The lands ofBelarus during theMiddle Ages became part ofKievan Rus' and were split between different regionalprincipalities, includingPolotsk,Turov,Vitebsk, and others. Following theMongol invasions of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, which later was merged into thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century.
Following thePartitions of Poland in the 18th century, Belarusian territories became part of theRussian Empire. In the aftermath of theRussian Revolution, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid theRussian Civil War, ultimately ending with the consolidation of theByelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became aconstituent republic of theSoviet Union when it was founded in 1922.
The republic was devastated as a result of theGerman occupation duringWorld War II, and its territory was expanded afterWestern Belorussia was annexed by theSoviet Union as a result of the war. Belarus became an independent state in 1991 following thedissolution of the Soviet Union.
Archaeological discoveries show what is now Belarus had human inhabitants during thePaleolithic andNeolithic ages.[1]
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The history ofBelarus begins with the migration and expansion of theSlavic peoples throughEastern Europe between the 6th and 8th centuries.East Slavs settled on the territory of present-dayBelarus,Russia andUkraine, assimilating localBaltic (Yotvingians,Dnieper Balts),Finns (in Russia) andsteppe nomads (in Ukraine) already living there, their early ethnic integrations contributed to the gradual differentiation of the East Slavs. These East Slavs,pagan,animistic,agrarian people, had an economy which included trade in agricultural produce,game,furs,honey,beeswax andamber.
The modernBelarusian ethnos was probably formed on the basis of the three Slavic tribes—Kryvians,Drehovians, andRadzimians—as well as severalBaltic tribes.[2]
The common cultural bond ofEastern Orthodox Christianity and writtenChurch Slavonic (a literary and liturgicalSlavic language developed by 8th-century missionariesSaints Cyril and Methodius) fostered the emergence of a new geopolitical entity,Kievan Rus' — a loose-knit multi-ethnic network of principalities,[3] established along pre-existing trade routes, with major centers inNovgorod (now in Russia),Polotsk (now in Belarus) andKiev (now in Ukraine).
Between the 9th and 12th centuries, thePrincipality of Polotsk (now in northern Belarus) emerged as the dominant center of power in the territory of Belarus, while thePrincipality 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, theepiscopal see of a bishopric and the controller ofvassal territories amongBalts in the west. The city'sCathedral 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 originalHagia Sophia inConstantinople (and hence to claims of imperial prestige, authority and sovereignty). Cultural achievements of the Polotsk period include the work of the nunEuphrosyne of Polotsk (1120–1173), who built monasteries, transcribed books, promoted literacy and sponsored art (including local artisanLazar Bohsha's famous "Cross of Euphrosyne", a national symbol and treasure stolen duringWorld War II), and the prolific, original Church Slavonic sermons and writings of BishopKirill of Turov (1130–1182).
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In the 13th century, the fragile unity of Kievan Rus' disintegrated due to nomadic incursions fromAsia, which climaxed with theMongolsacking 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 expandingGrand Duchy of Lithuania, beginning with the rule ofLithuanian KingMindaugas (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.[citation needed] Owing to the prevalence of East Slavs and theEastern Orthodox faith among the population in eastern and southern regions of the state, theRuthenian language was a widely used colloquial language.
TheEast Slavic variety of the language (rus'ka mova,Old Belarusian orWest Russian Chancellery language), gradually influenced by Polish, was the language of administration in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from at leastVytautas' reign until the late 17th century when it was replaced byPolish.[4]
This period of political breakdown and reorganization also saw the rise of written local vernaculars in place of the literary and liturgicalChurch Slavonic language, a further stage in the evolving differentiation between theBelarusian,Russian andUkrainian languages.
Several Lithuanian monarchs — the last beingŠvitrigaila in 1432–36 — relied on the Eastern Orthodox Ruthenian majority, while most monarchs andmagnates increasingly came to reflect the opinions of the Roman Catholics.
Construction of Orthodox churches in some parts of present-day Belarus had been initially prohibited, as was the case inVitebsk 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 andGrand DukeSigismund 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 themetropolitan was responsible only to thesobor of eight Orthodox bishops, the Grand Duke and thePatriarch of Constantinople. The privilege also extended the jurisdiction of the Orthodox hierarchy over all Orthodox people.[5]
In such circumstances, a vibrant Ruthenian culture flourished, mostly in the major cities of present-day Belarus.[6]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.
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TheUnion of Lublin in 1569 led to thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to become an influential player in European politics and the largest multinational state in Europe. While present-dayUkraine andPodlaskie became subjects of thePolish Crown, present-day Belarusian territories were still regarded as part of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania. The new polity was dominated by densely populated Poland, which had 134 representatives in theSejm 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 theLithuanian 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, andBrest, whose population exceeded 10,000. In addition,Vilna (Vilnius), the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also had a significant Ruthenian population.[7]
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 localszlachta andboyars, often of Lithuanian, Polish or Russian descent. By this time, a significant Jewish presence had also formed in this region ofGerman Jews fleeing persecution from theNorthern and Baltic Crusaders. Since theUnion of Horodlo of 1413, the local nobility was assimilated into thetraditional clan system by means of the formalprocedure of adoption by theszlachta (Polishgentry).[8] Eventually, it formed a significant part of theszlachta. Initially[when?] mostly Ruthenian and Orthodox,[citation needed] with time most of them becamepolonized. This was especially true for majormagnate families (Sapieha andRadziwiłł 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.
Also, with time religious conflicts started to arise. The gentry with time started to adoptCatholicism while the common people by large remained faithful toEastern Orthodoxy. Initially theWarsaw Compact of 1573 codified the preexistingfreedom of worship. However, the rule of an ultra-Catholic KingSigismund III Vasa was marked by numerous attempts to spread Catholicism, mostly through his support forcounterreformation and theJesuits. Possibly to avoid such conflicts, in 1595 the Orthodox hierarchs of Kiev signed theUnion of Brest, breaking their links with thePatriarch of Constantinople and placing themselves under thePope. 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 nascentCossack 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 underSeveryn Nalyvaiko took the towns ofSlutsk andMogilev and executed Polish magistrates there. Other such clashes took place in Mogilev (1606–10), Vitebsk (1623), andPolotsk (1623, 1633).[9] This left the population of the Grand Duchy divided betweenGreek Catholic andGreek Orthodox parts. At the same time, after theschism in the Orthodox Church (Raskol), someOld Believers migrated west, seeking refuge in the Rzeczpospolita, whichallowed them to freely practice their faith.[10]
From 1569, thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered a series ofTatar raids, the goal of which was to loot, pillage and capture slaves intojasyr. 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, predominantlyUkrainians but alsoRussians,Belarusians andPoles, were captured and enslaved during the time of theCrimean Khanate.[citation needed]
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Despite these conflicts, the literary tradition of Belarus evolved. Until the 17th century, theRuthenian language, the predecessor of modernBelarusian, was used in the Grand Duchy as a chancery language, that is, the language used for official documents. Afterwards, it was replaced with thePolish language, commonly spoken by the upper classes. Both Polish and Ruthenian cultures gained a major cultural centre with the foundation of theAcademy 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.[citation needed]
Eventually, by 1795, Poland waspartitioned by its neighbors. Thus, a new period in Belarusian history began, with all its lands annexed by theRussian Empire.
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Under Russian administration, the territory of Belarus was divided into thegovernorates (guberniyas) ofMinsk,Vitebsk,Mogilev, andGrodno. Belarusians were active in theguerrilla movement againstNapoleon's occupation.[11] With Napoleon's defeat, Belarus again became a part ofImperial Russia and itsguberniyas constituted part of theNorthwestern Krai. The independence seeking1830 and1863 uprisings of the gentry were subdued by the government forces.[12]
Although underNicholas I andAlexander III the national cultures were repressed due to the policies of de-Polonization[13] andRussification,[12] 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, includingJan Czeczot,Władysław Syrokomla andKonstanty Kalinowski. In 1862-1863 Kalinowski published first newspaper in modern Belarusian language,Mużyckaja prauda (Peasants' Truth), in a Latin script.[14]
In the second half of the 19th century, theBelarusian economy, like that of the entire Europe, was experiencing significant growth due to the spread of theIndustrial Revolution toEastern Europe,[15] particularly after theemancipation of the serfs in 1861 and the construction of railways in the late 19th century (withMinsk,Vitebsk,Grodno,Pinsk andGomel becoming significant industrial centres.[16]
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On 21 February 1918, Minsk was captured by German troops.World War I was the short period whenBelarusian culture started to flourish. German administration allowed schools withBelarusian language, previously banned in Russia; a number ofBelarusian schools were created until 1919 when they were banned again by the Polish military administration.[citation needed] At the end of World War I, when Belarus was stilloccupied by Germans, according to theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, the short-livedPeople's Republic of Belarus was pronounced on 25 March 1918, as part of the GermanMitteleuropa plan.
In December 1918, Mitteleuropa was obsolete as theGerman Empire withdrew from theOber-Ost territory, and for the next few years in the newly createdpower 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. TheRada (Council) of the People's Republic of Belarus went intoexile, first toKaunas, then toBerlin and finally toPrague. On 2 January 1919, theSoviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was declared. On 17 February 1919 it was disbanded. Part of it was included intoRussian SFSR, and part was joined to theLithuanian SSR to form the LBSSR,Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, informally known asLitbel, 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 troopscaptured Minsk on 8 August 1919.
TheRepublic 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 followingthe staged rebellion of soldiers of the1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division of thePolish Army underLucjan Żeligowski. Centered on the historical capital of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania,Vilna (Lithuanian:Vilnius,Polish:Wilno), for 18 months the entity served as abuffer state betweenPoland, upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area.[17] 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 MarshalJózef Piłsudski's confederation plans by Polish ally.[18]
Some time in 1918 or 1919,Sergiusz Piasecki returned to Belarus, joining Belarusian anti-Soviet units, the "Green Oak" (in Polish,Zielony Dąb), led byAtamanWiaczesław Adamowicz (pseudonym: J. Dziergacz). When on 8 August 1919, thePolish Army capturedMinsk, Adamowicz decided to work with them. Thus Belarusian units were created, and Piasecki was transferred to aWarsaw school ofinfantrycadets. In the summer of 1920, during thePolish–Soviet War, Piasecki fought in theBattle 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 theLeague of Nations. Poland'sJózef Piłsudski, who envisioned the formation of anIntermarium 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 aKiev offensive into Ukraine in 1920. This met with a Red Army counter-offensive that drove into Polish territory almost toWarsaw, Minsk itself was re-captured by the Soviet Red Army on 11 July 1920 and a newByelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was declared on 31 July 1920. Piłsudski, however, halted the Soviet advance at theBattle of Warsaw and resumed his eastward offensive. Finally theTreaty of Riga, ending the Polish–Soviet War, divided Belarus between Poland and Soviet Russia. Over the next two years, thePeople's Republic of Belarus prepared anational uprising, ceasing the preparations only when theLeague of Nations recognized the Soviet Union's western borders on 15 March 1923. The Soviets terrorised Western Belarus, the most radical case beingSoviet raid on Stołpce. Poland createdBorder Protection Corps in 1924.
The Polish part of Belarus was subject toPolonization policies (especially in the 1930s), while the Soviet Belarus was one of the original republics which formed theUSSR. For several years, the national culture and language enjoyed a significant boost of revival in the Soviet Belarus[citation needed]. APolish Autonomous District was also formed. This was however soon ended during theGreat Purge, when almost all prominent Belarusian nationalintelligentsia were executed, many of them buried inKurapaty. Thousands were deported to Asia. As the result ofPolish operation of the NKVD tens of thousands people of many nationalities were killed. Belarusianorthography wasRussified in 1933 and use of Belarusian language was discouraged as exhibiting anti-soviet attitude.[19]
InWest Belarus, up to 30,000 families of Polishveterans (osadniks) were settled in the lands formerly belonging to the Russiantsar family and Russian aristocracy.[20] Belarusian representation inPolish 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).[21]
When the Soviet Unioninvaded Poland on September 17, 1939, following the terms of theMolotov–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. aroundŁomża, what was Ruthenization.[22] Western Belarus was sovietised, tens of thousands were imprisoned inGulag camps, exiled and many were executed as "enemies of the people". The victims were mostly Polish and Jewish.[23][24]
After twenty months of Soviet rule,Nazi Germany and itsAxis 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.[25] 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, theNazis attempted to establish a puppet Belarusian government,Belarusian Central Rada, with the symbolics similar to BNR. In reality, however, the Germans imposed a brutalracist 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 Jewishghetto against the Nazis occurred in 1942 in Belarus, in the small town ofLakhva.
Since the early days of the occupation, a powerful and increasingly well-coordinatedBelarusian 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.[26] In the largest[citation needed] partisan sabotage action of the entire Second World War, the so-calledAsipovichy diversion of 30 July 1943 four German trains with supplies andTiger tanks were destroyed. To fight partisan activity, the Germans had to withdraw considerable forces behind their front line. On 22 June 1944 the huge Soviet offensiveOperation 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 enormousBelarusian resistance during World War II, special units of localcollaborationists were trained by theSS'sOtto Skorzeny to infiltrate the Soviet rear. In 1944 thirty Belarusians (known asČorny Kot (Black Cat) and personally led byMichał Vituška) wereairdropped by theLuftwaffe behind the lines of theRed Army, which had already liberated Belarus duringOperation 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 theBiałowieża Forest in 1945. TheNKVD, however, had already infiltrated these units. Vituška himself was hunted down, captured and executed, although he continued to live on in Belarusian nationalisthagiography.[27]
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 ofMinsk andVitsebsk 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 titleHero City after the war. The fortress ofBrest was awarded the titleHero-Fortress.
After the end of War in 1945, Belarus became one of the founding members of theUnited Nations Organisation. Joining Belarus was the Soviet Union itself and another republicUkraine. 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.[28]
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More than 200,000 ethnic Poles left or were expelled to Poland inlate 1940s andlate 1950s, some killed by theNKVD or deported to Siberia.[citation needed][29]Armia Krajowa and post-AK resistance was the strongest in theGrodno,Vawkavysk,Lida andShchuchyn regions.[30]
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 theBelAZ,MAZ, and theMinsk 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.[19]
On 26 April 1986, theChernobyl disaster occurred at theChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant inUkraine situated close to the border with Belarus. It is regarded as the worstnuclear accident in the history ofnuclear power. It produced a plume ofradioactive 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. Theeffects 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 37kBq/m2 ofcaesium-137). 135,000 persons were permanently resettled and many more were resettled temporarily. After 10 years since the accident, the occurrences ofthyroid cancer among children increased fifteenfold (the sharp rise started in about four years after the accident).[31]
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 theSupreme Soviet of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus.
On 25 August 1991, after the failure of theAugust 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.[32]
On 8 December 1991, Shushkevich met withBoris Yeltsin of Russia andLeonid Kravchuk of Ukraine, inBelavezhskaya Pushcha, to formally declare thedissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of theCommonwealth of Independent States.
Post-Soviet countries have signed aseries of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union multilaterally and bilaterally.
A newBelarusian constitution enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July.Alexander Lukashenko waselected president of Belarus. Having assumed the rights and responsibilities of the Soviet Union on the territory of Byelarus,[33] in December 1994 Lukashenko signed theBudapest Memorandum along withRussia, the United Kingdom and the United States acting as guarantors and thereby denuclearized the nation.[34][35][36][37]
The1996 referendum resulted in amendments to the constitution that removed key powers from the parliament.
In 1999 opposition leadersYury Zacharanka andViktar Hanchardisappeared 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 asauthoritarian. In 2006, Lukashenko wasonce again re-elected in presidential elections again criticized as flawed by mostEuropean Union countries.
In 2010, Lukashenko wasre-elected once again in presidential elections which were again described as falsified by most EU countries and organizations such as theOSCE. 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 byKGB.[38]
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Lukashenko's disputed victory in the country's2020 presidential election led to widespread allegations ofvote rigging, which strongly amplifiedanti-government protests, the largest during his rule.[39] Protesters have faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by theUnited 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.[40] Severalprotesters 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.[41][42]
On 23 May 2021,Ryanair Flight 4978 was diverted by theBelarusian government toMinsk National Airport, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channelNextaRoman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities.[43] In summer of the same year, Belarusian authorities organized the2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis consisting of an influx of tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, toLithuania,Latvia, andPoland via those countries' borders with Belarus.[44]
Belarus allowed its territory to be used by the Russian army in the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine.[45]
Voting procedures and the veto power of permanent members of the Security Council were finalized at theYalta 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.
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.
