Thousands of Belarusian volunteers have already fought for the independence of their Motherland since 1918. However, it was at the end of November 1920 that the first large-scale military operation of an independent formation of the Belarusian armed forces took place - the Slutsk uprising.

Prerequisites

The year 1920 ended. Poland, helped by thousands of Belarusians and Ukrainians, repulsed the offensive of the Bolshevik troops on Warsaw, returned the lost Polish territories and occupied a significant part of Belarus.

In Riga, on October 12, 1920, the Polish and Soviet delegations concluded a preliminary peace treaty, according to which the Polish chauvinists, supporters of unitarism and opponents of the federal line of Jozef Pilsudski, deliberately gave Central Belarus to the Bolsheviks in order to more conveniently assimilate Western Belarus.

“... Poland itself abandoned the eastern regions. The Belarusians will not understand us, because we ourselves ... without asking the Belarusians, divided their country. However, Grabsky, who was negotiating behind the shoulders of the delegation, came to the conclusion that Poland should once and for all be freed from this “Belarusian plague”,” the builder of the Red Church wrote indignantly. Edward Voinilovich.

Leaflet of Belarusian nationalists

The agreement aroused the indignation of the representatives of the Belarusian People's Republic, who adopted a resolution on October 20, 1920, it noted that "the RSFSR and Poland, having no common borders and ruthlessly devastating Belarus until now, fighting on its territory, now found it possible to decide the fate of the Belarusian peopleand dispose of its lands without the participation of its representatives, ignoring the just claims of the Belarusian people and its legitimate government, did not allow its competent delegation to participate in the negotiations.

Belarusian nationalists declared that the Treaty of Riga was not binding on the Belarusian people and called for "by all means and means to continue the struggle for the independent Belarusian People's Republic with all its enemies."

Homeland of heroes

Even before the First World War, Slutsk County was one of the main areas of activity of the Belarusian national movement.Belarusian communities and circles worked here, from here they sent delegates to the congress of Belarusian party and public organizations in 1917, from here representatives went to the First All-Belarusian Congress.

Organized Radoslav Ostrovsky in 1917 the Belarusian gymnasium in Slutsk.

“The pupils of this gymnasium in three years were selected young cadres for the Belarusian military movement,” the historian noted in his work “Soldiers of the BNR”. Oleg Latyshenok.

Members of Slutsk culturally - educational society"Paparats-kvetka". Slutsk, 1920

Even during the Bolshevik occupation in the spring of 1919, when the consolidated Slutsk battalion was formed in the city, Belarusian nationalists soon subdued it, in connection with which the Bolsheviks preferred to simply disband it.

In March 1919, an anti-Bolshevik peasant uprising exploded in Slutsk, which was suppressed. During the Polish occupation, the Belarusian Socialist-Revolutionaries, the main local political force, were preparing an anti-Polish uprising in Slutsk.

When the Soviets came in the summer of 1920 and refused to sign the declaration on the formation of the BSSR, the Belarusian Socialist Revolutionaries demanded a break in ties with Soviet Russia and the creation of a Belarusian army.

Polish troops again occupied Slutsk on October 11, 1920, and on October 18, when the fighting stopped, the front line passed 25 km east of the city. At the same time, the most anti-Bolshevik Belarusian nationalists returned to Slutsk, who worked closely with General Stanislav Bulak-Balakhovich.

The Riga peace agreement aroused the indignation of the majority of politically active Slutsk residents. Soviet Russia and Polish chauvinists divided Belarus.

Therefore, when the Slutsk Congress was held in mid-November, which was attended by more than 100 delegates from Slutsk and 15 volosts, the delegates decided to form the troops of the Belarusian People's Republic. The Rada of Slutsk, a permanent body of regional power, was elected.

The congress declared Sluchchina a part of the Belarusian People's Republic and decided to defend their land with weapons in their hands. Even supporters of negotiations with the Bolsheviks protested against their intention to occupy the Slutsk district and stated that Slutsk wanted to become part of an independent Belarus.

First. Slutskaya

The organization of the armed forces of the BNR in Slutsk was in charge: 31-year-old Pavel Zhavrid, who graduated from the Vilna Military School in 1917; captain Anastas Antsipovich and lieutenant Jan Matselya.

Thanks to their work, including during the Polish occupation, the First Slutsk Brigade of the BPR troops arose. Already on November 22, the 1st regiment appeared in the brigade - Slutsky, the formation of the 2nd regiment - Grozovsky began.

Anastas Antipovich became the brigade commander, Captain Pyotr Chaika was appointed commander of the 1st regiment, Captain Lukasz Semenik. The main part of the officer corps were local residents with the experience of the First World War.

Slutsk women wove the flag of the 1st Slutsk regiment of archers

According to Polish intelligence reports, the Belarusian regiments had 3 battalions, each of which had three companies, writes Oleg Latyshenok. There were also to be two reserve regiments. Belarusian sources do not mention reserve regiments, but they report a different composition of combat regiments - for example, the 1st Slutsk Regiment of Streltsy, according to this information, consisted of 4 battalions.

Also, the brigade had a separate cavalry detachment: even during the dominance of machine guns and rapid-fire artillery, cavalry units could be very useful due to their mobility, although they were usually used in battle as infantry. They were also indispensable for reconnaissance.

The counterintelligence of the Belarusian brigade was headed by a lieutenant Anton Mironovich.

The brigade also had its own military school under the command of lieutenant Fedor Danilyuk, a field hospital, a military court, camps and an armory were established.

The total strength of the brigade reached 4,000 people, most of them were Slutsk residents, but also partisans and defectors from the Bolsheviks from the neighboring Bobruisk district. With a lack of uniforms, the characteristic clothing of a soldier was a home-sewn uniform made of homespun cloth: a French jacket and breeches, as well as a hat with earflaps made of hare fur.

Weapons were good enough if for half of all volunteers. The newly born brigade could not defend Slutsk, however, one could try to get stuck in the 15-kilometer neutral zone between the Bolsheviks and the Poles.

To battle!

The Rada of Slutsk and the headquarters of the 1st Slutsk brigade retreated from the capital of the region and stopped at Semezhevo, continuing the work of creating an army.

The affairs of the military press were handled by the Belarusian officer Makar Kostevich - the author of the poem "We will go out in close ranks", which was set to the music of Vladimir Teravsky and in this form became the anthem of the BPR. Appeals were issued to citizens, peasants, Red Army soldiers, leaflets with Maxim Bogdanovich's poem "Pursuit" and the hymn "From time immemorial we have been sleeping".

Makar Kostevich (pseudonym Makar Kravtsov), died in Bolshevik captivity in 1939

The first battle was fought by the soldiers of the Slutsk brigade on November 27 - the day and this day is deservedly celebrated to this day as the day of the Slutsk uprising.

The department of the 6th company of the Slutsk regiment of archers, led by lieutenant Kernozhitsky, during reconnaissance in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe villages of Bystritsa, Veremeychiki, Vasilchitsy and Chernogubovo, collided with the Soviet military department. Slutsk residents captured a prisoner. Another battle took place near Vasilchitsy. One Belarusian was wounded, the Bolsheviks lost three killed, three wounded, one captured and were forced to retreat.

The fighting quickly flared up along the entire front occupied by the Belarusian brigade.

5th company of the Slutsk Regiment, led by Lieutenant Klishevich occupied the villages of Lyutovichi and Dashnovo, and captured 5 enemy soldiers. The 7th and 8th companies fought with the Bolsheviks for the village of Mokhnevichi. On November 30, battles were fought in the Uzhitsy area in the Bobruisk district.

The Slutsk regiment occupied the front from Semezhevo to Vyzna. The Grozovsky regiment fought on the line from Vyzna to Kopyl.

On the first day of the fighting, the betrayal of the commander of the 1st Slutsk Regiment, Captain Seagulls- a lieutenant colonel was appointed in his place Gavrilovich, and in place of the brigade commander Antsipovich, accused by the Socialist-Revolutionaries of an inappropriate political line, - captain Anton Sokol-Kutylovsky.

In the first days of December, the Bolshevik authorities decided to conduct a large-scale military operation against the residents of Slutsk - this was done by the headquarters of the 16th Soviet army with the forces of the 8th and 17th rifle divisions, as well as special units of the Chekists.

The Belarusians resisted fiercely, but the Soviet units, thanks to the support of artillery, had overwhelming firepower. In addition, the Belarusian brigade had limited ammunition supplies and quickly ran out of ammunition. There was not enough food and medicine for the wounded and sick with typhus.

On December 6, a battle took place near Yadchitsy, in which the Belarusians had to retreat. The next day, Belarusian troops left Semezhevo.

However, the battles with the Bolsheviks continued. On December 10, the Slutsk people occupied the villages of Novoselki and Krivoselki, in the night battle from December 11 to 12 they took the village of Starino, the next night they recaptured Semezhevo, where they captured a large amount of ammunition.

However, the fire and numerical superiority of the Bolsheviks forced the Belarusian soldiers to retreat again. From December 17 to 18, the Belarusians again recaptured Semezhevo, after - Vyzna, but could not gain a foothold, and once again lost their positions.

Only on December 28-31, the last 1,500 fighters of the Slutsk brigade crossed the Polish-Soviet border and laid down their arms.

Belarusian activists near the monument in Mittenwald in 2012. Photo svaboda.org

Heroes Day

“Slutsk soldiers in a short time managed to form combat units of the Belarusian army, which, inspired by love for the Fatherland, managed to unfavorable conditions to wage a difficult and intense struggle against a stronger enemy, ”wrote the historian, professor Anatoly Gritskevich.

11 years after the uprising, the first solemn celebrating it anniversaries. This tradition lives on to this day.

It was on November 27 that not separate small partisan and rebel detachments, not individual volunteers, but a whole military unit of a newborn independent Belarusian army launched an armed uprising for the independence of the motherland. This day became the day of the baptism of fire of the Belarusian regular army of modern times.

In 1948, the first monument to the participants of the Slutsk armed uprising was erected - this happened thanks to the efforts of Belarusian patriots in exile, near the German city of Mittennwald.

During the collapse of the USSR, when it again became possible to celebrate significant dates in national history, the anniversary of the uprising began to be celebrated in Belarus as well.

November 27 was named Heroes' Day - and although the uprising ended tragically, this day shines in history Belarusian army no less glory than the victorious battle of Orsha.

Alexander Gelogaev,

Organized by the local opposition Belarusian People's Front (BPF) rally dedicated to the so-called "Day of Heroes" in memory of the armed uprising in this city in 1920. Local nationalist groups have been celebrating this day since 1992, considering it one of the main symbols of how Belarusians have always defended their territory from Russian encroachment. "Lenta.ru" remembered what is behind the date of November 27, 1920 in the history of the republic.

Fight for independence

Today, there is no consensus among Belarusian historians about whether the Slutsk uprising was a real attempt to fight for the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic declared in 1918. This fact is due to the fact that for many years the topic of various kinds of rebellions in the early years of the formation of Soviet power on the territory of the former Russian Empire was, if not banned, then at least bypassed. This attitude towards one's own history, ultimately, gave rise to an ambiguous perception of the events of that period in the Slutsk district, ranging from a negative assessment to the exaltation of the heroes who staged the first independent armed uprising for the independence of the Belarusian lands in the framework of the "Belarusian-Russian war of 1920". At the same time, the events of those years are indeed ambiguous, which makes them the most suitable tool for creating new historical myths of modern Belarus.

In order to understand what actually happened then in Slutsk, it is necessary to remember that it was a period of serious upheavals that became the consequences of the First World War and the collapse of the Russian Empire. The civil war and the growth of banditry, the policy of “war communism” announced by the Bolsheviks in 1918, which saved the Red Army and the urban population from starvation, but put the peasant population on the brink of survival, foreign intervention - all this to one degree or another left its mark on the events in Slutsk district on the eve of the armed uprising. The picture was also complemented by the reigning confusion in the Belarusian national movement, in which there was no consensus on how and, most importantly, with whom the Belarusians should build their independence. However, perhaps the main reason for what happened in 1920 can be considered the Soviet-Polish war, the main events of which unfolded on the territory of modern Belarus.

It is known that Poland, which was reborn after the First World War, initially set itself the task of restoring its territories within the borders of the Commonwealth of 1772. Having begun military operations against Soviet Russia in February 1919, Polish troops quickly advanced deep into the former western regions of the former Russian Empire, where by that time the process of creating national states was already in full swing. On the territory that came under the control of the Poles, from the first days, a policy of Polonization began to be carried out, which caused an extremely negative reaction from both the local intelligentsia and the ordinary population. Moreover, the resistance at that time was led by local Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. It is interesting that the latter had little in common with the Russian Social Revolutionaries and led the nationalist wing of the resistance, the center of which in the Belarusian lands at that time was Slutsk. The Slutsk Committee of the Belarusian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries was formed here, which united the majority of supporters of the Belarusian People's Republic (BNR), declared back in 1918 with the assistance of the German occupation authorities. In fact, the Belarusian Socialist-Revolutionaries did not recognize either the Polish authorities or the Bolsheviks, and therefore it was they who had the idea to convene a congress in Slutsk, which would confirm the power of the BNR in the county.

Image: public domain

Congress and resolution

It must be understood that the county itself, like the city, at that time were actually on the front line, periodically moving from the Bolsheviks to the Poles and back. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that until the outbreak of hostilities in November-December 1920, the future leaders of the rebellion spoke out against the "occupation" by the Bolsheviks, but practically did not oppose the capture and occupation of the territory of western Belarus by the Poles. This fact only confirms the opinion widespread among Soviet historians that the Slutsk uprising only superficially looked like a “struggle for independence”, but in fact it was inspired by Poland and, ultimately, supported by it. The last straw for the local nationalist groups was the signing on October 12, 1920 of the preliminary peace treaty, according to which the new borders of the states were formalized. The demarcation line passed through the territory of modern Belarus in such a way that almost the entire Slutsk district had to go to the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), which was perceived by the local Social Revolutionaries as a sign to action.

Belarusian nationalists declared that the Treaty of Riga was not binding on the Belarusian people and called for "by all means and means to continue the struggle for the independent Belarusian People's Republic with all its enemies." At the same time, none of those who declared the struggle for independence had a clear plan of what to do. Opinions varied from calls for cooperation with the Bolsheviks to the need to ask Poland for help. When it became clear that the Polish troops would soon begin to withdraw, the nationalists stepped up their activities, realizing that they would not have a second chance. After the Poles transferred civil power in the city and district to the Belarusian National Committee of Slutsk in early November 1920, the white-red-white flags of the BNR were raised in it. It is noteworthy that, having formally not allowed the Belarusians to create army units, referring to the terms of the Riga Treaty, the Polish military authorities looked through their fingers at their formation.

On November 15, the beginning of the work of the Congress of the Slutsk district was announced, in which over 100 people took part. Considering who organized the congress, it was not surprising that a resolution was proclaimed at it, which declared the territory of the county a part of the BPR, protested against the “Bolshevik occupation” and welcomed “sister Poland”. It was also decided to form BNR troops here, and the Rada of Slutsk was elected - a permanent body of regional power, which immediately protested to the Polish government against the transfer of the Slutsk district to the Red Army. Trying to give significance to their activities, the Rada on November 21 issued a declaration that called on the peasantry to fight "for an independent Belarus within its ethnographic borders" and for "the interests of the peasantry." “The Belarusian Council of Slutsk, fulfilling the will of the peasantry, who entrusted it with the defense of the independence of our Motherland of Belarus, declares to the whole world about the basic requirements of the Belarusian peasantry: Belarus must be a free, independent republic within its ethnographic borders; announcing this and being the spokesman of the will of the people, the Slutsk Rada declares its desire to firmly stand for the independence of its native Belarus and protect the interests of the peasantry from violence from foreign invaders; if necessary, the Slutsk Rada will defend itself even by force of arms, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy. We believe that our cause is a just cause, and the truth always wins,” the document noted.

"Reaching for Moscow"

At the same time, loud statements about their rights to speak on behalf of the entire population of the county, according to a number of researchers, were far from the true state of affairs. For example, according to the Polish “Report of the Slutsk Powiat for January 1920”, “Orthodox peasants (...) believe that soon the “Polish pans” will leave here, and then a peasant-Orthodox paradise will come, and panama-Catholics will have a “cover”” . In addition, as stated in the same report, but only for February, “youth tends mainly to Moscow”, and “the Orthodox population, especially former officials, cannot come to terms with modern conditions, and therefore are drawn not only to Moscow, but also to they sigh for the Bolsheviks - "it's always one's own." Thus, it is reckless to say that the majority of the inhabitants of the county were in favor of the BPR. Apparently, the population was forced to reckon with several thousand armed people, but in fact they sympathized with the Bolsheviks or the White Guards, and therefore, in the final analysis, did not take an active part in the rebellion.

Be that as it may, however, the Slutsk Rada managed in a few days to form the 1st Slutsk brigade of archers of the troops of the Belarusian People's Republic, consisting of two regiments, from volunteers. The backbone of these units was the "Belarusian militia", created earlier to maintain order in Slutsk and the county. However, it is also rather difficult to assert that serious hostilities began between these military units and the Red Army units after the withdrawal of the Polish units.

Indeed, according to available documents, the Slutsk regiments opposed the Red Army. But the data on losses and the scale of hostilities indicate that these units could not provide any serious opposition to the Red Army. After the retreat, together with the Polish troops from Slutsk, the Belarusian brigade was deployed in the area from the town of Semezhevo to Vyzna, about 20 kilometers long. On November 27, near the village of Vasilchitsy, the first skirmish between the “rebels” and the Red Army detachment took place, which can only be called a serious battle with a big stretch: the Bolsheviks retreated, losing three people killed, three more were wounded, and one Red Army soldier was taken prisoner. For a month, the brigade held a fifteen-kilometer neutral zone, the entry into which of the Soviet units required coordination with the Polish side. There was no real resistance to the occupation of the eastern part of the county by the Red Army, and everything came down to semi-partisan actions.

When, in the second half of December, a real attempt was nevertheless made to start a struggle for territory, it led to the natural defeat of the brigade. Ultimately, at the end of December, the rebels no longer had ammunition, and their ranks were noticeably reduced, while the Red Army managed to gain a foothold in the territory allotted to it under the terms of the peace treaty. On December 28, the Slutsk Brigade crossed the Lan River into Polish-controlled territory, marking the end of what many in Belarus today call the Slutsk Uprising. The officers and soldiers of the brigade were disarmed and interned, first in a temporary camp in the town of Sinyavka (now the Kletsk region of Belarus), then in a camp in Bialystok, and from the beginning of March 1921 in a camp in Dorogusk (near Polish Chelm). They were released only in May 1921 after the ratification of the final peace treaty signed in Riga on March 18. As a result of the Peace of Riga, the state border between Poland and the BSSR was slightly changed in favor of Poland precisely on the territory of the Slutsk district.

historical memory

Was those events really such an important milestone? Today it is even doubtful whether the uprising that took place then can be considered, since, in fact, in the county there was no power against which it would be possible to raise a rebellion at that time, and the hostilities took place in the form of raids from neutral or Polish territory . Despite this, in the nationalist circles of Belarus for more than a decade there has been precisely such an interpretation of the events of 1920, which is almost impossible to confirm with impartial historical facts. About the Slutsk uprising, which is still more correct to call "an armed uprising", books were written, documentaries were shot and commemorative events were invented. But in the people's memory, this event, which was rather ordinary by the standards of that time, did not become for the majority of Belarusians a symbol of their struggle for independence.

I.N.Zakharyin. Memories of Belarus (1864-1870). The struggle for the proper provision of the Russian peasants of the Western Territory with the Polish landowners. - "Historical Bulletin", books III, IV, 1884.

The author, Russian writer, playwright, essayist, poet (1837 - 1906), an eyewitness of the events, points to the Polish origin of Belarusian nationalism, to the disguise of Polish Russophobes as "Belarusians" and their hostility towards real Belarusians - Russian Belarusians.

P.66 “Most of the officials in the Mogilev province still consisted of Poles, among whom there were a lot of people who were listed as Orthodox, these were local natives - “Belarusians”, as they began to call themselves after the pacified uprising. In essence, they were true Poles, born of mixed marriages, who even bore Polish surnames, preferred churches to churches for prayer, and remembered their Orthodoxy when it was advantageous. They occupied very prominent positions in the province, pandered to the Poles at every step and harmed the Russian cause, taking revenge, wherever possible, on the peasants for their participation in the suppression of the rebellion.

P. 73 "... the ruthlessness of the peasants towards the lords who participated with the troops in the suppression of the uprising ... the peasants knitted the lords and delivered them to Mogilev."

I.N.Zakharyin.Memories of Belarus (1864-1870)on the website of the Presidential Library named after B.N. Yeltsin (http://www.prlib.ru/elfapps/pageturner2d/viewer.aspx?orderdate=11/24/2012&DocUNC_ID=8350&Token=T)

Maksim Bogdanovich on Russian Literature.

From the journalism of the remarkable Russian, Belarusian poet Maxim Bogdanovich.

M. Bogdanovich considered Belarusians one of the Russian nationalities.

Ivan Franko has died! In his face one of the Russian literatures- Ukrainian literature - suffered a heavy loss. This death will not pass unnoticed even among Great Russian society. For him, it seems, the fate of Ukrainian literature is not alien, at least it should not be alien. But Franco, in addition to this, earned the right to his attention: he did a lot to familiarize the Galicians with Great Russian culture, and his works, in turn, were translated into Great Russian more than once.

“The touching works, closely connected with his references and full of autobiographical data, stand apart in Shevchenko's work. Many of these poems are among the most outstanding in the poetry of Taras Shevchenko. Finally, its undoubted adornment is the original and graceful songs, shining with folk-Ukrainian color, a number of which were written by Shevchenko towards the end of his life. Tied with multiple threads our souls are the souls of Russian readers- with the soul of the late poet. In his face, we honor, first of all, "by the grace of God - the poet", whose verse was full of elegant simplicity ... "

(http://www.maksimbogdanovich.ru/stories/238.htm)

Slutsk uprising.

Slutsk zbroyny chyn 1920 in documents and uspamins. / way., pardykht. textaў, il., zaўv., kament., pakaz. A. Ges, U. Lyakhovsky, U. Mikhnyuk; Pradm. W. Lyahouskaga. - Minsk: Medysont, 2006. - 400 p.

From a letter from the temporary inspector of the Belarusian School Council of the Minsk Region in the Slutsk district, Yurka Listopad, to Simon Rak-Mikhailovsky (in Bel.) (11/1/1919)

“In the meantime, I […] went to the nearest villages from Slutsk to find out what condition the village schools were in. I learned that out of eleven rural schools in the Slutsk volost, only one Russian school was open. As for the Belarusian schools, not a single teacher knew anything about them, and sentences are handed down so that at least one school can be opened. Generally speaking, almost all schools have applied to open a Russian [Russian] school with Polish. [p.23]

Note:

• The verdict is a memorandum sent by rural communities to the Polish administration with a request to open a school.
• "School with the Polish language" - i.e. from a Russian school with the subject "Polish".

From the “Report on the school and national situation in the Slutsk district” of the school inspector of the Slutsk district A. Baranovsky (in white) (1920)

“As for the transfer of Russian schools to Belarusian ones, he [the district school inspector] also did not agree with this, saying that the peasantry has already expressed its will when opening schools, indicating in the protocols in which language they prefer teaching science at school” [p.31]

From the report of Jan Suszyński, inspector of the Kresova Guard Society for the Slutsk district, on the situation in the Slutsk region (Polish) (January 1920)

"Young people are predominantly shading towards Moscow, and this should not be surprising; because she was brought up in Russian schools, therefore she sighs for Denikin and the great indivisible Russia. In addition, one can see here the agitation of the social-revolutionaries” [p.35]

“An interesting phenomenon is observed; in some local Belarusian schools, where Russian is taught and allegedly Polish - after a couple of months of classes they demanded, if it is impossible to make a Russian school, then we ask for a Polish one» [p.35]

“I emphasize once again: we demand to pay special attention to undermining trust in everything Russian and try to awaken respect for Poland” [p.35]

“There is no mass national consciousness [meaning the Belarusian consciousness]: Orthodox consider themselves Russians - Catholics Poles. We are obliged to use the unconsciousness of the local peasants in this sense. This is the material that, if we do not spare the expense, we will remake in our own way” [p.36]

“The entire Russian intelligentsia lined up under the Belarusian flag” [p.37]

“Elections to the City Council are to be held on 29/I from[his] year. Most likely, out of 24 glad people, 8 will come from the Poles [Yaks], Jews and Belarusian[s] Muscovites[p.38]

From the minutes of the First National Political Conference in Prague (09/28/1921)

Kurilovich (from the Slutsk brigade): “All Belarusians went against the Poles in the Bolshevik troops to fight the pan, but that was in 1920, and now the psychology of the people has changed, like the entire population of Russia” [p. 147]

Kurilovich: “There is an insurrectionary movement in Belarus, the Bolshevik newspapers testify to this. There are two orientations - Polish and Russian(to the question of what orientation you are, the answer is Belarusian, several times; but tendentiously - with hidden Polish sympathies)" [p.148]

Pavlyukevich: “The actions of Balakhovich and the Slutsk uprising were closely connected with Poland, because otherwise we would have been in prison.” [p.148]

From Yegor Zlotsky's report to Konstantin Yezavitov "Paўstancheskі Rukh in Belarus» (October 3, 1921) (in white)

On the reasons for the emergence of national self-consciousness among local peasants: “[...] it must be borne in mind that this consciousness spread due to the general political situation, and not by the influence of one or another political group on the peasants. The peasants felt and endured the oppression of the communists and saw that everything that the communists carry was alien to them, and in the commune itself they saw bondage for themselves. This is where they seized on the principle of self-determination, the very principle that was popularized by the communists themselves” [p.151]

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Story - an amazing science - it studies what is not. Because the past, for direct perception, is not available. And the task of the researcher is to restore this past, based on the traces left and indirect data, in the form as close as possible to the truth-truth. If the researcher is a decent and honest person, then historical knowledge is enriched with some new details and facts. If not, then another historical myth appears that can fool many people's heads. And these deceived people then bring down upon themselves and others various social disasters and catastrophes.

Creation of another nationalist myth

Indicative in this sense is the theme of the "Slutsk uprising", which has recently been actively used and promoted by Belarusian nationalists.

After a wave of sharp national revival (at the end of the 1980s) by a part of the Belarusian society, this uprising is annually celebrated as the first Belarusian armed uprising for its independence.

Here is what Mikhail Goldenkov (the author of a number of books on the history of Belarus, who also writes articles for the Secret Research newspaper) writes about this in his book Lost Russia:

“Another white spot in our history is the Slutsk uprising of November-December 1920. Of course, Soviet history textbooks did not tell about this event, just as almost nothing about it could be found in other historical literature. If any information came across, then it was deliberately distorted - they say, white gangs, along with the Poles. However, the Slutsk uprising is a purely Belarusian armed uprising against Soviet power in the Slutsk region in November-December 1920. For about a month, Belarusian detachments, consisting mainly of local peasants, resisted the advancing Soviet troops.

"Now the day of November 27 - the beginning of the fighting - is celebrated in some places in Belarus as the Day of Heroes."

Mikhail Goldenkov did not consider it necessary to cite any sources in which the truth about the Slutsk uprising was nevertheless found.

And so (since 1992), every year at the end of November, taking with them flags and banners, people are sent on a journey through the Slutsk land in order to honor the deeds of forgotten heroes. In the same place on November 27 (the day of the alleged start of hostilities), the replenishment of the "Young Front" (registered in the Czech Republic)takes an oath for loyalty.

On November 28, in Slutsk, more than 150 people took part in a solemn demonstration and rally in honor of the 95th anniversary of the Slutsk uprising against the Soviet regime. Replenishment of the "Young Front" (registered in the Czech Republic) traditionally took the oath of allegiance on this day.

Many historical books are written on this topic (Stuzhinskaya, Gritskevich, Taras, Goldenkov and others), articles are published in print and electronic media, documentaries (Belsat, ONT) and feature films (Belarusfilm) are made. And they all unanimously declare that this the uprising is “For Belarus” against the “red” occupiers.

• But was it really so?
• Is there another way to look at these events?
• What are the supporters of certain opinions on this issue based on?
• What, after all, happened in the Slutsk region in November of the 1920s?

Whether those who celebrate this event ask (at least themselves) these questions is not known. But when you start looking for answers to these questions, it becomes clear that our nationalists have again armed themselves with another unverified historical myth and are trying to impose it on the rest of society.

During the study of this issue, we did not find any serious evidence that this was an uprising for the independence of the Belarusians. But many Belarusian historians argue in favor of a different version. That it was an ordinary counter-revolutionary uprising organized by the General Military Staff of Poland.

Everything is far from clear.

So what happened in the Slutsk region in those days and what are those who create another nationalist myth silent about?

In search of origins

As is customary among historians, let's start with historiography: who wrote what on this topic.

Doctor of Historical Sciences Oleg Romanko notes that during the entire existence of the Belarusian press in pre-war Poland (1920 - 1939) there was no mention of the Slutsk uprising in it at all. This topic began to be actively promoted only after the end of World War II. When much has already been forgotten, and some direct participants have gone to another world.

O. Romanko himself did not cite any special references on this subject. Just as other publicists do not bring them. It became clear that a scientific work is needed, which is based on any reliable facts or archival documents.

Immediately we came across the book of the candidate of historical sciences Nina Stuzhinskaya “Belarus meat: from the history of the anti-Savetian supratsiv in the 1920s. 20 days."

Among other things, in this work, supporters of S. Bulak-Balakhovich (gangster-hawker) and Franz Kushal (nationalist collaborator, during the Great Patriotic War he was an SS Standarterfuehrer) are attributed to true Belarusians.

But there are many different archival funds, which contain information about those times.

The same can be said about the collection of documents "Slutsk zbroyny chyn 1920 at the documents and ўspamіnakh / St. Lyakhovsky, St. Mіkhnyuk, A. Ges".

But these are all works of the 2000s. The uprising began to be celebrated in the early 90s. Therefore, it was necessary to look further.

Unexpected turn

After some research, we came to Professor Anatoly Gritskevich (Doctor of Historical Sciences, years of life: 1929 - 2015). Everything indicated that for the first time it was he who conducted serious research and generalizations on this topic. Accordingly, as it seemed to us, he was the main propagandist of the version that the Slutsk uprising was an uprising for the independence of Belarus. Because it was Gritskevich who was most referred to.

We found his work "Vakol Slutskaga paustannya" (1987).

And what was our surprise when it turned out that in it the author, on the contrary, very thoroughly and logically proves that there was no uprising “for Belarus”. And there was a banal uprising of deserters, bandits, counter-revolutionaries under the leadership of the Polish and Belarusian gentry, organized by the Polish military against the young Soviet republic. In the article, all this is well shown and many sources are given (we recommend, by the way, to familiarize yourself with). Here is the conclusion that Anatoly Grishkevich then made:

"Yak pakazalі specials ¢ Slutskіm pavetse, belaruskіya syalyane ¢ weight svaoy not padtrymalі ni of Belarusian eseraў, ni іnshyh natsynalіstaў ... Slutskі myatsezh patsyarpeў poўny praval ... I kolah of Belarusian bourgeois natsynalіstaў Pacha ўzrastats legend great slutskі myatsezh 1920 ... Getaya legend ekspluatuetstsa i tsyaper in antysavetskіh metah at the ideal baratzbe suprats socialism, suprats Savetskaya Belarus and the USSR.

Admittedly, this was a little confusing. Who then is the generator of the nationalist version? Everything was resolved, too, quite unexpectedly.

We started looking for other articles by Gritskevich. It turned out that the same professor Anatoly Gritskevich, but already in his other works (after 1991) already claims the opposite. Here is a quote from his article "Slutsk Paўstanne 1920 - zbroyny chyn at baratsbe for the independence of Belarus", which was published in the journal "Spadchyna" in 1993:

“Belarusian serfdom was the main chine of the Slutsk camp. And the active elements, like the fall of the salayanstvo on the lamb suprats іnshazemnaga natsyyanalnaga and satsyyalnaga will jump the dictatorship of the proletariat, was the Belarusian national intelligentsia.

And here the author is already beginning to build a system of evidence opposite to the one he built in the article for 1987. (If we compare the logic of reasoning and the arguments given, then his nationalist version looks like less convincing).

What caused such a strange transformation can only be guessed at. But the man seemed to have been changed. And in subsequent works, Anatoly Gritskevich does not even mention his own article of 1987. But for that, wherever possible, he talks about how true Belarusians fought against the Soviet Bolshevik invaders

Some of the professor's regalia are interesting, which give reason to think about why the author changed his mind so sharply:

Chairman of the scientific council for the defense of doctoral dissertations in cultural studies;

2001-2005 - President of the international public association "Leading Belarus to the world" Batskaushchyna";

Member of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Popular Front "Adradzhenne" (1988), at the 1st congress of the Belarusian Popular Front he was elected a member of the Soym;

Co-Chairman of the All-Belarusian Congress for Independence (July 2000);

Grand Marshal of the Assembly of the Belarusian gentry.

So think after this: there is a notorious class struggle or not.

“Anti-Soviet” is not the same as “for Belarus”.The principle of historicism

Nevertheless, there was some kind of uprising - so we will consider it.

In historical science, one of the most important principles of research is the principle of historicism.

The principle of historicismassumes to consider any historical phenomenon, not tearing it out of the general context, as a kind of “spherical horse in a vacuum”, but to consider it in a general historical context in the interconnections between themselves and the mutual influence of different historical objects and subjects on each other. And if the principle of historicism is abandoned, then any event can be interpreted as it pleases for the necessary purposes that will be beneficial to one or another political force.

Here is the context in which this uprising took place:

Much can be written about all these factors. One thing is clear for sure - the situation at that time was not simple and there were many different military clashes.

Let us dwell on the Polish-Soviet war in more detail, since the former member of the Slutsk Belarusian Rada, Y. Listopad, admitted in 1926 that during the preparation of the uprising he went to Warsaw for money allocated by the General Staff of Poland.

Who is the ally?

Poland as a state that arose at the end of 1918, it advocated the restoration of its territory within the borders of the Commonwealth of 1772 (that is, before its first partition). With the support of the Entente in February 1919, she began military operations against Soviet Russia.

Goldenkov, already known to us, cites interesting data (albeit again without references to sources):“...From February to August 1919, Poland received 260,000 tons of food from the United States in the amount of 51 million dollars. In 1919, only from the US military warehouses in Europe, Poland received military property worth 60 million dollars, in 1920 - 100 million dollars. Spring 1920 England. France and the United States supplied Poland with 1494 guns, 2800 machine guns, about 700 aircraft, 10 million shells. .

The Entente countries also helped with manpower. At the beginning of 1920, Poland had 740,000 troops.

The first victim was the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was in a federal connection with the RSFSR. The Polish government believed that the borders should be carried "in the east to Smolensk and further south to the Dnieper and Sozh" ("the state from sea to sea").

On August 8, the Poles broke into Minsk. In August-September, Igumen, Novo-Borisov, Bobruisk, Zhlobin, Rogachev were captured. Soviet power was abolished in the occupied territory, and private ownership of the means of production was restored. The occupiers carried out the most severe terror and repression.

More than 1,000 residents were arrested in Minsk alone, 100 of whom were shot by court-martial.

The Poles established a tough occupation regime: the Polonization of the population began, the Belarusian language was forbidden

Such a cruel policy of the Polish invaders in the occupied territory of Belarus caused a powerful partisan movement, which was led by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks.

The leaders of the Slutsk uprising spoke out a lot against the “occupation” by the Bolsheviks, but nowhere and never did they speak out against the capture and occupation of the territory of western Belarus by the Poles.

The question arises that there really was an uprising for Belarus, or just Polish and Belarusian pans did not want to part with their privileges in favor of the working people: peasants, workers and ordinary soldiers ( those. working majority) ?

Subsequent events provided an answer to this question. Let's compare some facts about Belarus after its sections into Western and Eastern:

Before the occupation by Poland, 359 Belarusian schools, teacher's seminaries in Svisloch and Boruny, Belarusian gymnasiums in Novogrudok, Nesvizh, Kletsk, Radoshkovichi and Vilna worked in Western Belarus.

In the 1938/39 academic year, not a single Belarusian educational institution remained in Western Belarus.

It was not allowed to use the Belarusian language in state institutions, Belarusians were not hired for public service. There were no Belarusian theaters, a few clubs, libraries, reading rooms created in previous years by the Belarusian public were closed.

And this is while in Eastern Belarus the creativity of such Belarusian writers as Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Tishka Gartny, Zmitrok Byadulya, Mikhas Charot, Kondrat Krapiva, Kuzma Chorny, Mikhas Lynkov, Pavlyuk Trus, Piotr Glebka, Petrus Brovka, Platon Golovach, Arkady Kuleshov, Eduard Samuylyonok.

They created works that reflect the life, work and spiritual world of ordinary people of pre-revolutionary Belarus, achievements in the construction of a socialist society, the thoughts of the people and their aspirations.

As they say, feel the difference...

Afterword

The history of the Slutsk uprising is very confusing, and its sources are unclear, therefore, various figures in the production of historical myths allow themselves to come up with versions about this event that work for the sake of a certain political conjuncture.

And Belarusian nationalists are simply led by the nose with various historical juggling, half-truths, and so on. How to relate to this - of course, they decide for themselves.

I can only advise you to study your history better and be honest at least with yourself. Because blind faith in their ideologists will not lead them to anything good. Illusions tend to crumble sooner or later, bringing with them a very real disappointment.

Sources and literature:

1. M. Goldenkov, “Lost Russia: forgotten Lithuania, unknown Muscovy, forbidden Belarus”, 2011;

2. Radio Svaboda: In Sluchchyna, the 95th reptile of the glory of the past was marked (link );

3. O. V. Romanko, “Belarusian collaborators. Cooperation with the invaders on the territory of Belarus (1941-1945)”, 2013;

4. N.I. Stuzhynskaya, "Belarus meatball: from the history of the ўzbroennaga antysavetskaga supraciva ў 20th years of the twentieth century", 2012

5. Slutsk zbroyny chyn 1920 at dakumentakh and ўspamіnakh / St. Lyakhovsky, St. Mіkhnyuk, A. Ges, 2006

6. Anatol Grytskevich, "Vakol Slutsk Paustnya", 1987 (download );

7. Anatol Grytskevich, “Slutsk pastures of 1920 - slaughterhouses at the barracks for the independence of Belarus”, Chosopis “Spadchyna”. 1993. No. 2;

8. E.K. Novik, I.L. Kachalov, N.E. Novik, History of Belarus. From ancient times to 2013”, 2013;

9. POLAND - BELARUS (1921-1953). Collection of documents and materials”, 2012 (download );

The events in Slutsk region in November-December 1920 fully deserve to be filmed. Can you imagine the Chinese communists storming the positions of the national Belarusian army? Or how did the peasants massively advocate for the restoration of the BPR? Or how did the Red Army go over to the side of their opponents? You will find out about this now.

The uprising that "didn't happen"

“Workers and peasants have always fought with all their might for Soviet power against damned capitalism,” – this was approximately the axiom of Soviet historiography. The events in Sluchchyna in November-December 1920 did not fit into this paradigm in any way, so for a very long time our and Soviet historians pretended that there was no Slutsk uprising never was. There is not a word about him in the 5-volume encyclopedia of 1973 “History of the Byelorussian SSR”, and even in the “Essays on the History of Belarus” of 1995 it is said that “ there was no uprising in Slutsk". Some hints of historical truth can only be found in specialized scientific works, and even then the events there are described one-sidedly and without taking into account memoirs and documents located abroad.

The truth about Slutsky Zbroyny Chyn came to light only in the 90s and 00s in the books “Belarus Yesterday and Today” by Y. Naydzyuk (Minsk, 1993), “Memory. Slutsk region. Slutsk” (Minsk, 2000), “The Slutsk armed uprising of 1920 in documents and memoirs” (Minsk, 2001), and in 1992 the anniversary of those events was celebrated for the first time.

Today, the uprising in Slutsk is mentioned in passing in the school curriculum on the history of Belarus, all in the same Soviet vein “There was no uprising, not a single shot was fired from either side”, however, the echo of those "non-existent shots" reaches us even now. Many patriots annually celebrate the anniversary of those events. We decided to tell you how things really were 97 years ago.

Causes

The strength of the Slutsk uprising was the peasants, who were led by intellectual elites and Belarusian officers. The reason why the peasants, in principle, went to the uprisings, was always the same - the unresolved agrarian question. And if at first the peasants liked communist slogans like: “ Land for peasants”, then soon the policy of “war communism” disappointed them, to put it mildly. With the outbreak of the civil war, the Bolsheviks began to carry out "surplus appropriation", that is, simply plunder the villages, take crops and cattle from the inhabitants, which often caused hunger. In response, the peasants raised riots in many regions of Russia, fought for an extra piece of bread.

But the situation in Slutsk region was different. The First World War did not cause such severe destruction to the local peasantry as to the inhabitants, for example, of the Grodno or Vilna regions. And during the years of the Civil War in the RSFSR, the Slutsk peasants even improved their fortunes, acquiring for next to nothing or seizing by force the lands of local large landowners. So the Slutsk people had something to lose in the face of Bolshevik expropriation and something to fight for. In addition, along with the policy of “war communism”, the soviets carried out forced mobilization into the army, which further turned the sympathies of the local residents away from the Bolsheviks.

On the other hand, among the intelligentsia of the Slutsk district, national liberation ideas were popular, and the population grew aware that the key to solving many problems, including agrarian, lay in national self-government, and there was no need to wait for outside help. The Riga negotiations, in which Belarusians were not allowed to take part, and the division of Belarus between the RSFSR and Poland further convinced the national elites of the need to fight for their independent state.

national movement

As we wrote earlier, the uprising in Sluchchin was unique in that it was not a typical “hunger riot”, which was enough in the 20s on the territory of the RSFSR. Slutsky Zbroyny Chyn had a powerful ideological background. This is the movement in which both dissatisfaction with the policy of “surplus requisitioning” and national liberation aspirations have merged.

National-patriotic forces have long been making themselves known in the Slutsk region. So back in 1905-1906, groups of party supporters appeared here BSG (Belarusian socialist community) who stood on Belarusian nationalist positions. However, their activities fell under the tsarist reaction in 1907 and actually came to naught. After the February Revolution of 1917, youth patriotic circles appeared in Sluchchyna “Kvetka paparazzi”, "Zarnitsa" other. In the same 1917, a zemstvo gymnasium was organized in Slutsk, the educational program of which included the teaching of the Belarusian language and Belarusian studies.

Members of the patriotic circle "Paparats-kvetka"

The creation of the militia in Slutsk in March 1917 also played an important role. Key positions there were occupied by Belarusian national figures. The police monitored public order, and in 1920 became the basis of an armed uprising. In 1918, Slutsk began to operate Belarusian National Committee headed by Pavel Zhavrid. The BNC was a political body that claimed power in the region. In the same 1918, a Belarusian gymnasium was opened in Slutsk, one of the first in our country. But both the gymnasium and the BNK were liquidated in December 1918 by the Soviet authorities, as soon as they took control of the territory of Belarus. True, the patriotic sentiments of many residents of Slutsk have not gone away.

During the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921, Slutsk several times found itself under the Red Army, then under the army of Poland. The Soviets did not allow even a hint of the Belarusian identity of the local population and zealously fought against any manifestation of Belarusianism. But the Poles did not prohibit the activities of the Belarusian national forces, therefore, during the period of the Polish occupation, the Belarusian National Committee resumed its activity. Thanks to its educational activities, the BNK was able to spread the ideas of self-determination among the intelligentsia and infect the intellectual elite with them.

October 12, 1920 In Riga, an armistice was signed between the RSFSR and Poland. Our neighbors did not allow representatives from Belarus to the negotiations, and they cut our country into two parts. The border between Poland and the RSFSR ran a little west of Minsk. Under the terms of the armistice, the Polish and Soviet sides were to withdraw their troops 15 km from the common border, thus creating a neutral territory 30 km wide. As a result, Slutsk itself, occupied at that time by the Poles, retreated to the Soviets, but the outskirts of the city fell into the neutral zone.

Map of the division of Belarus between Poland and the RSFSR, according to the Riga agreements. Slutsk is marked with a red dot.

The Poles were supposed to liberate Slutsk in order to hand it over to the Bolsheviks, but they were in no hurry with the withdrawal of troops and took advantage of any formal opportunities to stay longer in this territory. Only in early November, the Polish administration, preparing to withdraw, handed over power to the Belarusian National Committee. White-red-white flags were flown in the city. Elections were held in the villages for local committees, that is, for self-government bodies. Patriotically minded Slutsk residents did not waste their time and recreated the BPR. In order to confirm and legitimize the power of the Belarusian People's Republic, it was decided to convene a general congress of Sluchchina.

All power - BNR!

From November 14 to 15, 1920, the Belarusian national forces held a general congress in Slutsk. In the festively decorated hall, 107 delegates from the city, as well as 25 representatives of different volosts of the Slutsk district, gathered. The congress once again confirmed the veracity of the statement: “ Where there are two Belarusians, there are three parties”- there was no unity in the ranks of the nationally oriented movement and there were diametrically opposed opinions regarding the strategy for further action. Despite all the contradictions, by 10 pm on October 15, 1920, the congress nevertheless adopted a general resolution declaring the power of the BPR, a protest “ against the occupation of native lands by foreign raids and against the self-proclaimed Soviet power”, proclaimed “ free, independent, democratic Belarusian People's Republic within its ethnographic borders”.

Borders of modern Belarus and BPR

The delegates of the congress understood that, not recognizing the Soviet power, they should be ready for the armed resistance of the Red Army, so it was decided to start mobilization and create a military force to fight the Bolsheviks. was elected at the congress Slutsk Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic, otherwise Belarusian Union of Slutsk, consisting of 17 people, led byVladimir Prokulevich. It was the Slutsk Rada that assumed the functions of the interim government, the tasks of civil administration and the creation of a national army.

Preparation of the uprising

Despite different opinions and contradictions during the Congress, all delegates agreed to start an armed uprising against the Bolsheviks in defense of the interests of the peasants. And immediately after the end of the Congress, the delegates, headed by the chosen “military troika”, consisting ofPaul Zhavrid, Anastas Antsipovich and Yankees Matseli, went to the villages to agitate the peasants for an uprising. In just three days they managed to form1st Slutsk brigade of archers of the BNR troops.It consisted of up to 4 thousand people and up to 6 thousand people were in reserve. That is, in general, up to 10 thousand inhabitants of Sluchchyna were ready to take part in the uprising. The aforementioned Slutsk militia, created back in 1917, became the core of the armed units.

The 1st Slutsk brigade was originally commanded by Anastas Antsipovich. The brigade was divided into two regiments: 1st Slutsk Regiment commanded byPavel Chaikaand 2nd Grozovsky Regiment commanded byLukas Semenyuk. Each regiment was also divided into battalions and companies. It should be noted that the military organization was not bad, since all the officers of the Slutsk brigade went through the First World War and had experience in combat and partisan battles. Under the Brigade, a headquarters, intelligence and counterintelligence, a hospital, a training school for commanders and even a military court were organized. There was no problem with the provision of food - the peasants of Sluchchyna supported the rebels. The biggest problem was the lack of weapons. The rebels had only 500 rifles. Another 300 rifles were given to them by the Polish authorities, but later it turned out that most of them had their sights shot down and it was impossible to use them. So the weapons later had to be obtained in battle.

Which was by that time in exile, and other supporters of the independence of Belarus supported the Slutsk Zbroyny Chyn, but could not do much, since most of them were in the territory of Western Belarus, occupied by Poland. So, for example, from Grodno to Slutsk they sent a flag with Pursuit and the words:« Tym, that paishli pamirats, cab lived Batskaushchyna ". The Military Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic sent military specialists to Slutsk. And with the beginning of the uprising, the Belarusian military commission helped deliver a certain number of rifles and machine guns from Luninets.

The course of the uprising

On the whole, the Polish occupation authorities did not particularly hinder the Belarusian self-organization, they knew that they would soon leave this territory, according to the terms of the truce, and the Slutsk zbroyny chyn would be a good “gift” for the Soviets. In addition, Belarusians also served in the Polish army, who sympathized with the Belarusian self-defense.

Flag of the 1st Slutsk Regiment. After the uprising was defeated, it was kept by Anton Sokol-Kutylovsky until it was seized by the Poles during a search in 1931.

The withdrawal of Polish troops in this region took place in the last decade of November 1920. The Poles left the city on 24 November. By the evening of the same day, the headquarters of the 1st Slutsk brigade also moved to the village Semezhevo which was in the neutral zone. There, according to the terms of the Riga armistice, Soviet troops were not supposed to enter. The Red Army also slowly moved west, avoiding skirmishes with the retreating Poles, so the Bolsheviks occupied Slutsk only on November 29, 1920.

The first clash with the Slutsk brigade took place November 27, 1920, when the soldiers of the 1st Slutsk regiment raided the 8th division of the Bolshevik troops. This date is considered to be the start date of the Slutsk slaughterhouse, Happy Heroes and Day of Military Glory BNR.

In the following days, attacks were repeated from the neutral zone, not only on the front of the 1st Slutsk Regiment, but also on the sector of the 2nd Grozovsky Regiment - on field posts. The soldiers of the 1st and 2nd regiments attacked the enemy especially strongly in the Kopyl - Timkovichi - Vyzna section, 60 kilometers long.

The most significant battles were fought by separate battalions of the 1st Slutsk brigade near the villages of Sadovichi, Doshnovo, Bystrica, Lyutovichi, Moroch, the towns of Kopyl, Vyzna. In separate battles, the rebels inflicted significant losses on the Reds, took prisoners, and recaptured settlements.

The Slutsk Rada called on the soldiers of the Red Army to go over to the side of the rebels. Some of them did just that, since among the Red Army there were many Russian peasants who were dissatisfied with the policies of communism and forced mobilization into the army. Due to cases of desertion of Russian soldiers, the Soviets had to throw the Latvian and Chinese branches to fight the rebels.

Many attacks of the 1st Slutsk brigade were quite successful, they managed to recapture the villages from the Bolsheviks and inflict losses on them. Belarusian resistance fighters also managed to capture weapons in battle. So in December 1920, the Slutsk brigade already had 2,000 rifles and 10 machine guns, many of which were captured. A powerful partisan resistance was also unleashed.

"Gramadzians! Nyasіtse akhvyary rechami and grashmi! Warehouse of akhvyars at the “Gurtka Belarusian Cabets” and at the Belarusian National Committee for sending them to the Belarusian citizen - a zhauner in Sluchchyna! Our multi-packed Maci-Belarus is going to hell with you!” - an appeal to readers in the newspaper "Belarusian Words" for December 8, 1920

However, in early December, serious changes took place in the command of the Slutsk brigade, Pavel Chaika, commander of the 1st Slutsk regiment, was accused of treason. He tried to send a letter to the enemy side describing the organization and weaknesses of the Belarusian armed formation. Chaika was arrested, but escaped from arrest to the Soviet side. However, this did not save him, a couple of days later he was shot by the Soviets for "treason against the Soviet government." Instead of Chaika, he began to command the 1st Slutsk RegimentAkhrem Gavrilovich, earlier he commanded the 4th battalion of this regiment. Anastas Antipovich was also removed from his post, instead he took over the leadership of the entire Slutsk brigadeAnton Sokol-Kutylovsky.

The Soviet authorities took this armed uprising in Slutsk seriously and feared that it could spread to other regions of Belarus and engulf the entire country. Therefore, in December, with the permission of the Polish side, the Red Army entered the neutral zone for a special operation to clean up the Belarusian resistance. The punitive operation had meager results - with the help of the local population, the Belarusians managed to avoid a blow.

Memorial cross to the defenders of the BNR in the village of Grozovo, Kopyl district, Minsk region

Despite the lack of serious support from any political forces and the lack of weapons that had to be obtained in battle, the Slutsk brigade was a combat-ready military unit, had good officers, and most importantly, the desire of the soldiers to fight for the independence of Belarus. The Soviets fought the rebels until the very end of December 1920. They deprived the Belarusian resistance of support by carrying out punitive operations against entire villages, when peasant families supporting the uprising were evicted to remote regions of Russia and confiscated all property. The Poles, for their part, allowed the Red Army to enter not only the neutral zone, but even the territory of Poland to suppress the uprising. Despite all this, the Belarusians held out until December 28, fighting, partisan activities, attacking Bolshevik formations and taking control of settlements. December 28 is considered the date of the end of the Slutsk Zbroyny Chyna, then the soldiers of the Slutsk brigade crossed the Polish border and surrendered to the Poles.

Further fate

In Poland, Belarusian rebels did not expect a warm welcome. Anastas Antsipovich and Akhrem Gavrilovich were unofficially handed over to the Soviet side by the Poles. After torture and bullying, the patriots were shot.

One of the participants of the Slutsk zbroyny chyna lieutenant Branevitsky was killed by an NKUS agent sent to Poland. Former member of the Rada of Slutsk Julian Sosnovsky committed suicide, unable to withstand the bullying of the Poles. The remaining members of the Belarusian resistance who surrendered were held in custody in Bialystok until the spring of 1921. Those of them who later returned to their homeland in Sluchchina were under the supervision of the GPU-NKUS. At first, the Soviet gunners did not touch them, waiting for the return of the rest of the rebels. But literally after 7-8 months they were all arrested and exiled to Karaganda, Kalyma and Solovki. Belarusian patriots never returned from there.

Watch a short video about the Slutsk uprising

conclusions

Every time when the next clever people declare that the Belarusians are not a nation, but the BNR is a fake entity, then immediately remember Slutsk in 1920. Thousands of people willingly, without international support, went to their deaths for the sake of freedom. The enemy had to fall for tricks, violate the state border, terrorize the civilian population, throw the Chinese into battle in order to extinguish this desire to restore the power of the BNR. Dozens of years of silence, denial, but that feat, like the whole truth, still became apparent. Our task now is to carefully study, enlighten and remember the lessons of those times and those heroes who did not spare their lives.