| 1700-1721 |
In 1700 the Rzeczpospolita, in alliance with Russia, engaged in the Nothern War with Sweden, which turned the Belarusian territories into a battlefield. The situation was aggravated by numerous inner conflicts between different groups of noblemen supporting different aspirants to the crown. The war led to another economic crisis, which was overcome only in the mid 18th century. At this point the economy of Belarus recovered from the depression, which gave rise to capitalistic tendencies. |
1772
1793 |
The consequences of the lingering political crisis in comparison with those of the economic one were more grave and profound. As a result of this crisis the Rzeczpospolita was overwhelmed by anarchy and threatened by the growing dominance of the neighboring states. The last King of Poland and Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Stanislav August Ponjatovski attempted to restore the centralized authority but soon had to face the opposition seeking support abroad. Using these circumstances and the fact that the Orthodox and Protestant populations in Rzeczpospolita were discriminated against Catholics, Russia, Prussia and Austria dismembered the Rzeczpospolita in three parts. As a result of this partitioning, the eastern part of Belarus was absorbed by the Russian Empire. In order to keep the country intact, the Four-year Sejm (1788-1792) adopted on 3 May 1791 a constitution, which proclaimed the Rzeczpospolita a unitary state and reinforced the centralized authority, granted new rights to the petty bourgeoisie and put serfs under the guardship of the state. In reply to this Russia, on the formal invitation of the conservative representatives of shljahta, deployed troops on the territory of the Rzeczpospolita and conducted the second partition of the state, as a result of which the central part of Belarus was also annexed by Russia. |
| 1794 |
The awakening to nationhood culminated in the uprising under the leadership of Tadeush Kastjushko, which was quelled by the Russian army. |
| 1795 |
In 1795 the third partition of the Rzeczpospolita took place, which resulted in the annexation of the western parts of Belarus. The Rzeczpospolita ceased to exist. |
| 1830-1831 |
A new revolt against the Russian Empire took place in 1830 in Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. The main goal of the revolt was restoration of the Rzeczpospolita as it was before 1772. The revolt provoked "shljahta screening"-the check up of the documents confirming noble ancestry of the rebels in order to eradicate the opposition movement among the nobility. At this point Belarusians were subjected to Russification (the propagation of Russian culture). |
| 1861 |
In 1861 peasantry reforms were implemented, which stipulated serfdom abolition in the Russian Empire including the Northwestern region (as Belarus was called at that time). |
| 1863-1864 |
In 1863-1864 an uprising against tsarism took place in Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. It was coordinated by Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish clandestine organizations, which were founded in the 1850-60-ies. In Belarus the uprising was coordinated by K.Kalinouski, who supported the idea of having two relatively independent centers of the uprising in Warsaw and Vilnya. In his fight K.Kalinouski supported the peasantry and demanded that the land be given to peasants and the right to self-determination be granted to Belarus and Lithuania. |
| First half of the 1880's |
Activities of Homan, a revolutionary organization created by St.Petersburg higher schools students of Belarusian origin. A national magazine of the same name, Homan, published in its issues, for the first time in the history of the Belarusian public and political movement, concretized and theoretically grounded ideas on the right of the Belarusian people to "an autonomous federative independency within the family of other nationalities of Russia". The magazine was also proving identity of the Belarusian language and underscoring the need to develop the Belarusian culture and literature. |
| 1897 |
In 1897 the Bund-all-Jewish labor union-was created in Lithuania, Poland and Russia. The Bund played a vital role in the development of the Belarusian labor movement on the turn of the 20th century. |
| 1898 |
In 1898 the 1st Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party took place in Minsk. |
| 1903 |
The Belarusian Socialistic Hramada became the first political party in Belarus. It took an active part in the revolution of 1905-1907. The Hramada opposed tsarism, promoted replacement of capitalism with socialism and supported the creation of the Russian Federative Democratic Republic with the right for different nationalities to self-determination and autonomous national development. The Hramada insisted that the right for autonomy with a local Sejm in Vilnya be granted to Belarus. |
| 1905-1907 |
The First Russian Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution took place. |
| 1906-1917 |
The Russian Prime Minister P.Stolypin carried out a bourgeois reform of allotment land tenure in the Russian Empire. The main goals of the reform were to destroy the communion farming, to give land to peasants as private property and to resettle peasants owning no land or insufficient land to Siberia. More than 335,000 people left Belarus in 1907-1914. |
| 1914 |
The First World War broke out in 1914, which resulted in the declaration of martial law on the territory of Belarus. |
1915
September |
German troops occupied Western Belarus. |
1917
February
1917
October-November |
The tsarist autocracy was overthrown as a result of the February Revolution
The October Revolution in Russia, including Belarus.
|
1918
February-December |
Minsk occupied by German troops. |
1918-1920
December-July |
Minsk occupied by Polish troops. |
1st of January 1919
February 2-3, 1919
February-July, 1919 |
Proclamation (in Smolensk) of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) with its capital in Minsk. Setting up of the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Soviet Government headed by D.Zhilunovich.Adoption of the first BSSR Constitution at the first All-Byelorussian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Red Army Deputies. The congress made an appeal to all the peoples on recognition of independence of Belarus and establishment of diplomatic relations with it. The BSSR Central Executive Committee (CEC) formed. The joint session of the CEC of the Lithuanian SSR and the CEC of the BSSR in Vilnya decided to create the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR that comprised the territories of Minsk and Vilnya provinces. |
1921
1920
July 31 |
Transition to NEP - the New Economic Policy, which contributed greatly to the restoration of farming and had a positive effect on the development of industry.
"The Declaration of the Independence of the BSSR" was adopted. |
1921
March 18 |
The Riga Peace Treaty between the RSFSR, Ukraine and Poland was signed in 1921, according to which Western Byelorussia was annexed by Poland. The territory of Byelorussia was limited only to 6 povets of Minsk province with the total population of 1,544,000 people. |
1922
December 30 |
In 1922 the 1st Congress of the Soviets of the USSR signed the Declaration of and the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR. The BSSR joined the Union on equal terms with RSFSR (Russia), USSR (Ukraine) and TSSR (Transcaucasian SSR). |
| 1924 г. |
The first enlargement of the territory of Byelorussia took place in 1924 - Vitebsk, Homel and Smolensk provinces become Byelorussian territories again. |
1924-the end of the 20's
1925
18-31 Dec. |
Pursuing the policy of Belarusization: the Belarusian language was becoming a most important means of communication. The 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) adopted the policy of industrialization. During the pre-war period in Byelorussia, about 1000 enterprises were built and 860 reconstructed. The rate of industrial growth was higher than average in the USSR. |
| 1926 |
In 1926, the second enlargement of Byelorussia took place. Homel and Rechitsa uyezds were joined to Byelorussia. As a result of the two enlargements, the population of the country at the beginning of 1927 grew to 5 million people. |
1927
April 11 |
In 1927, the 2nd Constitution of the BSSR was adopted. The new Constitution stipulated that all authority in the country should belong to the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies. |
1937
February 19 |
In 1937, a new Constitution of the BSSR was adopted. The Supreme Soviet of the BSSR gained power of the supreme government body. At this point Stalin's mass repressions in the USSR reached an unprecedented level. |
1939
September 17 |
In 1939, the territories of Western Byelorussia were reunited with the BSSR, which resulted in the population growth to 11 million people. |
1941
June 22 |
On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. This invasion resulted in the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, which started with the heroic defense of the Brest fortress. |
1941
July 3-26 |
The defense of Mogilev. |
1941
The end
of August |
The whole territory of Byelorussia was occupied by the Nazis, which provoked the rise of a mass partisan underground resistance movement. |
1943
March 22 |
Byelorussia suffered greatly from the nazi genocide. The village of Khatyn (Logoisk district) was burnt together with its inhabitants. Many other villages suffered the same fate during the Second World War. |
1943
July 30 |
The members of underground organizations undertook the Osipovichi sabotage, the most significant sabotage of the Second World War. The partisans demolished 4 trains with ammunition and "Tiger" tanks. |
1943
August 7 |
The liberation of Byelorussia from the Nazis started in 1943. |
1943
November 26 |
The troops of the Byelorussian Front liberated the first regional center-Homel. |
1944
June 23-
August 28 |
In the morning of 23 June 1944, one of the largest military operations of the Great Patriotic War began-the Byelorussian Offensive, known under the code name of "Bagration". This operation brought liberation of Byelorussia from the invaders. In the course of the Second World War Byelorussia suffered major losses. Every 4th citizen of the republic was killed. The cities were shattered, large-scale and medium-scale industrial enterprises were demolished, more than 9000 villages were burnt. About 380,000 people were sent to Germany as slave labor. Many of these people, upon their return home, were thrown into Stalin's concentration camps. |
1944
July 3 |
On 3 July 1944, the 1st and 3rd Byelorussian Fronts liberated Minsk, the capital of the BSSR. |
1945
April 27 |
Byelorussia admitted to the UN as one of its founder states. The whole world community acknowledged the contribution the Byelorussian people had made into the victory over Nazi Germany and paid homage to those who had died in the fight against nazism. |
1950-
1960's |
In economic terms, the post-war years were very difficult for the BSSR. Considerable funding was allocated from the central, the USSR, budget. The following plants and factories were built: Minsk Automobile Works, Minsk Tractor Plant, Road-Making Machines Plant in Zhodina, Oil Refinery in Novapolatsk, Chemical Fertilizer Plant in Hrodna, Tire Plant in Babruisk, Synthetic Fiber Factory in Salihorsk, and others. |
1986
April 26 |
On 26 April 1986, Byelorussia was struck by the Chernobyl disaster, as a result of which vast territories of Homel, Mogilev and some territories of Hrodna, Brest and Minsk regions were contaminated with radioactive elements. Thousands of kilometers of land were made unfit for farming and living on and turned into "dead zones". |
1990
July 27 |
"The Declaration of National Independence of the BSSR" was signed at a regular session of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR on 27 July 1990. On 25 August 1991, it acquired the status of a constitutional law. |
1991,
September 19
1991,
December 8 1991,
December 10 |
The BSSR was renamed the Republic of Belarus ("Belarus" in shortened names and compounds). In translations into foreign languages this name is transcribed in accordance with the Belarusian pronunciation.
The leaders of the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine signed an agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The Supreme Soviet of Belarus ratified the agreement as of 8 December 1991 and annulled the agreement signed in 1922 on the establishment of the USSR. |
1994,
July 10 |
On 10 July 1994 A.G.Lukashenko was elected the first President of Belarus. |
1996
April 2 |
On 2 April 1996 in Moscow, the President of Belarus A.G.Lukashenko and the President of the Russian federation B. Yeltsin signed the treaty on the creation of the Commonwealth of Belarus and Russia. |
1997
April 2 |
On 2 April 1997 in Moscow, the Treaty on the Creation of the Union Between Belarus and Russia was signed and on 23 May 1997 the Union Statute was adopted. |
1999
December 8 |
On 8 December 1999 in Moscow, the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and the Program of Actions were signed. |
2001,
September 9 |
A.G.Lukashenko was elected President for the second term of office. |
