The Belarusian Socialist Assembly, BSA ( be, Беларуская сацыялістычная грамада, translit=Bielaruskaja sacyjalistyčnaja hramada, BSH) was a revolutionary party in the

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian territory of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It was established in 1902 as the Belarusian Revolutionary Party, renamed in 1903.''Belarus: A Denationalized Nation'', by David R. Marples (1999) , p. 3, 4. The BSA had branches in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

in Russia, the political activity in

increased, and in summer of 1917 the BSA gave rise to the

Communist Party of Byelorussia The Communist Party of Byelorussia (CPB; russian: Коммунистическая партия Белоруссии; be, Камуністычная партыя Беларусі) was the ruling communist party of the Byelorussian Soviet Social ...

and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party. On March 19, 1918, on the initiative of the BSA, the

Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic ( be, Рада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі, Рада БНР, Rada BNR) was the governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has bee ...

became a temporary, short-lived parliament in the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

. Most of the BNR Council were members of the BSA. Russian Bolsheviks had a negative attitude towards the BSA.

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

described BSA as a "nationalist ''

petite bourgeoisie ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological st ...

'' party of left-populist orientation". Jan Zaprudnik, "Belarus: At a Crossroads" (1993, ), p. 79 The 2nd

Congress of the Soviets The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics from 1917 to 1936 and a somewhat similar Congress of People's Deputies from 1989 to 1991. After the crea ...

of the Western Province (Russia) declared the Council of the Belarusian People's Republic

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

and anti-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. After the Polish-Soviet War, many activists of the BSA have found themselves in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, which acquired

Western Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...

, and they struggled for the Belarusian autonomy.

Notable members

Vaclau Lastouski Vaclaŭ Justynavič Lastoŭski (, , russian: Вацлав Усти́нович Ласто́вский), 8 November 1883 – 23 January 1938) was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century and the Prime Min ...

, politician and historian *

Jazep Losik Jazep Losik (also known as Jazep (Yazep) Liosik; ; 18 November 1884 – 1 April 1940) was a Belarusian academic, leading figure of the independence movement and a victim of Stalin's purges. Early years Losik was born into a large farming f ...

, academic and member of the

Jazep Mamońka Jazep Mamońka (; 28 January 1889 – 10 September 1937) was а Belarusian politician and victim of Stalin’s purges. Early years Mamońka was born in the village of Zaliessie in Minsk governorate of the Russian Empire (now Slucak district ...

, politician and member of the

Alaiza Pashkevich Alaiza Pashkevich (or Ciotka; be, Алаіза Пашкевіч, ''Alaiza Paškievič''; 15 July 1876 – 5 February 1916) was a Belarusian poet and political activist of Belarusian national-democratic rebirth.Jan Sierada Ivan Mikitavič Sierada ( — after 19 November 1943), better known by the pseudonyms of Jan or Janka was a Belarusian statesman, pedagogist and writer who served as the first president of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Bi ...

, politician * Branislaŭ Taraškievič, linguist *

Vasil Zacharka Vasil Zacharka ( be, Васіль Захарка, April 1, 1877, Dabrasielcy near Grodno – March 14, 1943, Prague) was a Belarusian statesman and the second president of the Belarusian People's Republic in exile. Early life Vasil Zachark ...

, the second president of the

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

Paluta Badunova Paluta Aliaksandraŭna Badunova ( be, Палута Аляксандраўна Бадунова; 7 September 1885 – 29 November 1938) was a key female political figure in the Belarusian independence movement of the early 20th century. She w ...

, politician, the only woman at the Council (Rada) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic *

Fabijan Šantyr Fabijan Šantyr (also spelled Fabiyan Shantyr, ; 4 February 1887 - 29 May 1920) was a Belarusian poet, writer and public figure who has been regarded as “the first victim of he Bolsheviks">Bolsheviks.html" ;"title="he Bolsheviks">he Bolshevik ...

, poet

References

{{Authority control 1900s in Belarus 1910s in Belarus Defunct political parties in Belarus Belarusian independence movement Belarusian National Republic Political parties established in 1902 Political parties disestablished in 1918 Political parties of minorities in Imperial Russia Political parties of the Russian Revolution Socialist parties in Belarus