Unraveling The Mystery Of Polish Heritage In Belarus

The Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Poland have a shared history, with both countries having been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. Belarus was also once part of Poland, and a portion of the country was part of Poland until the late 1930s. The two countries share a border and established diplomatic relations in 1992, with Poland being one of the first countries to recognise Belarusian independence. Poles make up 3.1% of the population of Belarus, according to the 2019 census, and the Polish language and Catholicism became dominant during the countries' union. However, the Soviet authorities employed a strong anti-Polish policy in Belarus, and the current diplomatic relations between the two countries are strained.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin on 1 July 1569, but the two nations had been in a personal union since the Krewo Agreement of 1385 and the marriage of Queen Jadwiga of Poland to Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania. The union was formed to strengthen the frontiers of the dominion and maintain unity, as Jadwiga's descendant, Sigismund II Augustus, was childless. The Commonwealth had a parliamentary system of government and an elective monarchy, with the official languages being Polish and Latin, and Catholicism as the state religion.

The Commonwealth experienced a long period of prosperity, but eventually entered a period of protracted political, military, and economic decline, leading to its partitioning among its neighbours, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, in the late 18th century. Despite adopting a major reform effort and enacting the 3 May Constitution, the first codified constitution in modern European history, the Commonwealth was unable to prevent its dissolution.

The Soviet Union's anti-Polish policy in Belarus

The Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, implemented a policy of Sovietization in Belarus, aimed at isolating the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences and consolidating Soviet control. This included sending Russians to key positions in the Byelorussian government and continuing policies of Russification, such as replacing all Polish-language schools with Russian ones. All Polish organizations and social clubs were also liquidated, and the existence of the Polish ethnic group was denied by the communist administration. This systematic erasure of Polish culture and identity in Belarus was part of a broader effort to suppress national sentiments and create a homogeneous Soviet society.

The anti-Polish sentiment within the Belarusian ruling elite, modelled after the Soviet era elite, played a significant role in shaping the country's historical narrative. By referring to the "'Polish domination' and portraying himself as a defender of Belarusian national dignity, Lukashenko aimed to exploit historical stereotypes and make Belarusians aware of the perceived harm done by their Western neighbours, particularly Poland. This narrative served to justify his authoritarian rule and consolidate support among the Belarusian populace.

Following the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Eastern Poland, including West Belarus. This led to the deportation of up to 1.5 million ethnic Poles to Siberia and the spread of terror throughout the region. The Soviet secret police, NKVD, accompanying the Red Army, massacred Polish prisoners of war, contributing to the anti-Polish sentiment in the region. The Soviet occupation and subsequent World War II devastated Belarus, resulting in the loss of about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources.

During the post-World War II period, the borders of Belarus were redrawn along the Curzon Line, separating it from Poland. Joseph Stalin's policy of Sovietization further isolated the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences and promoted Russian dominance in the region. This included sending Russians to key positions in the Byelorussian government and continuing the Russification of the region. The anti-Polish sentiment and policies implemented by the Soviet Union had a lasting impact on the historical narrative and social fabric of Belarus, shaping its relationship with Poland even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The anti-Polish narrative in Belarus continued to evolve under the leadership of Alexander Lukashenko, who became the first president of Belarus after its independence in 1991. Lukashenko has emphasized the need to glorify the achievements of Belarusian heroes during the Great Patriotic War and highlight the positive aspects of the Soviet era. He has also suggested the use of the term "Polish occupation" in textbooks and museum exhibitions, reflecting his efforts to portray Poland as an exploitative force in Belarusian history. Lukashenko's historical policies have been criticized for their selective interpretation of historical events and their potential to fuel tensions between Belarus and Poland.

The shared border between Poland and Belarus

The border between Poland and Belarus has been a site of contention since the Soviet invasion of Poland at the start of World War II in 1939, when the northern half of eastern Poland was annexed into the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as Western Belorussia. Five new Voblasts were created: Baranavichy, Belostok, Brest, Pinsk, and Vilyeyka. Following the war, in 1945, an agreement was signed for the registration and evacuation of the Belarusian population from Poland to the BSSR and the Polish population from the BSSR to Poland. This agreement intensified the mixing of various ethnic groups in north-eastern Poland.

In 1946, during the refinement of the state border between the USSR and Poland, the border ran through areas that Poland lost due to the Soviet dictate because they were located west of the Curzon Line. This shift was around 12 km (7 miles) in the vicinity of Odelsk, 15 km (10 miles) in the Łosośny area, 20 km (12 miles) in Biała Blota, and 15 km (10 miles) in the area of the Augustów Canal.

The impact of the new border demarcation negatively influenced the infrastructure and economic activity on the Polish side of the border. The new border cut off or complicated rail, road, and telecommunications networks. The new frontier severed or significantly complicated the telephone and telegraph connections that had survived the six years of Soviet and German occupation.

In August 2021, a wave of illegal immigrants started fleeing through Belarus to Poland. Belarus was accused of hybrid warfare by orchestrating and supporting the illegal crossing of the border in forest areas. In response, Poland began building a 5.5-metre-high steel wall topped with barbed wire in January 2022. The barrier was completed in June 2022 at a cost of around US$407 million. An electronic barrier mounting 3,000 cameras with night vision and movement sensors was added to the fence between November 2022 and early summer 2023.

The Union of Polish People in Belarus

The Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB) is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, with around 20,000 to 30,000 members. The group represents the Polish minority in Belarus, which officially numbers around 288,000 people according to the 2019 census, although estimates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland put the figure at 1,100,000. The Polish minority is the second-largest ethnic group in Belarus, after Russians, constituting around 3.1% of the total population.

The UPB was formed in 1990 and has been a key center for people of Polish heritage in Belarus, offering education in the Polish language and publishing Polish-language magazines such as Głos znad Niemna. The organization also maintains extensive cultural and social ties with Poland.

Since the election of Alexander Lukashenko in 1994, the UPB has faced increasing political pressure and accusations of opposition activities. The Belarusian government has threatened to illegalize the Union, and in 2005, the state administration accused the UPB of a lack of transparency due to its statutory documents being prepared in Polish without Belarusian translation.

In 2005, Andżelika Borys was elected as the new leader of the UPB, but this outcome was not recognized by the Lukashenko administration. A new election was held, and the pro-government candidate, Józef Łucznik, won. However, Łucznik was not accepted by Polish activists, resulting in two independent organizations of Poles in Belarus. The group led by Borys was stripped of its assets and subsidies, and the UPB became independent of the Belarusian authorities, ceasing to be a partner in talks with the Lukashenko regime.

The UPB, headed by Borys, is officially supported by Poland and is responsible for issuing the Card of the Pole, a document confirming Polish nationality. This card is not recognized by the Belarusian administration but may facilitate travel to Poland or the legalization of stay for Belarusian citizens with Polish roots.

In recent years, the Belarusian government has intensified its repression of the Polish population, including the arrest of Borys and other UPB members for allegedly inciting hatred and organizing illegal mass events. The Belarusian authorities have also expelled Polish diplomats and closed Polish-language newspapers, claiming that the Polish minority is a fifth column attempting to destabilize the country.

The 2020 Belarusian protests

The demonstrations intensified after the official election results were announced on 9 August, with Lukashenko declared the winner. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate, rejected the results as falsified, claiming instead to have received 60-70% of the votes. On 14 August, she announced the creation of the Coordination Council, with membership open to all Belarusians who agreed that the election had been falsified.

The protests led to violent persecution by the authorities. The United Nations Human Rights Office cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape. At the end of 2020, the Viasna Human Rights Centre documented 1,000 testimonies of torture victims.

The protests, nicknamed the Slipper Revolution and the Anti-Cockroach Revolution, were initiated by businessman and blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who compared Lukashenko to a dictatorial insect in a children's poem. Tikhanovsky travelled across Belarus, streaming interviews with random people on his YouTube channel, most of whom expressed disagreement with Lukashenko and the current government. Tikhanovsky was detained in late May 2020 and accused of being a foreign agent.

During the election campaign, Lukashenko claimed that the opposition protests were orchestrated by foreigners, suggesting they might be Americans, NATO members, Russians, or Ukrainians. On 19 June, he announced that he had "foiled a coup attempt", resulting in the arrest of main opposition rival Viktar Babaryka. Babaryka stated that the charges were falsified and the arrest was politically motivated to stop him from winning the election.

On the night of the election, all roads and entry points to Minsk were blocked by the police and army. The internet in Belarus was also partially blocked, with government officials claiming this was due to a heavy denial-of-service attack. However, independent IT specialists claimed that the Belarusian state internet monopoly deliberately used deep packet inspection technology, and that issues with the filtering equipment may have been the cause.

In the evening, after the close of polling stations, the Belarusian government-sponsored TV aired exit poll results showing Lukashenko receiving 80.23% of the votes, and Tsikhanouskaya receiving 9.9%. This caused an immediate reaction from Tsikhanouskaya's supporters, who headed to the streets in all major cities. The protests started peacefully but escalated into violence between protesters and authorities. Protesters started building barricades to block traffic, and the security forces used police batons, rubber bullets, grenades, water cannons, tear gas, and stun grenades to suppress the protests.

At least three protesters died in August as a result of police actions. Former detainees described beatings, prolonged stress positions, electric shocks, and rape. Some had serious injuries. Police held detainees for days in overcrowded cells, often denying them food, water, medical assistance, and access to the toilet. Despite this intimidation, tens of thousands continued to demonstrate peacefully for fair elections and justice for abuses. By mid-November, police had detained more than 25,000 people.

The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada imposed sanctions on Belarus because of the rigged election and political oppression during the ongoing protests. Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country's role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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