Belarusian USSR. Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic

Belarus is a plain descending to the south (Polesskaya lowland) and northwest. Due to this, the Belarusian plain is open to the influence of warm and humid western winds from the Baltic Sea and has a somewhat less continental climate compared to other regions of the European part of the USSR: milder winters and less hot summers in the middle years. temperature 5.5 ° and high humidity. The soils of the BSSR are predominantly podzolic, sandy, loamy and waterlogged; there are many lakes and peat bogs in the BSSR. The latter make villages difficult. x-in, but as a source of energy they represent one of the few natural wealth of the BSSR. The main wealth of the BSSR is forest, it occupies more than 1/4 of the entire area (oak, hornbeam), and in Polesie - up to 40% (needles, oak, ash, alder). The main rivers of the BSSR are the Dnieper (with the Berezina, Sozh and Pripyat), the Western Dvina (tributaries - the Drissa, Ulla, connected to the Berezina-Berezina water system).

Population

Occupying 0.6% of the area of ​​the Union (equal to 21,352.6 thousand km 2), the BSSR exceeds the Union average by 5.7 times in population density, second only to the Ukrainian SSR of all the Union republics. By national composition: 82.1% - Belarusians, living Ch. arr. in the villages, 9.9% - Jews, ch. arr. in small towns, Poles 2.3%, the rest. advantage Russians living Ch. arr. in big cities; urban population - 17%. The main commercial, industrial and cultural centers of the BSSR: Minsk (the capital of the BSSR - 123.6 thousand inhabitants), Gomel (83 thousand inhabitants) and Bobruisk (39.3 thousand inhabitants); factory centers: Vitebsk (98.8 thousand inhabitants) and Borisov (26 thousand inhabitants).

Ways of communication: main f. e.- Moscow-Belarusian-Balt. and Western with large railway. nodes - Gomel, Orsha, Polotsk, etc. The correct shipping communication is carried out along the Dnieper with Pripyat, Berezina and Sozh and Zap. Dvina. Other rivers serve mainly for rafting.

Agriculture

The agriculture of the BSSR is intensive and livestock-breeding; - so, at 2.9 million dess. sown area (approx. 2.9% of the sown area of ​​the USSR), the BSSR has 3.7% of all horses, 4.6% of all cows, 4.6% of the sown area under non-grain crops and 12.2% of all pigs. The BSSR is characterized by a lack of bread and an excess of meat, milk and cattle. Grains are dominated by: rye, oats, barley and buckwheat, among non-grains - potatoes, grasses, flax. The size of a peasant farm in the BSSR (4.04 hectares of crops) is somewhat higher than the average for the consuming zone of the USSR (3.05 hectares). The BSSR is characterized in the USSR by the smallest percentage of farms without sowing, without working livestock and without arable implements, and by the greatest distribution of arable land cultivation with their own implements and livestock. All this testifies to the lesser stratification of the peasantry in comparison with other parts of the USSR. Areas of industrial forestry in the BSSR are located in the river basins: Zap. Dvina (Polotsk district), Berezina and Drut (Minsk and Bobruisk districts) and Pripyat (Mozyr district). Only half (47%) of organized forests in the BSSR are in the state. lands and approx. 1/4 local forests values. Net income from forestry in the BSSR - approx. 20 million rubles in 1926/27.

Industry

The industry of the BSSR is poorly developed: only 1.35% of the factory-manager is concentrated in the BSSR. workers of the USSR with 3.4% of the population. Production in 1926/27 is 133 million rubles. with 33 thousand workers. The industries that process local raw materials are the most developed: of these, the food industry (distillery, starch-treacle, etc.) provides 24% of the total production of the BSSR, woodworking - 23% and paper - 10%. Yeast production is especially developed, giving approx. 1/4 allied products. 80% of yeast production is sent outside the BSSR. Industrial enterprises in the Byelorussian SSR are very small, more than a third of the output comes from private industry (chiefly food industry), while throughout the USSR private industry produces only 2.2% of output.

Budget of the BSSR(state and local) was measured at 80 million rubles. (1926/27), inferior in per capita average (15.8 rubles) to all the union republics, except for the Uzbek SSR.

public education

Public education has made great strides forward during the years of Soviet power. Before the revolution, 39% of school-age children studied in the BSSR, in 1925 - 68%, or 350 tons, children studied in 4,000 schools with a 4-year course and 261 schools with a 7-year course of study; In addition to a much larger network of primary and secondary education, the BSSR has a number of technical schools and four universities: the University in Minsk (2,500 students), S.-kh. academy in Gorki (1,400 students), Veterinary Institute in Vitebsk (350 students) and the Communist University in Minsk (200 students). Before the revolution, there was not a single university in the BSSR. The percentage of literate (conscripted) Belarusians is higher than in the USSR, and amounted to 91.8 in 1925 against the average for the USSR - 87.7. In the BSSR, 19 newspapers are published with a circulation of over 100,000 copies; however, the provision of the population with a newspaper in the BSSR (2 copies per 100 people) is inferior to all the union republics, except for the Central Asian ones. Of the purely scientific institutions, the following are of particular importance: the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in Minsk (transformed from the Institute of Belarusian Culture) and the Scientific Research Agricultural Institute. institute. Lenin.

Literature:

• Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, edition of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR, Minsk, 1927;
• Ignatovich and Smolich A., Belarus, Minsk, 1926.

P. Semenovich.

Trade unions and the Communist Party

Trade unions and the Communist Party. Members of trade unions (on January 1, 1928) 234,193 people, workers - 56%, employees - 44%; on a national basis: Belarusians - 55.6%, Jews - 27.7%, Great Russians - 9.6%, others - 7.1%. Members and Cand. party on 1/IV 1928 - 31.546, members and candidates. Komsomol - 62.892.

History of the formation of the BSSR

Being one of the main theaters of military operations in the war of 1914-18, Belarus in 1915, after the defeat of the Russian armies, was torn into two parts. In Vilna, occupied by the Germans, under the tutelage of the German command, the Lithuanian-Belarusian state was proclaimed, with the Sejm in Vilna. After the February Revolution, in that part of Belarus, which was not occupied by the Germans, a series of congresses of peasants, front-line soldiers, and others took place, ending with the election of the Belarusian Central Rada, petty-bourgeois in its composition and counter-revolutionary in essence.

By the end of 1917, the workers and peasant masses of the BSSR, with the unanimous support of the soldiers of the Western Front, who were concentrated in Minsk, overthrew the power of the bourgeoisie. Soviet power was declared, headed by the Council of People's Commissars, which included the Bolsheviks represented by Comrades. Lander, Frunze, Myasnikov, Pozern, Knorin and others. On February 25, 1918, after the break in the Brest negotiations, the Germans occupied Minsk and part of Belarus up to Orsha. Power temporarily passed to the people's secretariat, acting on behalf of the Central Rada. In essence, it was the domination of the Germans, who invited counter-revolutionary organizations from the Byelorussian Socialist-Revolutionaries, the Cadets, etc., to their service. With this character of the Byelorussian government, the partisan movement is growing stronger. The partisan detachments were led by the communists, who had grouped the main core in Smolensk. The decisive role in this struggle of the Belarusian workers and peasants against the German occupation was played by the revolution in Germany, after which the Germans retreated along the entire front. In this regard, the Western Regional Party Committee, with the full support of the Belarusian peasantry, launched an intensified work on the Sovietization of Belarus in that part of it, which was cleared from the German occupation (Borisov, Minsk, Mogilev, etc.). Revolutionary military councils began to work intensively, trade unions began to organize.

Jan 1 , at the Congress of Soviets of Belarus, there was an unification of Belarus with Soviet Lithuania. Polish troops in April 1919 occupied almost the entire territory of the BSSR. The occupation of the BSSR by the Poles again caused an intensified partisan movement. As a result of the stubborn struggle of partisan detachments and as a result of the policy of oppression pursued by the Polish bourgeoisie in relation to the workers and peasants of Belarus. During the campaign of the Red Army against Warsaw, the BSSR was liberated from the Poles, and power passed into the hands of the Soviets. A revolutionary was formed. committee composed of Chervyakov, Adamovich and Knorin, which existed until the elections of the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR.

The western part of Belarus, after the conclusion of peace between Soviet Russia and Poland, remained within the borders of the latter. The population of the West Belarus is subjected to national oppression in the same way as other national minorities in Poland. During 1920-22, Soviet Belarus was attacked from Poland by the bandit White Guard detachments of Bulak-Balakhovich

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Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR; Belarusian Belarusian Savetsky Satsyyalistichnaya Respublika listen)) is a union republic within the USSR.

First proclaimed on January 1, 1919 under the name Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus, which seceded from the RSFSR on January 31, 1919, and on February 27 merged with (Litbel).

Litbel ceased to exist as a result of the Polish occupation during the Soviet-Polish war. On July 12, 1920, as a result of the Moscow Treaty, concluded between the RSFSR and Lithuania, Litbel was actually liquidated. Legally, the SSR Litbel ceased to exist on July 31, 1920, when the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus was restored in Minsk, later changing its name to the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The BSSR, among the 4 Soviet republics, signed the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR on December 30, 1922.

On September 19, 1991, the BSSR was renamed the Republic of Belarus, and on December 8, 1991, the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS was signed with the RSFSR and Ukraine.

At the end of 1918, the Belarusian political and public structures held different views on the question of the creation of the Belarusian statehood. The regional executive committee of the Western Region and the Front and the North-Western Regional Committee of the RCP (b) were opponents of its creation, while ethnic Belarusian refugees in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities created their own influential socio-political organizations and insisted on self-determination.

Until December 1918, the Soviet party leadership did not have a definite position on the issue of Belarusian Soviet statehood. In December, a telegram was sent from the Obliskomzap to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR containing the following text: . In connection with the change in the military-political situation, the decision is overdue. Although proposals to create a Byelorussian Soviet Republic had been voiced before, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) attracted special attention to the decisions of the conference of the Belarusian sections of the RCP(b), which decided to create a temporary workers' and peasants' government, convene the All-Belarusian Congress of Communists and create a national party center. On December 24, the issue of creating a Belarusian Soviet statehood was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RCP (b). On December 25, People's Commissar for Nationalities Joseph Stalin held talks with Dmitry Zhilunovich and Alexander Myasnikov and informed them of the decision of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) to support the creation of the BSSR. Stalin, however, did not state the reasons for this decision, saying only that the Central Committee had decided "for many reasons, which are now out of the question, to agree with the Belarusian comrades on the formation of the Belarusian Soviet Republic." On December 27, at the last negotiations in Moscow with the participation of Stalin, the territory of the future state was designated (Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, Smolensk, Vitebsk provinces).

The decision on the borders of the new state was adopted on the same day. The territory of the new state was divided into seven districts - Minsk, Smolensk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Grodno and Baranovichi. Minsk, Smolensk, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Grodno provinces, as well as several counties of the Suvalkovsky, Chernigov, Vilna and Kovno provinces, and with the exception of several counties of the Smolensk and Vitebsk provinces, were recognized as "the main core of the Belarusian Republic".

On December 30-31, a provisional government was being created. These days, a conflict occurred between Zhilunovich and Myasnikov related to Zhilunovich's desire to get the majority of seats in the interim government for representatives of Belnatsk and the Central Bureau of the Belarusian Communist Sections, but the conflict was settled thanks to the intervention of Stalin. As a result, Belnatsky and the Central Bank of the Belarusian sections received 7 seats in the interim government, while representatives of the Regional Executive Committee of the Western Region and the Front and the North-Western Regional Committee - 9. At the same time, Zhilunovich was appointed chairman of the interim government.

On the evening of January 1, 1919, the "Manifesto of the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Soviet Government of Belarus" was read on the radio. The manifesto was drawn up in a hurry, and only five members of the government (Zhilunovich, Chervyakov, Myasnikov, Ivanov, Reingold) first in Russian with subsequent translation into Belarusian. This date is considered the date of the proclamation of Soviet Belarus.

On January 3, 1919, the regional executive committee of the Western Region and the Front dissolved itself, transferring power to the provisional government of the SSR of Belarus. On January 5, 1919, the government of the SSRB moved from Smolensk to Minsk.

On January 16, at the plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), it was decided to separate "from the Byelorussian Republic the provinces of Vitebsk, Smolensk and Mogilev, leaving two provinces - Minsk and Grodno" as part of Belarus. In addition, there were proposals to begin preparations for unification with Lithuania, and in the long run with Russia and other Soviet republics.

The decision of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) was negatively received by the majority in the CEC of the SSR of Belarus, however, in connection with the telegram of the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Ya. at provincial party conferences. In protest against the directive change in the territory of the republic, three people's commissars resigned from the government. In addition, such actions were unpopular on the ground as well - for example, the Nevelsk district conference, by 21 votes against 2, adopted a resolution against the transfer of the Vitebsk province to the direct subordination of the RSFSR.

On January 31, 1919, the independence of the SSR of Belarus was recognized by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. On February 2, 1919, the First All-Belarusian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Red Army Deputies began its work in Minsk, which adopted the Constitution of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus on February 3. The congress was attended by 230 delegates, including 121 people from the Minsk province, 49 from Smolensk and none from Vitebsk; Yakov Sverdlov also attended the congress. At the congress, the Central Executive Committee of the SSRB was elected, which was headed by Myasnikov and which included only two representatives of Belnatsky. On February 27, 1919, the Byelorussian SSR merged with the Soviet Republic of Lithuania to form Litbel. The Litbel SSR ceased to exist due to the occupation of its territory by the troops of the Polish Republic during the Soviet-Polish war.

After the Red Army liberated a significant part of the territory of Belarus on July 31, 1920, the independence of the republic was restored, and its name changed to the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic. On the same day, the Declaration of Independence of the BSSR was published in the newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussia. The BSSR is one of the four republics that signed an agreement on the creation of the USSR in 1922.

In March 1924 and December 1926, part of the territory of the RSFSR, namely: parts of Vitebsk (with Vitebsk), Smolensk (with Orsha), Gomel (with Gomel) provinces, were transferred to the Byelorussian SSR [ ] . Thus, the territory of the BSSR more than doubled, and its eastern border generally corresponded to the eastern border of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before the first partition of the Commonwealth [ ] .

On March 15, 1935, she was awarded the Order of Lenin by the BSSR for her achievements in socialist construction and development of the national economy.

Until 1936, the official languages ​​of the republic, along with Belarusian and Russian, were Polish and Yiddish. The slogan "Proletarians of all countries, unite! » was inscribed on the coat of arms of the BSSR in all four languages.

On October 10, 1939, an agreement was signed between the USSR and the Republic of Lithuania on the transfer of Vilna and part of the Vilna region from the BSSR to it. Representatives of the BSSR did not take part in the discussion of the terms of the agreement, nor in the negotiations, nor in the signing of the agreement.

On March 25, 1918, representatives of national parties and movements announced the creation of an independent Belarusian People's Republic (BPR). After the departure of the German troops, its territory was occupied by the Red Army. On January 1, 1919, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus was proclaimed in Smolensk.

From February 1919, the territory of Belarus became the scene of the Soviet-Polish war, during which Polish troops occupied Minsk in August 1919. The Red Army returned to Minsk in July 1920, and in 1921 a Soviet-Polish peace treaty was signed in Riga, according to which the western part of modern Belarus was ceded to Poland. In its eastern part, Soviet power was established and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was formed, which became part of the USSR on December 30, 1922.

In the 1920s-1930s, a policy of industrialization and collectivization was carried out on the territory of Soviet Belarus, new branches of industry and agriculture were formed. The language reform of 1933 strengthened the Russification policy. During the years of Stalinist repressions, tens of thousands of representatives of the intelligentsia, the cultural and creative elite, and peasants were shot or exiled to Siberia and Central Asia. Part of the intelligentsia emigrated.

Western Belarus, which went to Poland under the Treaty of Riga in 1921, was reunited with the BSSR in 1939, after the defeat of Poland.

Already at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the territory of Belarus was occupied by German troops. Partisan struggle was organized in the occupied territories, there was an underground. In 1943, an advisory body was created under the German occupation administration - the Belarusian Central Rada, which was entrusted with propaganda and some police functions. In the summer of 1944 Belarus was liberated by the Red Army.

According to data updated in 2001, every third inhabitant of Belarus died during the war years. In total, during the Great Patriotic War, German troops burned and destroyed 9,200 settlements. Of these, over 5,295 were destroyed along with all or part of the population during the period of punitive operations. The victims of the three-year policy of genocide and "scorched earth" in Belarus were 2.230 million people.

The role of Belarus in the fight against the invaders and the sacrifices made on the altar of victory over fascism gave her the right to take her place among the founding states of the UN.

After the October Revolution, the Belarusian national movement was divided into two parts: one part took an anti-Bolshevik and anti-Soviet position, the other supported the Bolsheviks and connected the solution of the issue of Belarusian statehood with the Soviet government. On January 31, 1918, Belnatsky was created. which was headed by A. Chervyakov.

At the beginning of March 1918, the Bolsheviks IV, Congress of Soviets and VI/ Party Congress were forced to accept the conditions of the Brest-Litovsk peace. In order to confirm adherence to communist ideas, the party was renamed at the 7th Congress from the RSDLP (b) into the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). abbreviated as RCP(b). The Belarusian section of the RCP(b), which was in Moscow, was headed by D. Zhilunovich.

In the summer of 1918, Belnatsky came up with a proposal to transform the Western Region into an autonomous republic within the RSFSR. The Belarusian sections of the RCP(b) supported him. The leadership of the Regional Executive Committee (A. Myasnikov and V. Knorin) rejected this proposal, and in September 1918, on their initiative, the Western Region was renamed into Western commune.

At the end of 1918, the government of Soviet Russia came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a barrier (buffer) between bourgeois Poland and Soviet Russia in the form of the Byelorussian Soviet Republic. On December 21-23, 1918, a conference of Belarusian sections of the RCP(b) was held in Moscow, which elected the Central Bureau (CB) of Belarusian communist organizations. The Central Bank was given the task of creating the Belarusian Communist Party and the Belarusian Soviet Republic. On December 24, the leadership of the RCP(b) decided to create the BSSR. December 30, 1918 in Smolensk, the VI North-West Regional Conference of the RCP (b) declared itself 1st Congress of the CP(b)B. who proclaimed the BSSR. The governing body of the party, the Central Bureau, was elected. It was headed by A Myasnikov. On December 31, the Central Bank of the CP(b)B approved the composition of the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Soviet Government headed by D. Zhilunovich.

January 1, 1919 was published Manifesto on the establishment of the BSSR. The Western Commune was liquidated. The regional executive committee resigned his powers. On January 5, the government of the BSSR and the Central Bank of the CP(b)B moved to Minsk, which became the capital of the BSSR. At this time, the Polish government began to gradually occupy the western lands of Belarus. On January 16, 1919, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) decided to include the Smolensk, Mogilev and Vitebsk provinces into the RSFSR, and to create the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Republic from the Minsk, Grodno, Kovno and Vilna provinces.

February 2-3, 1919 worked in Minsk I Congress of Soviets of the BSSR. He accepted the first Constitution of the BSSR , elected the Central Executive Committee, approved the proposal of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on the unification of the Lithuanian SSR and the BSSR. In connection with the threat of the occupation of Lithuania and Belarus by Poland, on February 27, 1919, a buffer state was created - the Lithuanian-Belarusian SSR (LitBel).

From mid-March to September 1919, Polish troops captured most of the territory of LitBel, which ceased to exist as a state entity. Under the conditions of the Polish occupation, a partisan movement under the leadership of the Bolsheviks and Social Revolutionaries unfolded on the territory of Belarus.

At the beginning of July 1920, in the conditions of the successful offensive of the Red Army, the question arose of restoring Belarusian statehood. After release July 11, 1920 Minsk, from the Polish occupiers, all power passed to Minsk Provincial Revolutionary Committee. July 30 instead, the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Belorussian Republic was created. On July 31, 1920, a joint meeting of party, Soviet and trade union bodies was held, at which it was adopted Declaration of Independence of the BSSR (second proclamation). The results of the Polish-Soviet war were summed up on March 18, 1921 at the negotiations in Riga. Under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty, the western part of the territory of Belarus was ceded to Poland. The territory of the restored BSSR consisted of six districts of the Minsk province with a population of over 1.5 million people.

On the territory of the BSSR and LitBel, a policy of "war communism" was introduced, the main event of which was surplus - method of harvesting agricultural products. when peasants are obliged to hand over all surpluses at fixed state prices. The policy of "war communism" also provided for the replacement of commodity-money relations with natural exchange of products, the introduction of universal labor service, the prohibition of free trade, the nationalization of industry, the prohibition of private enterprises, and the introduction of equal wages.

The BSSR is the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 16 republics that were part of the USSR. After the collapse of the USSR, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of the BSSR became the city of Minsk, which was one of the largest and most populous cities in the Soviet Union. In addition, in the BSSR it is necessary to allocate 6 regions, 117 districts in rural areas, 98 cities, as well as 111 urban-type settlements.

The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic existed for a long time. The flag has been represented by various variants throughout its history. These options are presented in the article.

Interestingly, when the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic existed, the coat of arms almost did not change.

History of education

Between such states as Poland, the Lithuanian SSR, the Latvian SSR, the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was created after the revolution. Its territory totaled about 207,600 km 2. Initially, the BSSR belonged to the RSFSR and only two years later became an independent republic. Immediately after the separation of the BSSR, it united with the Lithuanian Soviet Republic and the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, or, as it was also called, the LitBel SSR, but only for a year and a half. The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1919 was actually part of a larger republic. The Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic consisted of two. The Moscow-Lithuanian Treaty, which was signed on July 12, 1920, was an omen of the collapse of the SSR LitBel. And already on July 31, the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic completely disintegrated. Thus, the BSSR was created in 1919, then entered into a larger association, after, from 1920 to 1991, it existed in its former status and became an independent state.

Economic characteristic

In 1980, 4.3 billion rubles were invested in the BSSR for the development of industry, economy and infrastructure. The most developed industries of this state can be called the chemical, petrochemical and food industries. The rapid economic growth (from 1940 to 1980) was carried out due to the abundant capital investment and labor of the Belarusian people. People who lived in the republic after the war rebuilt cities, many of which, one might say, were rebuilt, set up production, and the volume of production increased by as much as 29 times in just 40 years. The fuel of the BSSR, as well as the Republic of Belarus, was and is provided with the help of its abundant reserves of natural gas, oil, coal and peat. Rich mineral deposits were also developed and developed with the help of investments from the USSR. The length of railways in the BSSR in 1982 was as much as 5,513 km, and roads for vehicles - 36,700 km.

Population

The BSSR was one of the most densely populated parts of the Soviet Union, in 1984 the population density was 47.6 people per 1 km2. The uniform population of the republic is determined by relatively equal population throughout its territory. However, the center of the country was the most populated, which can be explained by the location of large cities here, including Minsk. Between 1950 and 1970, the urban population increased faster than the Soviet average.

Nature of the BSSR

The republic is located on the East European Plain, occupying the basin of the middle Dnieper, as well as the western Dvina and Neman in its upper reaches. The flat surface type prevails. However, the area is characterized by an alternation of uplands and lowlands, which are very swampy in places, in addition, there were a large number of lakes on the territory of the BSSR. Quaternary glaciation determines this feature of the relief. In the northwestern part of the state there is a whole system of finite moraine ridges. Uplands are in the northeast.

Relief

In the direction from west to east, on the territory of the former BSSR, the Belarusian ridge stretches, which consists of separate parts, hills formed in the Moscow glaciation. Parallel to it are the glacial plains. Belarusian Polesye, located in the south of the state, is called a special case of the plain. Hills and ridges also protrude in the south, next to the Belarusian Polesie.

Climate

The BSSR was located in the temperate zone, which means that the climate is temperate continental. The temperature in January is about -4 °С, however, due to the relatively large length from north to south, this value may vary. The average temperature in July is about 17 ° C, but for the same reason the value cannot be accurate for absolutely all regions of the country. The climate is continental, which means that there is little precipitation - 550-700 mm.

Rivers

In the BSSR there were a large number of rivers, both small and large in length. Their total length is considered to be 90,600 km. All of them belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, namely to the Black and Baltic Seas. Some rivers are used for transportation. The BSSR was very rich in forests, which occupied 1/3 of the entire territory, swamp vegetation and shrubs were located on 1/10 of the territory.

The territory of the BSSR was not on the edge of the East European Plate, which means that seismological activity could not be strong, the most powerful earthquakes did not even reach 5 points.

Minerals of the BSSR

The most important minerals, which are still found on the territory of Belarus in large quantities, are gas, oil, coal and various salts.

The region of the northern part of the Pripyat trough is very rich in oil and gas. A distinctive feature of oil deposits is their massiveness and their arrangement in layers. Natural gas is not presented in large volumes, and therefore is produced as a by-product.

and shale

Huge reserves of brown coal were also discovered on the territory of the BSSR. Peat is represented by 39 species. It is one of the main types of fuel in Belarus. As many as 7,000 coal deposits, the total area of ​​which is about 2.5 million hectares, simply cannot be unused. The total amount of peat is 1.1 billion tons, these are truly rich reserves.

In addition, oil shale began to be mined in the BSSR, which, according to geologists, are located at a depth of up to 600 m. Huge reserves of shale are also actively used as fuel.

salt

Potash and rock salts are mining and chemical raw materials. The thickness of the layers is 1-40 m. They lie under carbonate-argillaceous rocks. The reserves of potash salts amount to about 7.8 billion tons. They are mined at various deposits, for example, at Starobinsky and Petrikovsky. Rock salts are represented by 20 billion tons, they occur at a depth of up to 750 meters. They are mined at such deposits as Davydovskoye and Mozyrskoye. In addition, the BSSR was rich in phosphorites.

Building rocks

The territory of Belarus also has rich reserves of building and facing stone, chalk rocks, clays and building sands. Stocks of building stone - about 457 million m 3, facing - about 4.6 million m 3. The southern regions of Belarus are richest in building stones. Dolomites, on the other hand, come to the surface in the north. Their reserves are about 437.8 million tons. The BSSR was also rich in chalk rocks, the reserves of which today amount to about 3679 million tons. Clays of various types are represented on the territory of Belarus with reserves of 587 million m , Gomel and Vitebsk regions.

Development of mineral resources

On the territory of the BSSR, as already mentioned, mineral resources were actively mined. Their development began 30,000 years ago, in the late Paleolithic era. At that time, people who lived in this area mined flint from the surface of the earth. About 4500 thousand years ago, flint mining was already developed. A large number of mines have been discovered that were used even in the Cretaceous periods. Their depth is no more than 6 meters, however, given the time of their occurrence, we can assume that the extraction of flint was very developed among the inhabitants of these areas. There were also whole complexes of mines connected by passages, usually up to 5.

Production development

Ancient needles were found in the mines, which were intended for sewing together bags needed to transport the mined mineral. The material was processed near the exit. Flint was used to make axes. Already in the fifth century BC. the development of metal deposits began, from which people who lived on the territory of Belarus created household items and weapons. In addition, utensils for various needs were made from clay. Already from the 16th century, glass factories began to appear, and in the 18th, the first manufactories in this area arose.

Peat mining

Peat extraction in the BSSR has become an independent industry. Volumes have steadily increased due to increased usage. Peat enterprises appeared, which strengthened the industry. But during the Second World War, almost all of them were destroyed. Only by 1949 did the volume of extracted peat reach its previous values.

Salt mining

As already mentioned, potash and rock salts are found in large quantities on the territory of Belarus. But only in 1961 their active mining began. The underground mining method was used. The richest of them is Starobinskoye. The mechanization of most of the mining led to an increase in the volume of salts by 60% in 1965 and by 98% in 1980.

Subsoil protection

Minerals were actively mined in the BSSR, it is easy to guess that this greatly affected the environment. Huge areas were badly damaged. Therefore, recreational activities aimed at enriching the subsoil and restoring resources, such as fertilizing the soil and planting trees, began to be carried out.

Education of industrial specialists

The Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, formed back in the BSSR, trains personnel for work in the mining industry. It was founded in 1933 in Minsk. Already in 1969 there were as many as 12 faculties. There are also other educational institutions. Technical schools still provide education in the development of peat deposits, underground processing of ores and non-metallic minerals, and in other branches of industry.

Arena of Confrontation

In 1920, the BSSR, one might say, was the center of confrontation between bourgeois Europe and the USSR. The latter side wanted to retain power in Poland, the interests of the Soviet Union were represented by a delegation from the RSFSR. The decision was made not in favor of the BSSR. The resolution did not give the possibility of expanding Belarus at the expense of Poland.

The socialists of the BSSR were dissatisfied with the location of the borders with their neighbors, namely with the RSFSR and Poland. They believed that it was impossible to establish boundaries on an ethnographic basis. There was no unity on territorial issues.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Second World War, the BSSR and the Ukrainian SSR suffered more than other parts of the Soviet Union. More than 2 million people died in the BSSR, and about 380 thousand people were taken out of the country. The population that lived before the war was reached only by 1971. The Nazi invaders destroyed 209 cities and regional centers, many of which had to be rebuilt, only 2.8 million square meters of housing stock survived out of almost 10.8.

Gaining independence and interesting facts

In 1990, the Declaration on the BSSR was signed, which meant its imminent separation. On September 19, 1991, it officially became known as the Republic of Belarus. In the same year, an agreement on the creation of the CIS was created and signed. The association included the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. An interesting fact in the history of this state is that for 46 years this republic, like the Ukrainian SSR, was one of the members of the UN (United Nations), although it remained a dependent state - the BSSR. In the 1920s and 1930s, constitutionalism was developing in the republic.