Siarhei Prytytski ( be, Сяргей Прытыцкі, ''Siarhiej Prytycki'' russian: Серге́й Притыцкий, ''Sergey Pritytsky'', pl, Sergiusz Prytycki; February 1, 1913, Harkawicze - June 13, 1971,

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 ...

) was a Belarusian Soviet statesman. Having started as a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

activist in

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 ...

(then part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

), after the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

he became a high-ranking politician in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Childhood

Prytytski was born on February 1, 1913, in Harkawicze ( be, Гаркавічы) in the Polish-Belarusian borderlands, then part 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. ...

,Grzegorz Rąkowski,
Komunisci z Harkawicz: Polska egzotyczna, Part 1.
' Oficyna Wydawnicza "Rewasz" 2005, page 211. as the third son of a school watchman. In 1914 his family fled to Nizhny Shkaft,

Penza Oblast Penza Oblast (russian: Пе́нзенская о́бласть, ''Penzenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Penza. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,386,186. Geogr ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

from the approaching front of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Activism and imprisonment in West Belarus

In 1931 Prytytski became Secretary of the youth branch (

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

) of the illegal Communist Party of West Belarus in

Krynki Krynki ( be, Крынкі, translit=Krynki) is a town in northeastern Poland, located in Podlaskie Voivodeship along the border with Belarus. It lies approximately south-east of Sokółka and about east of the regional capital Białystok. H ...

in the

. In 1932 he became member of the party and was elected secretary of the local party branch in

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

In 1933 Prytytski was for the first time arrested by Polish authorities and put into a prison in

, but soon released. In 1933 - 1934 he was a member of the local committee of the CPWB Komsomol in

Slonim Slonim ( be, Сло́нім, russian: Сло́ним, lt, Slanimas, lv, Sloņima, pl, Słonim, yi, סלאָנים, ''Slonim'') is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus, capital of the Slonimski rajon. It is located at the junction of the Ščar ...

and led strikes of forestry workers in the area. In 1934 - 1935 he studied at the CPWB school in

East Belarus East Belarus usually refers to the part of Belarus that was part of the Soviet Union between 1919 and 1939, as opposed to West Belarus that was part of the Second Polish Republic at that time. The region was known as the Socialist Soviet Republi ...

, USSR. In 1935 he became Secretary of the local youth branch of the CPWB in

. Prytytski made a widely publicized unsuccessful assassination attempt on a Polish

agent provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, the ...

Jakub Strelczuk in the Polish court at

Wilno 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 ...

on 27 January 1936, shooting from two Nagant revolvers. The operation was planned and organized by the leader of the West Belarusian Komsomol

Mikalai Dvornikau '' , native_name_lang = , nickname = Gerasim, Andrei, Anton, Stanislav Tomashevich, Robert, Petya , birth_date = , birth_place = Gomel, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Extremadura, Spain , allegiance = Com ...

, who also was the backup of the main executor. After the shooting, Prytytski was arrested and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. The death sentence provoked wide international protest in

West 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 ...

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Following the protests, the Polish authorities changed the sentence to life imprisonment. In September 1939, after the

, Prytytski was freed. He was elected into the People's Assembly of West Belarus and made a presentation demanding West Belarus to join the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Career in the USSR

After the reunification of West Belarus with the

Belarusian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, in late 1939 Prytytski was made deputy head of the executive committee of the newly established

Belastok Voblast Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...

. After Germany's attack on the USSR in June 1941, Prytytski escaped to the eastern part of Belarus still under the Soviet control. In June–August 1941 he led the defense preparations around

Mahiliou 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 ...

and the creation of defense militia near

Homel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the ori ...

. In 1942 - 1944 Prytytski was Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Belarusian branch of the

. In 1944 - 1945 he was head of a pro-Soviet Polish partisan command staff. For his command of Polish partisans, he was awarded one of his

Orders of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet Union, Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War b ...

. After the end of the Second World War, Prytytski became one of the most successful Soviet statesman from the ranks of the former

ian pro-Soviet activists. He served as the head of regional party branches in

Baranavichy Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Belarusian Latin alphabet, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of ...

Maladzyechna Maladzyechna ( be, Маладзе́чна, Maladziečna, ; russian: Молоде́чно, Molodechno; pl, Mołodeczno) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus, an administrative centre of the Maladzyechna District (and formerly of the Maladzyech ...

and

Minsk Voblast Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

s. During his work, he organized

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...

of local agriculture. In the first post-war years, Prytytski was close to being arrested under accusations of anti-Soviet espionage for

. In the 1960s, Prytytski has held senior posts in the Soviet

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 ...

. From 1962 to 1968 he was Secretary of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Belarus The Communist Party of Belarus (CPB; russian: Коммунисти́ческая па́ртия Белару́си, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Belarusi; be, Камуністы́чная па́ртыя Белару́сі, Kamunistyčnaja Partyja B ...

and Deputy Head of the Government of Belarus. In 1968-1971 Prytytski was Head of Presidium of the

Supreme Soviet of Belarus The Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, sometimes translated as Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Вярхоўны Савет Рэспублікі Беларусь), was the unicameral legislature of Belarus between 1991 an ...

Homage

* Vladimir Korsh-Sablin, a notable Belarusian Soviet director, filmed the movie ''"Red Leaves"'' ( Belarusfilm, 1958) about Prytytski's underground experience in

. * There are streets named after Prytytski in

, Maladziechna and

(''Vulica Prytyckaha''). * In Minsk, there two memorial plaques on the walls of the buildings where he lived. * In 1978, the book ''"Life given to the people"'' was published, in which articles and speeches by Prytytski, documents and memoirs about him were placed. It was opened with the introductory article ''"The People's Hero"'' by

Pyotr Masherov Pyotr Mironovich Masherov, ''Piotr Mironavič Mašeraŭ''russian: Пётр Миронович Машеров (né Mashero; – 4 October 1980) was a Soviet partisan, statesman, and one of the leaders of the Belarusian resistance during Wo ...

External links

Documents about Prytytski in the state archives of Belarus
*
"Red Leaves"
' movie (in Russian)

Sources