About Belarus

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History of Belarus. Tribal times - WWI

The settlement of Slavs

The Slavs started to spread across the Balkans in the 5-6 centuries, from where they proceeded to the south towards Roman provinces and to the east. They appeared in Belarus in 6-7 centuries by which time the Baltic nations had already lived there for two thousand years. The Slav ethnic groups – krivichy, drigovichy, rodimichy and others – settled by the rivers beside the Balts and had a more developed civilization. The three ethnic groups mentioned above were the ancestors of the modern Belarusians. They started the colonization of the area building strongholds and towns that later became administrative centers. They practiced farming and cattle raising.

In the 9-12 centuries the eastern Slavs developed a feudal society. Initially the majority of the population was made up of free people called lyudi. As a result of the social stratification some of them started to lose their independence. And some – e.g. servicemen – became the gentry empowered by the duke to collect taxes from a certain area – the advent of the feudal rent. At this time the towns started to develop from the fortresses and castles: Mensk, Grodno, Zaslavl. Many towns were founded at the trade routes. 

The Slavs were pagans: they worshipped the gods of sun, flame, thunder, etc, and buried the dead in the mounds.

The Great Duchy of Lithuania

The Great Duchy of Lithuania emerged in the times of conflicts with the crusaders and repeated attacks of the Tatar nomads. The creation of the state enabled the nations of the region defend their independence and gave way to further social, political, cultural and economic development. The Belarusian lands were normally joined to this state by negotiations.

The Great Duchy of Lithuania with its capital Novogrudok was established in the 1240s. To gain some time its first king Mindovg accepted Catholicism and the new state was recognized by the European countries. The kings were changed and the lands of the Duchy extended to the north and south. Thus, in 1320 Vitebsk, Mensk, Berestye, Turov and Pinsk areas were joined to the Duchy. In the 1360s the territory of the Duchy doubled and included almost all current Belarusian lands and later – Smolensk Duchy.

In 1409 the Great Duchy of Lithuania (headed by Duke Vitovt) joined its efforts with the Kingdom of Poland (headed by King Yagailo) in the Great War of 1409-1411 against the Teutonic crusaders. It resulted in the shattering defeat of the latter in 1410 after which the German troops were never seen in the eastern lands until the WWI (1914). 

Rech Pospolitaya, 1569

After some political reforms of the 1560s the statehood systems of both countries – Polish Kingdom and the Great Duchy of Lithuania became similar and the political elite of the two states wanted to create a union state. The Poles maintained that the Duchy was to be incorporated by the Kingdom and since the position of the Great Duchy of Lithuania was exacerbated by the war with Russia, its delegates had to accept the provisions of the union in 1569, creating a new state - Rech Pospolitaya.

The new policy of Poland in the territories of the Duchy was aimed at Catholicizing of the local population and it dwarfed the development of the Belarusians as a nation. Rivalry between the Polish and Belarusian gentry weakened the state and eventually its role as a dominating state in Eastern Europe passed to Moscow state. The new war launched by Moscow in 1654 was particularly devastating for Belarus with dozens of cities burnt down and thousands of population killed in the process or displaced. In these years villagers went into the forests to organize partisan teams and recaptured some of the towns and cities from the Moscow occupants. The peace treaty signed in 1667 saw the end of this war with Belarus remaining as a part of Rech Pospolitaya.

Belarus as a province of the Russian Empire

In 1795 the Great Duchy of Lithuania – a once mighty state of two modern nations – the Belarusians and the Lithuanians – ceased to exist. The national uprising headed by T. Kostyushko was violently suppressed and the three European superpowers of the time – Russian Empire, Austria and Prussia divided its lands with Belarusian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian lands becoming Russian provinces.

After Belarus became a part of Russia the Russian authorities were keen to level all local peculiarities, their final goal being to merge the Belarusian nation with the Russian population. Belarus was divided into provinces with the governors appointed by Russia having unlimited power. Although the local gentry was still allowed to hold some administrative positions, the top posts were filled with candidates sent from Moscow.

The local gentry that took oath to the Russian tsar gained all the rights of the Russian gentry, but lost its independence, including the rights to have armies, castles, etc. Major Russian military commanders, officials and landlords were given lands in Belarus, including those confiscated from the former Polish and Lithuanian magnates. The villagers in Belarus were in the same harsh conditions as they always had been, suffering from heavy taxation.

The French-Russian War of 1812

In the early 19 century France launched a war against Russia, Prussia and Austria for European domination. When the army of Napoleon entered Belarusian lands the Russian army was forced to retreat. Belarus became a war arena once again with both warring armies recruiting soldiers here. The Belarusians were in both armies and both for one purpose – to restore the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian armies in Belarus and had to pursue them till Moscow, with the retreating Russians leaving scorched earth behind. The Borodino battle of 1812, the successive capture of Moscow and the escape from it westwards weakened the French. Heading back to Poland the French lost scores of troops and the final battle at the Berezina River, Belarus, saw only one tenth of Napoleon’s army leave the country.

Belarus in the second half of the 19th century 

The Russianization became the core of the Russian policy in Belarus after another national uprising of 1863 was suppressed. It was a more dangerous now, because it also involved the peasantry.

The development of capitalism in Europe replaced feudal regimes with the new forms of statehood, while in Russia the medieval regime remained, the absolute power of the monarch and serfdom being its main features. The Russians were forced to launch a number of reforms so as to keep pace with the potential European Rivals. The landlords wanted to increase the output of farmlands simply by increasing taxes which only caused peasant uprisings.

In 1861 the serves (dependent villagers) were given rights for personal freedom, to marry, to turn to the court for help, to conduct farming activities. The villagers also obtained the right to buy the land they were cultivating. Other reforms were launched, too, facilitating the transition of the country towards capitalism. The duration of military service was shortened to 7 years and a conscript for all 20 year old men was introduced and magistrates were established in Belarus. The school reform saw all social strata being involved in the education process, although the number of pupils was often kept short by high tuition fees.