126-412: [REDACTED] CIS Member State [REDACTED] CoE Member State The prime minister of Armenia ( Armenian : Հայաստանի Հանրապետության վարչապետ , romanized : Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan varch’apet ) is the head of government and most senior minister within the Armenian government , and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage
252-622: A military conflict , with Poland winning. Facing Denikin and Kolchak, Soviet Russia could not spare men for the western front. A stalemate with localised skirmishes developed between Poland and Lithuania. The Polish Sejm had also declared that the territories of Belarus were an inalienable part of the Polish Commonwealth. As the Sejm was voting for annexation, Józef Piłsudski offered the Belarusians federal ties instead; however,
378-662: A vote of no confidence in Parliament . In the constitutional referendum held in 2015, citizens voted in favor of transferring Armenia into a parliamentary republic . The Prime Minister's Staff has the task of ensuring the enforcement of the powers vested in the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers, as well as making preparations for Cabinet meetings: α. Assassinated while in office in
504-567: A Belarusian Central Council. However, the national parties in Belarus were unable to secure mass support, and the nationalist movement was confined to a small, divided and ineffective intelligentsia . Towards the autumn, political stability continued to shake, and countering the rising nationalist tendencies, were the soviets led by Bolsheviks when the October Revolution hit Russia; that same day, on 25 October (7 November) 1917,
630-576: A CSTO peacekeeping force. One of the CST's original objectives was to resolve conflicts between CIS members, however military conflicts such as Russia's open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas in Georgia, Russia seizing Crimea and support to secessionist areas in Ukraine, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan border issues have demonstrated how ineffective
756-632: A Founding state. Ukraine did participate in the CIS and became an associate member of the CIS Economic Union in 1994, and signed the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area in 2011. Ukraine withdrew its representatives from the CIS in May 2018 and stopped actively participating in the CIS, but remained a party to a number of agreements, such as the free trade area. Although Ukraine
882-524: A German-centered hegemony of buffer states , called Mitteleuropa . On the eve of Germany's occupation of Minsk, some members of the disbanded Belarusian National Council emerged from hiding and formed a provisional government, hoping to achieve German recognition. However, the Germans did not recognise it as another assembly in Vilna was created under their auspices. The Minsk and Vilna organisations issued
1008-587: A change of government in a series of colour revolutions : Eduard Shevardnadze was overthrown in Georgia; Viktor Yushchenko was elected in Ukraine; and Askar Akayev was toppled in Kyrgyzstan. In February 2006, Georgia withdrew from the Council of Defense Ministers, with the statement that "Georgia has taken a course to join NATO and it cannot be part of two military structures simultaneously", but it remained
1134-779: A common government and currency. The CIS as a shared Russophone social, cultural, and economic space has its origins in the Russian Empire , which was replaced in 1917 by the Russian Republic after the February Revolution earlier that year. Following the October Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the leading republic in the Soviet Union (USSR) upon its creation with
1260-580: A course to join NATO and it cannot be part of two military structures simultaneously". However, it remained a full member of the CIS. In the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, President Saakashvili announced during a public speech in the capital city Tbilisi that Georgia would leave the CIS and the Georgian Parliament voted unanimously on 14 August 2008 to withdraw from the regional organization. On 18 August 2008
1386-630: A different course of events, and eventually the accession of Joseph Stalin saw a new policy adopted: Socialism in One Country . In accordance with which, expansionist and irredentist claims were removed from Soviet ideology, which instead would focus on making regions economically viable. Thus in March 1924, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee , Russia returned most of territories that made up
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#17327646972771512-433: A forum for discussing issues related to the social and economic development of the newly independent states. To achieve this goal member states have agreed to promote and protect human rights. Initially, efforts to achieve this goal consisted merely of statements of goodwill, but on 26 May 1995, the CIS adopted a Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In 1991, four years before
1638-560: A full member of the CIS until August 2009, one year after officially withdrawing in the immediate aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War . In March 2007, Igor Ivanov , the secretary of the Russian Security Council, expressed his doubts concerning the usefulness of the CIS, emphasizing that the Eurasian Economic Community was becoming a more competent organization to unify the largest countries of
1764-537: A joint proclamation on 25 March establishing the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) with German approval. The new government also sought material aid from Germany. The more radical nationalists who disapproved of collaboration with the Germans went to the communists and fled to Russia. The communists who did not escape to the east during the German occupation were driven underground. In
1890-705: A ministry of interior was created, whose first head was Aram Manukian . It vanished when the First Republic of Armenia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and then transferred into a full Soviet republic . The governmental structure of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was similar to that of the other Soviet republics. The highest executive and administrative organ of state power
2016-617: A number of agreements including the 2001 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement on cooperation in the provision of safety of hazardous industrial facilities , the 1996 CIS agreement on cooperation in evacuating nationals from third countries in emergencies , the 1992 Agreement between the State Parties of the Commonwealth of Independent States on social and legal guarantees of the military personnel, persons discharged from military service, and members of their families ,
2142-743: A result, the Soviets were not only forced to abandon their World Revolution targets, but Western Belarus too. However early autumn rains halted the Polish advance, which exhausted itself by October. A cease-fire agreed on 12 October, came into effect on 18 October. As the negotiations between the Polish Republic and the Russian Bolshevik government took place in Riga , the Soviet side saw
2268-464: A war with Russia . Ukraine formally ended its participation in CIS statutory bodies in 2018, although it had stopped participating in the organization in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea . Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Moldova voiced its intention to progressively withdraw from the CIS institutional framework. Eight of the nine CIS member states participate in
2394-745: Is modelled on the European Convention on Human Rights , but lacking the strong implementation mechanisms of the latter. In the CIS treaty, the Human Rights Commission has very vaguely defined authority. The Statute of the Human Rights Commission, however, also adopted by the CIS Member States as a decision, gives the commission the right to receive inter-state as well as individual communications. CIS members, especially in Central Asia , continue to have among
2520-683: The 1999 Armenian parliament shooting . β. Died of heart attack while in office. Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia . It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is its legal successor. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km (7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economic, political, and military affairs and has certain powers relating to
2646-593: The Alma-Ata Protocol which can either be interpreted as expanding the CIS to these states or the proper foundation or foundation date of the CIS, thus bringing the number of participating countries to 11. Georgia joined two years later, in December 1993. At this point, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics participated in the CIS, the three non-participants being the Baltic states , which were occupied by
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#17327646972772772-637: The Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) was proclaimed under German occupation; however, as German troops left, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was established in its place by the Bolsheviks in December, and it was later merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919 to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia , which ceased to exist as a result of
2898-799: The Byelorussian SSR , the Russian SFSR , and the Ukrainian SSR , when the leaders of the three republics met at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (31 mi) north of Brest in Belarus, and signed the "Agreement Establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States", known as the Belovezh Accords ( Russian : Беловежские соглашения , romanized : Belovezhskiye soglasheniya ). The CIS announced that
3024-864: The CIS Free Trade Area . Three organizations originated from the CIS, namely the Collective Security Treaty Organization , the Eurasian Economic Union (alongside subdivisions, the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Space ); and the Union State . While the first and the second are military and economic alliances, the third aims to reach a supranational union of Russia and Belarus with
3150-770: The Communist Party hardliners staged an attempted coup in Moscow in August that year. Following the events of the failed 1991 coup , many republics of the USSR declared their independence fearing another coup. A week after the Ukrainian independence referendum was held , which kept the chances of the Soviet Union staying together low, the Commonwealth of Independent States was founded in its place on 8 December 1991 by
3276-731: The Lake Naroch offensive in late spring 1916, and General Alexei Evert 's inconclusive thrust around the city of Baranovichi in the summer of that year, during the Brusilov offensive further south, in western Ukraine. The abdication of Nicholas II in light of the February Revolution in Russia in February 1917, activated a rather dormant political life in Belarus. As central authority waned, different political and ethnic groups strived for greater self-determination and even secession from
3402-555: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany , occupied eastern Poland after the 1939 invasion of Poland . The former Polish territories referred to as West Belarus were incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, with an exception of the city of Vilnius and its surroundings that were transferred to Lithuania . The annexation was internationally recognized after the end of World War II. In the summer of 1941, Belarus
3528-642: The Partitions of Poland more than a century earlier. During the war, the Great Retreat in the Western Front in August–September 1915 ended with the lands of Grodno Governorate and most of Vilna Governorate being occupied by Germany. The resulting front, passing at 100 kilometres to the west of Minsk, remained static towards the end of the conflict, despite Russian attempts to break it at
3654-523: The People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia, Georgy Chicherin , sent a note to Lithuania with a proposal for a peace treaty . It was a de facto recognition of the Lithuanian state. Similar negotiations with Estonia and Latvia , gave way for a peace treaty with the former on 2 February 1920 and a cease-fire agreement with the latter a day earlier. Lenin feared that a Polish offensive
3780-647: The Second Polish Republic after the withdrawal of German forces. However, the conflict with Poland did not break out and the Soviet High Command's 12 January directive was to cease advance on the Neman - Bug rivers. However, the region to the east of those lines was historically mixed among a population of Belarusians, Poles and Lithuanians, with a sizeable Jewish minority. The local communities of each respective group wanted to be part of
3906-549: The Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB). This was conferred by the First Congress of deputies, composed of workers, soldiers and Red Army soldiers, which met on 2–3 February 1919, to adopt a new socialist constitution. The Red Army continued its westward advance, capturing the city of Grodno on New Year's Day 1919, Pinsk on 21 January, and Baranovichi on 6 February 1919, thereby enlarging
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4032-733: The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR renamed the Soviet republic to the Republic of Belarus, with the short form "Belarus". Conservative forces in the newly independent Belarus did not support the name change and opposed its inclusion in the 1991 draft of the Constitution of Belarus . Prior to the First World War , the territories of modern-day Belarus were part of the Russian Empire , which it gained from
4158-591: The Treaty of Riga putting an end of hostilities in Europe, and Belarus in particular. Six years of war had left the land neglected and looted, and the endless change of occupying regimes, each worse than the previous, left their mark on the Belarusian people, who were now divided. Almost half ( Western Belarus ) now belonged to Poland. Eastern Belarus (Gomel, Vitebsk and parts of Smolensk guberniyas) were administered by
4284-442: The creating of well-defined national territorial units . This time, parts of RSFSR's Gomel Governorate were added, including the cities of Gomel and Rechytsa . This increased the area to 126,300 square kilometres and the 1926 Soviet census that was held at the same time reported a population of 4,982,623. Of the latter 83% was rural, and Belarusians made up 80.6% (though only 39.2% of urban, yet 89% of rural). On 11 April 1927,
4410-500: The 1920s–1930s, over 250,000 Belarusians were deported as kulaks or kulak family members to regions outside the Belarusian Soviet Republic. The scale of Soviet terror in Belarus was higher than in Russia or Ukraine which resulted in a much stronger extent of Russification in the republic. A Polish Autonomous District was founded in 1932 and disbanded in 1935. In September 1939, the Soviet Union, following
4536-427: The 1922 Treaty and Declaration of the Creation of the USSR along with Byelorussian SSR , Ukrainian SSR and Transcaucasian SFSR . In March 1991, amidst Perestroika and a rising political crisis in the country, Mikhail Gorbachev , the president of the Soviet Union , proposed a federation by holding a referendum to preserve the Union as a union of sovereign republics . The new treaty signing never happened as
4662-417: The 1992 Agreement on the Establishment of the Council of Commanders of the Border Troops and the Agreement on the Creation of the Interstate System of Documentary Encrypted Communications of the Commonwealth of Independent States . Following the overthrow of Eduard Shevardnadze in Georgia, Georgia officially withdrew from the Council of Defense Ministers in February 2006, stating that "Georgia has taken
4788-405: The 1995 human rights treaty , article 33 of the Charter of the CIS created a Human Rights Commission with its seat in Minsk, Belarus. This was confirmed by the decision of the Council of Heads of States of the CIS in 1993. In 1995, the CIS adopted a human rights treaty that includes civil and political as well as social and economic human rights. This treaty entered into force in 1998. The CIS treaty
4914-455: The CIS "on a selective basis". Since that month, Ukraine has had no representatives in the CIS Executive Committee building. In April 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko indicated that Ukraine would formally leave the CIS. On 19 May 2018, Poroshenko signed a decree formally ending Ukraine's participation in CIS statutory bodies. As of 1 June 2018, the CIS secretariat had not received formal notice from Ukraine of its withdrawal from
5040-481: The CIS Charter in January 1993, making them "founding states of the CIS", but did not ratify the Charter itself that would make them full members. These states, while not being formal members of the CIS, were allowed to participate in CIS. They were also allowed to participate in various CIS initiatives, e.g. the Free Trade Area, which were, however, formulated mostly as independent multilateral agreements, and not as internal CIS agreements. Turkmenistan has not ratified
5166-409: The CIS entirely by the end of 2024. A country can become an associate member under the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 8) if approved by the Council of Heads of States. Participation of associate members and of the observers in the work of the Commonwealth organs shall be governed by their rules of procedures. Two states, Ukraine and Turkmenistan ratified the CIS Creation Agreement before the adoption of
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5292-433: The CIS member states is the creation, in 1995, of the joint CIS Air Defense System . Over the years, the military personnel of the joint CIS Air Defense System grew twofold along the western, European border of the CIS, and by 1.5 times on its southern borders. In 2002, the six member states agreed to create the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) as a military alliance. In 2007, CSTO members agreed to create
5418-414: The CIS signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the Tashkent Pact or Tashkent Treaty). Three other post-Soviet states signed in 1993 and the treaty took effect in 1994 and lasted 5 years. When the treaty was subsequently renewed, three countries withdrew, leaving Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan as members. In December 1993, the CIS Armed Forces Headquarters
5544-469: The CIS, a process that would take one year to complete, following notice being given. The CIS secretariat stated that it will continue inviting Ukraine to participate. Ukraine has stated that it intends to review its participation in all CIS agreements and only continue in those that are in its interests. On 3 May 2023 Ukraine formally withdrew from the 1992 agreement that set up the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. In 2023 and 2024 Ukraine also withdrew from
5670-470: The CIS, it would need to legally withdraw from the Creation Agreement, as Georgia did previously. On 14 March 2014, a bill was introduced to Ukraine's parliament to denounce their ratification of the CIS Creation Agreement, but it was never approved. Following the 2014 parliamentary election , a new bill to denounce the CIS agreement was introduced. In September 2015, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Ukraine will continue taking part in
5796-454: The CIS, with only those countries ratifying the Charter being considered to be member states of the CIS (art. 7). Other states can participate as associate members or observers if accepted as such by a decision of the Council of Heads of State to the CIS (art. 8). All the founding states apart from Ukraine and Turkmenistan ratified the Charter of the CIS and became member states of it. Nevertheless, Ukraine and Turkmenistan kept participating in
5922-448: The CIS, without being member states of it. Turkmenistan became an associate member of the CIS in August 2005. Georgia left the CIS altogether in 2009 and Ukraine stopped participating in 2018. The work of CIS is coordinated by the general secretary. The Interparliamentary Assembly was established on 27 March 1992 in Kazakhstan . On 26 May 1995, the CIS leaders signed the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of
6048-427: The CIS. Following the withdrawal of Georgia, the presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan skipped the October 2009 meeting of the CIS, each having their own issues and disagreements with the Russian Federation. In May 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine joined the Eastern Partnership (EaP), a project that was initiated by the European Union (EU). The EaP framework governs
6174-513: The CST and later the CSTO, is in this role. Corruption and bureaucracy are serious problems for trade in CIS countries. Byelorussian SSR State atheism (de facto) Belarusian Orthodox Church (autonomy granted by the Moscow Patriarchate ) (majority) The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( BSSR or Byelorussian SSR ; Belarusian : Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка ; Russian : Белорусская Советская Социалистическая Республика ), also known as Byelorussia ,
6300-418: The Central Committee of the Belarusian Communist Party). The SSRB sought to join further territories, as the Red Army crossed into Poland, but the decisive Polish victory at the Battle of Warsaw in August ended these ambitions. Once again, the Red Army found itself on the defensive in Belorussia. The Poles were able to successfully break the Russian lines at the Battle of the Niemen River in September 1920. As
6426-446: The Charter and therefore is not formally a member of the CIS. Nevertheless, it has consistently participated in the CIS as if it were a member state. Turkmenistan changed its CIS standing to associate member as of 26 August 2005. The cited reason was to be consistent with its 1995-proclaimed, UN-recognised, international neutrality status, but experts have cited the country no longer needing Russia to provide natural gas access, as well as
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#17327646972776552-483: The Commonwealth of Independent States eventually ratified by nine parliaments, the only CIS member not signing was Georgia. Under the terms of the convention, the InterParliamentary Assembly (IPA) was invested with international legitimacy. It is housed in the Tauride Palace in St Petersburg and acts as the consultative parliamentary wing of the CIS, created to discuss problems of parliamentary cooperation, review draft documents of common interest, and pass model laws to
6678-445: The Council reorganised the Western Oblast as a Western Commune . After Germany was defeated in the First World War, it announced its evacuation from the occupied territories. The Germans began to depart in November 1918; however, there was no nationalist organisation in Belarus that was capable of assuming political authority, unlike in Ukraine. On 13 November, Moscow annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . Two days later, it transformed
6804-436: The Defence region into a Western army . It began an initial advance westward on 17 November. The Belarusian National Republic barely resisted, evacuating Minsk on 3 December. The Soviets maintained a distance of about 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) between the two armies, and took Minsk on 10 December. As the Red Army re-occupied Belarus, the soviets in the country were dominated by Russian and Jewish parties sympathetic to
6930-403: The EU's relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. There are nine full member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Creation Agreement remained the main constituent document of the CIS until January 1993, when the CIS Charter (Russian: Устав , romanized : Ustav ) was adopted. The charter formalized
7056-412: The Germans and some or all their inhabitants killed (out of 9,200 settlements that were burned or otherwise destroyed in Belarus during World War II ). More than 600 villages like Khatyn were totally annihilated. Altogether, over 2,000,000 people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation , almost a quarter of the region's population. After World War II, the Byelorussian SSR
7182-406: The Istanbul Agreement (see Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty ), legislative initiatives to denounce the agreement on the creation of CIS were tabled in Moldova's parliament on 25 March 2014, though they were not approved. A similar bill was proposed in January 2018. On 14 June 2022, Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicu Popescu said the Moldovan government was considering
7308-421: The Lithuanian and Byelorussian republics into the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( Litbel ) on 28 February 1919. Its capital was proclaimed as Vilna , with five governorates: Vilna , Grodno , Kovno , Suwalki and Minsk . The Vitebsk and Mogilev governorates were transferred to the Russian SFSR, and were soon joined by the Gomel Governorate , which was created on 26 April. The two parties of
7434-401: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia sent a note to the CIS Executive Committee notifying it of the aforesaid resolutions of the Parliament of Georgia and Georgia's withdrawal from CIS. In accordance with the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9), Georgia's withdrawal came into effect 12 months later, on 18 August 2009. Since its inception, one of the primary goals of the CIS has been to provide
7560-405: The Minsk Bolsheviks commanded the pro-Soviet troops to disbanded it. Following this, they proclaimed the rule of soviets dominated by the Bolsheviks. The first Soviet government in Belarus was established at the end of December by communist organs in Minsk with the support of Russian troops of the Western Front. However, its authority only extended to the regions occupied by pro-communist forces and
7686-458: The Minsk Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took over the administration of the city. The Bolshevik All-Russian Council of Soviets declared the creation of the Western Oblast , which unified the Vilna, Vitebsk , Mogilev and Minsk governorates that were not occupied by the German army, to administer the Belarusian lands in the frontal zone. On 26 November (6 December), the Executive Committee of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies for
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#17327646972777812-449: The Polish occupation authorities disregarded the social radicalism of the masses and nationalist sentiments among parts of the Belarusian intelligentsia, with the Poles ordering for the lands confiscated by the communists to be returned to the landowners, and Polish being introduced as an official language. The stalemate and the occasional, though fruitless, negotiations gave Russia a much needed pause to concentrate on other regions. During
7938-418: The Polish occupation during the Polish–Soviet War . Following a peace treaty with Lithuania, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was re-founded on 31 July 1920 and later became known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The BSSR became one of the four founding members of the Soviet Union in December 1922, together with the republics of Russia , Transcaucasia , and Ukraine . Byelorussia
8064-420: The Polish side. Eventually a compromising armistice line was agreed, which would see the Belarusian city of Slutsk handed over to the Bolsheviks. News of Belarus' upcoming permanent division angered the population, and using the town's Polish occupation, the local population began self-organising into a militia and associating itself with the Belarusian Democratic Republic . On 24 November the Polish units left
8190-561: The RSFSR. The rest was the SSRB, a republic with 52,400 square kilometres and a population of a mere 1.544 million people. An interesting paradox arose in the status of SSRB within the future Bolshevik state. On one hand its small geographic, population and almost negligent economic indicators did not warrant it much political weight on Soviet affairs. In fact the leader of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (Bolshevik), Alexander Chervyakov would represent Byelorussian communists at seven party congresses in Moscow, but not once be elected into
8316-399: The SSRB. The western winter offensive was not limited to Byelorussia; Soviet forces similarly moved to the north into Lithuania , as the newly created Soviet republic had hoped to include Lithuania. On 16 December, the Lithuanian Socialist Soviet Republic (LSSR) was proclaimed in Vilnius . The Lithuanian operation and continuing conquest of Byelorussia were threatened by the rise of
8442-572: The Soviet Union. The CIS and Soviet Union also legally co-existed briefly with each other until 26 December 1991, when the Soviet of the Republics formally dissolved the Soviet Union. This was followed by Ivan Korotchenya becoming Executive Secretary of the CIS on the same day. After the end of the dissolution process of the Soviet Union, Russia and the Central Asian republics were weakened economically and faced declines in GDP . Post-Soviet states underwent economic reforms and privatisation . The process of Eurasian integration began immediately after
8568-401: The Soviet policy of liquidation of illiteracy ( likbez ). Economically the republic remained largely self-centred, and most of the effort was put into restoring and repairing the war-damaged industry (if in 1923 there was only 226 different fabrics and factories, then by 1926 the number climbed to 246. However, the employed manpower jumped from 14 thousand to 21.3 thousand workers). The majority
8694-406: The Treaty of Riga as only a temporary setback to the process, and a future advance would require a prepared bridgehead. This justified giving the SSRB the status of a full union republic within the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR that was signed on 30 December 1922. SSR Byelorussia became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922 and became known as BSSR. However the politics in Moscow took
8820-447: The Tsars, and in 1925 made up almost 44% of the urban population and began to be aided by affirmative action programmes. In 1924 the government created a committee – Belkomzet – to allocate land to Jewish families, in 1926 a total of 32,700 hectares were given for 6,860 Jewish families. Jews would continue to play a major role in Byelorussian politics, society and economy right up to the Second World War ; in fact, between 1928 and 1930,
8946-458: The Vitebsk and Mogilev Governorates, as well as parts of Smolensk. The passing of land that largely survived the destruction of war not only doubled the SSRB's area to 110,600 square kilometres, but also raised the population to 4.2 million people. According to its entry in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia , in 1925 SSRB was a largely rural country. Out of the 4,342,800 people that inhabited it, only 14.5% lived in urban areas. Administratively it
9072-725: The Western Oblast and Moses Kalmanovich [ ru ] as the chair of the Obliskomzap . Countering this, the Belarusian Central Council reorganised itself as the Belarusian National Council ( Rada ), and started working on establishing governmental institutions, and discarded the Obliskomzap as a military formation, rather than governmental. As a result, on 7 (20) December, when the first All-Belarusian Congress convened,
9198-584: The Western Oblast was merged with the Western front's executive committee, creating a single Obliskomzap . During the autumn of 1917 and winter of 1918, the Western Oblast was headed by Aleksandr Myasnikyan as the head of the Western Oblast's Military Revolutionary Committee , who passed this duty on to Kārlis Landers . Myasnikyan took over as chair of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party 's (RSDRP(b)) committee for
9324-588: The activities of the Government and coordinate the work of the members of the Government." Also, according to the constitution, the prime minister heads the Security Council, which prescribes the main directions of the country's defense policy; thus, the prime minister is effectively the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Armenia . Nikol Pashinyan is the current prime minister. He took
9450-452: The armistice as only a temporary setback in its western advance. Seeing the failure of overcoming the Polish nationalist rhetoric with Communist propaganda, the Soviet government chose a different tactic, by appealing to the minorities of the Polish state, creating a fifth column element out of Belarusians and Ukrainians . During the negotiations, RSFSR offered all of BSSR to Poland in return for concessions in Ukraine, which were rejected by
9576-626: The break-up of the Soviet Union to salvage economic ties with Post-Soviet republics. On 22 January 1993, the Charter (Statutes) of the CIS was signed, setting up the different institutions of the CIS, their functions, and the rules and statutes of the CIS. The Charter also defined that all countries that have ratified the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS and its relevant (Alma-Ata) Protocol would be considered to be founding states of
9702-614: The capital first to Dvinsk (28 April), then to Minsk (28 April), then to Bobruysk (19 May). As the Litbel lost territory, its powers were quickly stripped by Moscow. For example, on 1 June, Vtsik 's decree put all of Litbel's armed forces under the command of the Red Army. On 17 July, the Defence Soviet was liquidated, and its function was passed to Minsk's Milrevcom . When on 8 August Polish forces captured Minsk , that same day
9828-484: The capital was evacuated to Smolensk . On 28 August, Lithuanian forces took Zarasai (the last Lithuanian town held by Litbel) and the same day Bobruysk fell to the Poles. By late summer of 1919, the Polish advance was also exhausted. The defeat of the Red Army allowed the outbreak of another historic disagreement over territory between Poland and Lithuania; their competition to control the city of Vilna soon erupted into
9954-511: The census of 1920, many chose to be label themselves as Russians . ). To appeal to the Belarusians of Western Belarus and also to prevent the nationalist element of the exiled Belarusian Democratic Republic from having any influence on the population (i.e. to avoid another Slutsk uprising), a policy of Korenizatsiya was widely implemented. Belarusian language, folklore and culture was put at front of everything else. This went on par with
10080-602: The city of Slonim (2 March) and crossed the Neman, whilst Lithuanian advances forced the Soviets out of Panevėžys . A final Soviet counter-offensive retook Panevėžys and Grodno in early April, but the Western Army was too thinly spread to fight both the Polish and Lithuanian troops, and the German units assisting them. The Polish offensive quickly gained momentum, and Vilna offensive in April 1919, forced Litbel to evacuate
10206-839: The communists. Encouraged by their success, in Smolensk on 30–31 December 1918, the Sixth Western Oblast Party conference met and announced its split from the Russian Communist Party, proclaiming itself as the first congress of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (KP(b)B). The next day, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was proclaimed in Smolensk, terminating the Western Commune, and on 7 January, it
10332-646: The concept of membership: a member country is defined as a country that ratifies the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 7). Additional members can join with the consent of all current members. Parties that ratified the Creation Agreement before the adoption of the Charter are considered to be "Founding states", but not members. In light of Russia's support for the independence of occupied regions within Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine as well as its violation of
10458-603: The coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security, including cross-border crime prevention. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, Belarus , Russia , and Ukraine signed the Belovezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring that the Union had effectively ceased to exist and proclaimed the CIS in its place. On 21 December, the Alma-Ata Protocol was signed. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania chose not to participate. Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008 following
10584-639: The country had signed with the CIS, as his country aims to join the European Union. On 15 May 2023, the President of the Parliament of Moldova , Igor Grosu , stated the country will withdraw from the agreement establishing the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly; he argued that being in the CIS "did not protect the Republic of Moldova from energy blackmail in the middle of winter, from threats and official statements hostile to
10710-550: The country's declining faith in the confederation's ability to maintain internal stability in light of the Colour Revolutions . The Verkhovna Rada never ratified the agreement on membership of the CIS in accordance with the CIS Charter so Ukraine never became a member. Ukraine did not apply to become an Associate member, nor was it granted by the Council of Heads of States, accordingly Ukraine remained just
10836-774: The days of the Russian Empire , and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", as Russia or the Russian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—the Great , Little , and White . This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, that they were variants of the Russian people. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,
10962-634: The establishment of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1920, the term Byelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was only used officially. In 1936, with the proclamation of the 1936 Soviet Constitution , the republic was renamed to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In English, it was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . On 19 September 1991
11088-642: The first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia , Yakov Gamarnik , was a Jew. Yet, the titular nation of the SSRB were the Belarusians , which made up 82% of the rural population, but less than half of the urban one (40.1%). The Belarusian national sentiment was a lot weaker than that of neighbouring Ukraine, this was greatly exploited by the Bolshevik-Polish power struggle in the Polish–Soviet War . (In fact to avoid being annexed to Poland, at
11214-458: The front moved west, and more Belarusian lands were adjoined to the new republic, the first administrative decrees were issued. The entity was divided into seven uyezds : Bobruysk , Borisov , Igumen , Minsk, Mozyr and Slutsk . (Vitebsk, Gomel and Mogilev remained part of the RSFSR.) This time the leaders were Aleksandr Chervyakov (head of Minsk's milrevcom) and Wilhelm Knorin (as chairmen of
11340-649: The increasingly ineffective Russian Provisional Government . The momentum picked up after the incompetent actions of the 10th Army during the ill-fated Kerensky offensive during the summer. Representatives of Belarusian regions and of different (mostly left-wing) newly established political powers, including the Belarusian Socialist Assembly , the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Bund , formed
11466-573: The independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova". As part of the process to severing connections with the CIS, in July 2023 Moldova passed a law on denunciation of the agreement on Moldova's membership in the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries. 70 agreements were denounced by October 2023, from the total of around 282 signed by Moldova. In December 2023, Moldova announced its intention to withdraw from
11592-688: The latter half of 1919, the Red Army successfully defeated Denikin in the south, taking over the Don, North Caucasus and eastern Ukraine, and pushed Kolchak from the Volga, beyond the Ural mountains into Siberia . In the autumn of 1919, Nikolai Yudenich 's advance on Petrograd was checked, whilst in the far north the Evgeny Miller 's army was pushed into the Arctic. On the diplomatic front, on 11 September 1919,
11718-517: The major cities, where the local soviets followed Bolshevik leadership. The Russo-German front in Belarus remained static since 1915 and formal negotiations began only on 19 November (2 December N.S.), when the Soviet delegation traveled to the German-occupied city of Brest-Litovsk . A cease-fire was quickly agreed and proper peace negotiations began in December. However, the German party soon went back on its word and took full advantage of
11844-576: The militias. On 14 February, the first clash between regular armies took place and a front emerged. The operations in Lithuania brought the front close to East Prussia , and the German units that had withdrawn there began to assist the Lithuanian forces to defeat the Soviets; they repelled the Red offensive against Kaunas in February 1919. Eager to win support, the Bolshevik government decided to merge
11970-627: The national legislatures in the CIS (as well as recommendations) for their use in the preparation of new laws and amendments to existing legislation. More than 130 documents have been adopted that ensure the convergence of laws in the CIS at the level of national legislation. The Assembly is actively involved in the development of integration processes in the CIS and also sends observers to the national elections. The Assembly held its 32nd Plenary meeting in Saint Petersburg on 14 May 2009. Between 2003 and 2005, three CIS member states experienced
12096-642: The national policies. The republic initially had four official languages: Belarusian , Russian, Yiddish , and Polish , despite the fact that the Russians and the Poles made up only around 2% of the total population (most of the latter lived next to the state border in the Minsk and Borisov districts). The most important minority was the Jewish population of Belarus , which had a long history of targeted oppression under
12222-491: The neutrality of Lithuania (though the peace treaty was still being negotiated), on 6 June the exiled government of Litbel was disbanded. Within a few days, the 3rd Cavalry Corps under command of Hayk Bzhishkyan broke the Polish front, causing a collapse and a retreat. On 11 July Minsk was re-taken, and on 31 July 1920 once again the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belorussia was re-established in Minsk. As
12348-454: The new organization would be open to all republics of the former Soviet Union and to other nations sharing the same goals. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the Soviet Union. On 21 December 1991, the leaders of eight additional former Soviet Republics ( Armenia , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ) signed
12474-593: The office on 8 May 2018 following the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan . The office of prime minister was first established in 1918 with the foundation of the First Republic of Armenia . The prime minister chosen by the National Council of Armenia and was accountable for international, domestic and regional issues. The first Prime Minister became Hovhannes Katchaznouni whose cabinet was made up from five members, all of which were from ARF. In addition,
12600-552: The one in Ukraine, which benefitted the communists. The communist underground were directed by the party's Northwestern Regional Committee in Smolensk, which aimed for an alliance with the peasantry. On 11 September 1918, the Revolutionary Military Council ordered the creation of the Western Defence region in the Western Oblast out of Curtain forces which were stationed there. Simultaneously
12726-490: The party's Central Committee . Moreover, the weak national sentiment of the Belarusian people would easily have allowed SSRB to be disbanded and annexed to the RSFSR, unlike for example Ukraine. On the other hand, the region's strategic role decided its fate, as a full Union republic within the negotiations upon forming the future state. For one Leon Trotsky and his supporters within the Soviet leadership still supported its World Revolution concept, and as said above, viewed
12852-482: The peak of Soviet repressions in Belarus . According to incomplete calculations, about 600,000 people fell victim to Soviet repressions in Belarus between 1917 and 1953. Other estimates put the number at higher than 1.4 million persons., of which 250,000 were sentenced by judicial or executed by extrajudicial bodies ( dvoikas , troikas , special commissions of the OGPU , NKVD , MGB ). Excluding those sentenced in
12978-510: The prospect of leaving the CIS, although at the end of May President Maia Sandu had said the country would not leave for the time being. An August 2021 poll conducted in Moldova (prior to the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine ) found that 48.1% of respondents supported Moldova's withdrawal from the CIS. On 30 November 2022, Popescu stated that Moldova will suspend its participation in CIS meetings, and on 23 February 2023 stated that Moldova has started withdrawing from multiple treaties that
13104-529: The republic adopted its new Constitution , bringing its laws in tie with those of the USSR and changing the name from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The head of government (chairman of the Soviet of People's Commissars) was by now then newly appointed Nikolay Goloded , whilst Vilhelm Knorin remained the first secretary of the Communist Party. The 1930s marked
13230-427: The republics were also combined. The republic was headed by Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas and the combined party was headed by nationalist Zmicier Zhylunovich . However, the Belarusian nationalists disapproved that the republic was being expanded, and Zhylunovich resigned shortly after, followed by other nationalists. In March 1919, Polish units opened an offensive: forces under General Stanisław Szeptycki captured
13356-598: The respective states that were establishing themselves. In the Kresy ("borderland") areas of Lithuania, Belarus and western Ukraine, self-organized militias, the Samoobrona Litwy i Białorusi numbering approximately 2,000 soldiers under General Wejtko, began to fight against the local communist and advancing Bolshevik forces. Each side was trying to secure the territories for its own government. The newly formed Polish Army began sending its organised units to reinforce
13482-472: The situation of human rights in other CIS member states. The Commonwealth of Independent States continues to face serious challenges in meeting even basic international standards. The CIS Charter establishes the Council of Ministers of Defence , which is vested with the task of coordinating military cooperation of the CIS member states who wish to participate. In May 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to
13608-634: The situation, and the Bolsheviks' demand of a treaty "without annexations or indemnities" was unacceptable to the Central Powers , and on 18 February, hostilities resumed. The German Operation Faustschlag was of immediate success, and within 11 days, they were able to make a serious advance eastward, taking over Ukraine, the Baltic region, and occupying eastern Belarus. This forced the Obliskomzap to evacuate to Smolensk . The Smolensk Governorate
13734-452: The spring of 1918, the Germans disapproved of the socialist inclinations of the nationalists in the Belarusian government and forced a change in leadership of the puppet government; however, the Germans were also displeased with him and removed him. As a result, the Germans permitted the government less jurisdiction compared to the one in Ukraine. An increase in repression by the Germans also led to an agrarian revolt, although not as violent as
13860-557: The term Belaya Rus' , i.e., White Rus' . There are several claims to the origin of the name White Rus'. An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by early Christianized Slavs , as opposed to Black Ruthenia , which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts. The latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я ( Russia ), first rose in
13986-469: The term "White Russia" caused some confusion as it became the name of the so-called White military force that opposed the Red Bolsheviks. During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term Byelorussia was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus , under Polish control until World War II, Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno . Upon
14112-649: The town, and for nearly a month the Slutsk partisans resisted Soviet attempts to re-gain control of the area. Eventually the Red Army had to mobilise two divisions to overcome the resistance, when the last units of Slutsk militia crossed the Moroch River and interned by the Polish border guards. In February 1921, the delegations of the Second Polish Republic and the Russian SFSR finally signed
14238-582: The world's poorest human rights records. Many activists point to examples such as the 2005 Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan to show that there has been almost no improvement in human rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. The consolidation of power by President Vladimir Putin has resulted in a steady decline in the modest progress of previous years in Russia. In turn, this has led to little to no scrutiny by Russia when it comes to
14364-534: Was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and afterwards as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR from 1922 to 1991, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia . It was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . Following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, which ended Russia's involvement in World War I ,
14490-547: Was abolished. Instead, "the CIS Council of Defence Ministers created a CIS Military Cooperation Coordination Headquarters (MCCH) in Moscow, with 50 percent of the funding provided by Russia." General Viktor Samsonov was appointed as Chief of Staff. The headquarters has now moved to 101000, Москва, Сверчков переулок, 3/2. An important manifestation of integration processes in the area of military and defence collaboration of
14616-485: Was food industry followed by metal and wood working combines. A lot more was centred in local and private sector, as allowed by the New Economic Policy of the USSR, in 1925 these number 38.5 thousand who employed almost 50 thousand people. Most being textile workshops and lumber yards and blacksmiths. On 6 December 1926, the SSRB was once again enlarged, in order to make the republic prosperous and continue
14742-445: Was incoming, and offered to accept the current frontline as a permanent border between Poland and Russia, which would include nearly all of Belarus going to Poland. However, Piłsudski had greater ambitions, and he also made an agreement with Symon Petliura in Ukraine to exchange Galicia in return for a promise to force out communists in right-bank Ukraine. In April 1920, Poland initiated its major offensive on Kiev, which although
14868-462: Was initially successful, ended in a Polish defeat. The Soviet Red Army was much more organised than it was a year earlier, and though Polish troops managed to make several gains in Ukraine, notably the capture of Kiev , in Byelorussia, both of its offensives towards Zhlobin and Orsha were thrown back in May. In June, the RSFSR was finally ready to open its major Western advance. To preserve
14994-509: Was moved to Minsk. Aleksandr Myasnikyan emerged as head of the All-Byelorussian Central Executive Committee and Zmicier Zhylunovich as head of the provisional government. The new Soviet republic initially consisted of seven districts: Baranovichi , Vitebsk , Gomel , Grodno , Mogilev and Smolensk . On 30 January, the republic announced its separation from the Russian SFSR and renaming as
15120-484: Was not a member. Ukraine has never applied for, or been granted, Associate member status. Following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in February 2014, relations between Ukraine and Russia deteriorated, leading Ukraine to consider ending its participation in the CIS. As Ukraine never ratified the Charter, it could cease its informal participation in the CIS. However, to fully terminate its relationship with
15246-722: Was occupied by Nazi Germany. A large part of the territory of Belarus became the General District Belarus within the Reichskommissariat Ostland . Nazi Germany imposed a brutal regime, deporting some 380,000 people for slave labour , and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. 800,000 Belarusian Jews (about 90 percent of the Jewish population) were killed during the Holocaust . At least 5,295 Belarusian settlements were destroyed by
15372-609: Was one of several Soviet republics occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II . Towards the final years of the Soviet Union's existence, the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty in 1990. On 25 August 1991, the Byelorussian SSR declared independence, and on 19 September it was renamed the Republic of Belarus . The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991. The term Byelorussia (Russian: Белору́ссия ), derives from
15498-415: Was one of the states which ratified the Creation Agreement in December 1991, making it a Founding State of the CIS, it chose not to ratify the CIS Charter as it disagrees with Russia being the only legal successor state to the Soviet Union. Thus it has never been a full member of the CIS. However, Ukraine had kept participating in the CIS, with the consent of the Council of Heads of States, even though it
15624-405: Was passed to the Western Oblast. At the end of February, the Germans entered Minsk, which the Soviet authorities had already cleared a few days prior. Faced with the German demands, the Bolsheviks accepted their terms at the final Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , which was signed on 3 March 1918. For the German Empire, Operation Faustschlag achieved one of their strategic plans for World War I, to create
15750-402: Was split into ten okrugs : Bobruysk , Borisov , Vitebsk , Kalinin , Minsk , Mogilev , Mozyr , Orsha , Polotsk and Slutsk ; all of which contained a total of 100 raions and 1,229 selsoviets . Only 25 towns and cities and an additional 49 urban settlements. Trotsky's plan for the SSRB to act as a future magnet for the minorities in the Second Polish Republic is clearly evidenced in
15876-437: Was the Council of Ministers. The Council consisted of the following positions: When Armenia regained its independence in 1991, the office of prime minister was reintroduced. Under the new 2015 constitution, the prime minister is the most powerful and influential person in Armenian politics. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Armenia upon the vote of the National Assembly . The prime minister can be removed by
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