Partition of Belgium Belgian identity was not defined on racial, ethnic or linguistic lines, but in the civilizational community of the Belgian people. Supporters of a partition of Belgium argue that the synchronized attempts to forge a national identity and culture have been unable to forestall ethno-linguistic rivalries. French was the only official language of Belgium until 1898, even though Flanders was and still is predominantly Dutch-speaking. The government's long refusal to acknowledge Dutch as an official language led to hostilities between Flanders and the French-speaking bourgeoisie who held both political and economic power. These hostilities gave rise to the Flemish movement, which
Supreme Administration of the Northern Region Supreme Administration of the Northern Region The Supreme Administration of the Northern Region ("VUSO"; Severnaya Oblast) was a White movement, Anti-Bolshevik left-wing, and Allied government. On 2 August 1918, the Supreme Administration of the Northern Region was declared in a coup by White Russians, led by Captain , on the eve of Allied occupation of Arkhangelsk. British diplomats had traveled to Arkhangelsk in preparation of the invasion, and Major-general Frederick Poole had coordinated the coup with Chaplin. Allied warships sailed into the port from the White Sea. General Poole ran Archangelsk as Commander of British troops in Northern Russia, declaring