Juras Kalasouski

When in 1989 “Salidarnasc” won the elections in Poland, and in 1991 the BPF managed to give the Declaration of State Sovereignty the constitutional law status, this meant that the Polish People’s Republic and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic existed no more. These events also led to the fall of Communist governments in neighbouring states. But after this Belarus and Poland came to a parting of the ways…

Nowadays one can often hear that in the late 1980s and early 1990s Belarus was even more advantaged than the Baltic States and Poland. But today those countries are part of the European Union, while the independent Belarus is just starting to consider the prospect of harmonization with Europe. Why did we get stuck in the process of our development? And could it be any other way?
If we look 20 years back, we will see that the economic conditions in the above-mentioned socialist countries were almost equal. But if we consider the state of the civil society and the level of the national self-consciousness, we will understand that Belarus lagged catastrophically behind its neighbours and had not been yet prepared for democratic changes.
The reasons for that lie in our history.
In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth times the Grand Duchy of Litva (peopled mostly by the ancestors of today’s Belarusians) became dependent of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. As a result, the Belarusian language lost its official status and declined.
After the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fall Belarusian lands, already Polonized, became part of the Russian Empire, which led to their Russification. This process intensified after the suppression of the uprisings of 1830–31 and 1863–64.
What is more, Belarusians, unlike Poles, lost their historical name. In the early 19th century Russian authorities introduced the ethnicon “Belarusians”, with the view of the same Russification purposes. This name gradually took root and forced out the original name “Litvins”.
Thus, until the beginning of the 20th century, Belarus, as well as Poland, had been devoid of statehood. But the loss of Belarus was much more essential. We lost our language, which is still largely regarded as common or even denied existence. We also lost our name, which resulted in the inability of many Belarusians to define their national identity.
These very reasons prevented the revival of Belarusian statehood in 1918, when on March, 25, the Belarusian National Republic was proclaimed. Meanwhile, in the same year Poland managed to regain independence. However, the Belarusian National Republic proclamation made for the establishment of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was then probably the only possible trend of events.
These events turned out to be a terrible tragedy though. The period of the national revival and Belarusization in the early 1920s was followed by a real ethnic genocide. During the 1930s the intellectual and spiritual elite of the Belarusian nation was literally exterminated by the punitive authorities of the totalitarian regime.
Furthermore, those repressions resulted in mass emigration. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusian peasants, workers and intellectuals, who could not tolerate the severity of the Soviet rule, preferred to contribute to the cultural and scientific development of other countries where they found refuge.
Today about 3 million Belarusians live abroad. Many of them are world-famous, but few people seem to have ever heard their names here, in their homeland.
Educational, cultural, scientific and religious institutions created by emigrants; museums, archives and churches built by them – all that became the spiritual foundation for preserving the national identity in the foreign lands. At the same period of time Belarus experienced theomachy, steady anti-Belarusization and the establishment of Russian-speaking community – the so-called united Soviet nation.
Let’s also mention the fact that as early as in 1921 Belarus was divided between Soviet Russia and Poland. When the east and the west Belarusian lands were later re-united, Belarusians lost Vilnia. The importance of this ancient capital of the Grand Duchy of Litva, which became the cradle of the national revival in the early 20th century, cannot be overestimated. “Having deprived Belarus of Vilnia, Russian authorities also deprived us of a mighty historical stronghold. As a matter of fact, they cut us off the Western civilization and the centuries-old European traditions”, points out Zakhar Shybieka, Doctor of History.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War the Bielastok territories became part of Poland. Belarus was probably the only victor-country which lost in size after this war. “We have gained victory, but we have not gained freedom”. With these words Vasil Bykau describes the end of the World War II.
The Polish People’s Republic, established after the Third Reich defeat, joined the socialist camp headed by the USSR. However, there was something that differed it greatly from BSSR, and this were the firm Catholic faith, the high level of national self-consciousness and the presence of national elite.
In the late 1980s the inevitable collapse of the communist system was obvious. It gave way to the establishment of new independents countries (e.g. Czech Republic, Slovakia, Baltic states). Notwithstanding the national nihilism of its officials, Belarus also took part in new processes.
Poland owes its democracy to “Salidarnasc” headed by Lech Walensa. The democratic changes in BSSR were initiated by the Belarusian People’s Front “Revival” (1988) headed by Zianon Pazniak. Having won the parliamentary elections, “Salidarnasc” managed to form the government and gain presidency for its leader Walensa. At the same time the BPF members made up only 10% of all the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of BSSR, that is why they failed to access to power.
Yet, it is largely the efforts of the BPF members that led to the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty on July 27, 1990. On August 25, 1991, the Declaration was given the constitutional law status, and on September 19, 1991, the law defining the name of the republic was passed. According to this law, its name from then on was the Republic of Belarus. The historical symbols of our state, the white-red-white flag and the “Pahonia” coat of arms, became official national symbols.
For all that, Belarusian authorities failed to overcome the inertia of communist rule. Soon it led to giving up democratization, Belarusization and market reforms, conservation of the old economic system, international isolation, and the loss of the national symbols after the referendum in 1995.
“The society is not yet prepared to ensure success to Belarusian national democracy”, said Vasil Bykau about the national revival defeat.
The state policy of the recent 15 years has resulted in marginalization of the Belarusian culture and language, their bearers and creators, in neglect of national symbols and numerous architectural monuments.
Thus, while both in Poland and in Belarus the political systems had changed, while both countries had gained sovereignty and could act independently on the international scene due to the change in their geopolitical status, Belarus chose the alternative way of development, being hence left out of the social and political trends in Eastern Europe. This way is noted first of all for its refusal to revive and strengthen the national self-consciousness.
Although today Belarus is promoted as a beautiful and hospitable country, there is still a blind wall separating Belarus from Europe. And this wall is made of the absent democratic institutes and disregard of all national features. You can admire the beauty of Belarus, but if you do not hear its language, it makes you wonder whether the Belarusian nation still exists.
While our parents and grandparents did not think of Poland as a real foreign country, for me it was the discovery of the West, when I came there in the beginning of the 21st century.
I heard that many Poles still consider Belarus an artificially created country, with its western part, the so-called “kresy”, being left out of Poland for some unfortunate historical reasons.
Thus, despite the seeming resemblance between the economic and political situation in Belarus and Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the fact, that the nation creation process in Belarus has been greatly retarded and is not finished yet, accounts for the inequality of social changes in these countries.
And if we really want Belarus to become part of the European community, we need first of all to meet the condition voiced by Stephan Ericsson, the Ambassador of Sweden, during the recent Convention of Belarusians of the world: “Before you start feeling European, you should start feeling Belarusian”.
Belarusian way to Europe is crucial for our nation. That is why on this way we should revive the national self-consciousness, come back to our historical heritage, preserve and expand the use of language, develop and popularize original culture.