Timeline of Belarus
Jun. 11th, 2013 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mostlymarriedWas going to be part of her DysPros app but I cut it for being faaaar too long.
~late 900s - the Principality of Polotsk can generally be held as the very early origins of the Belarussian people; Belarus is basically 'Western Russia' in a sense; it is between Russia proper and Poland (which explains a lot, for those of you familiar with the history between Russia and Poland...). The Principality collapsed after the Battle of the River Nemiga (fought against Kiev - proto-Ukraine - interestingly enough) leading to several centuries of splintered chaos and microfactions.
~13th century - Mongol invasion devastates the area and leaves it under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (nine of its principalities being proto-Belarussian).
~14th century - Ukraine also absorbed by the Grand Duchy.
1486 - Tsarist Russia begins attempting to reunite the lands of Kievan Rus; mostly after Ukraine at this point.
1569 - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth formed, setting the stage for the rest of Belarussian history, which can generally be considered as a tug-of-war between Poland and Russia for the land in between them.
1772 - First Partition of Poland; Belarussian lands start being taken from the Commonwealth and absorbed into Russia.
1795 - Third (and final) Partition of Poland; Belarussian territory now entirely under Tsarist Russian control.
1830 - The November Uprising within the partitioned Polish states against Russia attempts to reunite Belarus and Ukraine and the rest of the old Commonwealth. It fails, and in return Tsar Nicholas I began the repressive process of 'Russification'; cracking down on nationalistic sentiments; banning the use of the term 'Belorusia', banning the use of Belarussian in public schools and so on in an attempt to enforce cultural unity (or more specifically deny cultural identification with Poland).
1860s - Industrial Revolution reaches Eastern Europe. Russification and repression of Belarussian identity continues, but at the same time begins to be recognised as part of the pro-Polish and pro-Tsar factions attempting to reach out to the Belarussian peasantry (claiming their works were Polish or Bulgarian to get away with it). The coming of the railways under Alexander III also lead to peasants flocking to Belarus' growing industrial centres.
1863 - January Uprising fails and results in the emancipation of the serfs, dismantling the old feudal szlachta system that had been in place since it's time under Polish rule.
1864 - Cryllic alphabet reintroduced; Latin alphabet banned. Yes, really.
1905 - Another revolution across most of Russia, against Russification amongst other things. Russification finally dropped and Belarussian recognised as an official demographic and language.
1917 - Russian Revolution.
1918 - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; Belarus declared as independent whilst under German occupation, March 25th. Formation of the first Belarussian state; the Belarusian People's Republic.
1919 - BPR government forced into exile; Belarus taken over by Bolshevik forces. That lasted long. The Rada (council) move to the Republic of Lithuania, whilst Belarus is reorganised into the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republich (BSSR).
1919 (still; busy year) - Polish-Soviet War. Given Belarus is in the middle, you can guess how this turns out.
1919 (yep) - BSSR merged with Lithuania to form the Lithuanian-Belorussian SSR (also known as LitBel). Not approved of by the peoples of either state; within Belarus it was seen as an annexation by Lithuania and opposed by nationalists. It lasts a spectacular seven months.
1920 - Minsk is recaptured by Soviet forces; BSSR reformed and LitBel disbanded.
1930s - Industrialisation and agricultural reforms continue under the Five Year Plans
1939 - Invasion of Poland and the start of World War Two. The areas taken by the Soviets actually becomes Western Belarus.
1941 - Operation Barbossa begins; the invasion of the USSR by Nazi Germany. Belarus, being the border, is amongst the first attacked and last recovered.
1944 - Belarus liberated. Casualties between 2 and 3 million (1/4 and 1/3 of the total population), 209 of 290 cities destroyed along with 85% of the republic's industry. It is the hardest hit Soviet Republic of the war.
1945 - Post War, Belarus becomes of the 51 founding nations of the UN Charter. The BSSR becomes a major manufacturing centre in the reconstruction era, attracting ethnic Russians and migrant workers. The borders of the BSSR are finalised into their modern state (annexing some land to Lithuania and redrawing the border with Poland into the Curzon Line). Much like 'Russification', 'Sovietization' begins, cutting Belarus off from 'Western' influences and replacing high level figures in the BSSR with Russian rather than Belarussian staff. Belarussian cultural elements limited by Moscow.
1971 - Population finally recovers to pre-War levels.
1986 - Chernobyl nuclear fallout from the Ukrainian SSR also significantly affects neighbouring Belarus.
1988 - Zyanon Paznyak discovers mass graves from 1937-41 near Minsk, resulting in a spike in Belarussian independence.
1990 - Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1991 - 25th Aughust (official birth date); name changed to the Republic of Belarus. 8th December, chairpeople of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia meet to formally dissolve the USSR and reform into the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1994 - National Constitution adopted. Alexander Lukashenko has been president since this date; elections are held but are hardly democratic.
1996 - Attempts at a union with Russia begin... and still continue to this day.
~late 900s - the Principality of Polotsk can generally be held as the very early origins of the Belarussian people; Belarus is basically 'Western Russia' in a sense; it is between Russia proper and Poland (which explains a lot, for those of you familiar with the history between Russia and Poland...). The Principality collapsed after the Battle of the River Nemiga (fought against Kiev - proto-Ukraine - interestingly enough) leading to several centuries of splintered chaos and microfactions.
~13th century - Mongol invasion devastates the area and leaves it under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (nine of its principalities being proto-Belarussian).
~14th century - Ukraine also absorbed by the Grand Duchy.
1486 - Tsarist Russia begins attempting to reunite the lands of Kievan Rus; mostly after Ukraine at this point.
1569 - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth formed, setting the stage for the rest of Belarussian history, which can generally be considered as a tug-of-war between Poland and Russia for the land in between them.
1772 - First Partition of Poland; Belarussian lands start being taken from the Commonwealth and absorbed into Russia.
1795 - Third (and final) Partition of Poland; Belarussian territory now entirely under Tsarist Russian control.
1830 - The November Uprising within the partitioned Polish states against Russia attempts to reunite Belarus and Ukraine and the rest of the old Commonwealth. It fails, and in return Tsar Nicholas I began the repressive process of 'Russification'; cracking down on nationalistic sentiments; banning the use of the term 'Belorusia', banning the use of Belarussian in public schools and so on in an attempt to enforce cultural unity (or more specifically deny cultural identification with Poland).
1860s - Industrial Revolution reaches Eastern Europe. Russification and repression of Belarussian identity continues, but at the same time begins to be recognised as part of the pro-Polish and pro-Tsar factions attempting to reach out to the Belarussian peasantry (claiming their works were Polish or Bulgarian to get away with it). The coming of the railways under Alexander III also lead to peasants flocking to Belarus' growing industrial centres.
1863 - January Uprising fails and results in the emancipation of the serfs, dismantling the old feudal szlachta system that had been in place since it's time under Polish rule.
1864 - Cryllic alphabet reintroduced; Latin alphabet banned. Yes, really.
1905 - Another revolution across most of Russia, against Russification amongst other things. Russification finally dropped and Belarussian recognised as an official demographic and language.
1917 - Russian Revolution.
1918 - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; Belarus declared as independent whilst under German occupation, March 25th. Formation of the first Belarussian state; the Belarusian People's Republic.
1919 - BPR government forced into exile; Belarus taken over by Bolshevik forces. That lasted long. The Rada (council) move to the Republic of Lithuania, whilst Belarus is reorganised into the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republich (BSSR).
1919 (still; busy year) - Polish-Soviet War. Given Belarus is in the middle, you can guess how this turns out.
1919 (yep) - BSSR merged with Lithuania to form the Lithuanian-Belorussian SSR (also known as LitBel). Not approved of by the peoples of either state; within Belarus it was seen as an annexation by Lithuania and opposed by nationalists. It lasts a spectacular seven months.
1920 - Minsk is recaptured by Soviet forces; BSSR reformed and LitBel disbanded.
1930s - Industrialisation and agricultural reforms continue under the Five Year Plans
1939 - Invasion of Poland and the start of World War Two. The areas taken by the Soviets actually becomes Western Belarus.
1941 - Operation Barbossa begins; the invasion of the USSR by Nazi Germany. Belarus, being the border, is amongst the first attacked and last recovered.
1944 - Belarus liberated. Casualties between 2 and 3 million (1/4 and 1/3 of the total population), 209 of 290 cities destroyed along with 85% of the republic's industry. It is the hardest hit Soviet Republic of the war.
1945 - Post War, Belarus becomes of the 51 founding nations of the UN Charter. The BSSR becomes a major manufacturing centre in the reconstruction era, attracting ethnic Russians and migrant workers. The borders of the BSSR are finalised into their modern state (annexing some land to Lithuania and redrawing the border with Poland into the Curzon Line). Much like 'Russification', 'Sovietization' begins, cutting Belarus off from 'Western' influences and replacing high level figures in the BSSR with Russian rather than Belarussian staff. Belarussian cultural elements limited by Moscow.
1971 - Population finally recovers to pre-War levels.
1986 - Chernobyl nuclear fallout from the Ukrainian SSR also significantly affects neighbouring Belarus.
1988 - Zyanon Paznyak discovers mass graves from 1937-41 near Minsk, resulting in a spike in Belarussian independence.
1990 - Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1991 - 25th Aughust (official birth date); name changed to the Republic of Belarus. 8th December, chairpeople of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia meet to formally dissolve the USSR and reform into the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1994 - National Constitution adopted. Alexander Lukashenko has been president since this date; elections are held but are hardly democratic.
1996 - Attempts at a union with Russia begin... and still continue to this day.
