Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia

SSRB, with capital in Minsk, in the context of the Polish–Soviet War

The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia or Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus (SSRB; Belarusian: Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка Беларусь, Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika Biełaruś; Russian: Социалистическая Советская Республика Белоруссия / ССРБ, Socialističeskaja Sovetskaja Respublika Belorussija / SSRB) was an early republic in the historical territory of Belarus after the collapse of the Russian Empire as a result of the October Revolution.

First establishment

The first time it was established by Bolsheviks on January 1, 1919 in Smolensk when the Red Army entered Belarusian lands following the retreated German army, which had been occupying the territory as a consequence of World War I. The SSRB replaced Belarusian People's Republic.

The state consisted of Smolensk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Minsk, Grodno, and Vilna governorates.

It was considered by Bolsheviks to be a buffer republic. In a month it was disbanded. Smolensk, Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces were included in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), and the remainder formed another buffer republic, the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Litbel).

Second establishment

The republic was re-established under the same name on July 31, 1920. However, in traditional Soviet historiography it has been referred to as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), its name after the incorporation into the Soviet Union in 1922.

References

• First establishment of SSRB
• Second establishment of SSRB
• The 1920 SSRB Constitution

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