Belarus USSR The birth of Soviet Belarus. National composition of the BSSR

The BSSR is the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 16 republics that were part of the USSR. After the collapse of the USSR, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of the BSSR became the city of Minsk, which was one of the largest and most populous cities Soviet Union. In addition, in the BSSR it is necessary to distinguish 6 regions, 117 districts in rural areas, 98 cities, as well as 111 urban-type settlements.

The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic existed for a long time. The flag has been represented in various versions throughout its history. These options are presented in the article.

It’s interesting that when Belorusskaya existed, it hardly changed.

History of education

Between such states as Poland, the Lithuanian SSR, the Latvian SSR, the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, after the revolution the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was created. Its territory totaled about 207,600 km 2. Initially, the BSSR belonged to the RSFSR and only two years later it became an independent republic. Immediately after the separation, the BSSR united with the Lithuanian Soviet Republic and the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, or, as it was also called, the LitBel SSR, but only for a year and a half. The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1919 was actually part of a larger republic. The Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic consisted of two. The Moscow-Lithuania Treaty, which was signed on July 12, 1920, was an omen of the collapse of the LitBel SSR. And already on July 31, the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic completely collapsed. Thus, the BSSR was created in 1919, then became part of a larger association, after which, from 1920 to 1991, it existed in its previous status and became an independent state.

Economic characteristics

In 1980, 4.3 billion rubles were invested in the BSSR for the development of industry, economy and infrastructure. The most developed industries of this state are the chemical, petrochemical and food industries. Fast the economic growth(from 1940 to 1980) was carried out due to the abundant capital investments and labor of the Belarusian people. People who lived in the republic after the war rebuilt cities, many of which, one might say, were built anew, established production and increased production volume by as much as 29 times in just 40 years. The BSSR, as well as the Republic of Belarus, was and is provided with fuel using its abundant reserves of natural gas, oil, coal and peat. Rich mineral deposits were also developed and developed with the help of USSR investments. The length of railways in the BSSR in 1982 was as much as 5,513 km, and roads for motor transport - 36,700 km.

Population

The BSSR was one of the most densely populated parts of the Soviet Union; in 1984, the population density was 47.6 people per 1 km 2. The uniform population of the republic is determined by relatively equal population throughout its entire territory. However, the center of the country was the most populated, which can be explained by its location major cities, including Minsk. Between 1950 and 1970, the urban population increased faster than the USSR average.

Nature of the BSSR

The republic is located on the East European Plain, occupying the basin of the middle Dnieper, as well as the western Dvina and Neman in its upper reaches. The predominant type of surface is flat. However, the area is characterized by an alternation of highlands and lowlands, which are heavily swamped in places; in addition, there were a large number of lakes on the territory of the BSSR. The Quaternary glaciation determines this relief feature. In the northwestern part of the state there is the whole system of course moraine ridges. There are highlands in the northeast.

Relief

The Belarusian ridge stretches in the direction from west to east on the territory of the former BSSR, which consists of separate parts, hills formed during the Moscow glaciation. Parallel to it there are periglacial plains. Belarusian Polesie, located in the south of the state, is called a special case of a plain. Hills and ridges also appear in the south, next to the Belarusian Polesie.

Climate

The BSSR was in the temperate zone, which means that the climate was temperate continental. The temperature in January is about -4 °C, however, due to the relatively large extent from north to south, this value may vary. The average July temperature is about 17 °C, but for the same reason the value cannot be accurate for absolutely all areas of the country. The climate is continental, which means there is little precipitation - 550-700 mm.

Rivers

The BSSR had a large number of rivers, both small and large in length. Their total length is considered to be 90,600 km. All of them belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, namely the Black and Baltic Seas. Some rivers are used for transportation. The BSSR was very rich in forests, which occupied 1/3 of the entire territory, swamp vegetation and shrubs were located on 1/10 of the territory.

The territory of the BSSR was not on the edge of the East European Plate, which means that seismological activity could not be strong, the most powerful earthquakes did not reach even magnitude 5.

Minerals of the BSSR

The most important mineral resources, which are still found in large quantities on the territory of Belarus, include gas, oil, coal and various salts.

The region of the northern part of the Pripyat trough is very rich in oil and gas. Distinctive feature oil deposits are massive and arranged in layers. Natural gas is not available in large volumes, and therefore is produced as a by-product.

and slates

Also, huge reserves of brown coal were discovered on the territory of the BSSR. Peat is represented by 39 species. It is one of the main types of fuel in Belarus. As many as 7,000 coal deposits, the total area of ​​which is about 2.5 million hectares, simply cannot but be used. The total amount of peat is 1.1 billion tons, these are truly rich reserves.

In addition, in the BSSR they began to mine oil shale, which, according to geologists, is located at a depth of up to 600 m. Huge reserves of shale are as actively used as fuel.

Salts

Potassium and rock salts are mining chemical raw materials. The thickness of the layers is 1-40 m. They lie under carbonate-clayey rocks. Reserves of potassium salts amount to about 7.8 billion tons. They are mined at various deposits, for example at Starobinsky and Petrikovsky. Rock salts are represented by 20 billion tons, they lie at a depth of up to 750 meters. They are mined at such deposits as Davydovskoye and Mozyrskoye. In addition, the BSSR was rich in phosphorites.

Building breeds

The territory of Belarus also has rich reserves of building and facing stones, chalk rocks, clays and construction sands. Reserves of building stone are about 457 million m3, and of facing stone - about 4.6 million m3. The southern regions of Belarus are richest in building stones. Dolomites, on the contrary, come to the surface in the north. Their reserves are about 437.8 million tons. The BSSR was also rich in Cretaceous rocks, the reserves of which today amount to about 3679 million tons. Clay various types are represented on the territory of Belarus with reserves of 587 million m 3, they are located mostly in the Minsk, Grodno, Gomel and Vitebsk regions.

Development of mineral resources

On the territory of the BSSR, as already mentioned, mineral resources were actively mined. Their development began 30,000 years ago, during the Late Paleolithic era. At that time, people living in this area mined flint from the surface of the earth. About 4,500 thousand years ago, flint mining was already developed. A large number of mines have been discovered that were used back in the Cretaceous periods. Their depth is no more than 6 meters, however, given the time of their origin, we can assume that flint mining was very developed among the inhabitants of these areas. There were also entire complexes of mines connected by passages, usually up to 5.

Production development

Ancient needles were found in the mines, which were intended for sewing bags necessary for transporting the mined mineral. Material was processed near the exit. Flint was used to make axes. Already in the fifth century BC. The development of metal deposits began, from which people living on the territory of Belarus created household items and weapons. In addition, dishes were made from clays for various needs. Already in the 16th century, glass factories began to appear, and in the 18th the first manufactories appeared in this area.

Peat extraction

Peat extraction in the BSSR became an independent industry. Volumes have steadily increased due to increased usage. Peat enterprises appeared, which strengthened the industry. But during the Second World War, almost all of them were destroyed. Only by 1949 the volume of extracted peat reached its previous values.

Salt mining

As already mentioned, potassium and rock salts are found in large quantities on the territory of Belarus. But only in 1961 their active mining began. An underground mining method was used. The richest of them is Starobinskoe. The mechanization of most mining led to an increase in salt volume by 60% in 1965 and 98% in 1980.

Subsoil protection

Mineral resources were actively mined in the BSSR; it is easy to guess that this greatly influenced environment. Vast areas were badly damaged. Therefore, recreational activities began to be carried out aimed at enriching the subsoil and restoring resources, for example, fertilizing the soil and planting trees.

Education of industrial specialists

The Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, founded in the BSSR, trains personnel to work in the mining industry. It was founded in 1933 in Minsk. Already in 1969, there were as many as 12 faculties. There are also others educational institutions. Technical schools still provide education in the development of peat deposits, underground processing of ores and nonmetallic minerals, and in other industries.

Arena of Confrontation

In 1920, the BSSR, one might say, was the center of confrontation between bourgeois Europe and the USSR. The latter side wanted to retain power in Poland; the interests of the Soviet Union were represented by a delegation from the RSFSR. The decision was not made in favor of the BSSR. The resolution did not allow for the expansion of Belarus at the expense of Poland.

The socialists of the BSSR were dissatisfied with the location of the borders with their neighbors, namely the RSFSR and Poland. They believed that boundaries should not be established on ethnographic grounds. There was no unity on the problems of the territory.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Second World War, the BSSR and Ukrainian SSR suffered more than other parts of the Soviet Union. More than 2 million people died in the BSSR, and about 380 thousand were taken out of the country. The population size that lived before the war was reached only by 1971. Hitler's occupiers destroyed 209 cities and regional centers, many of which had to be rebuilt; only 2.8 million square meters of housing stock survived out of almost 10.8.

Gaining independence and interesting facts

In 1990, the Declaration on the BSSR was signed, which meant its imminent separation. On September 19, 1991, it became officially known as the Republic of Belarus. In the same year, an agreement on the creation of the CIS was created and signed. The association included Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. Interesting fact in the history of this state it can be said that for 46 years this republic, like the Ukrainian SSR, was one of the members of the UN (United Nations), although it remained a dependent state - the BSSR. In the 1920-1930s, constitutionalism developed in the republic.

THE USSR. Byelorussian SSR

Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Byelorussian SSR (Belarus, BSSR) is located in the western European part of the USSR. It borders on the west with Poland. Area 207.6 thousand. km 2. Population 9371 thousand people. (as of January 1, 1976). National composition (according to the 1970 census, thousand people): Belarusians 7290, Russians 938, Poles 383, Ukrainians 191, Jews 148, etc.

Average population density 45.1 people. by 1 km 2(as of January 1, 1976). The capital is Minsk (1,189 thousand inhabitants as of January 1, 1976). Big cities(thousands of inhabitants): Gomel (349), Vitebsk (279), Mogilev (264), Bobruisk (185), Grodno (176), Brest (162), Baranovichi (123), Orsha (114), Borisov (102 ).

Many new cities have grown: Novopolotsk, Svetlogorsk, Soligorsk, Zhodino, etc. Administratively, the republic is divided into 6 regions and 117 districts; has 96 cities and 109 urban-type settlements.

Nature. The surface is mostly flat. To the north-west moraine hilly ridge heights stretch (Belorusskaya ridge, height up to 345 m). In the south there is swampy Belarusian Polesie. Minerals: potassium salts, rock salt, peat, oil, etc. The climate is moderate continental. The average January temperature is from -4 °C in the southwest. Up to -8 °C in the north-east; July from 17°C in the North to 19°C in the South Precipitation from 500 to 700 mm in year. Main rivers: Dnieper (with tributaries Pripyat and Sozh), Western Dvina, Neman. There are about 11 thousand lakes in the republic. The soils are sod-podzolic, sod-podzolic, waterlogged, and peat-boggy. Forests (mainly coniferous) occupy 1/3 of the republic's territory.

Historical reference. Class society on the territory of Belarus arose in the 1st millennium. In the 9th-11th centuries. Most of the territory was part of Kievan Rus, which became the basis for the formation of a single Old Russian nationality, from which three East Slavic peoples were later formed - Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. In the 12th century There were feudal principalities: Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk, etc. Since the 14th century. territory - as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from 1569 - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; at the end of the 18th century. reunited with Russia. The peasant reform of 1861 accelerated the development of capitalism. At the end of the 19th century. The first social democratic circles appeared. The working people of Belarus took part in the Revolution of 1905-07, in February Revolution 1917 and the October Revolution of 1917. In 1915, the western part of Belarus was occupied by German troops. Soviet power was established in October-November 1917. In February - November 1918, almost all of Belarus was occupied by German troops. On January 1, 1919, the BSSR was formed. In February - August 1919, the Lithuanian-Belarusian SSR existed. In 1919-20 it was occupied by the troops of bourgeois Poland. According to the Treaty of Riga 1921, Western Belarus went to Poland. In 1922, the BSSR became part of the USSR. In 1939 Western Belarus reunited with the BSSR. As a result of industrialization and collectivization carried out under the leadership of the Communist Party Agriculture and the cultural revolution, a basically socialist society was built in the republic. In 1941 the BSSR was occupied Nazi troops. The Belarusian people rose up to fight the enemy. There were 1,255 partisan detachments and groups (over 374 thousand people). During the war years, more than 2.2 million people died in the republic. In July 1944, the BSSR was liberated by Soviet troops. Since 1945 the BSSR has been a member of the United Nations.

As of January 1, 1976, the Communist Party of Belarus had 485,671 members and 20,558 candidates for party membership; in the ranks of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Belarus there were 1,247,444 members; There are 4,022,939 trade union members in the republic.

The Belarusian people, together with all the fraternal peoples of the USSR, achieved new successes in communist construction in the post-war decades.

The BSSR was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin (1935, 1958), the Order of the October Revolution (1968) and the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1972).

Economy. Over the years of socialist construction, Belarus has become a highly developed industrial-agrarian republic. The BSSR has developed economic ties with all union republics. In 1975, the volume of industrial output exceeded the level of 1940 by 21 times, and the level of 1913 by 166 times. The structure of industry has changed towards increasing the share of heavy industry.

Table 1. - Production of the most important types of industrial products

For the production of the most important types of industrial products, see the data in table. 1.

Largest power plants: Lukomlskaya (2400 MW), Berezovskaya, Vasilevichskaya, Smolevichiskaya GRES. The fuel industry is represented by peat (the oldest), oil production and oil refining industries.

In mechanical engineering on an all-Union scale, machine tool manufacturing, tractor manufacturing, automobile manufacturing and radio electronics are distinguished. In the chemical industry, potassium production is especially developed (Starobinskoye deposit). In the food industry, the largest branch is meat and dairy. The main branch of light industry is textile (knitwear, woolen fabrics, carpets).

Gross agricultural output in 1975 doubled compared to 1940. At the end of 1975 there were 830 state farms and 2070 collective farms. In 1975, 102.5 thousand tractors (in physical units; 10.4 thousand in 1940), 29.9 thousand grain harvesters (1.7 thousand in 1940), 63.6 thousand trucks worked in agriculture (6.1 thousand in 1940). Agricultural land in 1975 amounted to 9.8 million. ha(47.2% of the entire territory), including arable land - 6.1 million. ha, hayfields - 1.7 million ha and pastures - 1.8 million. ha. In 1975, the area of ​​drained land reached 2282.6 thousand. ha(23% of all agricultural land). In gross agricultural output in 1975, agricultural and livestock products accounted for 47% and 53%, respectively.

For data on sown areas and gross harvest of agricultural crops, see table. 2.

The area of ​​fruit and berry plantings is 166 thousand. ha in 1975 (91 thousand ha in 1940). Gross harvest of fruits and berries - 693 thousand. T(70 thousand T in 1940). The leading branch of agriculture is livestock farming for dairy and meat (see Table 3).

For the production of livestock products, see the data in table. 4.

Fur farming (black and brown foxes, minks, nutria), beekeeping and pond fish farming are developing.

The operational length of the railways is 5.46 thousand. km(1975). The length of roads is 71 thousand. km(1975), including hard surface 33.9 thousand. km. There are 3.9 thousand operated waterways. km(1975). Air transport is developed. The length of the main pipelines is 2 thousand. km, There are about 1.5 thousand gas pipelines. km.

The standard of living of the population of the republic is steadily increasing. National income for 1966-75 increased by 2.3 times. Real income per capita in 1975 compared to 1965 increased 1.8 times. Retail turnover of state and cooperative trade (including catering) increased from 524 million rubles. in 1940 to 7431 million rubles. in 1975, while trade turnover per capita was more than 10 times. The amount of deposits in savings banks in 1975 reached 3349 million rubles. (17 million rubles in 1940), the average deposit is 866 rubles. (41 rubles in 1940). At the end of 1975, the city's housing stock amounted to 56.7 million. m 2 total (useful) area. During 1971-1975, 21.9 million were put into operation at the expense of the state, collective farms and the population. m 2 total (useful) area.

Table 2. - Sown areas and gross harvest of agricultural crops

Table 4. - Production of basic livestock products

Cultural construction. According to the 1897 census, 32% of the population were literate; among men 43.5%, among women 20.7%. In the 1914/15 school year. there were 7682 secondary schools, 488.6 thousand students. There were several teachers' seminaries, technical schools and 3 teacher's institutes. After establishing Soviet power a new school was created with teaching in the native language

By 1939, literacy of the population had risen to 80.8%; according to the 1970 census it reached 99.8%.

In 1975 in permanent preschool institutions 373 thousand children were raised. In the 1975/76 school year. 1.8 million students studied in 8.9 thousand secondary schools of all types, 176 vocational schools educational institutions- 116.4 thousand students (including in 82 vocational schools providing secondary education - 39.4 thousand students), in 133 secondary specialized educational institutions - 154.7 thousand students, in 31 university - 159.9 thousand students. Largest universities: Belarusian University, Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, Pedagogical and Medical Institutes.

In 1975, per 1000 people employed in the national economy, there were 715 people. with higher and secondary (complete or incomplete) education (113 people in 1939). Science Center republics - Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR. As of January 1, 1976, the number of scientific workers was 31 thousand people.

The network of cultural institutions has received significant development. There are (1975) 14 theaters (including the Belarusian Drama Theater named after Yakub Kolas, the Belarusian Theater named after Yanka Kupala, the Belarusian Opera and Ballet Theater); 6.8 stationary cinema installations and 6.3 thousand club establishments operated.

The largest libraries: State Library of the BSSR named after. V. I. Lenin (founded in 1922; in 1975 there were 6,496 thousand copies of books, brochures, magazines, etc.), fundamental library of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR named after. Y. Kolas (1895 thousand copies of books, brochures, magazines, etc.); in 1975 there were 7.1 thousand public libraries (70.8 million copies of books and magazines); 56 museums.

In 1975, 2,827 book titles and brochures were published (including 471 titles in the Belarusian language) with a total circulation of 34.3 million copies. (772 titles with a circulation of 10,370 thousand copies in 1940). 158 magazine publications were published with an annual circulation of 37.9 million copies, including 33 publications in the Belarusian language with an annual circulation of 28.5 million copies. (27 publications with an annual circulation of 1,100 thousand copies in 1940). (1975) 179 newspapers were published with an annual circulation of 805 million copies. (including 129 newspapers in the Belarusian language with an annual circulation of 281 million copies). The Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTa) has been operating since 1931. The Republican Book Chamber was founded in 1922. The first radio broadcasts began in Minsk in 1925, and the Minsk Television Center has been operating since 1956. Republican radio and television broadcasts in Belarusian and Russian languages

In the republic in 1975 there were 913 hospital institutions with 107 thousand beds (514 hospitals with 29.6 thousand beds in 1940); 28.3 thousand doctors and 85.2 thousand paramedical personnel worked (5.2 thousand doctors and 17.9 thousand paramedical personnel in 1940).

Byelorussian SSR. State flag.

Byelorussian SSR. State emblem.

Minsk. Square of victory.

Republic - all current Republic discounts in the Books and Magazines category

Belarus. Located in the west of the USSR. The oldest monuments of art on the territory of Belarus date back to the Upper Paleolithic (bone pendants, necklaces, amulets with ornaments), Neolithic and Bronze Age (wooden, bone and antler... ... Art encyclopedia

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BELARUSIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC- BELARUSIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC, Belarus, located in 3. Europe. parts of the USSR. Pl. 207.6 t. km2. Us. 9878 t. h. (as of January 1, 1984). The capital is Minsk (1442 thousand, as of January 1, 1984). The BSSR was formed on January 1. 1919. In February. Aug. 1919… … Demographic encyclopedic Dictionary

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January 1, 1919 is the day of the proclamation of the BSSR. It is symbolic that this date coincides with the New Year. 95 years ago a new era in our history truly began.

The territory of the republic covered almost all the lands where Belarusians lived at that time - from Bialystok to Smolensk. But only on paper. In reality, everything was more complicated.

Preparations for the proclamation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus - that is what the then BSSR was called according to documents - began in the fall of 1918.

In 2005, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus published a collection of documents prepared by Vitaly Skalaban and Vyacheslav Selemenev, “January 1, 1919: The Provisional Workers’ and Peasants’ Soviet Government of Belarus.” The book analyzes all available materials on the birth of the republic. The scientists concluded: “The decision to create a Belarusian Soviet government was made by the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The government was formed in Moscow, and then in Smolensk and Minsk. It included representatives of two groups.

The first was made up of leaders of the Belarusian sections of the RCP (b) and the Belarusian National Commissariat - structural unit People's Commissariat for Nationalities of the RSFSR. Their leader was Dmitry Zhilunovich, who became the chairman of the government.

The other was made up of leaders of the North-Western Regional Committee of the RCP(b) and the Executive Committee of the Soviets of the Western Commune, headed by Alexander Myasnikov, who had previously denied the right of Belarusians to self-determination and fought against Belnatsky and the Belarusian sections of the RCP(b) as breeding grounds of nationalism. One of them, Wilhelm Knorin, wrote on October 6, 1918 in the Zvezda newspaper: “We believed that Belarusians are not a nation and that those ethnographic features that separate them from other Russians should be eliminated.”

In the “Manikhvesce of the Hourly Worker-Rural Savetskaga of the Government of Belarus”, under which the date January 1, 1919 is written, both social and national liberation were proclaimed: “The noble package Belarus of workers and poor villagers, who have spent all their lives serving their due dates for the poor Chenna of the Polish Lordship -pameschykaў, and then the shabby pad of the race of the bloody samadzyarzhaya with the generals and the most powerful chynoўnitsva, the first heavy yoke of the German jumper, the captain is weakening hell until the yakka package is important for the attacks. torn army, prichashchayatstsa yes new free life, what future will be on the foundations of kamunizmu, on the foundations of international evil pratsoўnaga people.

Workers, rural poor and red army soldiers of Belarus!

Paige to the ancestral peoples of the Race, Lithuania, Ukraine and Latvia, the hell of this day becomes free and the rightful Gaspadars, the free independent Belarusian Socialist Republic!”

These words, full of revolutionary passion, were previously given to Stalin for approval by their author Dmitry Zhilunovich, translated into Russian. It was Joseph Vissarionovich, People's Commissar for Nationalities and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR, who oversaw the creation of our republic. Back on December 25, 1918, he confronted Myasnikov with a fact: “The Central Committee of the party decided, for many reasons, which there is no need to talk about now, to agree with the Belarusian comrades (i.e., the Zhilunovich group. - V.K., V.S.) on formation of the Belarusian Soviet government. This issue has been resolved and there is no need to discuss it anymore.”

On December 29, Stalin again spoke to Myasnikov: “Today the Belarusians (Zhilunovich’s group - V.K., V.S.) are leaving for Smolensk. They bring a manifesto with them. A request from the Central Committee of the Party and Lenin to accept them as younger brothers, perhaps still inexperienced, but ready to give their lives to party and Soviet work.”

In propaganda materials of the 1930s - 1950s, Stalin was declared the “founder of the BSSR.” During Khrushchev’s “thaw,” history was corrected: only Lenin was called the creator of the BSSR. However, both were involved in the case. It was the Moscow leaders who were the engineers of the new republic. The “younger brothers” Zhilunovich and Myasnikov were assigned the role of ordinary builders on the finished project. On January 1, 1919, Joseph Vissarionovich telegraphed Myasnikov: “I must remind you that the government will be in direct contact with the Central Committee of the party and subordinate to it. Ask Zhilunovich to come to the apparatus today.”

So, on January 1, the republic was proclaimed in Smolensk. Only a day later, head of government Zhilunovich and comrades Dylo, Chervyakov and Chernushevich left for Minsk. Osip Dylo later recalled how the top officials of Belarus got to their capital: “There was a very bad stove in the carriage of the train, and the members of the Eurasian Council were heated all night long, abgavarvayuchy their future shtodzen pratsa. Paslya hungry Maskva over the savory byў bought for the gift of black bread and lard. One dance after another dance. In one hell of a month, there was a change in the train, the authorities of the country looked on, the adkul gota took part in the “Members of the Belarusian Council”, and the adzin adkazny pratsaunik at the mercy of his soul asked torture, and not happy with the Belarusian Rada. (i.e. BNR. - B .K., V.S.).”

A railway employee confused members of the government of one Belarusian republic with another. This is not a joke. And the contradictory reality of that time. The creators of the BSSR in their “Manihvests” took into account the attempt to create the Belarusian People’s Republic and demonstratively “overthrew” political competitors: “The ancestral bourgeois Belarusian Rada with the so-called “people's ministers” is abby with baronial laws.

All the laws, pastanovs, regulations and orders of the Rada and my servants, as well as the German, Polish and Ukrainian akupatsy ulastsy lychatstsa nya sapraudnymi.”

Some prominent intellectuals viewed the creation of the BSSR as the long-awaited embodiment of the “Belarusian dream” of their own state. Writer Maxim Goretsky on January 3, 1919 appeared in the Smolensk newspaper Izvestia with the article “Long live communist Belarus.” On January 6, the head of government and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Belarusian People's Republic Anton Lutskevich wrote in his diary: “The news has arrived that the Mensk Savetskaya Ulasci have abolished the independence of the Savetskaya Belarusian Republic. Geta was so electrifying that everyone, like the Adzin Gatovs, went to Mensk and walked together with the Balshaviks.” On January 26, Lutskevich was sure that “the idea of ​​the Belarusian Republic can celebrate the holy day. Ab y gavorats, for yae byaruzza barozza tyya, hto yashche ўchora baroўsya protsi yae. I'm the same Balshaviki, who dispersed the Belarusian congresses in the snow of 1917, abducted the independent Savetskaya Belarus from the Federal Republic of Russia, and yes, I gladly missed Zhylunovich, Dyla, Falskaga, Charvyakov and other rulers Belarus, often immediately cracked down on the kangres "

However, Lutskevich hastened to conclusions. He did not know that back on January 22, 1919, the Moscow envoy in Minsk, Ioffe, at a meeting of the Central Bureau of the CP(b)B explained the emergence of the BSSR in a completely different way: “After the collapse of German imperialism, a period of nationalist aspirations begins again. The imperialists wanted to take advantage of these aspirations to create republics through which they could influence Soviet Russia in the desired sense. To avoid this, as well as the direct impact of imperialism on Russia, the Central Committee decided to create a number of buffer republics between them and us. In particular, it is necessary to isolate ourselves from Polish and Petliura imperialism. Based on these considerations, the Central Committee decided to form the Lithuanian and Belarusian Republics.

On these grounds, Lenin formed the Belarusian Republic."

On February 2-3 in Minsk, in the building of the current Kupalovsky Theater, the First Congress of Soviets of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies of Belarus met. The deputies approved the decision initiated in Moscow to transfer the Smolensk, Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces from the BSSR to the RSFSR. Zhilunovich, Dylo and Falsky were removed from their positions.

On February 8-10, Dylo, Falsky and Shantyr were arrested. The party newspaper “Zvezda” in an editorial dated February 5, 1919, “On the results of the Congress of Soviets of Belarus,” drew the line: “The Congress confirmed that the efforts of the Belarusian nationalist intelligentsia to create “their” Belarusian language, “their” national culture are in vain.” Knorin later described that turning point as follows: “After that, we undertook to carry out the Belarusian policy ourselves, not with the hands of Belarusians, but with international hands. They were for the widespread use of the Belarusian language, but Myasnikov had such a policy that we were pursuing a certain line, oriented towards Moscow.”

The fate of the majority of the members of the first government of the BSSR was tragic - and both members of the Zhilunovich and Myasnikov groups became victims. In 1919, Naidenkov was shot, in 1920 - Shantyr, in the 1930s, during the repressions, Zhilunovich, Andreev, Kalmanovich, Pikel, Reingold, Chernushevich, Yarkin died. In 1937, Chervyakov committed suicide - he could not stand the persecution. Some of the first persons of the first republic waited for rehabilitation only at the end of the twentieth century.

At the aforementioned First Congress of Soviets of Belarus in February 1919, a decision was made to unite Soviet Belarus with Soviet Lithuania into the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belarus. Its existence turned out to be short-lived. During April - August, most of these lands were captured by Poland, and the remaining territories were annexed to the RSFSR.

Only on July 31, 1920, after the expulsion of the Poles from Minsk, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus was again proclaimed, which included only 6 districts of the Minsk province with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Bobruisk, Borisov, Mozyr, Igumen (Cherven). In 1924 and 1926, lands with a Belarusian population were returned from the RSFSR to the BSSR. In 1939, the BSSR grew due to the reunification of Western Belarus.

In 1945, the BSSR became one of the founding states of the United Nations.

On September 19, 1991, the Supreme Council of the BSSR adopted the Law “On the name of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic”, which proclaimed: “The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic will henceforth be called the “Republic of Belarus”, and in abbreviated and compound names - “Belarus”.

Victor KORBUT, “SB”, Vyacheslav SELEMENEV, chief archivist of the National Archive.

Don't call my republic

The land of dark forests!

Look -

They glow above her

Lights of factory buildings...

Don't call my republic

A country of swampy swamps!

And I will garden it

Breathe freely

And the bread flutters over her,

And the roads

like arrows

flying away...

Kastus Kireenko

A demobilized soldier was returning to his native Belarusian village. The Patriotic War separated him from the region where he was born and raised. He was not in his homeland for many years - having learned about the death of his loved ones, he remained to serve in the army, then restored the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and the Kharkov Tractor Station, built a railway in Siberia...

My heart was beating faster. Right now, behind this copse, there is a swamp, and then... Will they recognize him in the village?.. But what is it? Blue waves shimmer through the sparse tree trunks, where there should be a swamp. The man couldn't believe his eyes. He rushed forward, parting the bushes... In front of him, a huge field of blooming flax swayed in the wind...

During the years of Soviet power, the face of Belarus changed beyond recognition - the land of “hungry and sorrowful,” as they wrote about it before the revolution. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of “waste land” turned into arable land, flowering meadows, and vegetable gardens. By 1958, drainage work had been carried out on swamps and wetlands with a total area of ​​about 800 thousand hectares.

The face of the republic is constantly changing. And is it possible now, in a country of powerful plants and factories, in a country where not only “gray bread” is produced, but also wheat and corn, flax and sugar beets, milk and meat, in a country that trades with almost half the world, to recognize the former Belarus? !

The history of the Belarusian people is closely connected with the history of the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. In the IX-XI centuries. the modern territory of the Byelorussian SSR was part of Kievan Rus. Around the 13th century. The name Belaya Rus arose.

In the XII-XIV centuries. The territory of Belarus was captured by Lithuanian feudal lords. The Belarusian land groaned for a long time under the yoke of foreign invaders.

Reunification at the end of the 18th century was progressive for Belarus. with Russia. It freed the Belarusian people from foreign slavery. True, the tsarist autocracy now ruled over it. Together with other nations Russian Empire Belarusians began to fight against tsarism. By the end of the 19th century. Belarus already had a large proletariat. About 50 thousand workers worked in factories and factories, 70-80 thousand in craft workshops. In addition, approximately 50 thousand people were employed in construction and seasonal work. Complete political lack of rights and miserable wages prompted workers to go on strike. Marxist circles arose in many cities.

In March 1898, the First Congress of the RSDLP met illegally in Minsk.

In 1905-1907 A revolutionary wave swept across Belarus. The peasants refused to work for the landowners, burned estates, and seized the lands of their lords. Workers of Minsk and Gomel, Vitebsk and Brest went on strike, demanding political freedoms and improved economic conditions.

The Great October Revolution brought liberation. For the first time in its centuries-old history, Belarus became an independent state - the Soviet Socialist Republic.

Civil war, defeat of the interventionists, restoration and reconstruction of factories and factories, collectivization and the fight against the kulaks, overcoming technical and economic backwardness, cultural revolution... Together with our entire Motherland, with the help of the fraternal peoples of the Soviet Union, the Belarusian SSR was rebuilt, grew richer, and turned into a powerful socialist industrial republic.

But not all the people of Belarus were happy. The western regions of the republic remained under the rule of bourgeois-landowner Poland. For 20 years, workers here fought for their national liberation, for reunification with Soviet Belarus. In 1939, the western regions became part of the BSSR and began to build socialism with the help of the working people of the republic and our entire socialist Motherland.

However, difficult trials awaited the Soviet Republic. From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War it became the scene of the most fierce battles.

Stubbornly defended Soviet people Belarusian land, showing miracles of courage.

Now every schoolchild knows about heroic defense Brest Fortress in the first weeks of the war. Enemies only captured it when almost all the defenders of the fortress died the death of heroes.

The Nazis occupied Belarus. They exported enterprise equipment and industrial goods, livestock and food to Germany, destroying everything that the republic had created with such difficulty during the years of peace. The land was taken away from the peasants, the workers were forced to work for the occupiers. A dense network of prisons, concentration camps, and ghettos covered the whole of Belarus. Innocent people were hanged, shot, and destroyed in gas chambers.

But the Belarusian people did not give up. People's avengers - partisans - acted behind enemy lines in every region. Weapons, ammunition, and food were delivered to them from the mainland. The Nazis were terrified by Konstantin Zaslonov’s detachment, the “Assault” partisan brigades, and them. M. V. Frunze, 2nd Minsk, 208th partisan regiment. The immortal feat of Ivan Susanin was repeated by the 70-year-old peasant Ivan Tsuba.

The memory of the Belarusian heroes who fought in the ranks will never die among the people Soviet army. The son of the Belarusian people, Captain Nikolai Gastello, sent a burning plane into a column of enemy tanks and vehicles and died himself. Another pilot, Alexander Gorovets, alone entered into battle with 20 German aircraft. The hero died, but first he shot down 9 fascist vultures.

The disasters brought to the Belarusian people by the war are innumerable. More than half of the republic's national wealth was plundered and destroyed. The cities of Belarus turned into ruins, many villages were burned to the ground... The economy of the republic had to be restored almost from scratch. All the fraternal peoples of the USSR came to the rescue. Trains with metal, cars, seeds, purebred livestock, and food went to Belarus.

Cities and villages were reborn from the ruins, factories and factories came into operation.

Before the revolution, Belarus was a backward agricultural country. Its fossil wealth lay in vain. During the years of Soviet power, they - as throughout our country - were put at the service of the people.

Belarus is very rich in peat, the reserves of which amount to billions of tons! This is the main energy raw material of the republic. Peat is used as fuel and many industrial enterprises. Powerful thermal power plants will operate on peat, the construction of which in Belarus is provided for in the 20-year plan for building a communist society. In the near future, such energy giants as the most powerful Berezovskaya HPP in the republic, the second stage of the Vasilevichskaya HPP and the Polotsk CHPP will come into operation. And the chemical industry begins to produce artificial wax, gas, phenol, and acetic acid from peat.

Limestones, chalk, clays, glass sands, gravel and other materials make it possible to widely develop the construction and glass industries. Brick and tiles, gypsum and ceramic blocks, sewer pipes and reinforced concrete structures, window glass and dishes are provided by Belarus to the entire Soviet Union.

Near the town of Starobin, untold riches have been discovered - deposits of potassium and table salts. Now a new city has grown here - Soligorsk, the first city of miners and chemists in Belarus. A large potassium plant is being built here. Thus, a new large base for the production of mineral fertilizers, especially necessary for the non-chernozem zone, will be created in the west of the USSR.

Near ancient city An oil refinery is being built in Polotsk. It will process oil supplied via an oil pipeline from the Volga region. This new industry of the republic will create great opportunities for the development of chemistry.

On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of the Great October Revolution, the Dashava-Minsk gas pipeline, one of the largest construction projects of the seven-year plan, was put into operation ahead of schedule.

Construction was carried out in difficult conditions. Many places through which the gas pipeline is laid are swampy. But soviet people overcame all difficulties and won. The way is open for a powerful flow of natural gas. Soon a dense network of pipelines will cover the entire republic. Many residential buildings and enterprises in Minsk, Brest and a number of other cities of the republic have already received this valuable fuel.

Dashavsky gas will also serve as a raw material for the Grodno Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant, which will be built in the coming years. Belarus is becoming a republic of big chemistry. A complex of rubber industry enterprises will be created.

Artificial leather products are produced in Pinsk, a plant for the production of artificial astrakhan fur will operate in Molodechno, and the Svetlogorsk artificial fiber plant is being built.

Mechanical engineering occupies a special place in the industry of Belarus. It began to develop even before the Patriotic War, and in last years became the leading sector of the economy. Many machine-building plants in the republic, including automobile and tractor plants in Minsk, are of all-Union importance. Belarus occupies one of the first places in the country in the production of trucks, tractors, and metal-cutting machines. Belarusian machine builders are creating new tractors and new cars. For example, they produce a “family” of huge vehicles with a carrying capacity of 25 to 40 tons. Such giants are necessary for the mining industry. In terms of their qualities, they are significantly superior to similar US cars. Mechanical engineering is rapidly developing further. Enterprises for the production of electrodes, various metal and plastic products are being built, and the production of automatic machine lines has been mastered.

In the first two years of the seven-year plan alone, more than 60 large enterprises and workshops, more than 400 new types of machines, machine tools, and instruments were mastered. The industry of the republic has been given the task of helping the further development of agriculture. Produce new, more modern machines, mineral fertilizers and building materials faster and more.

Belarusian products are known not only in our country, but also abroad. The republic exports its goods to more than 50 countries of the world. It exports machine tools, machinery, and equipment. Belarus tractors operate successfully in the boundless steppes of Mongolia, on the rocky lands of Greece, and on the dense calcareous soils of Syria. Ditch diggers and bulldozers of Belarusian brands came to the jungles of Ceylon. Powerful Belarusian dump trucks are rushing along the roads of the Middle East.

The woodworking industry is also developed in the republic. Plywood, lumber, standard houses, and furniture are produced here. In the post-war years, Belarusian workers planted new forests on hundreds of thousands of hectares.

The republic's transport meets its needs National economy. The most important railway lines: Moscow - Brest, Leningrad - Odessa, Riga - Gomel. Large highways Moscow - Minsk - Brest, Leningrad - Kyiv pass through Belarus, and airlines are laid over its territory.

The agriculture of Belarus is continuously developing and strengthening. The plantings of grains - including corn - and fodder crops have been expanded. The republic specializes in the development of dairy and meat animal husbandry, pig farming, waterfowl breeding, and the production of potatoes, fiber flax and sugar beets. The most favorable conditions for the growth of these agricultural sectors in Belarus are natural conditions. But in order to make good use of these favorable natural conditions, you need to put in a lot of work, give the fields more fertilizer, and create new perfect machines that can better cultivate the land.

Pushcha near Belaya Vezha

This forest was mentioned for the first time in the chronicle of 983. But the white vezha, a watchtower made of white stone, was built only in the 13th century, when the city of Kremenets was built on the banks of the Lesnaya River. It was from this white tower that the ancient forest, an insignificant part of the vast forest, which then stood like a wall over a vast area from the Baltic Sea and the Oder to the Bug and the Dnieper, received its name.

In the dense thickets of the Pushcha there is a diverse life hidden from the human eye. Brown hares, squirrels, moose, wild boars, deer, roe deer, ermines, weasels, badgers, foxes, bears, wolves, lynxes live here... The world of birds is rich - wood grouse, hazel grouse, woodcock, ducks, black grouse - more than 150 different species of birds.

But the most valuable inhabitant of the protected forest for science is, of course, the famous Belovezhskaya bison... When livestock is crossed with bison, breeds are obtained that tolerate heat and cold well and are resistant to some diseases.

In the last century, 70 species of animals became extinct on our planet. The bison, the largest of the animals inhabiting European forests, was also under threat of extinction. During the years of intervention and civil war bison were almost completely destroyed.

In 1923, at the world congress on nature conservation, the international bison conservation society was created. Thus a new page in the life of Belovezhskaya Pushcha opened. Zoological scientists have carried out difficult, painstaking work to restore a herd of purebred bison living in natural conditions. Now in Belovezhskaya Pushcha there are already more than four dozen adult bison and many young animals. In total there are about a hundred bison in the USSR.

When you first meet them, bison seem heavy, slow, even passive. And no wonder! This forest giant reaches 3.5 m in length and about 1.9 m in height. It has almost a ton of weight. However, bison instantly react to any irritation; they are surprisingly mobile and fast.

In summer, bison climb deep into Belovezhskaya Pushcha and run wild. They feed on young green shoots, grasses, and foliage. And in winter they stay close to the center of the nursery and know well those who feed them. It is enough for the “breadwinner” to give a voice, and huge animals with powerful heads and sickle-shaped horns come running and patiently wait for food at the feeders.

The wonderful people of the Belarusian land, the “beacons of communism,” are working with great enthusiasm. This allows us to say with confidence that the task set Communist Party, - to increase the yield of agricultural crops, significantly increase the number of livestock and the production of livestock products - will be accomplished by the republic with honor.

Belarus is almost entirely green with forests and blue with rivers and lakes. The hills in Belarus are small. They were formed from glacial moraines. The highest point of the Belarusian Upland, Mount Dzerzhinskaya, rose 346 m above sea level. To the north of it lies the Belarusian lake region. There are many glacial lakes surrounded by dense forests and thickets.

The climate of the Belarusian lake region is harsher than in other places of the republic. Flax farming and meat and dairy farming are developed here. In terms of flax crops, this region is one of the first places in the Soviet Union.

To the south of the Belarusian Upland, Polesie is located in a giant triangle between the cities of Brest, Mogilev and Kiev. This is a huge swampy flat depression. It extends for 500 km from the Bug to the Dnieper. All around are endless stagnant ponds, overgrown with sedge, alder, gnarled pine and birch. Among them, villages and towns lie on sandy hillocks and ridges. There are also many dense forests in Polesie. This region got its name from them. Along the lowest part of Polesie, in the direction from west to east, the river slowly flows, fancifully meandering. Pripyat is a tributary of the Dnieper.

Before the revolution, Polesie was considered the land of wild swamps and forests. Hunger, poverty, and disease were constant companions of the Poleschuk - that’s what the inhabitants of this area were called in the past. Rivers and swamps fenced them off from outside world. People constantly struggled with swamps and small forests encroaching on arable lands. They plowed the land with a plow and loosened it with a hoe. For centuries, field pikes have dreamed of draining bogs and swamps. But only the socialist state, with its powerful industry and collective farms, armed with advanced technology, was able to transform huge swamps into flowering fields, meadows, and pastures. According to the Communist Construction Program, the reclamation of Polesie will make it possible to develop more than 4.8 million hectares of land in Belarus and Ukraine.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is located in the Grodno and Brest regions - one of the most wonderful corners of nature in our Motherland, the oldest nature reserve.

Forest, forest and forest - this is what amazes a person who comes to the Pushcha for the first time. It surprises with its diversity, continuous alternation of different species, and the size of the trees. Here are giant spruce trees more than 50 meters high, and there, on the sands, forty-meter high pines rose. Three grown men cannot grasp the giant oak trees. The height of some oak trees reaches 42 m, and their circumference is 10 m. Linden trees reach unusually large sizes.

HERE'S WHAT TO REMEMBER ABOUT BELARUS

1945 The Belarusian land lay black from fires and desolate. The Nazis turned many cities and villages of the republic into ruins and ashes. The level of the national economy has become lower than in 1913.

1961 Only 17 years have passed. With fabulous speed, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic rose from the ruins. Its industrial output increased almost 40 times compared to 1913. This means that for every thousand people per year the following is produced:

there are more metal-cutting machines than in the USA or England, France or Japan;

there are more trucks than in Italy or Austria;

there are more tractors than in England or France, the Federal Republic of Germany or Italy.

In 1913, out of 100 inhabitants of Belarus, 80 were illiterate. And now all the children study here, and for every 10 thousand residents there are over 70 students.

In terms of the number of students in universities per thousand population, Belarus is ahead of Japan, Belgium, France and Italy.

There are more doctors in the republic per 10 thousand population than in the USA, England, France, Germany or Japan.

The national economy of the republic employs more than 100 thousand specialists with higher education.

The reserve carries out tireless work to protect the rich wildlife of this region and to acclimatize new animals.

On the southern slope of the Minsk Upland - the watershed of the Black and Baltic seas - is located Minsk, the capital of the republic. This is one of the oldest cities in our country. It was first mentioned in the chronicle of 1067.

Minsk is on the shortest route from Western Europe to the central regions of our Motherland. In pre-revolutionary times it was a provincial provincial town. On the eve of the First World War there was greatest number gymnasiums and primary schools. At the same time, there were about 30 churches, churches and synagogues in the city. Most of the residents were illiterate.

IN late XIX V. Minsk became a hotbed of the labor movement and revolutionary Marxist thought in Belarus.

During the years of the pre-war five-year plans, Minsk turned into a large cultural and industrial center. The fascist occupiers left ruins and ashes in place of the formerly flourishing city. They destroyed 80% of residential buildings, all factories, factories, scientific and educational institutions, theaters, and cinemas.

The Soviet people restored the city in an unprecedentedly short time. Now Minsk is much more beautiful than before the war. Wide asphalt streets lined with trees, new multi-storey buildings, many parks. In the post-war period, automobile, tractor, motorbike, bearing and watch factories, a production line factory, fine cloth and worsted mills, and a radio factory were built here. There are factories for spare tractor parts, electrical panels, a printing plant, a plant for reinforced concrete products, and a motor plant is being built. Light and food industries are developed. There are hundreds of schools in the city, dozens of higher and secondary special educational institutions

institutions, including Belarusian State University them. V.I. Lenin, Polytechnic Institute, Institute of National Economy, medical, pedagogical, technological, etc. There are more than 40 thousand students in universities and technical schools of the capital.

The Academy of Sciences of the Belarusian SSR and many research institutes are located in Minsk. There are three theaters here, a large state library, House-Museum of the First Congress of the RSDLP, Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

The second largest city of the BSSR is Gomel. It is located in a picturesque location on the river. Sozh.

It is a center for the production of agricultural machinery and machine tools, and a large river port.

In the southwest, almost on the border with the Polish People's Republic, stands the city of Brest. It is covered with the heroic glory of the defenders of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War. The heroes of the Brest Fortress fought to the death, defending their positions until the last fighter. The Nazis were forced to keep significant military forces here for a long time, withdrawn from the front.

Modern Brest is a beautiful, well-maintained city and an important transport hub of the country.

Not far from the borders with fraternal Poland there is another oldest city of the republic - Grodno. A glass factory, a worsted factory, a leather and shoe factory, and a sugar factory operate in Grodno and the Grodno region.

Vitebsk lies on the high banks of the Western Dvina and Vitba. It is a center for machine tool manufacturing and the textile industry. The Vitebsk plush carpet plant produces 40% of all factory carpets in the USSR. There is a flax mill and a hosiery and knitting factory in the city.

To the north-west of Vitebsk on the banks of the Western Dvina lies one of the oldest cities in Russia - Polotsk. It is over 1100 years old. It was once an important center of ancient Russian culture and education. Since then, the city has preserved remarkable historical and architectural monuments. Before the October Revolution, Polotsk looked like a run-down, unimportant town. During Soviet times, it grew and transformed. A glass fiber plant operates here, the construction of an oil refining plant is being completed, and new industrial enterprises are being created.

Speaking about the cities of Belarus, one cannot fail to mention Mogilev, located on the banks of the Dnieper. Famous before the revolution for the products of its leather and shoe factories, Mogilev in Soviet times became a major center of metallurgy, metalworking, mechanical engineering, and the textile industry.

The Belarusian collective farm village is also becoming different. Villages and towns in Belarus are being rebuilt according to new plans. Projects of modern residential, industrial and cultural buildings for rural areas are being developed. Rural houses, like urban buildings, are increasingly being constructed from prefabricated structures.

Main perspectives further development the republic's farms are associated with mechanical engineering and energy production using peat, chemical and food industry, meat and dairy farming.

The selfless labor of the peoples of Belarus (8,316 thousand people as of January 1, 1962), the help of all Soviet republics, and first of all the RSFSR, made Belarus what we see it today - free, rich, moving with our entire Motherland towards a brighter place. communist future.