Declaration of the BSSR

Yaukhim Kipiel

Smolensk Communist Congress

Few people know how the Smolensk Congress, at which the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was declared, took place. This congress is presented by the communists as the voice of the Belarusian people, yet there were only 60-70 representatives of the Belarusian people at this congress, consisting of soldiers from the Red Army and about 10 Belarusian Socialist-Revolutionaries. However, there were many people in the hall of the congress: three or maybe even four hundred people, but it was unclear who among them were delegates and who were guests.

At that time, I was studying at the Smolensk Military School of Staff Service. The school was located on Post Street, and the congress took place in the building of the former Noble Assembly, which was already called the House of Culture at that time.

One day, the commissioner of the school came with a list and called out all those who were recorded as Belarusians in the form. About twenty people were found. He told us that we would go to declare the Belarusian Republic, and immediately ordered us to shave, polish our boots, and put on new gymnastic shirts.

When everyone was ready, we were marched to the House of Culture. There we were met by Wilhelm Knorin. He seated us on extra chairs. As soon as we sat down, a second group of Red Army soldiers arrived; they were also seated on extra chairs. At that time in Smolensk, besides the staff service school, there were also military courses where 250 people were studying; about 70 of them were Belarusians; these Belarusians were brought to the congress.

Soon the session of the congress was opened. A presidium was not elected, but accepted as a whole list. Someone from the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs was elected as the chairman of the presidium. Immediately after the opening of the congress, greetings began. The congress was greeted by the Latvian V. Knorin on behalf of the Belarusian communists, and the Belarusian Socialist-Revolutionaries were allowed to speak by the SR Paluta Badunova. In her speech, she demanded the immediate closure of the congress as illegitimate.

• The Belarusian Republic has already been declared by the legitimate representatives of the Belarusian people. Everything you are doing here is a sham. No one elected us! - Badunova shouted and insisted on the closure.

Badunova was calmed down: the chairman of the presidium threatened to have her removed from the hall if she did not quiet down. The most contentious with Badunova was Dzmitry Zhilunovich (Tishka Hartny). There was a moment when he almost jumped to fight her. Badunova quieted down and left the hall.

After Badunova, the congress was greeted by the Pole Yuzef Unshlikht. Following him, the Latvian communist I. Smilga spoke. In his speech, he thanked the Communist Party for restoring the state of ancient Lithuania, which did much for the Moscow Principality. After Smilga, the Latvian communist R. Berzin spoke. He spoke for a long time and advised to restore Krivichia on the territory of Belarus, because, as he said, the Krivichs were the origin not only of the Belarusian people but even of Moscow Rus.

During the congress, there were breaks. During the breaks, tea with sugar and sandwiches were served. At 5 PM, they proceeded to vote on the resolution proposed by the presidium. All present, including the soldiers, voted. The SRs present at the congress voted against the resolution. This is how the congress ended. It lasted about seven hours.

Smolensk after the Declaration of the Belarusian Soviet Republic

The very next day after the congress, the whole city learned that the Belarusian Republic had been declared and that Smolensk was a Belarusian city. This was reflected in the maps and propaganda posters that were plastered everywhere on the walls. On ethnographic maps, the cities of Yartsevo, Vyazma, Bryansk, and even Oryol were included in the composition of Belarus. In the southeast, the Belarusian border approached Mtsensk itself. In the south, on the border with Ukraine, the border remained intact, and in the north, all of Pskovshchina to the sea was also marked as Belarusian territory. The maps were well made, and in many places, it was explained that these were the historical borders of Lithuania, and Belarus was the same Lithuania.

The propaganda posters directed against Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia looked interesting. Poland was depicted as a fat, angry dog with bared teeth, while Lithuania and Latvia were small, skinny dogs. They were led on leashes by a capitalist, who was assisted by a Polish lord. The Polish lord marked points on the map where the border should pass. And under the entire drawing was a verse that ended like this:

The lord fearlessly marks the points:

Every city, and you poke.

Oh, and put a point in the lord

Right in the belly with a Russian bayonet!

Part of the population was dissatisfied with such changes, but the majority were very happy to separate from Russia, as they said, because they had never had any good from Russia.

In the city, there was a strong group of Russian Socialist-Revolutionaries who organized protest rallies against the declaration of the Belarusian Republic. The Belarusian SRs who were at the congress during the declaration of Soviet Belarus also attended these rallies. There, at the communist congress, they were against Soviet Belarus and stood for the Belarusian People’s Republic, declared at the First All-Belarusian Congress.

After listening to the speeches of the Russian SRs, who did not recognize any Belarusians, the Belarusian SRs (opposing the communists) began to speak out against the Russian SRs together with the communists. U. Falski, Ya. Dyla, M. Markevich, and others spoke well against the Russian SRs, but they were sometimes not allowed to speak in Belarusian. The same Badunova, who spoke against the communists in the House of Culture, was pulled off the podium by the Russians at the rally in the square in front of the post office and even beaten for agitating for Belarus. The Belarusian Republic – whether People’s or Soviet – was simply a taboo for the Russians.

Dissatisfaction of the Smolensk Garrison

Dissatisfaction among a certain part of the population of Smolensk regarding the division of Russia also spread to the Smolensk garrison. In the Smolensk garrison, in the Pokrovsky barracks, there was only one unit, which by its national composition and spirit was Belarusian – the Vitebsk battalion, while all other military units were formed from mobilized Russian soldiers who had never been fond of communism, especially now, when they saw that Russia was being divided.

The communist leadership, just in case, ordered to transport ammunition and artillery shells out of the city. The soldiers had almost no ammunition; only one communist CHOON (Extraordinary Detachment of Special Purpose) was well armed. If the entire garrison had risen against the communists, the CHOON would not have been able to suppress the uprising, as it was numerically small – about 150 people.

To incite an uprising, there were not enough Russian propagandists in the opposition. Only communists spoke with the army. They managed to persuade one battalion to get into the cars: the Red Army soldiers were promised that they would be taken to Moscow, where they would meet Lenin himself and talk. As strange as it sounded, the Red Army soldiers believed it and got on the train. The battalion was taken to the south of Smolensk region and disbanded, and the most active ones were shot.

They also managed to persuade the artillerymen to go to the training ground for shooting. However, no one returned from that training ground: some were shot, and those who remained were scattered to various artillery units. However, a little later, in the spring of 1919, the artillerymen took revenge on the communists: they set fire to the warehouses with artillery shells. Although the arsonists were not found, many paid with their lives. Thus, as if to punish the participants of the arson, five people from the staff of the 16th Army and seven Poles from the refugee camp were shot because they worked in those warehouses.

This is how the communists dealt with the dissatisfied. And then everything went as the communists wanted. When the population and various urban groups expressed dissatisfaction with the new course, the official figures were forced to tightly adhere to their course, reconcile with the declaration of Soviet Belarus, and even prove the benefits of the declaration of the BSSR for Russia.

Familiarity in Smolensk

The events in Smolensk and the study of the history of Lithuania helped me embark on the path of Belarusian national work. But most of all, I probably joined the Belarusian national movement through my acquaintance with the then Belarusian activists. However, the very event of the declaration of the Belarusian Soviet Republic significantly contributed to the revival of Belarusian national consciousness among some part of the city’s population. The Belarusian Association began to work actively in Smolensk. Meetings and evenings were held. Probably, the main role in this association and in Belarusian life in Smolensk was played by Dzmitry Zhilunovich. I met him very soon after I arrived in Smolensk. One day he came to our staff school and asked me if I could meet him in the evening at his apartment. We met. The conversation with him that evening lasted long past midnight. At that time, he opened my eyes to many things I had not suspected, and that I remembered to this day.

The conversation went more or less like this.

• Tell me, Yaukhim, how many Belarusians do you have in school now?

I said that there were about half, about fifty people, and new ones were constantly arriving.

• And tell me, - Zhilunovich continued to ask, - how many will speak out for the Belarusian Republic?

I could not answer this question precisely, I assumed that all the cadets would, because I knew their moods: they were all already well aware that they were to “build Belarus.”

• So listen, Yaukhim. Not everything, brother, goes as smoothly as it is said and written. You see, here at the front headquarters, these Poles are doing nasty work. They are inciting the Revolutionary Military Council of the Western Front to take appropriate measures before Moscow and to have Moscow declare a Polish-Belarusian Republic instead of a single Belarusian one. They say that this is a historical path (because Poland has always been close to Belarus), and if the Communist Party takes this path, it will weaken Pilsudski’s authority and provoke a revolution in Poland. It is clear that this is nonsense. If this were done, we would thus strengthen Polish claims to Belarus. In general, the Poles at the headquarters, and I think also in Moscow, - Zhilunovich continued - are trying to convince the leadership that it is necessary to bet on Poland: this will contribute to the spread of the revolution, and they will negotiate with Belarus later. This, brother, is a dangerous matter. Therefore, I ask you to keep your ears open, and perhaps we will have to write a protest and collect signatures at school, as well as speak to the soldiers. So you need to sign.

To this, I replied that it did not seem so frightening to me, because all the soldiers were inclined towards Belarus, and if it came to signing, they would force the Russians to sign as well. The Russians would not go for the Poles. Then he, interrupting me, said that there were many Russians at the front headquarters who would be satisfied with this project.

• Also, - Zhilunovich continued, - in Moscow, they have a plan for the new administrative arrangement of Belarus and can greatly hinder us.

I, in my own way, asked him who was the most active among the Poles.

• There are not so many of them, but they are all very fierce and active. The most important among them is Chorny. (This was the nickname of the Polish communist Yuzef Unshlikht: he was dark-skinned). The second place is taken by Stefan Geltman and his wife – Mrs. Geltman. Oh, what a woman! A fanatical Pole and, among other things, speaks Belarusian well. Some Aдам Slavinski and a Minsk Pole Pikel, close to one surname with you, play almost the first role. These are the main ones, and there are others as well.

Hearing about “Mrs. Geltman,” I laughed and explained that I knew Geltman’s wife very well. She is my German language teacher. Her maiden name is Mashynskaya, she grew up in Hlusak, and has never been to Poland. Her father is a Belarusian nobleman, a Catholic; he had his pharmacy in Hlusak, and she was made a fanatical Pole in St. Petersburg at a closed Catholic school; I also met her in Smolensk.

A few days later, I came to Zhilunovich again and told him that I had talked with all the Belarusians in the staff school, as well as with some in the headquarters. However, in the headquarters, they were not thinking clearly, as it seemed, changes were approaching at the front. And then Zhilunovich told me that the situation was taking a different turn, because I. Smilga, an old communist and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Western Front, was expressing solidarity with the Belarusians. He is a Lithuanian, knows the history of our people well. Moreover, he is against Polish claims, he is supported by the Latvians, and he is also in good relations with the party and the headquarters.

After that, I had a few more meetings with Zhilunovich. A few times I went to the club where Belarusians gathered, and there I met U. Falski, to whom I immediately said that I really liked his speech at the rally near the post office. He invited me to his place, and I visited him a couple of times. Falski had a lot of Belarusian literature and newspapers; it was he who introduced me to the life of various Belarusian parties and groups. Everything I heard was new to me.

When I recall these events in Smolensk, the question arises: what made the Bolsheviks so quickly change their orientation regarding the Belarusian cause? For indeed, such figures as Myasnikov and Knorin, who had literally a few months earlier publicly stated that there would be no Belarus, suddenly took part in the declaration of the BSSR. And even more: they took leading positions in the Belarusian apparatus.

In my opinion, the answer can only be this: the first is the declaration of the BNR, and the second is the assessment of the Belarusian movement as an important state factor, which, evidently, the communist leaders had never thought about before 1918.

Undoubtedly, the declaration of independence of Belarus in the form of the Belarusian People’s Republic is a decisive fact for the further development of the Belarusian nation. This event influenced the political situation both in Belarus itself and in the entire region: without the BNR, there would be no BSSR, and without the BSSR, it is unknown what forms the state imperial structure created in 1922 and named the USSR would have taken.

The act of declaring the independence of Belarus also influenced the broader population: for Belarusians, it was a signal to unite, and for the enemies of Belarusian identity – primarily for Russian imperialism – it was a reminder that Belarus had not yet been destroyed, that Belarus lives.

Kipiel, Y. Episodes = Episode / Yaukhim Kipiel; Edited by I. Urbanovich and Z. Sauka. New York, 1998. pp. 20-25