Posted:
16.09.2021 11:59:00
Symbol of unity
September 17th, 1939, is the date when the Belarusian nation was finally historically formed
Our country celebrates the Day of People’s Unity on September 17th — which is connected with a double act of historical justice. While being tied to one and the same event, it triumphed twice: in 1939 and 2021. It was this summer that the list of Belarusian state holidays was expanded: the President signed Decree No. 206 which amends the decree as of 1998 ‘On National Holidays, Public Holidays and Commemorative Dates in the Republic of Belarus’.
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The population of Western Belarus meets the Soviet troops in 1939
Law-based reunification
Apart from a completely baseless myth which is widespread and popular in Poland (that this country would have been able to win the war jointly with Germany — if there had not been a ‘Soviet invasion’), there is also another piece of fake news stating that the Red Army ‘illegally’ sent its troops into the territory of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine on September 17th, 1939. Many Polish historians claim that the Soviet Union thereby violated a number of international obligations. Nevertheless, neither Poland itself, nor France, nor the United Kingdom qualified the actions of the Soviet Union as a war.
As for the peace treaties with Poland in 1931 and 1932, Russian historian Aleksandr Dyukov notes, “In international law, the ‘rebus sic stantibus’ doctrine is operational: a warning about the preservation of the force of a treaty only if the state of things remains unchanged. The Soviet treaties with Poland were signed with the expectation that the Polish state would preserve its sovereignty and play the role of a kind of shield between the USSR and aggressive states. By mid-September 1939, the situation had changed in the most fundamental way — compared to 1932. Poland suffered a crushing defeat in the war with Germany, the Polish troops were defeated. In that situation, the previously signed Soviet-Polish treaties lost their force, which the Soviet government notified the Polish Ambassador in Moscow about on September 17th. The Kremlin observed the required norms of international law. As we can see, the introduction of Soviet troops into the territory of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus did not violate the international obligations assumed by the Soviet Union.”
Moreover, the historian adds that the inclusion of Western Belarus into the USSR was law-based, “We often hear now that the elections to the people’s assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were not illegal, since they were carried out in the presence of Soviet troops. However, in 1920-1945, plebiscites similar to those held in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were organised repeatedly. They were recognised by the international community, despite the fact that they were often carried out not only in the presence of troops of the interested party but also in conditions of direct pressure on the voters. Such, for example, were the plebiscites of 1921 in Silesia (held under the conditions of terror of Polish troops against the local German population) and of 1922 in the Vilno area (held under the conditions of occupation of the region by Polish troops).
By Maksim Osipov
Our country celebrates the Day of People’s Unity on September 17th — which is connected with a double act of historical justice. While being tied to one and the same event, it triumphed twice: in 1939 and 2021. It was this summer that the list of Belarusian state holidays was expanded: the President signed Decree No. 206 which amends the decree as of 1998 ‘On National Holidays, Public Holidays and Commemorative Dates in the Republic of Belarus’.
The population of Western Belarus meets the Soviet troops in 1939Law-based reunification
Apart from a completely baseless myth which is widespread and popular in Poland (that this country would have been able to win the war jointly with Germany — if there had not been a ‘Soviet invasion’), there is also another piece of fake news stating that the Red Army ‘illegally’ sent its troops into the territory of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine on September 17th, 1939. Many Polish historians claim that the Soviet Union thereby violated a number of international obligations. Nevertheless, neither Poland itself, nor France, nor the United Kingdom qualified the actions of the Soviet Union as a war.
As for the peace treaties with Poland in 1931 and 1932, Russian historian Aleksandr Dyukov notes, “In international law, the ‘rebus sic stantibus’ doctrine is operational: a warning about the preservation of the force of a treaty only if the state of things remains unchanged. The Soviet treaties with Poland were signed with the expectation that the Polish state would preserve its sovereignty and play the role of a kind of shield between the USSR and aggressive states. By mid-September 1939, the situation had changed in the most fundamental way — compared to 1932. Poland suffered a crushing defeat in the war with Germany, the Polish troops were defeated. In that situation, the previously signed Soviet-Polish treaties lost their force, which the Soviet government notified the Polish Ambassador in Moscow about on September 17th. The Kremlin observed the required norms of international law. As we can see, the introduction of Soviet troops into the territory of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus did not violate the international obligations assumed by the Soviet Union.”
Moreover, the historian adds that the inclusion of Western Belarus into the USSR was law-based, “We often hear now that the elections to the people’s assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were not illegal, since they were carried out in the presence of Soviet troops. However, in 1920-1945, plebiscites similar to those held in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were organised repeatedly. They were recognised by the international community, despite the fact that they were often carried out not only in the presence of troops of the interested party but also in conditions of direct pressure on the voters. Such, for example, were the plebiscites of 1921 in Silesia (held under the conditions of terror of Polish troops against the local German population) and of 1922 in the Vilno area (held under the conditions of occupation of the region by Polish troops).
By Maksim Osipov
