Radasłaŭ Astroŭski | |
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Радаслаў Астроўскі | |
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| Born | (1887-10-25)October 25, 1887 Zapolle, Klyetsk District [be], Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | October 17, 1976(1976-10-17) (aged 88) Benton Harbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Nationalist political activist and political leader |
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Radasłaŭ Kazimiravič Astroŭski[a] (25 October 1887 – 17 October 1976) was aBelarusian collaborator withNazi Germany who served as the president of theBelarusian Central Council, a puppet Belarusian administration under German hegemony from 1943–1944, and in exile from 1948-1976.
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Radasłaŭ Astroŭski was born on 25 October 1887 in the town of Zapolle,Slutsk Uyezd,Minsk Governorate. He studied at the Slutsk gymnasium, but was expelled for participating in theRussian Revolution of 1905–1907. In 1908, he was accepted to the mathematical faculty ofSaint Petersburg University. In 1911, he was arrested for taking part in revolutionary riots and was imprisoned atSaint Petersburg andPskov. After his release in 1912, he re-entered the university and later transferred to theUniversity of Tartu, from where he graduated with a degree inphysics andmathematics.
After University, Astroŭski worked as a teacher inCzęstochowa, Poland and inMinsk. From 1915 to 1917, he taught at theMinsk Teaching Institute. After theFebruary Revolution, he became the commissar of theRussian Provisional Government in Slutsk paviet. In September of that same year, he founded theSlutsk Belarusian Gymnasium [be] and became its principal.
Astroŭski opposed theOctober Revolution. He was a delegate to the December 1917First All-Belarusian Congress and published articles in support of the idea of Belarusian independence. In 1918, Astroŭski served as the Education Minister in the government of theBelarusian Democratic Republic, under Prime MinisterRaman Skirmunt.[1] He also took part in the 1920Slutsk uprising against theRed Army.
In 1921, he moved intoWest Belarus in theSecond Polish Republic. He served as principal of theBelarusian Gymnasium of Vilnia from 1924 to 1936.[1] In the second half of the 1920s, he radically changed his political views. In 1924 he initiated the creation of a Polish-Belarusian Society that supported the Polish government. After the breakdown of the Society, Astroŭski cooperated with theBelarusian Communist Party (of Bolsheviks) and with theCommunist Party of West Belarus, and managed the illegalkomsomol cell in his gymnasium.
In 1925 and 1926 he was the vice-chairman of theBelarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union,[1] the chairman of the Belarusian School Society, and the principal of the Belarusian Cooperation Bank inWilno, used to transfer finances to the BPWU.[1] In 1926, Astroŭski joined theCommunist Party of West Belarus and was arrested by the Polish police. However, during the trial against the Hramada, he was found not guilty.
From 1928, he again reoriented politically and began advocating for cooperation with Polish officials. For that, he was condemned by many leaders of the Western Belarusian national movement. In the mid-1930s, he published various works in Belarusian calendar books and in the "Rodny Kraj" newspaper, under the pseudonym "Era". In 1936, he had to leave Wilno and moved toŁódź.
During the German occupation of Belarus, Astroŭski actively cooperated with Nazi officials. In 1941 he moved toMinsk and worked in civil administration. He also created Belarusian administrations inBryansk,Smolensk andMahilyow and spent certain time as aBürgermeister in all of those cities.
In 1943, Astroŭski was appointed president of theBelarusian Central Rada, a limited national government whose creation was permitted by the Nazis in a desperate effort to garner sympathy from the Belarusian population and mobilise them as personnel against the advancing Soviet forces on the Eastern Front. Although the Rada practically had little power, it was allowed to manage certain civil issues.
Astroŭski was one of the main organisers of theSecond All-Belarusian Congress [be] in 1944.
Astroŭski and his cohorts supported the annihilation of Jews, but had relatively minimal involvement in carrying out the mass murders.[2]
After the war, Astroŭski fled from the Soviets and ended up living in Volksgartenstraße,Langenfeld, Rhineland in West Germany.[3] In 1956, he moved to the United States by way of Argentina and resided inSouth River, New Jersey. He actively participated in Belarusian national activism abroad, and was the main ideologist of theBCR as the legitimate Belarusiangovernment in exile, thus not admitting such status for the mainBelarusian People's Republic Council. Astroŭski became a member of the central committee of theAnti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations.[4]
Astroŭski died on 17 October 1976 inBenton Harbor, Michigan.[5] He is buried at theSaint Euphrosynia Belarus Orthodox Church Cemetery inSouth River, New Jersey[6]
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