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Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1991)

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Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка
Белорусская Советская Социалистическая Республика
1920–1991
Flag of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Flag
Coat of arms of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Coat of arms
Motto: Пралетарыі ўсіх краін, яднайцеся!
Location of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Capital
and largest city
Minsk
Official languagesBelarusian
Russian
Recognized languagesPolish
Yiddish
Dominant mode of productionSocialism
History
• Established
1920
• Dissolution
1991
Area
• Total
207,600 km²
Population
• 1989 census
10,199,709
Preceded by
Succeeded by
1920:
Russian Republic
1945-1946:
Second Polish Republic (portion)
1922:
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
1991:
Republic of Belarus


The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was a republic of the Soviet Union.

History[edit | edit source]

Formation[edit | edit source]

Russia ceded the western part of Belarus to Poland in a peace treaty in 1921. Belarus became one of the founding republics of the USSR in 1922.[1]

Great Patriotic War[edit | edit source]

In 1939, the Red Army reunified Belarus after entering eastern Poland.[1] During the Great Patriotic War, Germany occupied Belarus and killed from 400,000 to 840,000 Jews. The fascist occupiers destroyed over 9,800 cities, towns, and villages. Over 370,000 people fought as partisans against the Nazis.[2]

Economy[edit | edit source]

In 1970, the average monthly income in Belarus was 1,092 rubles, less than the USSR average of 1,194.[3]

Demographics[edit | edit source]

In 1970, 81% of the population of the BSSR were Belarusians and 80.2% of those spoke Belarusian as their native language. 75% of newspapers but only 21% of books in Soviet Belarus were published in Belarusian. Russians made up 10.4% of the BSSR's population. Belarusians made up 3.50% of CPSU membership and were slightly underrepresented in the party.[3]

Living standards[edit | edit source]

Education[edit | edit source]

By 1941, the BSSR had 25 universities with 21,538 students. By 1959, there were 55,700 university students.[2] In 1970, there were 14.38 Belarusian university students per 1,000 people, lower than most Soviet nationalities but higher than Tajiks or Moldovans.[3]

Health care[edit | edit source]

In 1971, Belarus had 26.7 doctors and 98.5 hospital beds per 10,000 people, slightly lower than the union average.[3]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Albert Szymanski (1984). Human Rights in the Soviet Union: 'The European Nationalities in the USSR' (p. 85). [PDF] London: Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 0862320186 [LG]
  2. 2.0 2.1 "The Belarusian SSR: a brief chronology". Oktyabr. Archived from the original on 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Albert Szymanski (1984). Human Rights in the Soviet Union: 'The Asian Nationalities in the USSR' (pp. 38–59). [PDF] London: Zed Books Ltd.. ISBN 0862320186 [LG]