Third Constituent Charter
The Third Constituent Charter () is a legal act adopted by the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic on 25 March 1918 in Minsk (in Malin's house), according to which the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed an independent state. The anniversary of this historic event is traditionally celebrated by Belarusians as the Freedom Day. A copy of the Third Constituent Charter is kept in the National Archives of Belarus. History The adoption of the Third Charter took place in conditions when, according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia agreed to the occupation of most of Belarus by the German Empire. The document summed up the results of the internal struggle in the leadership of the Belarusian Democratic Republic and the Belarusian Socialist Assembly for the adoption of the Second Constituent Charter, which dissatisfied the independence movement in the Belarusian Socialist Assembly, Branislaw Tarashkyevich and others. On 9 March 1918, the de facto leader of the BSA, Arkadź Smolič, wrote a letter to Ivan Luckievič, in which he claimed that the republic's leadership did not have enough conscious supporters of the independence of Belarus. On 18 March 1918, at a meeting of the Council of the All-Belarusian Congress of 1917, supporters of independence managed to rename it the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. They adopted a resolution to include Vaclau Lastouski, Ivan and Anton Luckievich, Jan Stankievič, Dominik Semashko and Yazep Turkevich, representatives of the Vilnius Belarusian Council, in the BNR Council. between Belarus and Russia. On 23 March 1918, Lastouski, the Luckievič brothers, Stankievič and Turkevich arrived in Minsk. On the same day, the government of the German Empire responded to the statement of the People's Secretariat of Belarus of 9 March 1918 on the proclamation of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. According to the telegram, Chancellor Georg von Hertling could not accept the statement of the People's Secretariat, as it would mean interference in Russia's internal affairs. Thus, the government of the German Empire still considered Belarus an integral part of Russia and did not recognize the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Due to the fact that the Bolsheviks during their withdrawal from Minsk on 19 February 1918 took with them the treasures of the State Bank, on 23 March 1918 the People's Secretariat decided to apply for a loan to the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Belarusian government representatives were present at the meeting. At a meeting with his brother, Anton Luckievich proposed to declare full independence of Belarus from Russia, in protest against the trade of Belarusian lands with the German Empire. Anton Luckievich's proposal was met with understanding by the People's Secretariat. The chairman of the People's Secretariat, Jazep Varonka, stated that the proposal should be discussed at a meeting of the BSA faction, as the representatives of this party were the majority in the Rada. In the faction, a group of BSA members led by Makar Kraŭcoŭ initially spoke out against the proposal of BNR activists, but eventually agreed with the majority. On 24 March