Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union

The Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union (Belarusian: Беларуская Сялянска-Работніцкая Грамада, Lacinka: Biełaruskaja Sialanska-Rabotnickaja Hramada) was a socialist political party in Poland-controlled West Belarus that demanded independence of Belarus and social rights for the discriminated Belarusian minority in mid-war Poland. The BPWU was created in 1925 by a group of Belarusian deputies of the Polish Sejm. The group included Branislaw Tarashkyevich, Symon Rak-Mikhailouski, Piotra Miatla, Paviel Valoshyn.

Being Socialist they were in opposition to Communist party, although there were some common points regarding general social policy.

Fearing its attempts to establish Belarusian independent state and to promote Belarusian self-awareness, and under the false claim that BPWU cooperates with Soviet Russia, the Sanation Polish authorities started to opress the activities of the BPWU already in late 1926 by arrests, seizures and searches. Finally by February 1927 the party has been unconstitutionaly banned and most of its members were arrested (some of them being held at Bereza Kartuska prison until late 1930-ies. Some of them were later exchanged for Polish, prisoners, spies, saboteurs and bandits imprisoned in Soviet camps. Polish governement cooperated with NKVD in accordance with their policy of extermination of Belarusian intellectuals and politics to further Polonization of Western Belarus. Polish authorities were well aware that those Belarusian prisoners exchanged would be repressed by Soviet authorities. Soviet authorities also viewed these exchanges as possibility to crack down on Belarusian nationalists and to lessen their competition with Communist party of Western Belarus.

In the aftermath of the party's de-legalisation, on February 3, 1927 a riot erupted in Kosava. Polish police responded with fire, killing 6 people and wounding several dozens..

Having more than 120,000 members by late 1926, BPWU is currently the largest political party in Belarusian history. At its' height, the party had 5 MPs in the Polish Sejm (out of 11 members of the "Belarusian club").

Programme

The main points of BPWU's program were:

• Democratic self-governance for West Belarus

• Introduction of an eight-hour working day

• An official recognition of the Belarusian language in Poland

• Cancellation of Osadnik-colonization of Belarus

• Confiscation of land owned by landlords and its free distribution to peasants

Despite that, a semi-official goal was to unite all Belarus (West Belarus and East Belarus) within one state.

The BPWU expressed certain sympathy to the Soviet Union and its support for the Belarusian national revival in early 1920s that was later brutally ended in the 1930s. The Soviets also tried to gain control over the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union and to give the Belarusian national liberation movement in Poland a communist context.

Structure

The Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union became active and established several periodicals. By November 1926 the party had more than 120,000 members.

The party had its units in the following powiats:

• Baranavichy
• Bielsk
• Valozhyn
• Vaukavysk
• Vileyka
• Vilnia
• Hrodna
• Dzisna
• Kosava
• Lida
• Maladzyechna
• Navahrudak
• Pastavy
• Pinsk
• Slonim
• Stouptsy
• Sokółka

External links

• Чаму была разгромленая Беларуская Сялянска-Работніцкая Грамада? - 150 пытанняў і адказаў з гісторыі Беларусі
• Разгром “Грамады” за кулісамі палітычнага скандалу
• У новай айчыне. Штодзённае жыццё беларусаў Беласточчыны ў міжваенны перыяд.