Daša Słabčanka (Minsk)- Most holidays in Belarus still have a Soviet trail, glorifying events or achievements of those times. But one of them takes place on a very special day: March, 25th - Independence Day (or Dzyen Voly in Belarusian). It is not an official holiday and it is even risky to take part in it, for the authorities traditionally break demonstrations with special cruelty on this day. Why? Not only because it is organised by the opposition, but because it symbolises the real history, something different from the Soviet rethoric.
March 25th, 1918 was the day of the first attempt to create a Belarusian State, namely the Belarusian Democratic Republic, whose government still exists in exile.
This day is perceived by those who love Belarus and know its history as the true Independence Day, our main holiday. There is an annual demonstration in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and celebrations in other regions of the country and abroad. Traditionally these celebrations end every year with many arrests and searches in Belarus, but hundreds of people come out under waving the national flag to show love to their country and support each other. You may see three generations marching together: those who were struggling under Communism; people of my generation who knew only a couple of years of independence while being children; and babies and teenagers born already under the time of the new authoritarian regime.
I believe that one day the 25th of March will become the main national holiday. When this will happen, Belarus will turn a new page of its history – one that will be democratic and free.
Image: Flag of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.
* Historical note: The idea of a modern Belarusian state was expressed at the December 1917 All-Belarusan Congress in Minsk in the midst of World War I and the Russian Revolution. When Russian troops left Minsk under the thrust of the Germans in February 1918, the Rada (Council) of the All-Belarusian Congress proclaimed on March 25th, 1918 by its Third Constituent Charter the independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic within the borders of the numerical majority of the Belarusian people. In proclaiming Belarus' independence the Rada rejected the division of Belarus by Russia and Germany on March 3, 1918.
The Belarusian Democratic Republic was short-lived due to the overwhelming odds against it: the presence of foreign armies on its territory (Russian, German, and Polish) and claims on its land by Russia and Poland. Eventually, the Rada found itself in exile, but actively promoting the cause of an independent and democratic Belarusian state.
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