Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic

Lietuvos – Baltarusijos Tarybinė Socialistinė Respublika
Літоўска – Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка Литовско – Белоря Русско

Planned border of the Lithuanian-Belarusian SSR across state borders from 1921

Official language

officially none; de facto Lithuanian , Belarusian and Russian

Capital

Vilnius

The Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (short Litbel SSR , Lithuanian Lietuvos-Baltarusijos Tarybinė Socialistinė Respublika , Belarusian Літоўска-Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка ; Russian Литовско-Белорусская ССР ; Polish Litewsko-Białoruska Republika Rad ) was a Socialist Soviet Republic on the territories of present-day states Belarus and Lithuania . The administrative structure only existed for about seven months in 1919. It was created by the union of the Lithuanian SSR with the Byelorussian SSR in February 1919. The Litbel SSR was disbanded after Polish troops almost the entire territory during the Polish-Soviet war had occupied .

prehistory

After the end of the First World War in November 1918, Soviet Russia began to advance militarily to the west following the retreating German troops. The aim of all efforts was to export the Bolshevik Revolution to Europe and to establish Soviet republics in Eastern Europe. At the end of December 1918, Red Army forces reached Lithuania. The Bolsheviks saw the Baltic States as a stepping stone to Western Europe through which a connection with German and Hungarian revolutionaries should be established.

For this reason, the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was founded on December 16, 1918 and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic on January 1, 1919. Both Soviet republics turned out to be too weak and had no popular support. Due to military setbacks during the Soviet-Lithuanian War in January and February 1919, the Soviet leadership decided to merge the two republics. The proclamation of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic took place on February 27, 1919.