Rada BNR

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State flag of the Byelorussian People's Republic and the Republic of Belarus of 1991 - 1995

Council (Rada) of the Belarusian People's Republic ( Belarusian Рада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі, Рада БНР ; Rada BNR ) is the supreme governing body of the former Belarusian People's Republic , which has been the most important political organization of the Belarusian exile since 1919. As of 2013, Rada BNR is the oldest existing government in exile in the world.

education

See History of Belarus and Belarusian People's Republic

The first government of the Belarusian People's Republic

The Rada BNR originally emerged as the central executive body (Rada) of the General Belarusian Congress, which was held in Minsk in December 1917 with more than 1,800 participants from different parts of Belarus, including representatives of Belarusian national organizations, regional Zemstva , Jewish political organizations, churches and others , has taken place. The work of the Congress was violently interrupted by pro-Soviet forces.

After the pro-Bolshevik units withdrew from Minsk, the Congress Rada declared itself the supreme power in Belarus. After the conclusion of the German- Soviet peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk , according to which the territory of Belarus came under the German sphere of influence and was already occupied by them, the Rada declared independence from Belarus as the Belarusian People's Republic and named itself in the Rada of the Belarusians People's Republic.

The German army arrived in Minsk did not recognize the Rada and actively resisted its activities. Nevertheless, the Rada was able to start organizing its institutions in different parts of the country, as well as organizing a national education system and an army.

On January 1, 1919, a competing " Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus " was proclaimed in Smolensk .

The Rada has established official diplomatic contacts with the governments of several states, including Finland , the Ukrainian People's Republic , Czechoslovakia , the Baltic States , Turkey and others.

With the advance of the Red Army to the west, the Rada BNR moved from Minsk to Vilnius , then to Hrodna and finally, by agreement with the government of the Lithuanian Republic , to Kaunas .

In exile

1919 to 1947

In the 1920s the Rada had active but unsuccessful negotiations with the governments of the Western Powers, Poland , Soviet Russia and the League of Nations for the recognition of Belarus.

Because of the contradictions with Poland and the Republic of Lithuania, the headquarters of the Rada BNR finally moved to Prague .

The establishment and development of the Belarusian Soviet Republic as part of the USSR led some members of the Rada to give up their seats and move to the Soviet Republic. However, the Rada BNR has not officially recognized the Belarusian Soviet Republic. Most of the members of the government-in-exile who emigrated to the BSSR, such as the former Prime Minister Wazlau Justynawitsch Lastouski , fell victim to communist terror in the 1930s .

In 1939 the President of the Rada lodged an official protest against the Stalin- initiated handover of Wilno , which had previously been occupied by the Red Army as part of western Belarus as part of the Soviet conquest of eastern Poland , to the Republic of Lithuania .

During the Second World War , the Rada BNR refused to recognize the Beloruthenian Central Council , which was founded under the German occupation , and there was competition between the two governments in exile.

1947 to 1991

After the end of the Second World War, the Rada, strengthened by the influx of several refugees from Belarus, which was reclaimed by the Soviet Union, actively asserted itself as a Belarusian lobby organization in the West. Active contacts were established with the governments of the Western powers and several activities were carried out in cooperation with the governments in exile of the Baltic States, the Ukrainian People's Republic and with other anti-Soviet organizations of political refugees. In the 1950s, which led CIA the operation Aequor by, among other things, the financing of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, listed as "Aecambista - 1" or "cambista - 1" included.

The Rada was formed from representatives of Belarusian organizations in various countries in the West. The formal seat of the Rada was brought to the United States and Canada .

Among other things, as a result of the Rada BNR's success in 1953, the Belarusian-speaking editorial team of Radio Free Europe was established.

After the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, the Rada BNR was actively involved in the organization of humanitarian aid for the areas of Belarus affected by the disaster.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union

After the independence from Belarus was restored in 1991, the government of the Republic of Belarus contacted the Rada BNR. Preparations for handing over the mandate of the Rada BNR to the parliament of Belarus had begun, but were canceled after President Alexander Lukashenko seized power and violated democratic standards and human rights, as well as after the return to Soviet state symbols and the Russian language as the state language in Belarus.

Ivonka Survilla , current President of the Rada BNR

The Rada BNR has accepted some prominent political refugees and opponents of the Lukashenko regime into its ranks and publishes regular official statements criticizing the situation regarding human rights, democracy and Russification in Belarus. Rada BNR representatives have regular meetings with representatives of the governments and foreign ministries of various countries in the EU and North America.

The March 25 , the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Byelorussian People's Republic is actively celebrated as Freedom Day (Дзень Волі) in Belarusian opposition circles. Until 1995 March 25 was also a national holiday in the Republic of Belarus.

Structure and functions

Originally, the Rada was regarded as a provisional parliament that was supposed to fulfill its functions until a national constituent congress was called. The Rada formed a provisional cabinet of ministers from among its ranks.

Today, the Rada BNR sees itself as the bearer of the symbolic mandate from 1918 and as a guarantor of independence from Belarus. The aim of the Rada is to hand over the mandate to a democratically elected parliament of Belarus under the conditions that the independence of Belarus is guaranteed.

The Rada is headed by the President (Старшыня Рады БНР). Its highest body is the 14-member Presidium.

Several secretariats function as parts of the Rada:

  • Foreign Affairs Secretariat
  • Internal Affairs Secretariat
  • Secretariat for Information
  • Secretariat for Education

and other

The functioning of the Rada is regulated by the Provisional Constitution of the Belarusian People's Republic and the Statute of the Rada BNR.

President of the Rada BNR

Well-known members of the Rada BNR

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official name in German, as on the passports issued by the republic
  2. ↑ Heart of darkness: A ray of hope from Belarusian exiles
  3. ↑ http://slounik.org/32081.html
  4. ^ CIA report
  5. ↑ Максімюк, Я. Аднаўленьне Рады БНР пасьля Другой Сусьветнай вайны // Запісы = zapisy. - 2001. - № 25. - С. 41-48.
  6. ↑ Mark Alexander: Nazi Collaborators, American Intelligence, and the Cold War. The Case of the Byelorussian Central Council. University of Vermont Graduate College Dissertations and Theses, No. 424, 2015, p. 102
  7. ^ CIA document on Operation Aequor
  8. ↑ a b c d Навошта нам Рада БНР: інтэрвію з членам Рады (пачатак)
  9. ↑ Шварцэнбэрг - Сурвіле: Візы тармозіць не ЭЗ, а Менск
  10. ↑ Эстонія падтрымлівае беларускую апазыцыю
  11. ↑ http://www.radabnr.org