The German occupation of Byelorussia, now known as Belarus, started with Germany's invasion of the Russian Empire on August 1, 1914 and ended with the collapse of the German Empire on November 11, 1918. During the occupation, 130,000 Belarusians were killed. [lower-alpha 1] [1]
On the Russian-German front, the war began with battles in East Prussia, Poland, and Galicia. The Lithuanian-Belarusian provinces located near the theater of military operations were declared under martial law. Strikes, meetings, processions, demonstrations were prohibited, military censorship was introduced. The territory of Belarus turned out to be part of the Dvinsky and Minsk military districts, and in accordance with the decree of Nicholas II of July 20, 1914, the entire local civil administration had to obey their superiors. [2] The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, was located in Baranovichi. On July 29, by his order, a directive was sent to the chiefs of military districts "to render the most energetic assistance to the civil authorities by military force, in order to eliminate any attempt at unrest at once with the full unity of the military and civilian authorities on the ground." [3]
During the First World War (1914-1918), the territory of Belarus became the scene of active hostilities. Since the beginning of the war in Baranovichi, and since August 8 (21), 1915 - in Mogilev, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander was located. In 1915, German troops occupied the western territories of modern Belarus, from which 432 industrial facilities and a number of educational institutions were dismantled or taken to other provinces of Russia by the Russian authorities. Also, 29 enterprises were taken out of the frontline Minsk, Mogilev and Vitebsk provinces, and in the summer of 1915, in areas under threat of occupation, they destroyed crops and stocks of agricultural products with payment of compensation to peasants at state rates. A number of educational institutions were also evacuated from Belarus to Russia and Ukraine. The Belarusian People's Committee was organized in the German-occupied territory. [4]
The war led to inflation and significant use of women and child labor. In frontline regions the civilian population was mobilized for military work (for example, at the end of 1916, 219.3 thousand men and women were mobilized in the Minsk province). [5] The Western lands occupied by the Germans in 1915 (about 50 thousand km2) were divided into the military administrative district of the Ober-Ost, the military operational strip and Brest. The territories occupied in 1915 were subordinated to the German military command, which imposed a number of restrictions on the local population (passports with fingerprints even for children, a system of passes when leaving the place of residence): landlords' estates whose owners fled to Russia were given to the officers of the German army. An occupation currency, the German ostrubel, was also issued. [6]
The population of the territory occupied in 1915 was taxed - per capita (8 marks in 1917 from a person aged 15 to 60 years), for industry and trade. There were also requisitions of agricultural products, a ban on killing livestock and poultry without special permission (the permit involved the surrender of part of the meat to the authorities). In 1915, forced paid work was introduced for women aged 18-45 and men aged 16-50. In 1915, 7 sawmills started operating in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. At the same time, the German occupation authorities opened a number of Belarusian, Lithuanian and Jewish schools, where the compulsory study of German was also introduced (it was forbidden to teach children in Russian). [7]
In March 1917, a congress of Belarusian national organizations was held in Minsk, which put forward demands for the state autonomy of Belarus as part of the Russian Federative Democratic Republic and elected an executive body - the Belarusian National Committee (BNC). In July 1917, a congress of Belarusian organizations and parties was held, instead of the BNC, the Central Rada of Belarusian Organizations was created, reorganized into the Great Belarusian Rada.
On December 5, 1917, the First All-Belarusian Congress began its work, at which issues of Belarusian statehood were discussed. The participants of the congress were divided into supporters of the Great Belarusian Rada (supporters of independence) and the Belarusian Regional Committee (supporters of broad autonomy within Russia). The participants of the Congress made a compromise decision to create an All-Belarusian Council of Peasants', Soldiers' and Workers' deputies. The All-Belarusian Council was to prepare the convocation of the Constituent Assembly to resolve the issue of the state structure of Belarus. However, already on December 18, the Council of People's Commissars of the Western Region and the Front decided to disperse the congress. [8]
On March 3, 1918, a peace treaty was signed in Brest-Litovsk, according to which, in addition to the territory of Western Belarus, which had been under occupation since 1915, the rest of the modern Belarusian territory was transferred to German control. On March 25, 1918, representatives of the Belarusian national movement announced the creation of an independent Belarusian People's Republic under German occupation. It opened its diplomatic missions in neighboring countries, which recognized its de facto existence. [9] After the withdrawal of the German troops, the territory where the BNR structures functioned was occupied by the Russian SFSR and Poland without resistance, and the BNR government was forced to emigrate to Vilnius.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Byelorussia, Belorussia, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Belarus, or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1991 as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, with its legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia and was also referred to as Soviet Byelorussia or Soviet Belarus by some historians. Other names for Byelorussia included White Russia or White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Novogrudok or Navahrudak is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2024, it has a population of 27,936.
The Belarusian People's Republic, or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The Council proclaimed the Belarusian Democratic Republic independent in its Third Constituent Charter on 25 March 1918 during the occupation of contemporary Belarus by the Imperial German Army.
Yakub Kolas, real name Kanstantsin Mikhailovich Mitskievich was a Belarusian writer, dramatist, poet and translator. People's Poet of the Byelorussian SSR (1926), member (1928) and vice-president of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences.
Nyasvizh or Nesvizh is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. In 2009, its population was 14,300. As of 2024, it has a population of 15,968.
Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The activity emerged after Nazi Germany's Operation Barbarossa was launched from mid-1941 on. It was coordinated and controlled by the Soviet government and modeled on that of the Red Army.
The Imperial Russian Air Service was an air force founded in 1912 for Imperial Russia. The Air Service operated for five years and only saw combat in World War I before being reorganized and renamed in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.
Vilyeyka is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vilyeyka District. It is located on the Viliya River, 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Minsk. The first historical record dates from 16 November 1460. As of 2024, the town has a population of 26,625.
The Battle of Humin-Bolimów was an inconclusive battle of World War I fought between January 14 and February 28, 1915 between the Imperial German Army and Russia. The battle is considered a preliminary to the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes.
When the Second World War in Europe began, the territory which now forms the country of Belarus was divided between the Soviet Union and the Second Polish Republic. The borders of Soviet Belarus were greatly expanded in the Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939. In 1941, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany. Following the German military disasters at Stalingrad and Kursk, the collaborationist Belarusian Central Council (BCC) was formed by the Germans in order to raise local support for their anti-Soviet operations. The BCC in turn formed the twenty-thousand strong Belarusian Home Defence (BKA), active from 23 February 1944 to 28 April 1945. Assistance to collaborators was offered by the local Soviet administrative governments, and prewar public organizations including the former Soviet Belarusian Youth. The country was soon retaken by the Red Army in 1944. Devastated by the war, Belarus lost significant populations and economic resources. Many battles occurred in Belarusian territory. Belarusians also participated in the advance towards Berlin.
Vasil Zacharka was a Belarusian statesman and the second president of the Belarusian People's Republic in exile.
Vitebsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most of the area belongs to Belarus, the northwestern part to Latvia and the northeastern part to Pskov and Smolensk Oblasts of Russia.Together with the Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev Governorates, it formed the Northwestern Krai. The provincial city was Vitebsk, the largest city was Dvinsk.
The General Government of Galicia and Bukovina was a temporary Imperial Russian military administration of eastern parts of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria captured from Austria-Hungary during World War I.
Arkady Nikanorovich Nishchenkov (6 March 1855 – February 1940 was an Imperial Russian general of the artillery and corps commander. He fought in the wars against the Ottoman Empire and the Empire of Japan. From 1914 to 1917 he commanded the Amur Military District.
The Russification of Belarus denotes a historical process where the integration of Russian language and culture increasingly influenced Belarusian society, especially during the 20th century.
With the outbreak of hostilities in the Caucasus as part of World war I, Azerbaijan was also involved in the war, being part of the Russian Empire. Baku oil was of particular importance.
Belarus–NATO relations refers to relations between the Republic of Belarus and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Union of Belarusian Youth was a youth organization in the territory of German-occupied Belarus during World War II.
Pavlivka is a village in Volnovakha Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The population as of 2021 is 2,505 people, and the body of local self-government is the Vuhledar settlement hromada.
The 226th Zemlyansky Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Imperial Russian Army. The unit existed from 1914 to 1918. The regiment was famous for defending Osowiec Fortress, having carried out the "Attack of the Dead Men."