The Government House or House of Government (; ) is a government building in

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

located on Independence Square. It houses the

National Assembly of Belarus The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belarus. The two chambers of the National Assembly are: *the Council of the Republic – the upper house *the House of Representatives – the lower house. ...

and its two chambers: the Council of the Republic and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(located in the right wing). The National Assembly is one of the highest organs of national power and symbolism in the country. It was built in 1934 and designed by

Iosif Langbard Iosif Grigor’evich Langbard, also Josef Langbard (6 January 1882 in Bielsk Podlaski, Grodno Governorate – 3 January 1951 in Leningrad) was a Soviet Belarusian architect and Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR (1934). Langbard studied archi ...

. It stands behind a statue of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and is one of the few buildings that survived the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

History

The Government House was built between 1930 and 1934, becoming a vivid example of the constructivism architectural style as the largest public building of the pre-war

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

. In 1929, a competition for design of a new government workplace in Minsk took place, with the winner being

, a native of the Grodno Region. The building was part of a project led by Langbard in that area which included a square (now known as Independence Square) used for civil/

military parades A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the world. Mass ...

on public holidays and a central grandstand for party leaders. He won the honorary title of Honored Artist of the Belarusian SSR as a result of his work. Busts of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

was erected in front of the house and the square, becoming the tallest of its kind in the entire

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

. During the

German occupation of Belarus during World War II The German invasion of the Soviet Union started on 22 June 1941 and led to a German military occupation of Byelorussia until it was fully liberated in August 1944 as a result of Operation Bagration. The western parts of Byelorussia became part ...

, the headquarters of the local

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

was housed at Government House. The statue of Lenin was toppled, leaving only a pedestal with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s, and brought to Germany where it was melted. In 1945, the monument was restored after

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

using the original casting preserved in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Between 1938 and 1940 the House of Soviets, a building identical to the Government House in Minsk, was bult in

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

due to the idea of moving the capital of the

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

to that city. The architect was once again Langbard. After the war the Mogilev City Council was seated there.

Events held at Government House

First presidential inauguration

The first presidential inauguration was held in the halls of Government House, on 20 July 1994, exactly ten days after the

1994 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 23 June 1994, with a second round on 10 July. They were the first national elections held in Belarus since the country seceded from the Soviet Union three years earlier. The result was an overwhe ...

in which

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

was declared president. A special meeting of the Supreme Soviet was held in the building Oval Hall of Parliament, where the white-red-white flag and the Pahonia coat of arms hanging in front of all. At exactly 10:00 in the morning, the ceremony began, with Lukashenko first taking oath of loyalty before delivering a short speech in Russian.

State of the Nation

The State of the Nation Address is an annual speech given by the Belarusian President to both houses of parliament outline the state of the Belarusian republic, similar to the American

State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...

speech.

Gallery

File:Belarus-Minsk-House of Government-1.jpg, The Government House at night, 2006 File:Belarus 3898 - House of Government (4185209317).jpg, The building in 2009 File:Belarus 3900 - Vladimir Lenin (4185975198).jpg, Statue of Vladimir Lenin File:Protest against Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Aug 22, 2020.jpg, Protest against Alexander Lukashenko outside the Government House, 2020 File:House of Government in Minsk.jpg File:Г. Магілёў - Ансамбль плошчы Леніна PICT1773.jpg, Building of the

City Council, based on the Government House, built between 1938–1940 File:Магілёў. Дом Саветаў у маі (01).jpg, Another view of the House of Soviets in Mogilev

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline
Площадь Независимости / дом правительстваУ парадного подъезда. Дом правительства в МинскеДом правительства Республики Беларусь (Фотографии)
1934 establishments in the Soviet Union Government buildings completed in 1934 Buildings and structures in Minsk Government of Belarus Government buildings in Belarus Legislative buildings in Europe Constructivist architecture