the first time the theoretical grounds of the independent existence of the Belarusian ethnos were formulated. The equality of the Belarusians to the every other nation was claimed, and the right for an independent state was demanded.
At the turn of the XIXth century the revolutionary democratic and national liberation movements were mustering their strength. They regained a new force on the eve and at the time of the Revolution of 1905-1907. In 1903 the first Belarusian political party Belaruskaya Satsyialistychnaya Hramada (the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party) was formed on the initiative of the brothers Ivan and Anton Lutskievich, Alaiza Pashkievich, and some others. From September, 1906 the first Belarusian newspaper Nasha Dolya (Our Piece of Luck) was published in Vilnya. But in almost no time it was closed down by the Russian governors. The next Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva (Our Cornfield) existed from November, 1906 till August, 1915 — quite enough to become a reminder of the Belarusian consciousness. National forces grouped around it, and the grounds for the Belarusian Renaissance were prepared with its help, by the role it always played. The global problems of the world community of those times only speeded up this process.
During the First World War (1914-1918) the major martial conflicts between Germany and Russia were solved on Belarusian territory. Every fifth Belarusian was killed in that war totaling 1.2 million ruined lives. Another 1.5 million Belarusian people were made homeless by the Russian governors and became refuges, who suffered great hardship in a strange land.
Defeat in the war caused the fall of the Russian monarchy in February, 1917. At last our exhausted Motherland could have a definite hope for a revival of statehood.
The first All-Belarusian Congress that was held on in December, 1917 in Miensk was a deciding moment in the fight for statehood. The initiative and the leading role in the Congress organization was that of the Belarusian Social Hramada (the Belarusian Social-Democratic Party). 1872 delegates from the every region of Belarus, representing peasants, workers, military men, refuges, and the intelligentsia, took part in the work of the Congress. But, as the Congress took a national direction, the local leaders of the Bolsheviks with the help of the armed forces broke it up. Only the elected Rada (Soviet) and the Executive Committee did not stop their activity, to become the only defenders of the interests of the Belarusians. The Executive Committee formed the government of the BPR — the National Secretariat of Belarus with Yazep Varonka as its head.
The Bolsheviks completely ignored the national Belarusian interests. According to the Peace of Brest, Belarus was divided beween the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (the RSFSR) and Germany. The Executive Committee of the Rada of the All-Belarusian Congress reacted in proclaiming our country the Belarusian People’s Republic (the BPR). In March, 1918 the Rada formed a parliament — the Rada of the BPR. On 25th March, 1918 the Rada of the BPR adopted the 3rd Charter declaring the Belarusian People’s Republic an independent state. The 3rd Charter claimed that the BPR ‘should be composed of the
lands where the majority of the population is Belarusian’; and Mahiliou, Vitsebsk, Miensk, Harodnya (with Belastok) Regions as well as Belarusian parts of Smalensk, Charnihau, Vilnya Regions and borderlands of neighbouring provinces, inhabited by the Belarusians, were mentioned.
The day when the independent BPR was proclaimed became historic for our people and now is annually celebrated as the greatest holiday by the every Belarusian patriot. And the names of the BPR leaders, who did much to promote the adoption of the Act of 25"’ March, should be written in the history of Belarus in gold letters. These are their names: Ivan and Anton Lutskievich, Vatslau Lastouski, Yazep Varonka, Alies Burbis, Arkadz Smolich, Kastus Ezavitau, and quite a few others. At different times Ivan Serada, Piotr Krecheuski, Vasil Zakharka, Mikola Abramchyk, Vintsent Zhuk-Hryshkievich, and Yazep Sazhych headed the Rada of the BPR. The present Head of the Rada of the BPR in exile is Ivonka Survilla, who is living in Canada at the moment.
The independent Belarusian People’s Republic was recognized by Armenia, Austria, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, Czecho-Slovakia, Estonia. No one could claim any more that there was no Belarusian nation.
Unfortunately, the Belarusian people failed to maintain the independence of their country at that time. The Red Army was advancing from the East, and the Polish troops were attacking from the West. Most of the Belarusian territory was invaded by the Bolsheviks. The Rada of the BPR had to leave Miensk for Harodnya and later emigrate to Lithuania. Since then it has been working in exile standing for the idea of an independent Belarus.
The liquidation of the BPR caused a wave of resistance from the Belarusians. In November, 1920 the Slutsk uprising broke out in defense of the BPR. One should not ever forget either the fact of the uprising or the names of national heroes — Uladzimir Prakulievich, Pavel Zhauryd, Anton Sokal-Kutylouski, Yurka Listapad, and others.
But even the rule of the Bolsheviks could not abolish the influence made by the BPR on the further development of Belarus. The new governors could not just ignore the Belarusian national movement, especially those Belarusians who supported Soviet rule. So, Belarusian communists were allowed to establish the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (the BSSR). And these are the names of those Belarusian leaders who forced the process of the Republic formation: Aliaksandar Charviakou, Zmitser Zhylunovich, Usievalad Ihnatouski, and some others. On 1st January, 1919 the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in Smalensk. In 1922 it became a part of the USSR. Although at first the Republic composed all the ethnic Belarusian lands, later it lost a part of them, becoming a completely dependent country.
In March, 1918 our Motherland was divided between Russia and Germany according to the Peace of Brest and between Russia, Lithuania, and Latvia in 1920. The results of the Peace of Riga, signed in 1921 by Russia and Poland, was the most dramatic, as Western Belarus was given to Poland. The reverse process began only in September, 1939 when Western Belarus was returned to the USSR. But in October of the same year Vilnya with the lands around was handed to Lithuania by Stalin.
Deep gratitude should be paid to our countrymen from Western Belarus who fought for social and national liberation of the country, the Belarusian language, schools, and culture. These are their names: Branislau Tarashkievich, Anton Lutskievich, Adam Stankievich, Ihnat Dvarchanin, Symon Rak-Mikhailouski, Aliaksandr Ulasau, and Frantsishak Aliakhnovich. Many of them were condemned to suffer in Polish and then in Soviet prisons and concentration camps. It is hard even to imagine the real tragedy of the brave, strong, clever people who were devoted to their Motherland and let down in such a cruel way.
Life in Soviet Belarus was not any happier. Hope for a better life existed only in the 20s, and that time became known in history as the period of belarusification. And quite a lot was done in this decade for the cultural development of the Belarusian nation. With the assistance of the Belarusian enlighteners, Belarusian was accepted as the official language of the
Republic; national primary, secondary, and high schools were established; Belarusian newspapers and magazines began to be issued; and Belarusian publishing houses, theatres, museums, and archives appeared. The Institute of Belarusian Culture was organized, and later it formed the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. We have data proving that in the late 20s about 88% of children were studying at Belarusian schools.
A different process was going on in the economic life of Belarus, as it was the very time of laying the foundation of Soviet economics with its centralized state management. The process of collectivization simply destroyed the Belarusian village, that had been the foundation for the economic growth of the country. It annihilated what had been left from the market ecomony and revived feudal relations in a shameful state-serf way. Industrialization in the Soviet style considered the interests neither of the Byelorussian Republic nor of its people.
The totalitarian regime of the Soviet country led to a policy of complete unification to make the National Republics similar in the single body of the new Soviet Empire. The Constitution of the USSR of 1936 annihilated even that smallest part of what remained from the independence of the BSSR. A number of political persecutions, started in the 1930s, stopped any further national development. About a million people, among whom were state and economical leaders as well as talented Belarusian intelligentsia, were severely persecuted. The finest and hardworking peasants were destroyed in the process called obligatory collectivization. In 1937-1938 most of the poets and writers were killed. The single day of 29lh October, 1937 brought the death of Platon Halavach, Mikhas Charot, Mikhas Zaretski, Alies Dudar, Valiery Marakou, and others with a total number of 14 Belarusian literary workers. The next day bullets reached Todar Kliashtorny, Yanka Niomanski, Yuli Taubin. They and thousands of others were rehabitated in decades, but at that time national cultural and political development was stopped. Now we pay honour to our innocent martyrs on Forefathers’ Day both in Kurapaty forest and on the entire territory of Belarus, but it is impossible to regain what was lost.
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