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Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic Рада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі Rada Bielaruskaj Narodnaj Respubliki | |
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 Coat of arms of the Belarusian Democratic Republic as used by the BNR Rada | |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
President | Ivonka Survilla since 1997 |
| Meeting place | |
| Facilities of Belarusian diaspora in North America, Britain and other countries | |
| Website | |
| http://www.radabnr.org | |
TheRada of the Belarusian People's Republic[1] (Belarusian:Рада Беларускае Народнае Рэспублікі,romanized: Rada Biełaruskaje Narodnaje Respubliki,Рада БНР,Rada BNR) was the governing body of theBelarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has been in exile where it has preserved its existence among theBelarusian diaspora[2] as anadvocacy group promoting support to Belarusian independence and democracy inBelarus among Western policymakers.[3] As of 2025[update], the Rada BNR is the oldest existinggovernment in exile.[4]
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The Rada BNR was founded as the executive body of theFirst All-Belarusian Congress,[5] held inMinsk in December 1917 with over 1800 participants from different regions ofBelarus including representatives of Belarusian national organisations, regionalzemstva, main Christian denominations and Belarusian Jewish political parties. The work of the Congress was violently interrupted by theBolsheviks.
After retreat of the Bolsheviks from Minsk, theRada (council) declared itself supreme power in Belarus. After the Bolsheviks and theGermans had signed theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk the Rada declared independence of Belarus as the sovereignBelarusian Democratic Republic.
As of 25 March 1918 the Rada BNR had 77 members including:
Germany did not give official recognition to Belarus and hindered the activities of the institutions of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Nevertheless, the Rada managed to start organising its governing bodies in different parts of the country as well as working on establishing a national Belarusian army and a national education system.
The Rada established official diplomatic contacts with several states includingFinland, theUkrainian People's Republic,Czechoslovakia, theBaltic States,Turkey and others.
With the approach of Bolshevik armies toMinsk the Rada was forced to relocate toVilnius, then toHrodna and eventually, upon coordination with theRepublic of Lithuania, toKaunas.[6]
In April 1919, the Polish army seized Hrodna and Vilnius.Jozef Pilsudski issued theProclamation to the inhabitants of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania stating that the newPolish administration would grant them cultural and political autonomy. The proclamation was welcomed by the Belarusian leadership, especially considering Soviet plans for the Sovietization of Belarus.[7] However, in later negotiations with the Belarusian leadersPilsudski proposed to limit the Belarusian government's functions to purely cultural issues, which was rejected by the Belarusian prime ministerAnton Luckievic. The government of Belarus managed to include a statement for minorities' rights in Poland in the resolutions of theParis Peace Conference.[7]
The government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic protested the Polish military mobilization in the area of Vilnius, thePolish elections held there, and the annexation of theAugustów area to Poland. They also appealed to theLeague of Nations,Great Britain,France, theUnited States and other countries to recognize the independence of Belarus.[8]
In late 1920, the Belarusian government began negotiations anew with theBolsheviks in Moscow and tried to persuade them to recognize the independence of Belarus and to release Belarusian political prisoners being held in Russian jails.[9] The negotiations were unsuccessful.
On 11 November 1920, the Belarusian Democratic Republic signed a partnership treaty with theRepublic of Lithuania to cooperate in liberating Belarusian and Lithuanian lands from Polish occupation.
After the establishment of theBelarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (Belarusian SSR) as part of theUSSR, several members of the Rada laid down their mandates in 1925 and returned toBelarus. Officially the Rada BNR never recognized the Belarusian SSR. Most of the members of the Rada who returned to Belarus, including former Prime MinisterVaclau Lastouski, were later killed in theSoviet terror in Belarus in the 1930s.
From the beginning of theSecond World War and the German occupation ofCzechoslovakia the Rada cooperated with the Nazis in hopes to establish their own government.[10] On 28 June 1941 the president of the Belarusian People's Republic in exile, Vasil Zacharka telegraphed to Hitler, that he wishes him aquick and decisive victory over the Judeo-Bolshevik regime on all fronts.[11] When it became clear that the Germans were not ready to create a Belarusian government, and Belarusians were given the place of executors of the orders of the German leadership, Vasil Zacharka stopped cooperating with the Germans and began to sharply criticize them in his articles.[12] The Rada refused to recognize the puppet regime in German-occupied Belarus, theBelarusian Central Rada.[13] At the same time, members of the Rada, namely Vasil Zacharka andLarysa Hienijuš, issued a document to the Jewish family Wolfsohn, which they passed off as Orthodox Belarusians, although they were aware that they were Jews. Because of this, the Wolfsohn family was able to survive the Second World War.[14]
The advance of the Red Army in 1945 forced the Rada of the BNR to relocate to the Western part of Germany, occupied by British and American troops.
In February 1948, the Rada passed a special manifesto, by which it declared its return to activity. In April 1948 the Rada, together with representatives of the Belarusian post-war refugees, held a conference inOsterhofen, Bavaria.[15]
The primary activities of the Rada BNR in the West werelobbying and contacts with Western governments to ensure recognition of Belarus as a separate country. Together with other anti-Soviet organisations in the West, including governments in exile of Ukraine and the Baltic countries, the Rada protested against human rights violations in theSoviet Union. In the 1950s the Rada BNR enabled the creation of the Belarusian edition ofRadio Free Europe. Members of the Rada organized support to Belarus following theChernobyl accident of 1986.[16]
After thedissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, similar governments-in-exile of the neighboring countries (Lithuania, Poland and others) handed back their mandates to the corresponding independent governments.
Upon declaration of independence of theRepublic of Belarus in 1990, interest in the Belarusian Democratic Republic increased in Belarusian society. TheBelarusian Popular Front, which was the main pro-Perestroika anti-Communist opposition party, called for the restoration of an independent Belarus, in the form of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, starting in the late 1980s. In 1991, the Belarusian parliament adopted the state symbols of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, thePahonia and theWhite-red-white flag, as state symbols of the Republic of Belarus.
In 1993, the government of the Republic of Belarus held official celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Minsk. Members of the Rada BNR took part in the celebrations along with the senior political leaders of the Republic of Belarus. It was stated then that the Rada was not ready to return its mandate to theSupreme Council of Belarus, which had originally been electedunder Soviet rule. The Rada was prepared to hand its mandate to a freely elected Belarusian parliament;[16] however, these plans were cancelled after presidentAlexander Lukashenko, elected in 1994, established a return to Soviet policies in regards to Belarusian language and culture.[17]
The Rada BNR continued its activities aimed at promoting democracy and independence for Belarus in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom andEstonia. In the 2010s, the President of the Rada regularly held meetings with western policymakers and makes official statements criticizing the human rights violations and continuingRussification in Belarus.[18][19] The Rada became a consolidating center for several exiled Belarusian opposition politicians.
Since the late 1980s, 25 March, the Independence Day of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, is widely celebrated by the Belarusian national democratic opposition asFreedom Day (Belarusian:Дзень волі). It is usually accompanied by mass opposition rallies inMinsk and by celebration events of the Belarusian diaspora organizations supporting the Belarusian government in exile.
During the2020–2021 Belarusian protests, the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic expressed its support for the activities ofSviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her office and declared her the "clear winner" of the 2020 presidential election.[20]
In June 2023, it became known that theState Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB) declared the Rada an extremist formation.[21]
The Rada was intended to be a provisional parliament which would perform its functions until aconstitutional convention of Belarus was held. The Rada BNR formed a government consisting of its members.
As of 2017[update], the Rada sees itself as bearer of a symbolic mandate and as a guarantor of the independence of Belarus. The goal of the Rada is to transfer its mandate to a democratically electedParliament of Belarus under the condition that no threat to the independence of Belarus should be present.[16]
The Rada is led by the President of the Rada BNR (Старшыня Рады БНР) and a Presidium (Executive council) consisting of 14 members.[22]
The Rada includes severalSecretariates as working groups or individual secretaries responsible for specific areas, this include among others:[16]
The activity of the Rada BNR is regulated by the Provisional Constitution of the Belarusian People's Republic and the Statute of the Rada BNR.
The current (April 2024) presidium consists of:[23]
In 1949, the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile under PresidentMikola Abramchyk introduced a number of civic and military awards.[25] There has been a number of decorations in the 1950s.[25]
In 2016, the Rada of the BDR announced plans to renew the decorations.[26] In 2018, the Rada awarded 130 Belarusian activists and politicians, as well as a number of foreigners, with a newly created medal commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.
| Image | Name | Creation Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
  | 1 September 1949 | The highest state award of the Belarusian Democratic Republic | |
  | Order of the Iron Knight Ордэр Жалезнага Рыцара | 1 September 1949 | A military decoration for soldiers and officers |
Brown, red, green | Partisan Medal Мэдаль Партызана | 1 September 1949 | A medal for the members of the Belarusiananti-Soviet partisan movement |
  | Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal Мэдаль да стагодзьдзя Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі | 24 December 2018 | A medal "for lifelong achievements in the fulfillment of the ideals of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, including research and the popularisation of Belarus, the strengthening of and achievement of the independence of Belarus, and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Belarus." |
.jpg)  | Military Virtue Medal Мэдаль за баявыя заслугі | 21 January 2023 | A medal "for personal bravery shown in circumstances involving risk to life and the protection of freedom, independence and the democratic constitutional order of Belarus on the basis of the ideals of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, in particular, while conducting military and official duties, in battle and while conducting special tasks in the national interests of Belarus." |
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