The Political Rivalry for Belarus Between Belarusian Socialists and Bolsheviks in 1917 – 1919. The Establishment of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus

The aim of the article is to study the peculiarities of the rivalry between Bolsheviks and Belarusian socialists for the future of the Belarusian lands in 1918-1920. The research methodology is based on the principles of scholarship, historicism, systematism and historical analysis. The scientific novelty of the results of this study lies in the reconstruction of the events related to the creation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus. Conclusions: At the end of World War I, after the February Revolution, the process of formation of an independent Belarusian state by Belarusian socialists began. Although the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed on March 25, 1918, Belarusians did not manage to create their own state. It was determined by many internal and external factors. One of them being the political and territorial aspirations of the Bolsheviks and a rivalry between them and the Belarusian socialists for the future of the Belarusian lands. Conclusions: Belarusians, and therefore the Belarusian national movement, found themselves in a specific situation during the war. In the years 1915-1918, the Belarusian lands were divided by the Russian-German front line. As a result, military and civilians from the depths of Russia came to the frontier zone. After the February Revolution, the Russian army in the Western District and the Front began to become strongly politicized, focusing on various political and national programs. Belarusian socialists, including the military, gathered in the Central Belarusian Military Council opted for the creation of a Belarusian republic, first in a federation with Russia, and soon (after the Bolshevik coup) they leaned towards its independence. The military Bolsheviks were in favor of the incorporation of Belarusian lands into Russia as the West District. The conflict of interest between the Belarusian socialists and the Russian Bolsheviks was revealed at the All-Belarusian Congress held in Minsk in December, when Congress was brutally dispersed by the military Bolsheviks. The aspirations of the Belarusian socialists and position of the Belarusian communists were determined, among others, by the creation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus proclaimed twice on January 1, 1919 and July 31, 1920 just before the offensive against Warsaw. It was supported by Soviet Russia as a counterbalance to the activities of the Belarusian independence camp and Polish influence in Belarus