The Constituent Charter of the Belarusian People's Republic ( be, Устаўныя граматы БНР, Ustaŭnyja hramaty BNR) are documents adopted by the Executive Committee of the Council of the All-Belarusian Congress and the Council of the BNR in February and March 1918, which proclaimed the will of the

Belarusian people , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

regarding their national and state future.

The First Constituent Charter

Adopted by the Executive Committee of the Council of the All-Belarusian Congress on February 21, 1918 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 ...

. The First Constituent Charter called on the Belarusian people to exercise their right to "full self-determination" and national minorities to exercise national and personal autonomy. Referring to the right of peoples to self-determination, the authors of the charter argued that power in Belarus should be formed in accordance with the will of the peoples inhabiting the country. This principle must be implemented through democratic elections to the All-Belarusian Constituent Assembly.

The Second Constituent Charter

Adopted by the Executive Committee of the All-Belarusian Congress on March 9, 1918 in Minsk. 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 ...

was proclaimed within the limits of the settlement and numerical superiority of the Belarusian people. The rights and freedoms of citizens and peoples of the Belarusian People's Republic were proclaimed: freedom of speech, press, assembly, strikes, allies; freedom of conscience, inviolability of person and premises; the right of peoples to national and personal autonomy; equality of all languages of the peoples of Belarus. Private ownership of land was abolished, the transfer of land without redemption to those who worked on it was announced; forests, lakes and subsoil were declared state property. The maximum length of the working day was 8 hours.

The Third Constituent Charter

{{Further, Third Constituent Charter Adopted by the BNR Council on March 25, 1918 in Minsk. The

was proclaimed an independent state. The BNR Rada demanded to revise the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

. In the lands of the former Russian Empire, where the Belarusian people live and have a numerical advantage, a free, independent state was proclaimed; it included

Mahilioŭ Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

, Mensk,

Viciebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ...

, Belarusian parts of Horadnia,

Vilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

and neighboring governorate. The rights and freedoms of the citizens and peoples of Belarus, proclaimed by the

Second Constituent Charter The Second Constituent Charter to the peoples of Belarus ( be, Другая Ўстаўная грамата да народаў Беларусі, Druhaja Ŭstaŭnaja hramata da narodaŭ Biełarusi) is a legal act adopted by the Executive Committee ...

of March 9, 1918, were also confirmed.

Sources

Ustaŭnyja hramaty BNR

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 ...

1918 in Belarus Belarusian independence movement 1918 in law 1918 documents 1918 in international relations Dissolution of the Russian Empire February 1918 events March 1918 events November 1918 events

The First Constituent Charter

The Second Constituent Charter

The Third Constituent Charter

See also

Sources