Third Constituent Charter

The Third Constituent Charter () is a legal act adopted by the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic on March 25, 1918 in Minsk (in Malin's house), according to which the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed an independent state. The anniversary of this historic event is traditionally celebrated by Belarusians as a celebration of the restoration of state independence.
A copy of the Third Constituent Charter is kept in the National Archives of Belarus.
History.
The adoption of the Third Charter took place in conditions when, according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia agreed to the occupation of most of Belarus by the German Empire. The document summed up the results of the internal struggle in the leadership of the Belarusian People's Republic (BNR) and the Belarusian Socialist Society (BSG) for the adoption of the Second Charter to the Peoples of Belarus, which dissatisfied the independence movement in the BSG , Bronislaw Tarashkevich and others). On March 9, 1918, the de facto leader of the BSH, Arkady Smolich, wrote a letter to Ivan Lutskevich, in which he claimed that the BNR leadership did not have enough conscious supporters of the independence of Belarus. On March 18, 1918, at a meeting of the Council of the All-Belarusian Congress of 1917, supporters of independence managed to rename it the Council of the BNR. They adopted a resolution to include Vaclav Lastovsky, Anton and Ivan Lutskevich, Yan Stankevich, Dominik Syamashka and Yazep Turkevich, representatives of the Vilnius Belarusian Council, in the BNR Council. between Belarus and Russia. On March 23, 1918, Vaclav Lastovsky, the Lutskevich brothers, Yan Stankevich and Yazep Turkevich arrived in Minsk. On this day the government of the German Empire responded to the statement of the People's Secretariat of Belarus of March 9, 1918 on the proclamation of the BNR. According to the telegram, Reich Chancellor Georg von Gertling could not accept the statement of the People's Secretariat, as it would mean interference in Russia's internal affairs. Thus, the government of the German Empire still considered Belarus an integral part of Russia and did not recognize the BNR. Due to the fact that the Bolsheviks during their withdrawal from Minsk on February 19, 1918 took with them the treasures of the State Bank, on March 23, 1918 the People's Secretariat decided to apply for a loan to the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Representatives of the BDR were present at the meeting. At a meeting with his brother, Anton Lutskevich proposed to declare full independence of Belarus from Russia - in protest against the trade of Belarusian lands with the German Empire. Anton Lutskevich's proposal was met with understanding by the People's Secretariat. The chairman of the People's Secretariat Yazep Varonka stated that the proposal should be discussed at a meeting of the BSH faction, as the representatives of this party were the majority in the BNR Rada. In the faction, a group of BSG members led by Makar Kraŭcoŭ initially spoke out against the proposal of BNR activists, but eventually agreed with the majority.
On March 24, 1918, at 8 o'clock in the evening, the plenary session of the BNR Council began. Arkady Smolich made a report on the political situation in Belarus. He proposed to adopt an act declaring the independence of the BNR. Russian and Polish Zemstvo activists and representatives of the Bund opposed the idea of Belarusian socialists. Representatives of the United Jewish Socialist Workers 'Party, the Jewish Social Democratic Workers' Party, and the Russian Socialist-Revolutionaries abstained. The Zemsky faction announced its withdrawal from the BNR Rada. On March 25, 1918, at 8 o'clock in the morning, the BNR Council adopted the Third Charter by a majority vote.
Text.
The BNR Council demanded to revise the Brest Peace Treaty. In the lands of the former Russian Empire, where the Belarusian people live and have a numerical advantage, a free, independent state was proclaimed; it included Mahilioŭ, Mensk, Viciebsk, Belarusian parts of Horadnia, Vilno, Smolensk, Chernihiv and neighboring governorate (meaning Suwalki and Kovno Governorate). The rights and freedoms of the citizens and peoples of Belarus, proclaimed by the Second Constituent Charter of March 9, 1918, were also confirmed.
Signatories.
The original diploma is a typewritten sheet of paper signed on the reverse side and sealed with the state seal. List of signatories of the diploma:
In art.
On March 25, 1920, Janka Kupala, who in 1919 was the Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian National Committee (actually the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus), wrote the poem “March 25, 1918 - March 25, 1920. Gadowszczyna - memorial service ":
In the poem, the poet expresses disappointment at the results of the recognition of the independent Belarusian state by the then international community (primarily by Soviet Russia and the interwar Polish Republic).
The adoption of the Third Charter as the day of the restoration of independence of Belarus is sung in the poems "On March 25" (1932) and "On March 25, 1933" (1933) by Jazep Hermanovich "March 25" (1935) by Michaś Mashara, "Listen that says the mound ”(1944),“ March 25 ”(1946) and“ There were heroes ”(1962) by Aleś Zmahar, “March 25 ”(1950) by Natallia Arsiennieva. People's Poet of Belarus Nil Hilevich, who in 1991 actively advocated the establishment of March 25 as a national holiday, has a poem with the lines "And the first holiday of the Fatherland will be the Day of the Twenty-fifth of March!". The poem "March 25", written by the People's Poet of Belarus Ryhor Baradulin, ends with the following lines:
A large number of art postcards, stickers and envelopes associated with the celebration of the date of adoption of the Third Constituent Charter as Independence Day, were published by the efforts of the Belarusian Diaspora.