Editing History of Belarus

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{History of Belarus}}
The lands of [[Belarus]] during the [[Middle Ages]] became part of [[Kievan Rus']] and were split between different regional [[principality|principalities]], including [[Principality of Polotsk|Polotsk]], [[Principality of Turov|Turov]], [[Principality of Vitebsk|Vitebsk]], and others. Following the [[Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'|Mongol invasions]] of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], which later was merged into the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in the 16th century.

Following the [[Partitions of Poland]] in the 18th century, Belarusian territories became part of the [[Russian Empire]]. In the aftermath of the [[Russian Revolution]], different states arose competing for legitimacy amid the [[Russian Civil War]], ultimately ending with the consolidation of the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]], which became a [[Republics of the Soviet Union|constituent republic]] of the [[Soviet Union]] when it was founded in 1922.

The republic was devastated as a result of the [[German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II|German occupation]] during [[World War II]], and its territory was expanded after [[Western Belorussia]] was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]] as a result of the war. Belarus became an independent state in 1991 following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]].

==Prehistoric era==

Archaeological discoveries show what is now Belarus had human inhabitants during the [[Paleolithic]] and [[Neolithic]] ages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Belarus {{!}} Events, People, Dates, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Belarus |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Early history==
[[File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png|thumb|250px|The [[Principality of Polotsk]] within [[Kievan Rus']] in the 11th century]]
The history of [[Belarus]] begins with the migration and expansion of the [[Slavs|Slavic peoples]] through [[Eastern Europe]] between the 6th and 8th centuries. [[East Slavs]] settled on the territory of present-day [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]], assimilating local [[Balts|Baltic]] ([[Yotvingians]], [[Dnieper Balts]]), [[Finnic peoples|Finns]] (in Russia) and [[steppe]] nomads (in Ukraine) already living there, their early ethnic integrations contributed to the gradual differentiation of the East Slavs. These East Slavs, [[paganism|pagan]], [[animism|animistic]], [[Agrarianism|agrarian]] people, had an economy which included trade in agricultural produce, [[wild game|game]], [[fur]]s, [[honey]], [[beeswax]] and [[amber]].

The modern [[Belarusians|Belarusian ethnos]] was probably formed on the basis of the three Slavic tribes—[[Kryvian]]s, [[Drehovian]]s, and [[Radzimian]]s—as well as several [[Balts|Baltic tribes]].{{sfn|Ioffe|Silitski|2018|p=137}}

[[File:Ancient Rus.PNG|thumb|left|Map of [[Kievan Rus']], 11th century]]

The common cultural bond of [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] and written [[Church Slavonic]] (a literary and liturgical [[Slavic language]] developed by 8th-century missionaries [[Saints Cyril and Methodius]]) fostered the emergence of a new geopolitical entity, [[Kievan Rus']] — a loose-knit multi-ethnic network of principalities,<ref name="channon">John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia'' (Penguin, 1995), p.16.</ref> established along pre-existing trade routes, with major centers in [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]] (now in Russia), [[Polotsk]] (now in Belarus) and [[Kyiv|Kiev]] (now in Ukraine).

===Kievan Rus'===
[[File:Anton Losenko. Vladimir and Rogneda.jpg|right|thumb|[[Vladimir I of Kiev|Vladimir I]] and princess [[Rogneda of Polotsk]] (painting of 1770)]]
Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the [[Principality of Polotsk]] (now in northern Belarus) emerged as the dominant center of power in the territory of Belarus, while the [[Principality of Turov and Pinsk|Principality of Turov]] south of it was a lesser power.

The Principality of Polotsk repeatedly asserted its sovereignty in relation to the other centers of Rus', becoming a political capital, the [[episcopal see]] of a bishopric and the controller of [[vassal]] territories among [[Balts]] in the west. The city's [[Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk|Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom]] (1044–66), though completely rebuilt over the years, remains a symbol of this independent-mindedness, rivaling churches of the same name in Novgorod and Kiev, referring to the original [[Hagia Sophia]] in [[Constantinople]] (and hence to claims of imperial prestige, authority and sovereignty). Cultural achievements of the Polotsk period include the work of the nun [[Euphrosyne of Polotsk]] (1120–1173), who built monasteries, transcribed books, promoted literacy and sponsored art (including local artisan [[Lazar Bohsha]]'s famous "[[Cross of Saint Euphrosyne|Cross of Euphrosyne]]", a national symbol and treasure stolen during [[World War II]]), and the prolific, original Church Slavonic sermons and writings of Bishop [[Kirill of Turov]] (1130–1182).

===Grand Duchy of Lithuania===
{{Main|Kingdom of Lithuania|Grand Duchy of Lithuania}}
{{refimprove-section|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Gdlbelarus1400.JPG|left|thumb|The [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] in the 15th century. The territory of modern-day Belarus was fully within its borders.]]
[[File:Grand Duchy of Lithuania Rus and Samogitia 1434.jpg|thumb|left|Position of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Eastern Europe until 1434]]
In the 13th century, the fragile unity of Kievan Rus' disintegrated due to nomadic incursions from [[Asia]], which climaxed with the [[Mongol]] [[siege of Kiev (1240)|sacking of Kiev]] in 1240, leaving a geopolitical vacuum in the region. The East Slavs had splintered into a number of independent and competing principalities. Due to military conquest and dynastic marriages, the western principalities of Rus' in modern Belarus were acquired by the expanding [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], beginning with the rule of [[Kingdom of Lithuania|Lithuanian King]] [[Mindaugas]] (1240–1263). From the 13th to 15th century, the principalities were either conquered or willingly joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The Lithuanians' smaller numbers in this medieval state gave the Ruthenians (later Belarusians and Ukrainians) an important role in the everyday cultural life of the state.{{cn|date=June 2024}} Owing to the prevalence of East Slavs and the [[Eastern Orthodox]] faith among the population in eastern and southern regions of the state, the [[Ruthenian language]] was a widely used colloquial language.

The [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]] variety of the language (''rus'ka mova'', ''Old Belarusian'' or ''West Russian Chancellery language''), gradually influenced by Polish, was the language of administration in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from at least [[Vytautas]]' reign until the late 17th century when it was replaced by [[Polish language|Polish]].<ref>Björn Wiemer. "Dialect and language contacts on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 15th century until 1939". ''Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History''. Edited by Kurt Braunmüller and Gisell Ferraresi. John Benjamins Publishing. 2003. pp. 110–111.</ref>

This period of political breakdown and reorganization also saw the rise of written local vernaculars in place of the literary and liturgical [[Church Slavonic]] language, a further stage in the evolving differentiation between the [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] languages.

Several Lithuanian monarchs — the last being [[Švitrigaila]] in 1432–36 — relied on the Eastern Orthodox Ruthenian majority, while most monarchs and [[magnate (Poland)|magnate]]s increasingly came to reflect the opinions of the Roman Catholics.

[[File:Царква10.JPG|thumb|upright|Church of the Saviour's Transfiguration in [[Zaslawye]] (1577)]]
Construction of Orthodox churches in some parts of present-day Belarus had been initially prohibited, as was the case in [[Vitebsk]] in 1480. On the other hand, further unification of the mostly Orthodox Grand Duchy with mostly Catholic Poland led to liberalization and a partial solving of the religious problem. In 1511, King and [[Grand Duke]] [[Sigismund I the Old]] granted the Orthodox clergy an autonomy previously enjoyed only by Catholic clergy. The privilege was enhanced in 1531, when the Orthodox church was no longer responsible to the Catholic bishop and instead the [[Metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] was responsible only to the ''[[Synod#Orthodox usage|sobor]]'' of eight Orthodox bishops, the Grand Duke and the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]]. The privilege also extended the jurisdiction of the Orthodox hierarchy over all Orthodox people.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [https://archive.today/20060404105829/http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/061/61149.htm Литовско–русское государство] (''Litovsko–russkoye gosydarstvo'') in ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]''</ref>

In such circumstances, a vibrant Ruthenian culture flourished, mostly in the major cities of present-day Belarus.<ref>
{{in lang|ru}} "[https://archive.today/20050218174817/http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/001/134.htm Братства]" (''Bratstva'') in ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]''
</ref>
Despite the legal usage of the Ruthenian language, which was used as a chancellery language in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, literature was mostly non-existent, apart from several chronicles.

==Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth==
{{refimprove-section|date=June 2024}}
[[File:Unia Lubelska.JPG|left|thumb|''[[Union of Lublin (painting)|Union of Lublin]]'' of 1569, oil on canvas by [[Jan Matejko]], 1869, 298×512 cm, National Museum in [[Warsaw]]]]
The [[Union of Lublin]] in 1569 led to the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] to become an influential player in European politics and the largest multinational state in Europe. While present-day [[Ukraine]] and [[Podlaskie]] became subjects of the [[Crown of the Polish Kingdom|Polish Crown]], present-day Belarusian territories were still regarded as part of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. The new polity was dominated by densely populated Poland, which had 134 representatives in the [[Sejm]] as compared to 46 representatives from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained significant autonomy, and was governed by a separate code of laws called the [[Lithuanian Statutes]], which codified both civil and property rights. Of the territory of present-day Belarus, [[Mogilev]] was the largest urban centre, followed by Vitebsk, [[Polotsk]], [[Pinsk]], [[Slutsk]], and [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]], whose population exceeded 10,000. In addition, [[Vilnius|Vilna (Vilnius)]], the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also had a significant Ruthenian population.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://belarus.by/ru/belarus/history/4/5/ Внутриполитические результаты Люблинской унии] (''Vnutripolitičeskie rezul'tati Lyublinskoy unii''), [http://belarus.by/ Belarus.by portal]</ref>

{{Rzeczpospolita 1618|size=300px}}
With time, the ethnic pattern did not evolve much. Throughout their existence as a separate culture, Ruthenians formed in most cases the rural population, with power held by the local ''[[szlachta]]'' and [[boyar]]s, often of Lithuanian, Polish or Russian descent. By this time, a significant Jewish presence had also formed in this region of [[German Jews]] fleeing persecution from the [[Northern Crusades|Northern and Baltic Crusaders]].  Since the [[Union of Horodlo]] of 1413, the local nobility was assimilated into the [[Polish heraldry|traditional clan system]] by means of the formal [[heraldic adoption|procedure of adoption]] by the ''szlachta'' (Polish [[gentry]]).{{cn|date=June 2024}} Eventually, it formed a significant part of the ''szlachta''. Initially{{when|date=June 2024}} mostly Ruthenian and Orthodox,{{cn|date=June 2024}} with time most of them became [[polonization|polonized]]. This was especially true for major [[magnate]] families ([[Sapieha]] and [[Radziwiłł]] clans being the most notable), whose personal fortunes and properties often surpassed those of the royal families and were huge enough to be called a state within a state.

[[File:Nowogrodek.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Novogrudok]], by [[Napoleon Orda]]]]
Also, with time religious conflicts started to arise. The gentry with time started to adopt [[Catholicism]] while the common people by large remained faithful to [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]. Initially the [[Warsaw Compact]] of 1573 codified the preexisting [[Freedom of religion|freedom of worship]]. However, the rule of an ultra-Catholic King [[Sigismund III Vasa]] was marked by numerous attempts to spread Catholicism, mostly through his support for [[counterreformation]] and the [[Jesuits]]. Possibly to avoid such conflicts, in 1595 the Orthodox hierarchs of Kiev signed the [[Union of Brest]], breaking their links with the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] and placing themselves under the [[Pope]]. Although the union was generally supported by most local Orthodox bishops and the king himself, it was opposed by some prominent nobles and, more importantly, by the nascent [[Cossacks|Cossack]] movement. This led to a series of conflicts and rebellions against the local authorities. The first of such happened in 1595, when the Cossack insurgents under [[Severyn Nalyvaiko]] took the towns of [[Slutsk]] and [[Mogilev]] and executed Polish magistrates there. Other such clashes took place in Mogilev (1606–10), Vitebsk (1623), and [[Polotsk]] (1623, 1633).<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://belarus.by/ru/belarus/history/4/6/ Церковная уния 1596 г.] (''Tserkovnaya uniya 1596 g.'') in "[http://belarus.by/ belarus.by portal]"</ref> This left the population of the Grand Duchy divided between [[Greek Catholic]] and [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] parts. At the same time, after the [[schism (religion)|schism]] in the Orthodox Church ([[Raskol]]), some [[Old Believers]] migrated west, seeking refuge in the Rzeczpospolita, which [[Warsaw Compact|allowed them]] to freely practice their faith.<ref name="promemoria">{{in lang|pl}} [[Jerzy Czajewski]], ''Zbiegostwo ludności Rosji w granice Rzeczypospolitej'' (Russian population exodus into the Rzeczpospolita), Promemoria journal, October 2004 nr. (5/15), ISSN 1509-9091, [http://www.promemoria.org.pl/arch/2004_15/2004_15.html Table of Contents online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060312232518/http://www.promemoria.org.pl/arch/2004_15/2004_15.html|date=12 March 2006}}</ref>

From 1569, the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] suffered a series of [[Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe|Tatar raids]], the goal of which was to loot, pillage and capture slaves into [[jasyr]]. The borderland area to the south-east was in a state of semi-permanent warfare until the 18th century. Some researchers estimate that altogether more than 3 million people, predominantly [[Ukrainians]] but also [[Russians]], [[Belarusians]] and [[Polish people|Poles]], were captured and enslaved during the time of the [[Crimean Khanate]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}

[[File:The occupation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (union state of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania) during The Deluge and Chmielnicki's Uprising.png|thumb|right|300px|Foreign occupation of the Commonwealth during [[The Deluge (Polish history)|The Deluge]] and [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]]]]
Despite these conflicts, the literary tradition of Belarus evolved. Until the 17th century, the [[Ruthenian language]], the predecessor of modern [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], was used in the Grand Duchy as a chancery language, that is, the language used for official documents. Afterwards, it was replaced with the [[Polish language]], commonly spoken by the upper classes. Both Polish and Ruthenian cultures gained a major cultural centre with the foundation of the [[University of Vilnius|Academy of Vilna]]. At the same time, the Belarusian lands entered a path of economic growth, with the formation of numerous towns that served as centres of trade on the east–west routes.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

Eventually, by 1795, Poland was [[partitions of Poland|partitioned by its neighbors]]. Thus, a new period in Belarusian history began, with all its lands annexed by the [[Russian Empire]].

==Russian Empire==
<!-- this section is highly controversial -->
{{main|Russification of Belarus|Belarusian history in the Russian Empire}}
[[File:battle polotsk.jpg|thumb|''[[Second battle of Polotsk]]'' (1812), as depicted by [[Peter von Hess]]]]
[[File:Połacak, Dźvina. Полацак, Дзьвіна (S. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1912).jpg|thumb|View of [[Polotsk]] in 1912]]
Under Russian administration, the territory of Belarus was divided into the [[Governorates of the Russian Empire|governorates]] (''[[guberniya]]s'') of [[Minsk Governorate|Minsk]], [[Vitebsk Governorate|Vitebsk]], [[Mogilev Governorate|Mogilev]], and [[Grodno Governorate|Grodno]]. Belarusians were active in the [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] movement against [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s occupation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.johnlearn.com/p/history-of-belarus-was-formed-probably-on-the-basis-of-the-three-slavic-tribes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123854/https://www.johnlearn.com/p/history-of-belarus-was-formed-probably-on-the-basis-of-the-three-slavic-tribes|url-status=usurped|archive-date=8 February 2018|title=History of Belarus was formed probably on the basis of the three Slavic tribes|last=S.|first=John|work=John Learn|access-date=2018-02-08|language=en-US}}</ref> With Napoleon's defeat, Belarus again became a part of [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]] and its ''guberniyas'' constituted part of the [[Northwestern Krai]]. The independence seeking [[November Uprising|1830]] and [[January Uprising|1863]] uprisings of the gentry were subdued by the government forces.<ref name="zytko-1">Żytko, Anatol (1999) ''Russian policy towards the Belarussian gentry in 1861–1914'', Minsk, p. 551.</ref>

Although under [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] and [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] the national cultures were repressed due to the policies of de-Polonization<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.pravoslavie.ru/arhiv/050513111111 Воссоединение униатов и исторические судьбы Белорусского народа] (''Vossoyedineniye uniatov i istoričeskiye sud'bi Belorusskogo naroda''), [http://www.pravoslavie.ru/ Pravoslavie portal]</ref> and [[Russification of Belarus|Russification]],<ref name="zytko-1"/> which included the return to Orthodoxy, the 19th century signifies the rise of the modern Belarusian nation and self-confidence. A number of authors started publishing in the Belarusian language, including [[Jan Czeczot]], [[Władysław Syrokomla]] and [[Konstanty Kalinowski]]. In 1862-1863 Kalinowski published first newspaper in modern Belarusian language, ''[[Mużyckaja prauda]]'' (''Peasants' Truth''), in a Latin script.<ref name="horosko">{{cite journal |last1=Horosko |first1=Leo |title=Kastus Kalinouski: Leader of the National Uprising in Byelorussia 1863-64 |journal=Journal of Belarusian Studies |date=16 December 1965 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=30–35 |doi=10.30965/20526512-00101005 |url=https://www.schoeningh.de/view/journals/bela/1/1/article-p30_5.xml |access-date=1 June 2022 |issn=0075-4161}}</ref>

In the second half of the 19th century, the [[Belarusian economy]], like that of the entire Europe, was experiencing significant growth due to the spread of the [[Industrial Revolution]] to [[Eastern Europe]],<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.rw.by/index.php/.106....0.0.0.html История строительства дорог 1850–1900 гг.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104041533/http://www.rw.by/index.php/.106....0.0.0.html|date=4 January 2009}}, [[Byelorussian Railways]]<!-- sic: This is the English name used on the company's website; don't "correct" it to "Belarusian" --></ref> particularly after the [[emancipation of the serfs]] in 1861 and the construction of railways in the late 19th century (with [[Minsk]], [[Vitebsk]], [[Grodno]], [[Pinsk]] and [[Gomel]] becoming significant industrial centres.<ref>Экономика Белорусии в Эпоху Империализма 1900-1917. Под редакцией Г. Ковалевского и др. Минск 1963, стр.86-88 and 413</ref>

==20th century==

===BNR and LBSSR===<!-- This section is linked from [[Government in exile]] -->
[[File:BNR (Ruthienie Blanche) Map 1918.jpg|thumb|280px|The territory claimed by the [[People's Republic of Belarus]], 1918]]
[[File:Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991-1995).svg|thumb|The [[Flag of Belarus#White-red-white flag|flag]] of the [[People's Republic of Belarus]] in 1918 and of the [[Republic of Belarus]] in 1991-1995]]
[[File:Coat of Arms of Belarus (1991).svg|thumb|upright|[[Pahonia]], the [[National emblem of Belarus#Pahonia|Coat of Arms]] of the [[People's Republic of Belarus]] in 1918 and of the [[Republic of Belarus]] in 1991-1995]]
{{main|People's Republic of Belarus|Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic}}
On 21 February 1918, Minsk was captured by German troops. [[World War I]] was the short period when [[Belarusian culture]] started to flourish. German administration allowed schools with [[Belarusian language]], previously banned in Russia; a number of [[Education in Belarus|Belarusian school]]s were created until 1919 when they were banned again by the Polish military administration.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}} At the end of World War I, when Belarus was still [[military occupation|occupied]] by Germans, according to the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], the short-lived [[People's Republic of Belarus]] was pronounced on 25 March 1918, as part of the German [[Mitteleuropa]] plan.

In December 1918, Mitteleuropa was obsolete as the [[German Empire]] withdrew from the [[Ober-Ost]] territory, and for the next few years in the newly created [[power vacuum]] the territories of Belarus would witness the struggle of various national and foreign factions. On 3 December 1918 the Germans withdrew from Minsk. On 10 December 1918 Soviet troops occupied Minsk. The [[Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic|Rada (Council) of the People's Republic of Belarus]] went into [[Government-in-exile|exile]], first to [[Kaunas]], then to [[Berlin]] and finally to [[Prague]]. On 2 January 1919, the [[Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia]] was declared. On 17 February 1919 it was disbanded. Part of it was included into [[Russian SFSR]], and part was joined to the [[Lithuanian SSR]] to form the LBSSR, [[Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]], informally known as ''Litbel'', whose capital was Vilnius. While Belarus National Republic faced off with Litbel, foreign powers were preparing to reclaim what they saw as their territories: Polish forces were moving from the West, and Russians from the East. When Vilnius was captured by Polish forces on 17 April 1919, the capital of the Soviet puppet state Litbel was moved to Minsk. On 17 July 1919 Lenin dissolved Litbel because of the pressure of Polish forces advancing from the West. Polish troops [[Operation Minsk|captured Minsk]] on 8 August 1919.

===Republic of Central Lithuania===
The [[Republic of Central Lithuania]] was a short-lived political entity within a territory now split between modern Lithuania and Belarus. It was the last attempt to restore Lithuania in the historical confederacy state (it was also supposed to create Lithuania Upper and Lithuania Lower). The republic was created in 1920 following [[Żeligowski's Mutiny|the staged rebellion]] of soldiers of the [[1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division]] of the [[Polish Army]] under [[Lucjan Żeligowski]]. Centered on the historical capital of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], [[Vilna]] ({{langx|lt|Vilnius}}, {{langx|pl|Wilno}}), for 18 months the entity served as a [[buffer state]] between [[Poland]], upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area.<ref name="von Rauch">{{cite book | first=Georg von |last=Rauch |author-link=Georg von Rauch | editor=Gerald Onn | title =The Baltic States: Years of Independence – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917–40 | year =1974 | pages = 100–102 | chapter =The Early Stages of Independence | chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=emBIdi4LPz8C&pg=PA101 |publisher =C. Hurst & Co| isbn=0-903983-00-1 }}</ref> After a variety of delays, [[1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election|a disputed election]] took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Żeligowski later in his memoir which was published in London in 1943 condemned the annexation of Republic by Poland, as well as the policy of closing Belarusian schools and general disregard of Marshal [[Józef Piłsudski]]'s confederation plans by Polish ally.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://history-belarus.by/images/img-figures/zeligowski/Zeligowski_Zapomnianae-prawdy.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://history-belarus.by/images/img-figures/zeligowski/Zeligowski_Zapomnianae-prawdy.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Zapomniane prawdy|author=Żeligowski, Lucjan|year=1943|publisher=F. Mildner & Sons|language = pl}}</ref>

===Belarusian Soviet Republic and West Belarus===
{{See also|Soviet repression in Belarus}}
Some time in 1918 or 1919, [[Sergiusz Piasecki]] returned to Belarus, joining Belarusian anti-Soviet units, the "Green Oak" (in Polish, ''Zielony Dąb''), led by [[Ataman]] [[Wiaczesław Adamowicz]] ([[pseudonym]]: J. Dziergacz). When on 8 August 1919, the [[Polish Army]] captured [[Minsk]], Adamowicz decided to work with them. Thus Belarusian units were created, and Piasecki was transferred to a [[Warsaw]] school of [[infantry]] [[cadet]]s. In the summer of 1920, during the [[Polish–Soviet War]], Piasecki fought in the [[Battle of Radzymin (1920)|Battle of Radzymin]].

The frontiers between Poland, which had established an independent government after World War I, and the former Russian Empire were not recognized by the [[League of Nations]]. Poland's [[Józef Piłsudski]], who envisioned the formation of an [[Intermarium]] federation as a Central and East European bloc that would be a bulwark against Germany to the west and Russia to the east, carried out a [[Kiev offensive (1920)|Kiev offensive]] into Ukraine in 1920. This met with a Red Army counter-offensive that drove into Polish territory almost to [[Warsaw]], Minsk itself was re-captured by the Soviet Red Army on 11 July 1920 and a new [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] was declared on 31 July 1920. Piłsudski, however, halted the Soviet advance at the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]] and resumed his eastward offensive. Finally the [[Treaty of Riga]], ending the Polish–Soviet War, divided Belarus between Poland and Soviet Russia. Over the next two years, the [[People's Republic of Belarus]] prepared a [[Slutsk Defence Action|national uprising]], ceasing the preparations only when the [[League of Nations]] recognized the Soviet Union's western borders on 15 March 1923. The Soviets terrorised Western Belarus, the most radical case being [[Soviet raid on Stołpce]]. Poland created [[Border Protection Corps]] in 1924.

The Polish part of Belarus was subject to [[Polonization]] policies (especially in the 1930s), while the Soviet Belarus was one of the original republics which formed the [[USSR]]. For several years, the national culture and language enjoyed a significant boost of revival in the Soviet Belarus{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. A [[Polish Autonomous District]] was also formed. This was however soon ended during the [[Great Purge]], when almost all prominent Belarusian national [[intelligentsia]] were executed, many of them buried in [[Kurapaty]]. Thousands were deported to Asia. As the result of [[Polish operation of the NKVD]] tens of thousands people of many nationalities were killed. Belarusian [[orthography]] was [[Narkamauka|Russified]] in 1933 and use of Belarusian language was discouraged as exhibiting anti-soviet attitude.<ref name=Janowicz>[[Sokrat Janowicz|Janowicz, Sokrat]] (1999). ''Forming of the Belarussian nation''. RYTM. pp. 247–248.</ref>

In [[West Belarus]], up to 30,000 families of Polish [[veteran]]s (''[[osadnik]]s'') were settled in the lands formerly belonging to the Russian [[tsar]] family and Russian aristocracy.<ref>{{in lang|pl}} Stobniak-Smogorzewska, Janina (2003) ''Kresowe osadnictwo wojskowe 1920–1945'' (''Military colonization of Kresy 1920–1945''), Warsaw, RYTM, {{ISBN|83-7399-006-2}}</ref> Belarusian representation in [[Polish parliament]] was reduced as a result of the 1930 elections. Since the early 1930s, the Polish government introduced a set of policies designed to Polonize all minorities (Belarusians, Ukrainians, Jews, etc.){{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. The usage of Belarusian language was discouraged and the Belarusian schools were facing severe financial problems. In spring of 1939, there already was neither single Belarusian official organisation in Poland nor a single exclusively Belarusian school (with only 44 schools teaching Belarusian language left).<ref>{{in lang|pl}} Ogonowski, Jerzy (2000) ''Uprawnienia językowe mniejszości narodowych w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1939'' (''The Language Rights of National Minorities in the Second Republic of Poland, 1918–1939'', Polish with an English summary), Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, Warsaw, pp. 164–165</ref>

===Belarus in World War II===
{{Main|German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II|The Holocaust in Belarus}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv N 1576 Bild-006, Minsk, Juden.jpg|thumb|Jews in the [[Minsk Ghetto]], 1941]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1970-043-52, Russland, bei Minsk, tote Zivilisten.jpg|thumb|Mass murder of Soviet civilians near [[Minsk]], 1943]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-137-1010-37A, Minsk, deutsche Truppen vor modernen Gebäuden.jpg|thumb|[[Wehrmacht|German troops]] in [[Minsk]] during their [[German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II|occupation]] of the city, August 1941]]
When the Soviet Union [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]] on September 17, 1939, following the terms of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]'s secret protocol, Western Byelorussia, which was part of Poland, is included in the BSSR. Similarly to the times of German occupation during World War I, Belarusian language and Soviet culture enjoyed relative prosperity in this short period. Already in October 1940, over 75% of schools used the Belarusian language, also in the regions where no Belarus people lived, e.g. around [[Łomża]], what was Ruthenization.<ref>Ruchniewicz, ''Stosunki...'', p254</ref> Western Belarus was sovietised, tens of thousands were imprisoned in [[Gulag]] camps, exiled and many were executed as "[[enemies of the people]]". The victims were mostly Polish and Jewish.<ref>[http://press.princeton.edu/titles/2605.html][[Jan T. Gross]]<span>, Revolution from Abroad</span></ref><ref>Franziska Exeler, "What Did You Do during the War?" ''Kritika: Explorations in Russian & Eurasian History'' (Fall 2016) 17#4 pp 805-835 examines behaviour World War II in Belarus under the Germans, using oral history, letters of complaint, memoirs and secret police and party reports.</ref>

After twenty months of Soviet rule, [[Nazi Germany]] and its [[Axis Powers|Axis]] allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Soviet authorities immediately evacuated about 20% of the population of Belarus, [[NKVD prisoner massacres|killed thousands of prisoners]] and destroyed all the food supplies.<ref>{{in lang|pl}} Mironowicz, Eugeniusz (1999) ''Białoruś'', Trio, Warsaw, p. 136. {{ISBN|83-85660-82-8}}</ref> The country suffered particularly heavily during the fighting and the German occupation. Minsk was captured by the Germans on 28 June 1941. Following bloody encirclement battles, all of the present-day Belarus territory was occupied by the Germans by the end of August 1941.

During World War II, the [[Nazism|Nazis]] attempted to establish a puppet Belarusian government, [[Belarusian Central Rada]], with the symbolics similar to BNR. In reality, however, the Germans imposed a brutal [[racism|racist]] regime, burning down some 9,000 Belarusian villages, deporting some 380,000 people for slave labour, and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. Local police took part in many of those crimes. Almost the whole, previously very numerous, Jewish populations of Belarus that did not evacuate were killed. One of the first uprisings of a Jewish [[ghetto]] against the Nazis occurred in 1942 in Belarus, in the small town of [[Lakhva]].

Since the early days of the occupation, a powerful and increasingly well-coordinated [[Belarusian resistance movement]] emerged. Hiding in the woods and swamps, the partisans inflicted heavy damage to German supply lines and communications, disrupting railway tracks, bridges, telegraph wires, attacking supply depots, fuel dumps and transports and ambushing German soldiers. Not all anti-German partisans were pro-Soviet.<ref>Strużyńska, ''Anti-Soviet conspiracy...'', pp859–860.</ref> In the largest{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} partisan sabotage action of the entire Second World War, the so-called [[Asipovichy]] diversion of 30 July 1943 four German trains with supplies and [[Tiger I|Tiger tank]]s were destroyed. To fight partisan activity, the Germans had to withdraw considerable forces behind their front line. On 22 June 1944 the huge Soviet offensive [[Operation Bagration]] was launched, Minsk was re-captured on 3 July 1944, and all of Belarus was regained by the end of August. Hundred thousand of Poles were expelled after 1944. As part of the Nazis' effort to combat the enormous [[Belarusian resistance during World War II]], special units of local [[collaborationist]]s were trained by the [[SS]]'s [[Otto Skorzeny]] to infiltrate the Soviet rear. In 1944 thirty Belarusians (known as [[Čorny Kot]] (''Black Cat'') and personally led by [[Michał Vituška]]) were [[airdrop]]ped by the [[Luftwaffe]] behind the lines of the [[Red Army]], which had already liberated Belarus during [[Operation Bagration]]. They experienced some initial success due to disorganization in the rear of the Red Army, and some other German-trained Belarusian nationalist units also slipped through the [[Białowieża Forest]] in 1945. The [[NKVD]], however, had already infiltrated these units. Vituška himself was hunted down, captured and executed, although he continued to live on in Belarusian nationalist [[hagiography]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The SS Hunter Battalions: The Hidden History of the Nazi Resistance Movement 1944-45 |author=Alexander Perry Biddiscombe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeYhAQAAIAAJ&q=V.+I.+Rodko |publisher=Tempus |year=2006 |page=66/67 |isbn=0752439383}}</ref>

In total, Belarus lost a quarter of its pre-war population in World War II including practically all its intellectual elite. About 9,200 villages and 1.2 million houses were destroyed. The major towns of [[Minsk]] and [[Vitsebsk]] lost over 80% of their buildings and city infrastructure. For the defence against the Germans, and the tenacity during the German occupation, the capital Minsk was awarded the title ''[[Hero City (Soviet Union)|Hero City]]'' after the war. The fortress of [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] was awarded the title ''[[Hero-Fortress]]''.

===Post-war BSSR===
After the end of War in 1945, Belarus became one of the founding members of the [[United Nations|United Nations Organisation]]. Joining Belarus was the Soviet Union itself and another republic [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]]. In exchange for Belarus and Ukraine joining the UN, the United States had the right to seek two more votes, a right that has never been exercised.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/17604.htm| title=United Nations | publisher= U.S. Department of State| quote=Voting procedures and the veto power of permanent members of the Security Council were finalized at the [[Yalta Conference]] in 1945 when Roosevelt and Stalin agreed that the veto would not prevent discussions by the Security Council. Roosevelt agreed to General Assembly membership for Ukraine and Byelorussia while reserving the right, which was never exercised, to seek two more votes for the United States. |access-date= 22 September 2014}}</ref>

[[File:The Soviet Union 1969 CPA 3721 stamp (Partisans and Sword).jpg|thumb|left|''50 years of Soviet Belarus'' — a Soviet [[postage stamp]] of 1969]]
More than 200,000 ethnic Poles left or were expelled to Poland in [[Polish population transfers (1944–46)#From Belarus|late 1940s]] and [[Repatriation of Poles (1955–59)|late 1950s]], some killed by the [[NKVD]] or deported to Siberia.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} <ref>Andrew Savchenko, Belarus: A Perpetual Borderland, page 135, BRILL, 2009, {{ISBN|9789004174481}}</ref> [[Armia Krajowa]] and post-AK resistance was the strongest in the [[Grodno]], [[Vawkavysk]], [[Lida]] and [[Shchuchyn]] regions.<ref>[http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de/debating-20th-century-history/belarus/strangers-at-home-memorialisation-of-the-armia-krajowa-in-belarus/ Strangers at Home: Memorialisation of the Armia Krajowa in Belarus, Iryna Kashtalian, Imre Kertész Kolleg's Cultures of History Forum]</ref>

The Belarusian economy was completely devastated by the events of the war. Most of the industry, including whole production plants were removed either to Russia or Germany. Industrial production of Belarus in 1945 amounted for less than 20% of its pre-war size. Most of the factories evacuated to Russia, with several spectacular exceptions, were not returned to Belarus after 1945. During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded the BSSR's economy, with control always exerted exclusively from Moscow. During this time, Belarus became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR. Huge industrial objects like the [[BelAZ]], [[Minsk Automobile Plant|MAZ]], and the [[Minsk Tractor Plant]] were built in the country. The increase in jobs resulted in a huge immigrant population of Russians in Belarus. Russian became the official language of administration and the peasant class, which traditionally was the base for Belarusian nation, ceased to exist.<ref name=Janowicz/>
===Perestroika and Glasnost===
{{Main|History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)|Perestroika|Glasnost}}
On 26 April 1986, the [[Chernobyl disaster]] occurred at the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] in [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]] situated close to the border with Belarus. It is regarded as the worst [[nuclear accident]] in the history of [[nuclear power]]. It produced a plume of [[radioactivity|radioactive]] debris that drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. Large areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of roughly 200,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. The [[Chernobyl disaster effects|effects of the Chernobyl accident in Belarus]] were dramatic: about 50,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (or about a quarter of the territory of Belarus) formerly populated by 2.2 million people (or a fifth of the Belarusian population) now require permanent radioactive monitoring (after receiving doses over 37 [[Becquerel|kBq]]/m<sup>2</sup> of [[caesium]]-137). 135,000 persons were permanently resettled and many more were resettled temporarily. After 10 years since the accident, the occurrences of [[thyroid cancer]] among children increased fifteenfold (the sharp rise started in about four years after the accident).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070715164257/http://expo2000.bsu.by/main.idc?id=500&id2=500 Последствия аварии на Чернобыльской АЭС]. expo2000.bsu.by</ref>

==Republic of Belarus==
{{see also|Politics of Belarus}}
===Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new Treaty===
{{Main|Parade of sovereignties|War of Laws|New Union Treaty}}
On 27 July 1990, Belarus declared its national sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the Soviet Union. Around that time, [[Stanislav Shushkevich]] became the chairman of the [[Supreme Soviet]] of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus.
=== Soviet coup attempt, the Transition Period and the end of the Soviet Union ===
{{Main|1991 Soviet coup attempt|Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union|Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union}}
On 25 August 1991, after the failure of the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August Coup]] in Moscow, Belarus declared full independence from the USSR by granting the declaration of state sovereignty a constitutional status that it did not have before.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus_independence_day_that_wasnt/24307926.html Belarus And The Independence Day That Wasn't] - by Tom Balmforth, [[Radio Free Europe]], 25 August 2011</ref>
=== Independent country and the Commonwealth ===
{{main|Belovezha Accords|Alma-Ata Protocol|Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Military of the Commonwealth of Independent States}}

On 8 December 1991, Shushkevich met with [[Boris Yeltsin]] of Russia and [[Leonid Kravchuk]] of Ukraine, in [[Belavezhskaya Pushcha]], to formally declare the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] and the formation of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].

[[Post-Soviet countries]] have signed a [[Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union|series of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union]] multilaterally and bilaterally.
===Lukashenko era===
[[File:Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png|thumb|Signatures on the Budapest Memorandum for security assurances to Belarus in exchange for national denuclearization]]
A new [[Constitution of Belarus|Belarusian constitution]] enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. [[Alexander Lukashenko]] was [[1994 Belarusian presidential election|elected president of Belarus]]. Having assumed the rights and responsibilities of the Soviet Union on the territory of Byelarus,<ref name="lisbon">{{cite news |title=Protocol To The Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics On The Reduction And Limitation Of Strategic Offensive Arms |url=http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf |publisher=US Department of State |date=23 May 1992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112175900/http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2008}}</ref> in December 1994 Lukashenko signed the [[Budapest Memorandum]] along with [[Russia]], the United Kingdom and the United States acting as guarantors and thereby denuclearized the nation.<ref name="treaty50069">{{cite news |title=Registration Number - 50069; Title - Memorandum of Security Assurances in connection with Accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280338ba9 |publisher=treaties.un.org |date=3 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="mfaby13">{{cite news |title=On the Participation of Belarus Delegation in the Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference within the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons |url=https://www.mfa.gov.by/en/press/news_mfa/b8176c7c5ce33383.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus |date=24 April 2013 |quote=In particular, it was pointed out that Belarus considers the NPT as a fundamental legally binding international instrument in the framework of the existing architecture of international security. The Belarusian party is in favor of further strengthening the Treaty and balanced implementation of all its provisions. It was emphasized that the Budapest memorandum of 1994 has a particular importance for our country. This document contains trilateral security assurances provided in connection with the Belarusian accession to the NPT and voluntary refusal of Belarus from the right to possess with nuclear weapons. Budapest Memorandum registered in the UN as an international treaty.}}</ref><ref name="yost15">{{cite journal |last1=Yost |first1=David |title=The Budapest memorandum and Russia's Itervention in Ukraine |journal=International Affairs |date=May 2015 |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=505–538 |doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12279 |url=https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="potter95">{{cite journal |last1=Potter |first1=William C. |title=The Politics of Nuclear Renunanciation: The Cases of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine |journal=Occasional Papers |date=April 1995 |issue=22 |url=http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=The Henry L. Stimson Center}}</ref>

The [[1996 Belarusian referendum|1996 referendum]] resulted in amendments to the constitution that removed key powers from the parliament.

In 1999 opposition leaders [[Yury Zacharanka]] and [[Viktar Hanchar]] [[Forced disappearance|disappeared]] and were presumably killed. In 2001,  [[2001 Belarusian presidential election|Lukashenko was re-elected as president]] in elections described as undemocratic by Western observers. At the same time, the west began criticizing him as [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]]. In 2006, Lukashenko was [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|once again re-elected]] in presidential elections again criticized as flawed by most [[European Union]] countries.

In 2010, Lukashenko was [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|re-elected once again]] in presidential elections which were again described as falsified by most EU countries and organizations such as the [[OSCE]]. A peaceful protest against the electoral flaws turned into a riot when demonstrators tried to storm a government building. The police used batons to quell the riot. Seven presidential candidates and hundreds of rioters were arrested by [[State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus|KGB]].<ref name="bbc100s">{{cite news |title='Hundreds of protesters arrested' in Belarus |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12037486 |publisher=BBC |date=20 December 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Rally in support of Tsikhanouskaya in Minsk (30 July 2020) - 42.jpg|thumb|[[2020–21 Belarusian protests]]]]
Lukashenko's disputed victory in the country's [[2020 Belarusian presidential election|2020 presidential election]] led to widespread allegations of [[vote rigging]], which strongly amplified [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests|anti-government protests]], the largest during his rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53637365|title=Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under fire|website=BBC News|date=11 September 2020}}</ref> Protesters have faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by the [[United Nations Human Rights Office]] on 1 September cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E |title=UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances |date=1 September 2020 |access-date=1 September 2020 |website=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]}}</ref> Several [[List of deaths related to the 2020 Belarusian protests|protesters were killed]]. Following the contested election, Lukashenko is not recognized by the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United States as the legitimate president of Belarus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 August 2020 |title=El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him" |url=https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/84346/el-pais-interview-hrvp-borrell-%E2%80%9Clukashenko-maduro-we-do-not-recognize-him-he-must-deal-him%E2%80%9D_en |publisher=eeas.europa.eu}}</ref><ref name=axios>Dave Lawler, [https://www.axios.com/us-lukashenko-president-belarus-353ed235-98f7-446f-919a-6a6cdab81975.html U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus], ''Axios'' (24 September 2020).</ref>

On 23 May 2021, [[Ryanair Flight 4978]] was diverted by the [[Belarusian government]] to [[Minsk National Airport]], where two of its passengers, opposition activist and former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel [[Nexta]] [[Roman Protasevich]] and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belarus opposition says government forced Ryanair plane to land to arrest journalist|date=23 May 2021|website=Deutsche Welle|access-date=23 May 2021|url=https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523122730/https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240|url-status=live}}</ref> In summer of the same year, Belarusian authorities organized the [[2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis]] consisting of an influx of tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, to [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], and [[Poland]] via those countries' borders with Belarus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitmore |first1=Brian |title=Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/ |website=[[Atlantic Council]] |date=30 June 2021 |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=5 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805193633/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Belarus allowed its territory to be used by the Russian army in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine.<ref name="belanw">{{cite news |title=Putin Ally Lukashenko Faces Revolt From Officers Against Ukraine War |url=https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-lukashenko-faces-revolt-officers-against-ukraine-war-1723224 |publisher=Newsweek Digital LLC |date=10 July 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Outline of Belarus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Thomas M. Bohn, Weißrussland oder Belarus? Die Weiße Ruß in Historiographie und Kartographie. Harassowitz, Wiesbaden 2025, ISBN 978-3-447-12380-8.
* {{cite book |last1=Ioffe |first1=Grigory |last2=Silitski |first2=Vitali |title=Historical Dictionary of Belarus |date=15 August 2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-1706-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X51iDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120704083750/http://www.radabnr.org/indexen.html Belarus National Republic] — the Belarusian Government in exile
* [http://www.probelarus.ru Stary Hetman] — forums and library (in Belarusian and Russian) on Belarusian history
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/belarus/ Belarus], by [[CIA World Factbook]], 2000
* [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5371.htm Belarus], by [[United States Department of State]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001205074100/http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm#diaspora Belarusian diaspora]
* [http://www.litvania.tk/ History of Grand Duchy of Lithuania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201075425/http://www.litvania.tk/ |date=1 February 2009 }}
* [http://www.lyczkowski.net/en/handbooks/miensk-voivodship-officials/preface.html Miensk Voivodeship Officials of 16th-18th centuries]
* [http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/blr94pres.html Belarus 1994 Presidential Election] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013031512/http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/blr94pres.html |date=13 October 2008 }}
* [http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/history Belarus history] on the [http://www.belarus.by/en Official Website of the Republic of Belarus]
* [http://www.belhistory.eu Belarusian Historical Review. Independent Academic Journal dedicated to history of Belarus (Belarusian and English versions)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ax-MG3I7s4 History of Belarus in five minutes]. YouTube

{{Belarus topics}}
{{History of Europe}}
{{European history by country}}

[[Category:History of Belarus| ]]