Sergey Naumchik: August 25, 1991, Marked The Culmination Of The People’s Struggle Against The Empire
- 27.07.2026, 19:08
Belarus became an independent state de jure.
On July 27, 1990, the Declaration of Sovereignty was adopted in an atmosphere in which, as Vasily Bykov said (during a live television broadcast), “a funeral-like mood prevailed”—the parliamentary majority systematically excluded from the draft presented by the BNF deputies everything that legally enshrined genuine independence. We fought over every phrase, every word. We managed to defend some provisions, but in the end, the Communists pushed through an article on the “Union Treaty.”
And yet it was an important document, on the basis of which, over the following 13 months, the BNF drafted bills aimed at restoring state institutions, democratizing society, and transitioning to a market economy. At every session, we demanded that the Declaration on State Sovereignty be granted the status of a document with constitutional force. This demand took root both in the minds of the deputies and in the public consciousness (thanks to those same television and radio broadcasts).
On August 25, 1991, the Independence Session marked the culmination of the people’s struggle against the empire—Belarus became an independent state de jure. An important point: on the same day, at the people’s demand, the activities of the Communist Party of Belarus (CPB)—Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)—were terminated.
The fact that the process of gaining independence consisted of several stages should not give rise to a sense of inferiority: Belarusians found themselves in different, significantly worse conditions than some of their neighbors. Two centuries of Russian occupation (with continuous Russification) cannot be overcome in a single day. And, as life has shown, not even over the course of several decades.
It is equally mistaken to consider Belarusians a flawed nation simply because they brought a dictator to power. Hardly anyone would dare to call a nation “deficient” that gave the world Goethe and Hegel, Bach and Beethoven—yet the Germans brought Hitler to power through democratic means. Franco and Salazar ruled even longer than the Führer (39 and 36 years, respectively), yet no one calls the Spanish or the Portuguese fools.
The uniqueness does not lie with the Belarusians. The uniqueness lies in the individual who usurped power, since there has never been a case in world history where a country’s leader undermined its own sovereignty.
But if sovereignty has endured for more than three decades, despite being weakened by the usurper, there is all the more reason to hope that it will outlive the usurper himself.
Sergei Naumchik, Facebook