The First All-Belarusian Congress

Focusing on the preparation and the convocation of the First All-Belarusian Congress on December 5–17 (N.S. 18–31), 1917 in Minsk, this chapter addresses the consolidation attempts of the Belarusian national forces in the second half of 1917. The first notable development within the national milieu at this time was the effort of the newly formed Central Belarusian Military Rada to establish Belarusian army units. Simultaneously, the ineffective organization of the Belarusian movement in Minsk was rejuvenated by the creation of the Great Belarusian Rada, which was more inclusive in character than its predecessor, the Central Rada of Belarusian Organizations, and oriented towards a broader program of national integration. Its main competitor for political leadership was the Belarusian Oblast’ Committee, which originated from the All-Russian Soviet of Peasants’ Deputies in Petrograd in November 1917 and prioritized close ties to Russia. Despite the fundamental differences in their programs, these two rival centers emerged as the main co-organizers of the All-Belarusian Congress. Often described by contemporaries as a Belarusian version of a constituent assembly, ¹ the Congress was one of the key events of 1917 in Belarusian national life. Its outcomes marked an important transition in the political positions of Belarusian activists, convincing them to abandon aspirations to the status of an autonomous unit within a federative Russian republic, an attitude prevalent throughout 1917. Yet, while some researchers point to the secessionist moods of the Congress participants, ² it was not the Congress per se but rather the consequences of its violent dissolution by the Minsk Bolshevik authorities which marked the turning point in the political outlook of the Belarusian national movement.