List of rulers of Belarus

Belarusian statehood can be traced to the medieval Principality of Polotsk. From the 13th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which later evolved into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 19th century, the territories of present-day Belarus together with Lithuania formed the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century, the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed, and in 1922, the Byelorussian SSR was a founding member of the Soviet Union. West Belarus remained under Polish rule until 1939 when it was annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1991, Belarus declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Pre-Rurikid rulers

Non-dynastic

* Vespasius
* Ragvalod I (? - 980)

Rurikid Belarus

In 978, with the marriage of Rogneda, daughter of Ragvalod, with Vladimir I of Kiev, the Principality of Polotsk became property of the Rurik dynasty. It was ruled by the Rurikids until 1243, when the Lithuanian duke Tautvilas, the son-in-law of Bryachislav III Vasilkovich, became its ruler in 1243, thus the duchy became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The King of Lithuania Mindaugas soon got angry with Tautvilas and drove him away, which caused an uprising. However, after the reconciliation of Tautvilas and Mindaugas in 1253, Tautvilas ruled Polotsk until 1263, when he was assassinated. From 1263, the Duchy of Polotsk was ruled by , the Duke of Nalšia, until 1267, when he was also assassinated. It is not known who ruled Polotsk after Gerdenis' death. It might have been Iziaslav, the Duke of Vitebsk. At the end of the 13th century, Tautvilas' son Konstantinas Tautvilaitis established himself on the throne of Polotsk. As he had no heirs, he left Polotsk to the Archbishop of Riga after his death. However, the local population experienced a lot of dissatisfaction with the new rule and therefore they turned to Duke Vytenis for help to fight the Teutonic Ordren. In 1307 Polotsk Principality finally united with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Between 978 and 1101, the Principality of Polotsk's domain was uncontested in the majority of the Belarusian territory. Polotsk possibly reached the peak of its influence with the access of Vseslav the Seer to the Kievan throne, but at the death of the latter Polotsk was split in three smaller principalities: a smaller Polotsk, the Principality of Minsk and the Principality of Vitebsk.

Rurik Dynasty

The Rurikids were descendants of Rurik (''Hrørekr''), a Varangian pagan konung or chieftain, who supposedly was of haplogroup N1c1, which is common among Finnic peoples and not so rare in Baltic region.DNA Testing of the Rurikid and Gediminid Princes
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Decline of the Principality of Polotsk

On the death of Vseslav the Seer, the Principality was divided between his sons and descendants, in three major principalities:

Rurik Dynasty

(Note:The list follows one single numbering for all principalities, and continues the previous table.)

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Title: Grand Duke (, , or ''Didysis Kunigaikštis'')

Early Lithuanian rulers (1248–1316)

Gediminid dynasty (1285–1440)

Jagiellonian dynasty (1440–1569)

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)

Belarusian People's Republic (1918–1920)

Presidents of the Rada of the Republic

Presidents of the Rada in Exile (1920–present)

Soviet Belarus (1919–1991)

Heads of state

Leaders of the Byelorussian Communist Party

Republic of Belarus (1991–present)

As an aftermath of the August 1991 failed coup d'état in Moscow Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR proclaimed the Declaration of Sovereignty a constitutional law on August 25 1991, making the republic de facto independent from the Soviet Union. The official name of the state was changed to the Republic of Belarus on September 19 1991 and on December 8 1991 it became one of the parties to sign the Belovezha Accords that effectively disestablished the USSR. On March 15 1994 a new constitution, which introduced the office of President of Belarus, was adopted.

As of 2022, there were 2 living former National Leaders of Belarus: Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (as acting Chairman of the Supreme Council) and Myechyslaw Hryb (as acting Chairman of the Supreme Council)

The most recent death of a former National Leaders of Belarus was Stanislav Shushkevich (served from 1991 to 1994), on 3 May 2022, aged 87.

See also

*List of national leaders of Belarus
*President of Belarus
*Prime Minister of Belarus

Notes

References

*{{cite web
, url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Belarus.html
, work=worldstatesmen.org
, title=Rulers of Belarus
, accessdate=2006-03-21

External links

Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania


Belarusian
Rulers
Rulers