The Ministry for Belarusian Affairs () was a short-lived interwar Lithuanian ministry. It was established in December 1918 to gain support of Belarusians in international negotiations over the borders of the newly independent

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 ...

. However, the Lithuanian government did not support Belarusian autonomy and the ministry effectively competed with the

Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic The Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic (, ) was the governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has been in exile where it has preserved its existence among the Belarusian diaspora as an advocacy group ...

. Activities of the ministry were limited to publication of several books and two periodicals and other cultural work. The ministry was officially closed in January 1924. According to the Lithuanian President

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...

, following a successful recapture of the Lithuanian capital

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 ...

, which was previously annexed by Poland, the

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

planned to expand further into the Belarusian territories (the former lands of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

) and considered granting an autonomy to the Belarusian territories, as requested by the Belarusian side, therefore had kept the Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs in force, moreover, in 1924 Smetona noted that there were a lot of pro-Lithuanian sympathies among the Belarusians and criticized the closing of the ministry. The ministry used the

coat of arms of Lithuania The coat of arms of Lithuania features an armoured knight on horseback, wielding a sword and carrying a shield with a Jagiellonian cross. This emblem is known as ''Vytis'' (). Since the early 15th century, it has served as the official coat of ...

, including in its official correspondence.

History

This ministry was established as a result of negotiations between leaders of the

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

and the

Council of Lithuania In the history of Lithuania, the Council of Lithuania (; ; ), after July 11, 1918, the State Council of Lithuania () was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between 18 and 23 September 1917. The twenty men who composed the c ...

in November–December 1918. Lithuanians wanted to secure Belarusian support in the upcoming

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

over the borders of the new Lithuanian State. For the same reason, there was a Ministry for Jewish Affairs. As a result of the negotiations, six Belarusians were co-opted into the council on 27 November and the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was established on 9 December.

Jazep Varonka Jazep Jakaŭlevič Varonka (4 April 1891 – 4 June 1952) was the first Chairman of the People's Secretariat (i.e. head of government) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic from 21 February to May 1918. Biography Varonka was born in Sokółk ...

became the first

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. When Vilnius was captured in December 1918 by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

at the outbreak of the

Lithuanian–Soviet War The Lithuanian–Soviet War or Lithuanian–Bolshevik War () was fought between newly independent Lithuania and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the aftermath of World War I. It was part of the larger Soviet westward offensiv ...

, the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs evacuated to

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

while other Lithuanian government institutions evacuated to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. The ministry moved to Kaunas in spring 1919 when Grodno was captured during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

. By spring 1919, Belarusian leaders became disillusioned with Lithuanian support. Belarusian Prime Minister

Anton Luckievich Anton Ivanavič Luckievič (, , ; 29 January 1884 – 23 March 1942) was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century, an initiator of the proclamation of the independence of Belarus, the Prime Minister and t ...

sent

Pyotra Krecheuski Pyotra Krecheuski (, Łacinka: Piotra Krečeŭski, ; August 7, 1879 – March 8, 1928, Prague) was a Belarusian statesman and president of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile. Before the First World War he worked as a teache ...

to negotiate with Lithuania regarding the liquidation of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs and establishment of a diplomatic mission of the Belarusian People's Republic in Kaunas. Negotiations failed and Varonka remained minister. In late 1919, the Lithuanian government decided to reign in ministry's contacts with foreign powers, specifically the

West Russian Volunteer Army The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German White Russian military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War from November 1918 to December 1919. History The , unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army ...

and the Belarusian People's Republic. Several Belarusian couriers travelling from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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 ...

were arrested and Varonka resigned in protest on 3 January 1920. Government inspectors found no irregularities at the ministry and the couriers were soon released, but the ministry was essentially inactive from February to June 1920 when the new minister

Dominik Semashko Dominik Semashko (, ; 16 August 1878 – 27 November 1932) was a Belarusian activist. In the 1890s, he joined the Polish Socialist Party and other socialist groups advocating workers' rights. The police forced him to flee to Switzerland where he ...

was appointed. He did not support Belarusian autonomy and thus was largely isolated from the community. After Lithuania lost its capital Vilnius to the

Żeligowski's Mutiny Żeligowski's Mutiny (, also , ) was a Polish false flag operation led by General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuania. Józef Piłsudski, the Chief of State of Poland, surreptit ...

, the

signed a partnership treaty with Lithuania on 11 November 1920 and relocated to Kaunas. That brought two centres of Belarusians activities to Kaunas but they were not inclined to cooperate. Their competencies were divided: the ministry was in charge of Belarusian affairs inside the Lithuanian borders up to the demarcation line with Poland, while the Rada was in charge in

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...

(i.e. between the demarcation line and the border drawn by the

Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty, also known as the Moscow Peace Treaty, was signed between Lithuania and Soviet Russia on July 12, 1920. In exchange for Lithuania's neutrality and permission to move its troops in the territory that was rec ...

). That pushed the ministry into a secondary role as the Lithuanians cared more about the support Belarusians could provide in their territorial conflict with Poland over the Vilnius Region. Semashko resigned in February 1923 when a new cabinet was sworn in. Lithuanians could not find a suitable replacement and Prime Minister

Ernestas Galvanauskas Ernestas Galvanauskas (20 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Lithuanian engineer, politician and one of the founders of the Peasant Union (which later merged with the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union). He also served twice as Prime Min ...

also became acting Minister for Belarusian Affairs in the 8th cabinet that was appointed in June 1923. The last employees of the ministry were dismissed on 31 December 1923. The Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was officially liquidated on 19 January 1924. Its Jewish counterpart followed suit a couple of months later.

Activities

Belarusians envisioned Lithuania that would include territories of the former

Vilna 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 ...

and

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

s and where Belarusians would be treated not as an ethnic minority but as an equal. To that end, they sought

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

in Belarusian-inhabited areas. The Lithuanian government did not support such aspirations and limited the activities of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs. In January 1919,

presented a plan for the ministry's functions that included education and social support. However, the government approved only seven out of 20 activities and provided funding of 28,400

German Papiermark The Papiermark (; 'paper mark') was a derisive term for the Mark (sign: ℳ︁) after it went off the gold standard, and most specifically with the era of hyperinflation in Germany of 1922 and 1923. Formally, the same German mark was used fro ...

s out of the requested 197,300. Thus, the ministry carried out mostly representative functions. Varonka sent notes to Germany and the

Entente Powers The Allies or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...

protesting Polish and Soviet military actions in Belarusian-inhabited areas and met with American and French military attachés. The formation of Belarusian military units within the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

was supported by minister Varonka, who, for example, on 3 February 1919 addressed the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania and presented his proposals regarding the formation of Belarusian military units. From September 1919 to February 1920, the ministry published illustrated Belarusian-language Journal of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs () which wrote on activities of the Lithuanian government, culture and education of Belarusians, biographies of prominent activists. The ministry published weekly two-page Belarusian newsletter ''Pahonia'' (which is the Belarusian name for the Lithuanian coat of arms) from July to October 1920. Its circulation was 2,000 copies. The newsletter reported on military actions and other news from Belarusian territories. The ministry also published several Belarusian language books, including two collections of poems by

Francišak Bahuševič Francišak Bahuševič (; ; – ) was a Belarusian poet, writer and lawyer, considered to be one of the initiators of modern Belarusian literature. Origins Francišak Bahuševič was born in the folwark of Świrany, near Vilnius (now ...

, translated fairy-tales by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a te ...

Jan Stankievič Jan Stankievič (26 November 1891 – 16 July 1976, known by the diminutive Janka) was a Belarusian politician, linguist, and historian. Biography Jan Stankievič was born in the village Arlianiaty near Ashmyany. During World War I, Stankiev ...

, several books by

Vaclau Lastouski Vatslaw Yustynavich Lastowski (, , ; 8 November 1883 – 23 January 1938) was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century and the Prime Minister of the Belarusian Democratic Republic from 1919 to 1923, as w ...

. After the resignation of Semashko,

Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski Klawdziy Stsyapanavich Duzh-Dushewski (, , ; 27 March 1891 – 25 February 1959) was a Belarusian civil engineer, architect, diplomat and journalist. He is believed to be the creator of the national flag of Belarus in 1917. Life Duzh-Du ...

continued cultural activities of the ministry and organized a six-week training on Lithuanian and Belarusian languages. When the ministry was closed, the publication of Belarusian books was taken over by Lastouski and Duzh-Dushewski.

Ministers

List of ministers: *

from 9 December 1918 to 3 January 1920 (resigned) *

from 19 June 1920 to 1 August 1922, continued as acting minister until 22 February 1923 *

acting from 29 June 1923 to 19 January 1924 (at the same time also

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

)

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1918 establishments in Lithuania Ministries established in 1918 Ministries disestablished in 1924 Belarusian Affairs Political history of Lithuania History of Lithuania (1918–1940) Belarusian diaspora in Europe

History

Activities

Ministers

See also

References

Bibliography