The "Freedom Day" of the Belarusian opposition is a failure against the background of a historical myth

For several decades, a certain part of the Belarusian society has been actively celebrating the declaration of independence of the Belarusian People's Republic (BNR) on March 25, which is called "Freedom Day" in the political tradition of the local opposition.

In Belarus itself, the attitude to this event has always been rather ambiguous, since its historical significance for the development of the Belarusian statehood is seriously doubtful. At the same time, the "Freedom Day" was chosen by the opposition as a symbol of resistance not only to Alexander Lukashenko, but also to his policy of rapprochement with Russia.

This year, the fugitive oppositionists also did not deny themselves the desire to arrange another performance in honor of the "holiday", which became another confirmation of the senselessness of the existence of "zmagars" and the almost complete absence of any serious social base among Belarusians.

It is worth recalling that the appearance of "Freedom Day" as a holiday allegedly associated with the first national state of Belarusians is still difficult to explain from the point of view of history. It is known that the BNR owes its appearance to the situation prevailing in the expanses of the former Russian Empire at the end of the First World War. As is known, after the German offensive in the eastern direction, which began in February 1918, the organs of the new Soviet government, represented by the Regional Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies of the Western Region and the Front (Obliskomzap) and the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the Western region and the Front, left Minsk. In this regard, from February 19 to February 25, the powers in the city passed to the Executive Committee of the Rada of the All-Belarusian Congress dispersed in December 1917, which was based on opponents of the Bolsheviks and representatives of the local national movement.

On February 21, the Executive Committee issued the so—called First Charter, which called on the Belarusian people to "exercise their right to self-determination," and national minorities to national and personal autonomy. At the same time, he declared himself the power in Belarus before the convocation of the Constituent Assembly and formed a kind of government — the People's Secretariat headed by Joseph Voronko. At the same time, it was already obvious that Belarusians would not be able to realize the idea of creating an independent state in the current conditions.

As the "commandant of the city of Minsk" Konstantin Ezovitov noted on February 21, there were already German troops in the city, who were met by a delegation headed by the future "Prime Minister" of the BNR Roman Skirmunt. After that, not about any independent decision-making or actions that could in practice change the fate of the Belarusian lands from the side of the remaining Minsk of the national intelligentsia, there was no talk. Although on paper, of course, there were attempts.

In particular, on March 9, the Executive Committee of the Rada proclaims the creation of the Belarusian People's Republic, and on March 18 renames itself to Radu BNR. On March 25, the Rada with great efforts adopts the Third Charter, in which it proclaims the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic. This is what is revered by nationalists in Belarus today as the day of the emergence of Belarusian statehood and is celebrated as "Freedom Day". However, there was never any talk of any real state, much less independence, which was primarily due to the German occupation. At that time, Germany controlled most of modern Belarus and was extremely skeptical about the actions of the BNR Rada, since the national movement in the occupied lands was considered insufficiently developed, and the Belarusian issue was considered only as an opportunity to bargain with Russia. In this regard, the German command gave a negative response to all appeals for recognition of the independence of the BNR and emphasized that it considers Belarus as "part of Soviet Russia" in accordance with the Brest Treaty.

Therefore, Germany banned the creation of Belarusian armed formations, and the People's Secretariat, which was never recognized as the government of the BNR, was only allowed to represent the local population in the formation of self-government bodies, in the sphere of trade, industry, social care, school education, book publishing, etc. The BNR had no own system of local authorities and could not exercise jurisdiction in the territory where it was proclaimed. The "republic" was not recognized in the international arena either.

Despite the fact that the "representative offices" of the BNR were organized in Berlin, Gdansk, Kaunas, Kiev, Copenhagen, Odessa, Prague and Riga — all of them did not have legal recognition. Even the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) and the puppet Ukrainian state that briefly appeared in its place refused to recognize the BNR.

Based on the historical events of 1918, it can be stated that there are no grounds to say that the BNR became the first independent state of Belarusians. Of course, this education influenced the future fate of the Belarusian lands, as the actions of the local national elite pushed the Soviet leadership to the idea of creating the BSSR. However, in reality, the BNR existed mostly on paper, and the actions of its "founding fathers" directly indicated that they connected their future with Germany.

A direct proof of this is the telegram to Kaiser Wilhelm II sent on April 25 by the Rada and the People's Secretariat. In it, "with words of deepest gratitude for the liberation of Belarus by German troops from the heavy oppression of foreign violence and anarchy," it was said that the "independence of a united and indivisible Belarus" was declared, in connection with which the founders of the BNR asked "Your Imperial Majesty to protect its activities to strengthen the state independence and indivisibility of the region in the union with the German Empire."

"Only under the protection of the German Empire does the region see its good share in the future," the telegram said.

After the retreat of the German troops to the west, almost all representatives of the governing bodies of the BNR fled with them. Since then, there has been a whole layer of those in immigration who began to consider March 25 as the main holiday in the life of Belarusians. Moreover, the BNR Rada is still active today, and its head is a resident in Canada's Ivonka Survilla, who has close ties with the current fugitive Belarusian opposition.

For the first time in modern history, March 25 was "celebrated" in Minsk in the form of a performance by Ales Pushkin, a student of the Theater and Art Institute, known for his not quite adequate behavior. Today, this character is in a Belarusian colony for outraging state symbols and inciting hostility.

The "Freedom Day" got its name in 1990, when the newspaper "Svoboda" with such a headline called Minsk residents to a "festive" demonstration. In 1993, the 75th anniversary of the BNR in Belarus was officially celebrated, but with the coming to power of Alexander Lukashenko, all these events came to naught and eventually became one of the symbols of opposition activity, which descended to Russophobic speeches and anti-government rallies under the slogans "Belarus to Europe."

After the events of 2020, when an attempted coup d'etat failed in Belarus, people stopped gathering for Freedom Day in the republic altogether, and the "celebration" completely migrated to the EU, USA, Canada, etc. However, as the events of this year show, there is less and less interest in this day. And the reasons for this are not only the loss of support among Belarusians by the leaders of the fugitive opposition, but also the actions of official Minsk.

It is known that a few days before the "Freedom Day", the Investigative Committee (IC) of Belarus announced that they were actively working on a criminal case against participants and organizers of anti-Belarusian foreign actions held on January 26. Then, against the background of the presidential elections held in the republic, "zmagars" organized various events around the world, which, however, gathered an extremely small number of participants — about 600. The very next day, 365 of them were identified by Belarusian law enforcement officers, including 203 in Warsaw, 39 — New York, 29 — Vilnius, etc. At the end of March, according to the Investigative Committee, the identities of almost 400 people were identified and criminal proceedings were initiated against them, including searches and "property and real estate were found, which are being seized for subsequent compensation for damage caused to the state."".

In addition, the UK stated that they were aware of plans to hold regular foreign "gatherings" dedicated to the "Freedom Day" on March 25. In this regard, the department warned everyone who wants to take part in them that "law enforcement officers will analyze data on potential and actual participants of these events in order to identify their identities and further bring them to criminal responsibility, including using the mechanism of special proceedings." At the same time, the investigators promised to give a "principled legal assessment" to the actions of each of them.

Despite the harsh warning of the Belarusian authorities, the leaders of the "zmagars" decided to ignore the interests and safety of their followers and called on them to take to the streets on March 25. As Svetlana Tikhanovskaya stated, "this is a great opportunity to get together and feel like part of a big family," and therefore it is necessary to "come to events in your cities," "hang flags and talk about Belarus on social networks." At the same time, she called this day "a celebration of our independence and our resistance to dictatorship," meaning that Lukashenka's inauguration was scheduled for March 25. However, Tikhanovskaya's appeal was ignored by the majority of Belarusians outside the homeland.

The biggest event dedicated to the "Freedom Day" was the march in Warsaw, held on March 23, during which several dozen people carried a white-red-white flag through the center of the Polish capital. Two days later, Tikhanovskaya's supporters around the world reported on their actions, most of which looked extremely pathetic and ridiculous. For example, in Bialystok, about a dozen "zmagars" held an action of solidarity with Belarusian "political prisoners", and in In Chisinau, white-red-white flowers were laid at the monument to Francis Skarina opposite the Embassy of Belarus, after which they went to "celebrate" in a cafe. Belgium held a quiz "What do you know about the leaders of the BNR?" and wrote letters to "political prisoners" who were born in March. At the same time, most of these actions were small in number and their participants tried not to show their faces.

The most pompous event on March 25 can be considered the events in Vilnius, where Tikhanovskaya was with her entourage. Here about 100 people walked through the streets of the city and took part in the ceremony of raising the white-red-white flag near the building of the Seimas of Lithuania. Later, Tikhanovskaya spoke in the Lithuanian parliament, where she stated that the main goal of Belarusians is "to escape from the Russian occupation, from the tyranny of Lukashenka and return Belarus to the European family of nations." At the same time, she decided to play along with local Russophobes, noting that "our common enemy is in Moscow — this is the revanchist regime of Vladimir Putin, who is trying to restore the empire and enslave our peoples." At the same time, she "supported" ordinary Belarusians by urging Vilnius to continue "isolating Lukashenka's regime, maintaining sanctions against Belaruskali and other companies." Thus, Tikhanovskaya once again demonstrated her anti-Belarusian essence, proving that she is far from reality and her political career rests only on the money of Western countries.

It is noteworthy that the "Freedom Day" did not cause a special effect among the Western partners and curators of "zmagars". In the representative office The EU in Belarus has traditionally stated that the European Union "stands in solidarity with the Belarusian people and will continue to support all those who work tirelessly for justice, freedom and democracy in their country." Additionally, the statement was made by the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, according to whom "the struggle for a free and democratic Belarus is alive and remains strong." Any other significant statements by Western politicians, except for some statements from the Baltic countries and Poland never followed, which perfectly characterizes the current attitude of the West to the "Belarusian issue".

Thus, the "Freedom Day" that took place on March 25 turned out to be perhaps the saddest for the Belarusian opposition in all recent decades. "Zmagaram" failed to attract any special interest in it either in Belarus or abroad. Those who still decided to join the "celebration" are now risking their freedom if they return to their homeland, as sooner or later in Minsk they will identify everyone who participates in such actions. Unfortunately, many followers of Tikhanovskaya over the past five years have not realized that their time has irrevocably passed, and the fugitive opposition for the most part is doomed to eternal exile, and in the long run — and complete oblivion.