Belarusians Celebrate Freedom Day

98 years ago independence of the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed.

It happened on March 25, 1918. The Rada adopted the Third Charter that declared the full independence of the country. It was the first time when our people got a chance to create their own state.
Today Minsk hosts a mass event devoted to the anniversary of declaration of independence. Mingorispolkom has authorized the meeting on Freedom Day at 6 pm next to Oktyabr cinema (Akademia Nauk metro station). Mikalai Statkevich and a number of other opposition leaders urged participants to gather together at 5 pm near Kupala monument.
Young Belarusians - Yazep Voronko, Kastus Ezavitov, Ivan Serada, - the generation brought up on ideas of the national resurgence that began in Belarus in early XXth century, stood at the origins of the BPR. They all hoped for freedom after the World War I and February Revolution in Russia.
A possibility to implement it became possible after failure to negotiate with bolsheviks and Germany in early 1918 in Brest. Then the Soviet authorities who tried to impede the activity of Belarusian patriots were forced to leave Minsk and other large cities of the country and flee to Smolensk.
On February 21 the Executive Committee of the Rada of the All-Belarusian Meeting announced itself an interim authority in the country. Soon it was decided to convene an organizational meeting, which could be the first attempt to decide upon further fate based on democracy. Earlier, the interim authority - People's Secretariat with Yazep Voronko as the head - had functions of a new authority.
A few weeks later Belarus was announced a People's Republic. The government was transformed into the Rada of BPR headed by Ivan Sereda.
On March 25 Rada proclaimed a complete independence of the BPR. Pahonia coat of arms and white-red-white flag became symbols of a new state.
The BPR's government made every possible effort to establish national institutions. It was decided to grant a national status to Belarusian language, establish Belarusian schools and gymnasiums, cultural and educational societies and theaters, as well as publishing houses. Newspapers were published in Belarusian, and it was planned to open the National University in Minsk.

A number of European countries recognized independence of our country.
The Rada of BPR was supported by Belarusian councils in Mahilyeu, Hrodna, Vaukavysk, Slutsk and other towns. They immediately broke in activity building of new authorities at places.
Germany and the Soviet Russia did not recognize BPR, as well as they did not recognize the right to self-determination of other peoples which lived in their territory. Nevertheless, bolsheviks considered it a real state. They wrote "it is needed to devolve power of the BPR on the government of BSSR."
In virtue of a complex military and political situation Rada of the BPR could not fulfill the idea of the state sovereignty. The attempt to create an army and oppose bolsheviks in the east and Poles in the west failed. But the Soviet authorities recognized the popularity of the statehood among Belarusians. Therefore, on January 1, 1919 the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus was proclaimed in Smolensk within almost the same borders specified by the BPR. Soon units of the Red Army occupied Minsk and the government of the Soviet Belarus moved there. The Rada BPR had to emigrate.

Proclamation of the BPR had other implications besides forced proclamation of the SSRB by bolsheviks. Local Belarusian authorities created structures who managed to fight against communists during a decade. It often loomed to the Soviet power - for instance, the Slutsk uprising and support of Bulak-Balachowicz by Belarusian in Polesie. And above all, for the first time in decades it became an example of a success of the Belarusians. A year before events of March 25, 1918 only few people could imagine that Belarusians could have their own government and state even for a short time.



Kilde:  http://charter97.org/en/news/2016/3/25/196557/