Pahonia was the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a medieval feudal state of which the lands of modern Belarus made up the largest part, and which was formed by the Eastern Slavic culture, language and statehood traditions.

The first historical description of the Pahonia dates back to the late 13th century. The symbol is described in the Chronicle of Lithuania and Samogitia (Belarusian: “Хроніка літоўская і жамойцкая”, original medieval Belarusian: “Кройника литовская и жмойтская”) as the symbol of Narymont of Polatsk, son of Hiedzimin (Gedymin), Grand Duke of Lithuania:

“в гербе муж збройный, на коню белом, в полю червоном, мечъ голый, яко бы кого гонячи держал над головою, и есть оттоля названый погоня”

(“in the coat of arms, there is an armed man on a white horse, on a red field, with his sword naked, as if he was chasing someone and holding it above his head, and thus it is called the Pursuit”)

According to the Hustyn Chronicle, the Pahonia was created under the rule of Grand Duke Vicień (c. 1295 – c. 1316.):

“А Витен нача княжити над Литвою, измысли себе герб и всему князству Литовскому печать: рыцар збройный на коне з мечем, еже ныне наричут Погоня.”

(“As Vicień started ruling over Lithuania, he invented himself a coat of arms and a seal to the whole duchy of Lithuania: an armed knight on a horse with a sword, which is today called the Pursuit”)

The charging knight was a wide-spread image in the Eastern Slavic and Baltic lands at that time, symbolising military power and the rule of the monarch.

Since the 14th century, the image of the Pursuit was put on a heraldic shield and as such used as the coat of arms of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Hiedzimin, Jahajła and Vitaŭt, with possible variations as to the design. It soon became the state symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a whole and a dynastic symbol of the Hiedziminavič (Gediminid) families, descending from Grand Duke Hiedzimin. These include a number of Polish and Russian noble families: Sanhuška (Sanguszko), Golitsine, Kourakine, Trubiacki (Trubetskoy), Čartaryski (Czartoryski), Belsky and others, many of whom have included the Pahonia as part of their family coats of arms.

A Byzantine double cross was added to the rider’s shield by Grand Duke Jahajła after his baptism in 1386. The golden cross on a blue shield became the coat of arms of the Jagiełłon dynasty.

In the first half of the 15th century, the classical view of the coat of arms became widely used, with the riding knight holding a sword in his raised hand and a shield in the left hand.

In accordance with the Statue of Lithuania adopted in 1588, all Lithuanian (Belarusian) cities, towns and lower administrative divisions (“paviety”) had to have a seal with the Pahonia on it to verify decisions of the Grand Duke:

“Тежъ мы, господаръ, даемъ подъ геръбомъ того паньства нашого, великого князства литовъского, «Погонею» печать до кожъдого повету, на которой естъ написани около геръбу имя того повету. А тую печать писаръ земъский присяжный у себе самъ, а не хъто инъшый, ховати маеть, которою печатью и под тытуломъ нашымъ позвы мають быти печатованы и выдаваны. А иные никоторые листы, выписы и сознанья, кроме только самыхъ позвовъ, тою печатю не маеть быть печатованы.”

(“Also we, as the ruler, grant under the coat of arms of our state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, under the Pursuit, a seal to each of the localities, on which the name of the locality shall be written next to the coat of arms. That seal shall be preserved by the [relevant local official] himself, and nobody else, and with this seal under my name shall he certify and issue documents.”)

Different variations of the Pahonia were symbols of provinces formed on the territory of Belarus: the Miensk (Minsk) Voivodeship, Vilnia (Vilnius) Voivodeship, Viciebsk (Vitsebsk) Voivodeship, Połack Voivodeship, Bieraście (Brest) Voivodeship, Mścisłau (Mstsislau) Voivodeship, and the Voivodeship of Padlašša (Podlachia, Podlasie).

After the unification of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Kingdom into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Pahonia became an element of the royal coat of arms of this state.

As Belarus was incorporated into the Russian Empire following the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, the Pahonia remained a key element of the coats of arms of Russian provinces (governorates) established on the territory of Belarus, namely Viciebsk Governorate, Harodnia (Grodno) Governorate, Vilnia (Vilno, Vilnius) Governorate and the Połack Viceroyalty. Besides that, under Russian rule, the Pahonia became an element of new coats of arms created by the Russian administration for numerous cities in Belarus to replace their historical symbols. These cities and towns included Vilnia, Połack, Viciebsk, Lepiel, Suraž, Nieviel, Vialiž and others.

The Pahonia became an element of the great imperial coat of arms of Russia and of various Russian military units formed on the territory of Belarus.

During the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon’s Russian campaign, the Pahonia was used by Belarusians who fought on his side.

The Pahonia was one of the symbols of uprisings against the Russian rule in Belarus in 1830-1831 and in 1863-1864.

In 1918, the Pahonia became the official coat of arms of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since then, it is being used by the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile, as well as by organisations of the Belarusian diaspora. A different variant of the Pahonia became the symbol of the newly established Republic of Lithuania. It was also used as an element of the coat of arms of the short-lived Poland-leaning Republic of Central Lithuania.

From that moment, the Pahonia has established itself as a commonly accepted symbol of the modern Belarusian national liberation movement, alongside the white-red-white flag which is based on the Pahonia’s colours.

Between 1919 and 1939, the Pahonia was used by many political and cultural organisations in West Belarus, annexed by Poland in 1920, including the Belarusian Schools Society (Таварыства беларускае школы), the Belarusian Peasants’ and Workers’ Assembly (Беларуская сялянская і работніцкая грамада), the Belarusian Christian Democracy (Беларуская хрысьціянская дэмакратыя), and others.

During the Second World War, the Pahonia was used by Belarusian organisations in Nazi-occupied Belarus.

Since after the war, the Pahonia was used by organisations of the Belarusian diaspora in the Free World. In Soviet-occupied Belarus, the public display of Belarusian national symbols, including the Pahonia, was punishable.

During the Perestroika, the Belarusian Popular Front, a nationwide movement for democracy and independence, has started using the Pahonia as one of its symbols. This is when this coat of arms became again popular in Belarus.

On 19 September 1991, a few weeks after Belarus declared independence from the Soviet Union, the parliament of Belarus has officially approved Pahonia as the country’s coat of arms.

In June 1995, the authoritarian president Alaksandr Łukašenka replaced the Pahonia with a modified Soviet emblem as the state coat of arms following a falsified and illegal referendum held in May that year.

Since then, it is one of the symbols of the democratic aspirations of the Belarusians and a symbol of resistance against the regime of Alaksandr Łukašenka. Public display of the Pahonia again became punishable by Łukašenka’s state security, like in Soviet times – even though no official ban of the symbol ever took place. Moreover, on 14 May 2007 the government of the Republic of Belarus has included the Pahonia into the official list of intangible historical and cultural heritage of Belarus.

Today, the Pahonia enjoys immense popularity in the Belarusian society and will one day inevitably be restored as the official symbol of Belarus.

One hundred years ago, the Belarusian people arose to defend their homeland from the invasion of the East. The Sluck brigade – ten thousand people under the flag of the Belarusian Democratic Republic – “went to die so that the Fatherland could live.” For one hundred years, Belarusians in the free world have proudly been celebrating this day with gratitude to the heroic military act of the Sluck Army Brigade.

In 2020, the historical heroes of Sluck were joined by hundreds of thousands of new heroes who came out under white-red-white flags to liberate their land from lies, violence and oppression by a man who betrayed his oath to the Constitution of Belarus and has been trading the Belarusian people as his personal property.

Our new heroes are our youth, our women, our pensioners and our disabled compatriots; doctors who try to save the people from the terrible coronavirus, students, athletes. Every Belarusian with a beating Belarusian heart will never forget the hatred with which the brutal security forces have been beating, injuring and killing their people. We shall not forget and we shall fight to win.

The whole world admires the dignity of our people, is compassionate and willing to help Belarus. The Belarusian diaspora abroad supports its homeland as much as it can. There is no civilized country that does not sympathize with our people today.

Dear compatriots, I tell you in faith: we will win!

Thanks to the heroes of 2020 – our Sluck Heroes of the 21st century – Belarus will take its rightful place in the family of free peoples of the world. They will free their people from under the boot of a shameful impostor.

So glory to the heroes of Belarus! Our people will never forget your heroism!

Long live Belarus!

Ivonka Survilla
President of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile

***

My dear fellow Belarusians,

Our dear Polish and Lithuanian neighbours and friends,

Today we are witnessing a great historical event. Finally, the heroes of our three nations, the rebels who gave their lives for the freedom of all of us, will find their rest.

Kastuś Kalinoŭski and his comrades have become an inspiration for the Belarusian national liberation movement. Kalinoŭski became a symbol of the struggle of the Belarusian people for freedom, for national and social liberation. “Who do you love? I love Belarus” – this was the code-word of Kalinoŭski’s insurgents. This motto has given an impulse that led to the birth of our modern nation. This phrase remains our code-word, our motto today.

It is a great honour to be the witnesses of the long-awaited honourable funeral of these people. A great honour to pay our respect to their memory.

These heroes unite our three nations: Belarusians, Lithuanians and Poles. Many of them were born on the territory of modern Belarus. They all were patriots of our common historical motherland, the ancient Lithuania. And they have found their rest in a city where all of us – Belarusians, Lithuanians, and Poles alike – are at home: in Vilnia (Vilnius, Wilno).

55 years after their heroic death, the struggle of these insurgents has led to the creation of the independent Belarusian Democratic Republic, Lithuanian Republic and Poland.

The struggle of Kastuś Kalinoŭski and his comrades is a powerful example to us. Even having murdered these men, the enemies have not killed our will to fight for freedom. And decades later, our nations have won, because they were led by the desire to live free.

The independence of Belarus is again threatened today. But with the belief in our truth, which Kalinoŭski has many times mentioned in his articles, we will win. Belarus will be a free and democratic country, as are now our dear neighbours, the Lithuanian Republic and Poland, with whom we are glad to be together on this special day.

An eternal glory and eternal memory to our heroes!

1. How did you manage to keep the uninterrupted tradition of statehood intact for so many years?

The tradition of the Belarusian Democratic Republic was preserved through years of effort and work of the Belarusian diaspora. Hundreds of concerned and politically active people, even in exile, remained faithful to Belarus and spent their energy, time and money on Belarusian activism. The constitutional regulations of the BNR Rada, adopted in 1917-1918, allowed for the co-optation of new members. This allowed the Rada to refresh its membership over the subsequent decades.

BNR Rada has traditionally relied on the organizations of the Belarusian diaspora in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarusian communities in the Czech Republic and Poland also play a significant role. Separate members of the Rada also live in other countries.

The community of Belarusian political exiles has been constantly supported by new waves of political refugees: in the twenties, then after World War II, and then after A. Lukashenka came to power.

In exile, the BNR Rada has been performing several important functions.

Firstly, the Rada remained a guardian of the traditions and of the continuity of the Belarusian liberation movement at a time when the occupiers of Belarus brutally fought this movement, killing thousands and sending tens of thousands to concentration camps. As de jure the supreme governmental institution of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile, whose task is to guarantee the establishment of a democratic Constitution and permanent democratic state bodies of Belarus, the BNR Rada is an important legal, historical and moral factor. An army is not considered defeated if the enemy hasn’t captured it’s flag. Same with the BNR Rada remaining active in exile.

Secondly, the BNR Rada represents the interests of the Belarusian people in the free world, educates policymakers and the general public in the West, counters the propaganda about Belarus.

Finally, the BNR Rada is there to unite Belarusian political activists in different countries, from Canada to Australia.

2. How do you plan to establish the authority of the Belarusian Democratic Republic on the territory of the Republic of Belarus? Will you follow the scenario of the Ukrainian People’s Republic’s government in exile or a different path?

The BNR Rada does not necessarily aim at taking the place of the current authoritarian government of Belarus.

The BNR Rada was established in December 1917 at the All-Belarusian Congress of political and social organizations. The BNR Rada became a provisional supreme state body of Belarus, whose task was to hold a national Constituent Assembly, where a democratic Constitution would be adopted. According to this Constitution, democratic elections would be held, and permanent state bodies would be established – and later accept the authority from BNR Rada.

History, as we know, made its adjustments. But our ultimate goal remains the same as a hundred years ago – to transfer the BNR Rada’s historical mandate to a democratically elected government of Belarus, and thus to give this future government historical legitimacy. Thereby we would legally and symbolically link the Belarusian Democratic Republic of 1918 and the future democratic Belarus, finally witnessing the victory of the Belarusian national liberation movement and the achievement of the goals set for us by the All-Belarusian Congress in 1917.

3. Is there a shadow government and do you have an action plan in case you return to power?

De jure, the Presidium of the BNR Rada has the functions of a government. As stated above, the Rada does not necessarily need to return to power itself: we look forward to the formation of a democratic government in Belarus, and our mission is to contribute to this in every way, in cooperation with the democratic opposition inside Belarus.

The Rada has no ideology other than adherence to a number of basic values.

The first value is the independence of Belarus on the basis of the Belarusian culture and language, and of the continuity with previous historical forms of the Belarusian statehood, especially the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Duchy of Połack.

Our second unconditional fundamental value are the principles of democracy and respect for human rights.

4. With what other governments in exile do you have official contacts? Are there any acts of recognition or mutual recognition?

The BNR Rada has traditionally had contacts with representatives of the governments of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and other countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union we have no relations with other governments in exile: the relevant institutions of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States have transferred their powers to democratic authorities of their countries.

Unlike in the Cold War, now our contacts are not fully-fledged interstate contacts: there is a certain legal conflict due to the fact that the Republic of Belarus is now officially recognized as a sovereign state and has diplomatic relations with the democratic nations. We are interested in Belarus having this status.

This does not prevent us from acting as de facto the oldest global Belarusian pro-independence and pro-democracy advocacy group, as the coordinating body of activists working with the governments of the countries in which they live.

However, if threats to the independence of the Republic of Belarus become realized, the BNR Rada will remain the sole legal governmental body that represents Belarus in the world. The existence of the BNR Rada as such a potential “insurance” is still justified because the current regime in Belarus is incapable of guaranteeing the state sovereignty.

5. Do you plan to issue coins or print stamps, even as souvenirs?

Previously, the Rada used to issue stamps, also while already in exile. Now we also receive such proposals but are not engaged in anything like that. It is not clear how this would help us achieve our goals. The BNR Rada is trying to engage in projects that would have a real impact, given our capabilities and status. We do not want to turn into a sham and a parody of ourselves, like some other exiled governments and royal houses have: this would be a clear sign of decline.

6. What state awards does the BNR Rada have? What moments of Belarusian history are commemorated with the awards of the BNR Rada? Can you tell us about who has been awarded by the government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic?

Four awards are currently recognized as official by the BNR Rada: the Order of the Pahonia, the Order of the Iron Knight, the Partisan Medal and the Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal.

The Order of the Pahonia is the highest state award. The Order of the Iron Knight is the highest military award. The Partisan Medal was presented to the participants of the partisan struggle for the independence of Belarus, and the medal to the Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal – to our outstanding contemporaries who have contributed to the popularization and development of the Belarusian culture, the struggle for democracy and independence of Belarus.

Among the recipients of the Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal there are several outstanding Belarusian statespeople who have restored the independence of Belarus in 1991 and whose achievements are not being recognized by the pro-Russian regime of A. Lukashenka. These include the leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front and the first head of state of the restored independent Belarus, Stanisłaŭ Šuškievič (Shushkevich). The Medal was also presented to outstanding cultural figures, including Nobel laureate Śviatłana Aleksijevič (Svetlana Alexievich), as well as to pro-democracy activists, political prisoners, activists of the Belarusian diaspora and foreigners who have been helping Belarus.

(Photo: BNR Rada President Ivonka Survilla with the President of Czech Republic, Václav Havel in 2004)

In the early Middle Ages, several Eastern Slavic kingdoms (Belarusian: княствы, also translated as duchies, or principalities) were created on the territory of today’s Belarus.

The largest of them, the Duchy of Połack (Polatsk, Polotsk), existed from the 9th century till the 14th century in what is now northern Belarus. It had vassals among Baltic tribes in what today are Latvia and Republic of Lithuania, and competed for influence with other, larger, Eastern Slavic kingdoms such as Kiev and Novgorod.

The city of Połack was actively involved in northern European trade with the Hanseatic League.

Duke Rahvałod and Princess Rahnieda of Połack

The Dukes of Połack

Following a feudal fragmentation and decline of the Duchy of Połack, by the 14th century the centre of the Belarusian statehood moved westwards, to Navahradak, where, on the borderland between Eastern Slavic and Baltic lands, the next major Belarusian state emerged: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia (Вялікае княства Літоўскае, Рускае і Жамойцкае).

Seal of Grand Duke Vitaŭt of Lithuania

In the form of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia, medieval Belarus has gained its widest territorial extent. Under Grand Duke Vitaŭt Kiejstutavič, it has been Europe’s largest state with access to the Baltic and Black seas, competing with major regional powers such as Russia, Poland and the Teutonic Order.

Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1588

The Statutes of Lithuania, written in Belarusian language, have become one of the great examples of medieval European legislation.

The medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a common heritage of today’s Belarusians, Lithuanians and of the Polish people from the Belarusian-Lithuanian borderland.

The Grand Dukes of Lithuania

The Union of Lublin (1569), creating the unified Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Following exhausting and bloody wars against Russia, which several times resulted in the loss of half of Belarus’ population, in 1569 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia has created a common state with the Kingdom of Poland.

As time went on, the Polish language has replaced Belarusian as the language of the elite. The Belarusian nobility increasingly adopted Polish customs and the Polish identity.

The Grand Dukes of Lithuania following the Union of Lublin with Poland

The 1863 Uprising in Belarus

As a result of a joint aggression by Russia, Prussia and Austria against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the late 18th century Belarus became part of the Russian Empire. In 1831 and in 1863, two national liberation uprisings took place in Belarus and Poland. Both were brutally defeated by the Russians and were followed by political repressions and increased cultural, linguistic and religious Russification in Belarus.

20th century

In 1918, after failed attempts to reestablish the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a federation of modern Belarusians and Lithuanians, the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic has for the first time in history declared Belarus an independent democratic country within the borders with a Belarusian majority population.

The Government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, 1918

Several months later, the Government of Belarus has been forced to go into exile by the advancing Russian Bolshevik armies. As their first decree, the Bolsheviks declared the Rada BNR as overthrown. After several months of occupation, they established a pro-Soviet Belarusian puppet State within the borders of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. In 1921, the territory of Belarus was divided in half between the Russian Bolsheviks and the nationalist interwar Polish state. In 1924, East Belarus was formally incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.

The Presidents of the Belarusian Democratic Republic

Between the wars, the Belarusian national liberation movement had to face two enemies on both sides of the Polish-Soviet border. In the East, Belarusian intellectuals and activists have faced repressions from the totalitarian Soviet regime. Thousands of Belarusians were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan, sent to concentration camps or executed in numerous mass extermination sites such as Kurapaty near Minsk. In the West, the Belarusian population faced discrimination in the increasingly authoritarian and nationalistic Poland.

Jewish Belarusians in the Minsk Ghetto created by the German Nazis

At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland, and West Belarus became annexed to the Soviet Belarusian Republic. This was accompanied by a new wave of political repressions in West Belarus. In 1941, Belarus became occupied by Nazi Germany. The Nazis carried out mass terror against the civil population of Belarus, especially against the Belarusian Jews. In total, Belarus has lost more than a quarter of its population during World War II.

In 1944, Belarus became liberated from the Nazis but remained occupied by the USSR for several decades. The Soviets continued intensive Russification of Belarus. In 1986, Belarus became the biggest victim to the Chernobyl nuclear incident, caused by Soviet mismanagement and technological flaws.

Pro-independence demonstration in Minsk, August 1991

In 1991, the Belarusian Soviet Republic declared independence as the Republic of Belarus. It adopted the state symbols of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.

In 1994, Alexander Lukashenka was elected President of Belarus. Following a Russian-supported coup d’etat, which was formalized as two illegal referenda held in 1995 and 1996, he established an authoritarian regime which became has for many years been called “Europe’s last dictatorship”.

The Belarusian Popular Front organized mass demonstrations supporting democratic reforms, commemorating the victims of the Soviet repressions of the 1930s, criticizing the inhuman Soviet policies regarding Chernobyl, and protesting against the Soviet discrimination of the Belarusian language and culture. In other Soviet-occupied countries, the Popular Front cooperated with local democratic movements: Sąjūdis (Republic of Lithuania), the People’s Movement of Ukraine, the Popular Fronts of Latvia and Estonia.

The Belarusian Popular Front has been the key driving force behind the political changes in Belarus in 1990 and 1991.

The small fraction of the Popular Front in the legislative council of the Soviet-occupied Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic has managed to resist the pressure of the conservative Soviet nomenklatura.

Pro-independence demonstration in Minsk, August 1991

Belarusian Popular Front in the Parliament of the BSSR, 1991

Supported by tens of thousands of Belarusians on the central square of Minsk, the Belarusian Popular Front has initiated the passing of historical documents, enabling the official restoration of the independence of Belarus on August 25, 1991.

Pro-independence demonstration in Minsk, August 1991

In the 1990s, the Belarusian Popular Front has been the key political movement opposing president Alaksandar Lukashenka who, supported by Russia, staged a coup d’etat that was formalized as two illegal and rigged referenda in 1995 and 1996. A. Lukashenka’s dictatorial regime, characterized by lack of basic political freedoms and by mass violations of human rights, has been dominating Belarus for more than twenty years since then.

Hunger strike by members of Parliament against the illegal referendum of 1995

The mass protests against A. Lukashenka’s authoritarian regime in 1995 and 1996 have been brutally cracked down by the police, and the leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front have been forced into exile.

Protests in Minsk, 1996

Anti-Chernobyl protests in Minsk, Belarus, 1996

Several modern opposition parties and organizations have evolved from the Belarusian Popular Front of the early 1990s. Many democratic politicians of today’s Belarus have begun their political careers as activists of the Belarusian Popular Front.

Commemoration of victims of Soviet repressions at the Kurapaty mass extermination site, 1988 and 1989

A demonstration of the Popular Front on November 7, 1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06SAXXtbQ0

Hunger strike by MPs of the Belarusian Popular Front in 1995

If the sovereigns of my land had been as wise as the emperors of China, they probably would have built a wall along their border with the Duchy of Moscow at the very beginning of her aggressions against their territory. Instead, exhausted by the defensive wars against their Eastern neighbours, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the medieval predecessor of today’s Belarus), formed a defensive alliance with Poland. This happened in Lublin in 1569. 440 years later, I am speaking to you of the Government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, which has been in Exile for the past 90 years. Once more – because of the expansionist policies of our Eastern “big brother”.

This presentation explores conditions that have affected Belarus’ existence since the early 20th century. Bolshevik aggression forced a legitimate Government into exile and required its existence beyond the borders of Belarus. In order to understand the present plight of this European nation, there is a need to consider the recent experiential history of Belarus and Belarusians.

At the time that the people of Belarus proclaimed the independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (Biełaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika or BNR) on March 25, 1918, 148 years had passed since the first of the partitions of the Commonwealth of the Two Peoples created at Lublin, which western historians have myopically called the Partitions of Poland. 148 years since a big chunk of Belarusian territory had been taken away by our Eastern neighbour. The occupation was completed in 1795, when the rest of Belarus became a province of Russia.

Tsarist rule made the 19th century one of the darkest periods of the history of Belarus. Its people barely survived as a nation. Its culture, its language, its religion, its sense of identity, its dignity had been subjected to a continuous persecution. One response and source for change came in 1918, when the people of Belarus proclaimed their independence.

The Belarusian national flag on the Government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, Minsk, 1918

The proclamation of the independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic has been the most important event in the history of modern Belarus. Without it, Moscow would not have accepted to create the BSSR – the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic – in 1919 , and without the existence of the BSSR, Mr. Stanisłaŭ Šuškievič (Shushkevich) would not have been one of the signatories of the death certificate of the Soviet Union in the last decade of the 20^th century. Thus, it is thanks to the BNR that the independent Republic of Belarus – however imperfect it may be – exists today.

When the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic was forced into exile by the invading Bolshevik troups, it was welcomed in the Czech Republic, where its two first Presidents in Exile – Piotr Krečeŭski and Vasil Zacharka – resided until the death of Mr. Zacharka in 1943. In his will, Mr Zacharka asked Mikoła Abramčyk to take over the struggle until a new Session of the Rada could be called. At that Session, held in Germany in 1947, Mr. Abramčyk was elected the new President of the Rada, and remained in that positon until his death in 1970. His place of residence was Paris, France. His successor was Vincent Žuk-Hryškevič, a Canadian Belarusian Professor. The fifth President of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile was Dr Joseph (Jazep) Sažyč. I am the sixth President of the Rada in Exile. I have been elected at the Session of the Rada held in New York in August 1997 and reelected for another six years in 2003.

The goal of the Rada of the BNR in Exile has always been and still is to make Belarus an independent democratic Belarusian State, dedicated to implement the values expressed in the three Constituent BNR Charters of 1918. The BNR Rada continues to exist because the conditions of existence of Belarus do not satisfy its concept of a Belarusian State. The international membership of the Rada elects a new Government every six years, which pursues this longstanding mandate.

The signing of the Belavezha Treaty dissolving the Soviet Union, 1991

The first goal of the Rada, Independence, was achieved in 1991. The question most asked since then has been – why did the Rada keep its mandate when all the other Governments in Exile of the Republics of the USSR and of the Soviet Satellite states returned theirs upon achieving independence?

I will try here to answer that question and express my understanding of the reasons why the role of the Rada remains essential today.

Why are we Europe’s only Government in Exile?

 When the Soviet Union disintegrated, all Governments in Exile of the former Soviet republics and Soviet satellites returned their mandates to their homelands, except the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile.

The immense wave of hope experienced at that time made the oppressed nations believe that the end of the empire would be followed by a general renaissance of the old states harbouring the values which had been preserved for half a century by their exiled governments. It did. Belarus was one of the exceptions because the governmental structures in place had not been established through free elections.

The human factor has not played a lesser role. Because of its geopolitical interest to Russia, and its proximity to Moscow, the Belarusian territory had been more than any other Soviet republic made the homeland of a new Sovietized, totalitarian type of personality – which we know under the name of homo sovieticus. Intended to be the ideal citizen of a new Soviet order, its main characteristics were a total ignorance of his pre-Soviet past, the acceptance of the “big brother” status of Russia, the replacement of his/her mother tongue, ancestral culture and values by Russian language and Russian cultural and historical values. A sense of another “national identity” was called “bourgeois nationalism” in all non-Russian republics.

Granted that our people were not opposing Moscow’s russification policies. Having experienced two world wars on their territory and years of Soviet terror, deprived of freedom since the partitions, bereft of historical memory, Belarusians had developed incredible survival skills and had adapted to the Soviet ways of life. They were ready to accept anything, as long as there was no war.

Their skills made them one of the wealthier republics of the Soviet Union. So much so that it was literally invaded by two million non-Belarusian Soviet citizens. This is not a xenophobic statement, but rather emphasizes that this influx significantly changed the nature of the electorate in a country of ten million.

A non-democratically elected Parliament, a ”denationalized nation” (See D. Marples), a strong foreign element in the population, were not factors we could ignore, when considering the future of the Rada. I have to say that although there are many Russian émigrés in Belarus who have successfully integrated in the Belarusian society and consider themselves Belarusian, there is still a significant margin of them considering themselves Russian.

However, some key events did energize the momentum of the Belarusian opposition. The discovery of the killing grounds of Kurapaty, and the Chernobyl disaster whose consequences in Belarus had been hidden for three years by the Soviet authorities, had for a short time given rise to a “mutiny” even within the Communist structures of the republic. The small but strong opposition led by Zianon Paźniak would probably have succeeded to put an end to the populations “survival mode” if Belarusians had seen some sign of support or sympathy from the West.

The West, however, saw no interest in this relatively small state, they had considered for a long time as a Soviet creation. “We have to draw the line somewhere” said the Canadian deputy Prime Minister of the time, Sheila Copps, when our community tried to plead for help for Belarus. Among the ordinary Belarusians, hope gave way to Soviet nostalgia.

Aware of the situation, the Rada decided to wait and see. Before returning our mandate, we wanted to be sure that the independence was irreversible and Belarus would not need us any longer. We considered that the BNR Rada – a legitimate Parliament in Exile – was a tremendous asset in our hands, and we were not going to part with it without serious assurances. The decision was unanimous. And soon after, we were proven right. The new President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka, elected in 1994, showed less than one year after his election who his masters were. In May 1995, he held his first rigged referendum by which he reintroduced the Soviet-style symbols and Russian as an official language of Belarus. In 1996, Russia rewarded him by preventing his impeachment.

Opposition demonstration in Minsk, 1996

Ever since, our goal has been to protect the statehood of Belarus, – constantly threatened by our increasingly aggressive Eastern neighbor, – while helping the democratic opposition to fight the illegitimate government of Alexander Lukashenka and create a modern European Republic of Belarus.

Our present role

In December 2001, Edward Lucas, in The Economist, quoted an Estonian exiled politician who stressed that by its very existence a government in Exile does a job.

The BNR Rada, or the Belarusian Government in Exile, could have chosen to be simply the symbol of a free Belarus. That symbol was still badly needed n Belarus. We held this role at the end of the term of my predecessor Dr Sažyč, at the beginning of the nineties, when we felt we had done all we could to put Belarus on the map of the world, and that it was the turn of the people in Belarus to fight for freedom and a better future. That was until the election of Mr. Lukashenka and the 1995 referendum.

Session of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile, 1972

The Diaspora supporting the Rada has done a lot to bring the attention to Belarus after the Chernobyl disaster. In Canada we created the Canadian Relief Fund for Chernobyl Victims in Belarus and brought thousands of children for a respite to Canada. The Diaspora in other countries helped by sending medicines to Belarus.

We understood how badly Belarus needed friends in the free world. I have been personally convinced that our defeat at the Peace Conference in Versailles of 1919, when the post-World War I international community refused to support the independence of Belarus, was due to a lack of politically placed friends. At the same time, many of our neighbours who proclaimed and preserved their independence between the two World Wars had had friends in strategic capitals…We made it a goal to find friends for Belarus.

We realized what a powerful political instrument culture can be. In order to make Belarus a member of the community of European peoples, and not just a disaster zone and “the last dictatorship in Europe”, we made it a goal to call attention to Belarusian culture wherever and however we can.

President Ivonka Survilla with the President of Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis, 2003

But our most important political contribution to the renaissance of Belarusian democracy, to the preservation of Belarusian culture and the protection of Belarusian statehood has been made through direct communication with friendly governments. Those who have lived through similar situations, such as the Czechs, those who have made it their goal to defend democracy in the world; such as the United States of America, those who declare that they are not ready to see human rights violated anywhere in the world; such as Canada. Each of our successes has needed, of course, convincing, presence, and communication on our part. But it has been easier to achieve when we have worked through our established communities in the countries whose help we need, and together with the democratic Opposition in Belarus.

A good example of this activity was the recent Appeal to the European Union, which I signed before the Prague Summit together with Mr. Šuškievič, the first head of State of independent Belarus, Mr. Paźniak, a presidential candidate in 1994 and past leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of the Republic of Belarus, and Mr. Kazulin, the Rector of the State University of Minsk, who was jailed for two years and a half after having competed with Mr. Lukashenka at the rigged 2006 presidential elections. Together with another Presidential candidate of 2006, Mr. Milinkievič, we met with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the President of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission of the Czech Republic. We thanked the European Union for accepting Belarus into the Eastern Partnership Program in spite of the dictatorial regime of Mr. Lukashenka, while expressing our fear that Europe’s stretched hand may be misused to legitimize the regime instead of serving the people of Belarus. We have asked Europe to include Belarusian civil society into the agreement. And, since the Partnership may prolong Mr. Lukashenka’s stay in power, we have asked Europe to protect Belarusian culture and values, which are presently being destroyed or persecuted in Belarus, and may be totally extinct by the end of his reign. This common appeal has been heard by the Czech hosts of the Summit, who will pass it on to Sweden, the next presiding State of the European Union.

Presodent Ivonka Survilla with Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic

The example I have provided was an event held in the Czech Republic, a long-time friend of the BNR Rada. I have been received there several times at the highest levels. As a representative of a government in Exile, I would probably not have been invited for consultations by France or Germany. The success of our endeavours depends very much on who we are dealing with. As I said, the countries who have been in a similar situation to ours understand well the significance of a Government in Exile. But in most cases, dealing with a Government in Exile is perceived as a conflict of interests, especially where commerce or a given political interest is involved, such as the issue of the Arctic population in the case of Canada and Russia. We understand that quite well. And, at the same time, we have been worried more than once that a rapprochement between the United States and Russia, for example, could theoretically take place at the expense of Russia’s coveted neighbours. I only hope at this specific moment in time that Mr. Obama’s administration is well aware of Russia’s imperialistic instincts.

BNR Rada and Belarus

Last but not least, I would like to address the issue of the relations of the BNR Rada with Belarus. According to many, we have been the light of hope, which has led our freedom fighters in Belarus to our common goal – the independence of our land. Outside Belarus, we have preserved the language, the historical memory, the national identity when they were being erased from the surface of this planet in Belarus. During the period of renewal at the beginning of the nineties, the President of the BNR Rada, Dr Sažyč has been welcome in Belarus as an honourable guest.

We became “the enemies of the people” – together with the Belarusian democratic opposition, – as soon as Mr. Lukashenka became President of the Republic of Belarus in 1994. In a speech at the Russian Duma in 1998, he informed his friendly audience, that a rival of his, a certain Sulvilla or Survilla – an émigré of the first WW and now 97 years old – (a man of course) – was supported by the West. After the Prague Appeal was signed by myself and the main representatives of the Belarusian democratic opposition, asking Europe not to legitimize the regime by inviting Mr Lukashenka to the Prague summit, he lumped us all into the “enemies of the people” category.

The national white-red-white flag, the historical coat of arms Pahonia, the very mention of the Rada are taboo in Belarus, except when the intent is their denigration by the propaganda machine. No lie is too enormous to fight us. The brain washing is successful among the ordinary Belarusians who have no access to unbiased information. Thus, we are not always the allies to brag about for the opposition.

Our relationship with most parties of the opposition is however good. When we attend together international events, whatever our difference of thinking, we all know our common goal is to preserve the statehood of Belarus and to make it a free, European democracy. As for the future of the Rada, we can’t wait to be able to give back our mandate to a democratically elected Belarusian government. Our role at that time will very much depend on the free will of the people of Belarus. It will be up to them to decide what kind of democracy they will have. If we feel we cannot be of any use in Belarus, we will continue to look for friends for our people, whom they so tragically lacked in the past centuries.

There is no doubt that a government in Exile is an exotic idea for many. Such a government exists out of necessity and operates according to many challenges, dilemmas and varying acknowledgments of its empowerment. My experience in this organism has been at times frustrating, at times satisfying. I have been privy to the variety of perceptions of Belarus and the correlations between global buy-in and the willingness to understand the conditions of existence of such a government. But whether the Rada is universally accepted is less important than our constancy of presence. We function on the idea that we are part of a process toward democracy, and that by our existence we can mediate the political nuances that must be understood in order to change conditions in Belarus.

Ivonka J. Survilla

President Bill Clinton had meetings with the leadership of Belarus, spoke at the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, visited the memorials to the victims of the Second World War and to the victims of Soviet Repressions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxEpX3QpM24