republic · Poland, Lithuania and Russia
Byelorussian SSR
Origins
After the Red Army retook Minsk from Poland in 1920, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed again on 31 July 1920, replacing the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR. The Peace of Riga in 1921 divided Belarusian lands between it and the Second Polish Republic, and in 1922 it became a founding member of the Soviet Union.
Rule and society
The 1920s brought Belarusian-language schools and culture, followed by collectivisation and Stalin's purges, whose victims lie at Kurapaty near Minsk. The republic absorbed western Belarus in 1939. German occupation from 1941 to 1944 killed perhaps a quarter of the population and destroyed hundreds of villages, among them Khatyn. It gained a seat in the United Nations in 1945 and was industrialised under leaders such as Pyotr Masherov.
Decline and legacy
Heavily affected by fallout from Chernobyl in 1986, the republic declared sovereignty in 1990 and independence on 25 August 1991. Renamed the Republic of Belarus, it signed the Belovezha Accords dissolving the Soviet Union in December 1991.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Byelorussian SSR was part of Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Byelorussian SSR. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/byelorussian-ssr
- MLA
- “Byelorussian SSR.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/byelorussian-ssr. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Byelorussian SSR.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/byelorussian-ssr.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Byelorussian SSR’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/byelorussian-ssr (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻