The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in the late 1980s and 1990s whose goals were national revival of Belarus, its democratization and independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Its leader was Zianon Pazniak. It was similar to the Popular Fronts of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, and the

Sąjūdis The Sąjūdis (, ), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first oppositi ...

movement in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Creation

The predecessor of the BPF was the civic organization "", whose goal was to commemorate the victims of Soviet political repressions in Belarus. Among the significant achievements of the organization was the 1988 uncovering by Pazniak of the burial site of

Kurapaty Kurapaty (, ) is a wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, where a vast number of people were executed between 1937 and 1941 during the Great Purge by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD and in particular, during the Soviet repressions i ...

near

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, a major

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

mass extermination site of Soviet political prisoners in the 1930s. The Belarusian Popular Front was established in 1989, following the examples of the Popular Fronts in the Baltic states. Its founding conference had to be organized in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

because of pressure from the authorities of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

. Initially, the Popular Front united numerous minor organizations promoting the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

and history. However, soon the movement began voicing political demands, supporting the

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

and democratization in the

which would enable a Belarusian national revival. The Popular Front was the first political organization in Belarus to openly oppose the

Communist Party of Byelorussia Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, ...

. The prominent Belarusian writer Vasil Bykaŭ became an active member of the Belarusian Popular Front. Writer Aleś Adamovič was an active supporter of the Popular Front. The Front had about 10 thousand activists in different regions of Belarus as well as in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. It published a newspaper, Навіны БНФ "Адраджэньне" (''News of the Belarusian Popular Front "Revival"''). The Belarusian Popular Front actively protested against Soviet policies following the

Chernobyl accident On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

, after which a large territory of Belarus was contaminated by nuclear fallout.

In the parliament of Belarus

In May 1990, 37 members of the Belarusian Popular Front were elected into the 12th Belarusian Supreme Council and formed a dynamic opposition group in the parliament of the then Soviet-controlled

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

. In July 1990, the Belarusian Popular Front initiated the passing of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In August 1991, following the

1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup attempt, also known as the August Coup, was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to Coup d'état, forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was President ...

and supported by tens of thousands of protesters outside the parliament building, the Belarusian Popular Front managed to convince the Supreme Soviet to declare full independence of Belarus from the USSR. The historical Belarusian national symbols: the white-red-white flag and the '' Pahonia''

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

were restored as state symbols of Belarus. Kurapaty 1989 meeting

Opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko

In 1994,

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

was elected president of Belarus. From the very beginning, the Belarusian Popular Front became one of the main political forces opposing president Lukashenko. In 1994 the BPF formed a shadow cabinet consisting of 100 BPF intellectuals. In 1995, members of parliament from the Belarusian Popular Front went on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

as a protest against Lukashenko's controversial

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to replace state symbols with slightly amended Soviet ones and to make

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

official in Belarus. The hunger strike was violently interrupted by police forces who beat up the members of parliament. In 1996, the Belarusian Popular Front was one of the main powers behind mass protests against Lukashenko's policies of

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

and integration with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, as well as against his second controversial

amending the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

in a way to concentrate power in the president's hands. The protests were violently dispersed by the police. Two leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front, Zianon Pazniak and Siarhiej Navumčyk, fled the country and received political asylum in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Split

In 1999, the Belarusian Popular Front split into two rival organizations. Its conservative wing under the exiled leader Zianon Pazniak formed the Conservative Christian Party – BPF (Kanservatyŭna-Chryścijanskaja Partyja BNF), while the moderate majority formed the

BPF Party The BPF Party (; ) is a banned political party in Belarus. It was ''de facto'' established after the split of the social movement Belarusian Popular Front ( abbr. BPF; , ) in 1999. The Belarusian Popular Front was founded during the Perestroika ...

(Partyja BNF, Партыя БНФ) led by

Vincuk Viačorka Valancin Ryhoravič Viačorka (, , ; born 7 July 1961) is a Belarusian linguist, politician and former leader (1999–2007) of the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), a Belarusian opposition party. Early life and education Vincuk Viačorka was ...

. Both parties claim to be the only legitimate successor of the Belarusian Popular Front established in 1989. The Malady Front, formerly the Popular Front's youth wing, has also become an autonomous organization. In 2011, following an internal conflict, more than 90 further members left

, including several veterans of the original Belarusian Popular Front, including Lavon Barščevski, Jury Chadyka,

. This was described by some as a "second split" of the Belarusian Popular Front. Formally, the Belarusian Popular Front continued to exist as an NGO affiliated with the

. In 2023 the BPF Party as well as the Conservative Christian Party – BPF were both liquidated by the Supreme Court of Belarus.За 6 месяцаў 2023 году паводле «пратэставых» артыкулаў асудзілі 29 непаўналетніх. Рэпрэсіі ў Беларусі ў лічбах
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Notable former members

* Vasil Bykaŭ, writer, Nobel prize nominee * Ryhor Baradulin, poet and writer, Nobel prize nominee * Siarhiej Navumčyk, vice president of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile * Aleś Bialacki, human rights activist and political prisoner * Piatro Sadoŭski, Belarus' first ambassador to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Pavał Sieviaryniec, Christian Democratic politician and political prisoner * Jaŭhien Kulik, graphic designer, author of the Coat of arms of Belarus adopted in 1991 * Uładzimier Arłoŭ, writer * Jaŭhien Šatochin, artist

References

External links

The Belarusian Popular Front in 1988—1996: photo and video

НАРОДНЫ ФРОНТ. Фотагісторыя змаганьня і перамогі
(The People's Front. Photo-history of struggle and victory) {{Authority control 1989 establishments in the Soviet Union Political history of Belarus Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Anti-communism in Belarus Independence movements Dissolution of the Soviet Union Popular fronts in the Soviet Union Belarusian independence movement Political parties established in 1989 Political parties in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic