History of Belarus

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The lands of Belarus during the Middle Ages became part of Kievan Rus' and were split between different principalities, including Polotsk, Turov, Vitebsk, and others. Following the 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 constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was founded in 1922.

The republic was devastated as a result of the German occupation during World War II, and its territory was expanded after Western Belorussia was ceded by Poland following 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.[citation needed]

Early history

The Principality of Polotsk within Kievan Rus' in the 11th century

The history of

game, furs, honey, beeswax and amber
.

The modern

Radzimians—as well as several Baltic tribes.[1]

Map of Kievan Rus', 11th century

During the 9th and 10th centuries, the Varangians, who were of Scandinavian origin, established trade posts on the way from Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire. The network of lakes and rivers crossing the territory of the East Slavs provided a lucrative trade route between the two civilizations. In the course of trade, they gradually took sovereignty over the tribes of East Slavs, at least to the point required by improvements in trade.

The Rus', originally a Varangian tribe who gave their name to the land, invaded the Byzantine Empire on a few occasions, but eventually they allied against the Bulgars. The condition underlying this alliance was to open the country for Christianization and acculturation from the Byzantine Empire.

The common cultural bond of

Saints Cyril and Methodius) fostered the emergence of a new geopolitical entity, Kievan Rus' — a loose-knit multi-ethnic network of principalities,[2] established along pre-existing trade routes, with major centers in Novgorod (now in Russia), Polotsk (now in Belarus) and Kiev
(now in Ukraine) — which claimed a sometimes precarious pre-eminence among them.

Kievan Rus'

Vladimir I and princess Rogneda of Polotsk
(painting of 1770)

Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the

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

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 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 articles: Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century. The territory of modern-day Belarus was fully within its borders.
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

Mongol 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 Lithuanian King Mindaugas (1240–1263). From the 13th to 15th century, the principalities were either conquered or willingly joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with its initial capital unknown, but which presumably could have been Voruta. Beginning in the 14th century, Vilnius
was the only official capital of the state.

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. 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 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.[3]

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, Russian and Ukrainian languages.

Several Lithuanian monarchs — the last being

magnates
increasingly came to reflect the opinions of the Roman Catholics.

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

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 was responsible only to the sobor of eight Orthodox bishops, the Grand Duke and the Patriarch of Constantinople. The privilege also extended the jurisdiction of the Orthodox hierarchy over all Orthodox people.[4]

In such circumstances, a vibrant Ruthenian culture flourished, mostly in the major cities of present-day Belarus.[5] Despite the legal usage of the

Cyrillic alphabet was published in Prague in 1517 by Francysk Skaryna, a leading representative of Renaissance Belarusian culture. Soon afterwards he founded a similar printing press in Polotsk and started an extensive undertaking of publishing the Bible and other religious works there. Apart from the Bible itself, before his death in 1551 he published 22 other books, thus laying the foundations for the evolution of the Ruthenian language into the modern Belarusian language
.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Union of Lublin of 1569, oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1869, 298×512 cm, National Museum in Warsaw

The

Lithuanian Statutes, which codified both civil and property rights. Mogilev was the largest urban centre of the territory of present-day Belarus, followed by Vitebsk, Polotsk, Pinsk, Slutsk, and Brest, whose population exceeded 10,000. In addition, Vilna (Vilnius), the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also had a significant Ruthenian population.[6]

Outline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with its major subdivisions after the 1618 Truce of Deulino, superimposed on present-day national borders.
  Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
  Grand Duchy of Lithuania
  Duchy of Livonia
  Duchy of Prussia, Polish fief
  Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, Commonwealth fief

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

Zaporizhian Sich, where they formed a large part of the Cossacks. Others sought refuge in the lands of other magnates or in Russia.[citation needed
]

View of Novogrudok, by Napoleon Orda

Also, with time religious conflicts started to arise. The gentry with time started to adopt

allowed them to freely practice their faith.[8]

From 1569, the

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 Poles, were captured and enslaved during the time of the Crimean Khanate
.

The Deluge and Khmelnytsky Uprising

Despite these conflicts, the literary tradition of Belarus evolved. Until the 17th century, the

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.

However, both economic and cultural growth came to an end in the mid-17th century with a series of violent wars against the

Janusz Radziwiłł
) supporting the Swedes. Although the Swedes were finally driven back in 1657 and the Russians were defeated in 1662, most of the country was in ruins. It is estimated that the Commonwealth lost a third of its population, with some regions of Belarus losing as much as 50%. This diminished the power of the once-powerful Commonwealth and the country gradually became vulnerable to foreign influence.

Subsequent wars in the area including the

War of Polish succession damaged its economy even further. In addition, Russian armies raided the Commonwealth under the pretext of the returning of fugitive peasants.[8]
By the mid-18th century their presence in the lands of modern Belarus became almost permanent.

The last attempt to save the Commonwealth's independence was a Polish–Belarusian–Lithuanian national uprising of 1794 led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, however it was eventually quenched.

Eventually, by 1795, Poland was

Tatar yoke" by the grand prince Ivan III of Russia
.

Russian Empire

Main article: Belarusian history in the Russian Empire
Second battle of Polotsk (1812), as depicted by Peter von Hess
View of Polotsk in 1912

Under Russian administration, the territory of Belarus was divided into the

Napoleon's occupation.[10] With Napoleon's defeat, Belarus again became a part of Imperial Russia and its guberniyas constituted part of the Northwestern Krai. The anti-Russian uprisings of the gentry[11] in 1830 and 1863
were subdued by government forces.

Although under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed due to the policies of de-Polonization[12] and Russification,[11] 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.[13]

In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I forbade the use of the term Belarusia and renamed the region the "North-Western Territory".[citation needed] He also prohibited the use of Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under the Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. In 1863, economic and cultural pressure exploded into a revolt, led by Kalinowski. After the failed revolt, the Russian government reintroduced the use of Cyrillic to Belarusian in 1864 and banned the use of the Latin alphabet.

In the second half of the 19th century, the

Russian Revolution of 1917
.

20th century

BNR and LBSSR

People's Republic of Belarus
, 1918
Republic of Belarus
in 1991-1995
Republic of Belarus
in 1991-1995
Main articles:
Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

On 21 February 1918, Minsk was captured by German troops.

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

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 captured Minsk
on 8 August 1919.

Republic of Central Lithuania

The

Vilna (Lithuanian: Vilnius, Polish: Wilno), for 18 months the entity served as a buffer state between Poland, upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area.[16] After a variety of delays, 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.[17]

Belarusian Soviet Republic and West Belarus

See also:
Soviet repression in Belarus

Some time in 1918 or 1919,

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 cadets. In the summer of 1920, during the Polish–Soviet War, Piasecki fought in the 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

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.

Traditional Jewish life continued in Pinsk (Western Belarus) until WWII. (Photo by Alter Kacyzne, 1924)

The Polish part of Belarus was subject to

Russified in 1933 and use of Belarusian language was discouraged as exhibiting anti-soviet attitude.[18]

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]. 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).[20]

Belarus in World War II

Main articles: German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II and The Holocaust in Belarus
Jews in the Minsk Ghetto, 1941
Mass murder of Soviet civilians near Minsk, 1943
German troops in Minsk during their occupation of the city, August 1941

When the Soviet Union 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.[21] Western Belarus was sovietised, tens of thousands were imprisoned, deported, murdered. The victims were mostly Polish and Jewish.[22][23]

After twenty months of Soviet rule,

Axis allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Soviet authorities immediately evacuated about 20% of the population of Belarus, killed thousands of prisoners and destroyed all the food supplies.[24]
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

Belarusian Central Rada, with the symbolics similar to BNR. In reality, however, the Germans imposed a brutal 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

Čorny Kot (Black Cat) and personally led by Michał Vituška) were airdropped 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.[26]

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

Hero-Fortress
.

BSSR from 1945 to 1990

After the end of War in 1945, Belarus became one of the founding members of the United Nations Organisation. Joining Belarus was the Soviet Union itself and another 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.[27]

50 years of Soviet Belarus — a Soviet postage stamp of 1969

More than 200,000 ethnic Poles left or were expelled to Poland in

Armia Krajowa and post-AK resistance was the strongest in the Grodno, Vawkavysk, Lida and Shchuchyn regions.[29]

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

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.[18]

On 26 April 1986, the

effects of the Chernobyl accident in Belarus were dramatic: about 50,000 km2 (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 kBq/m2 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).[30]

Republic of Belarus

Independence

See also: Politics of Belarus

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.

On 25 August 1991, after the failure of the

Belavezhskaya Pushcha, to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States
.

Lukashenko era

Signatures on the Budapest Memorandum for security assurances to Belarus in exchange for national denuclearization

A new Belarusian constitution enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. Alexander Lukashenko was elected president of Belarus. Having assumed the rights and responsibilities of the Soviet Union on the territory of Byelarus,[32] 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.[33][34][35][36]

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

In 1999 opposition leaders

disappeared and were presumably killed. In 2001, Lukashenko was re-elected as president in elections described as undemocratic by Western observers. At the same time, the west began criticizing him as authoritarian. In 2006, Lukashenko was once again re-elected in presidential elections again criticized as flawed by most European Union
countries.

In 2010, Lukashenko was

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 KGB.[37]

2020–21 Belarusian protests

Lukashenko's disputed victory in the country's

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.[39] Several 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.[40][41]

On 23 May 2021,

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.[43]

Belarus allowed its territory to be used by Putin's army in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine.[44]

On 25 June 2022 Putin announced that Russia would supply Belarus with nuclear-capable

S-400 anti-aircraft and anti-missile system.[47] At the same news conference Lukashenko talked of the "aggressive", "confrontational" and "repulsive" policies of Belarus' neighbours Poland and Lithuania.[49]

On 9 July 2022 it was reported that a communiqué had been broadcast by the officers of the fifth brigade of the Special Forces of Belarus. They said they had "observed the most serious infringement of Clause One of the Constitution of Belarus by Russia's highest political leadership. According to this Clause, the Republic of Belarus maintains supremacy and full authority on its own territory. It also enjoys independence over its internal and foreign politics."[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ioffe & Silitski 2018, p. 137.
  2. ^ John Channon & Robert Hudson, Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (Penguin, 1995), p.16.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ (in Russian) Литовско–русское государство (Litovsko–russkoye gosydarstvo) in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
  5. ^ (in Russian) "Братства" (Bratstva) in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
  6. ^ (in Russian) Внутриполитические результаты Люблинской унии (Vnutripolitičeskie rezul'tati Lyublinskoy unii), Belarus.by portal
  7. ^ (in Russian) Церковная уния 1596 г. (Tserkovnaya uniya 1596 g.) in "belarus.by portal"
  8. ^ a b (in Polish) Jerzy Czajewski, Zbiegostwo ludności Rosji w granice Rzeczypospolitej (Russian population exodus into the Rzeczpospolita), Promemoria journal, October 2004 nr. (5/15), ISSN 1509-9091, Table of Contents online Archived 12 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ (in Russian) Белорусская Советская Социалистическая Республика (Belorusskaya Sovyetskaya Socialističeskaya Respublika), article in "Большая Советская Энциклопедия" (Great Soviet Encyclopedia). Last accessed in December 2005
  10. ^ S., John. "History of Belarus was formed probably on the basis of the three Slavic tribes". John Learn. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b Żytko, Anatol (1999) Russian policy towards the Belarussian gentry in 1861–1914, Minsk, p. 551.
  12. ^ (in Russian) Воссоединение униатов и исторические судьбы Белорусского народа (Vossoyedineniye uniatov i istoričeskiye sud'bi Belorusskogo naroda), Pravoslavie portal
  13. ISSN 0075-4161
    . Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ (in Russian) История строительства дорог 1850–1900 гг. Archived 4 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Byelorussian Railways
  15. ^ Экономика Белорусии в Эпоху Империализма 1900-1917. Под редакцией Г. Ковалевского и др. Минск 1963, стр.86-88 and 413
  16. ISBN 0-903983-00-1
    .
  17. ^ Żeligowski, Lucjan (1943). Zapomniane prawdy (PDF) (in Polish). F. Mildner & Sons. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b Janowicz, Sokrat (1999). Forming of the Belarussian nation. RYTM. pp. 247–248.
  19. ISBN 83-7399-006-2
  20. ^ (in Polish) 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
  21. ^ Ruchniewicz, Stosunki..., p254
  22. ^ [1]Jan T. Gross, Revolution from Abroad
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ISBN 83-85660-82-8
  25. ^ Strużyńska, Anti-Soviet conspiracy..., pp859–860.
  26. ISBN 0752439383
    .
  27. ^ "United Nations". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 22 September 2014. 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.
  28. ISBN 9789004174481
  29. ^ Strangers at Home: Memorialisation of the Armia Krajowa in Belarus, Iryna Kashtalian, Imre Kertész Kolleg's Cultures of History Forum
  30. ^ Последствия аварии на Чернобыльской АЭС. expo2000.bsu.by
  31. Radio Free Europe
    , 25 August 2011
  32. ^ "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" (PDF). US Department of State. 23 May 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2008.
  33. ^ "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". treaties.un.org. 3 September 2012.
  34. ^ "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". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 24 April 2013. 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.
  35. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12279. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
  36. ^ Potter, William C. (April 1995). "The Politics of Nuclear Renunanciation: The Cases of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine" (PDF). Occasional Papers (22). The Henry L. Stimson Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
  37. ^ "'Hundreds of protesters arrested' in Belarus". BBC. 20 December 2010.
  38. ^ "Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under fire". BBC News. 11 September 2020.
  39. ^ "UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  40. ^ "El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him"". eeas.europa.eu. 24 August 2020.
  41. ^ Dave Lawler, U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus, Axios (24 September 2020).
  42. ^ "Belarus opposition says government forced Ryanair plane to land to arrest journalist". Deutsche Welle. 23 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  43. ^ Whitmore, Brian (30 June 2021). "Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  44. ^ a b "Putin Ally Lukashenko Faces Revolt From Officers Against Ukraine War". Newsweek Digital LLC. 10 July 2022.
  45. ^ "Belarus to Receive Russian Iskander Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Systems Within Months - Putin". www.militarywatchmagazine.com. 26 June 2022.
  46. ^ "Putin Says Russia To Supply Belarus With Iskander-M Missile Systems". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 June 2022.
  47. ^ a b "Russia promises Belarus Iskander-M nuclear-capable missiles". Deutsche Welle. 25 June 2022.
  48. ^ "Russia promises Belarus Iskander-M nuclear-capable missiles". BBC. 26 June 2022.
  49. ^ "Putin promises Belarus nuclear-capable missiles to counter 'aggressive' West". Reuters. 25 June 2022.

Bibliography

Further reading

Main article: Bibliography of the history of Belarus and Byelorussia
See also: List of Slavic studies journals

In Polish

External links

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