Passports, agreements, photos. What from the BNR Rada archive was transferred to the Skaryna Library in London
Radio Svaboda spoke with a Belarusian involved in the work of the Skaryna Library in London, where part of the BNR archive, which entered its collections this year, is kept.
BNR Rada figures Mikoła Abramchyk and Lavon Rydleŭski
This year, the collections of the Skaryna Library were replenished with new documents from the archive of the former chairman of the BNR Rada, Mikoła Abramchyk, and the prominent figure of the Belarusian movement, Lavon Rydleŭski. It is assumed that these documents will supplement the archive of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BNR), which began to be compiled from documents as early as 1918.
Ihar, a Belarusian and a member of the Skaryna Library's Board of Trustees, told Svaboda about the new documents and how they were found.
Photograph of Belarusian students who studied in Czechoslovakia in 1921–1929
"First of all, I want to emphasize that it is not possible to speak about the discovery of the entire archive of Mikoła Abramchyk, whose traces were lost after 1970 in France, where the former chairman of the BNR Rada died. For now, we can only speak about a part of his archive, consisting of organizational and private documents.
The second part of the discovery, which I can already mention, comprises documents from the archive of Lavon Rydleŭski, a well-known figure of the Belarusian emigration. These documents are also very interesting and important testimonies of the era," Ihar said.
According to the interlocutor, the documents, including private documents of Mikoła Abramchyk and Lavon Rydleŭski, were found thanks to a fortunate coincidence of circumstances.
"For many years, many people searched for Mikoła's archive, and the current success was aided by a lucky chance. A Russian collector found boxes with unidentified documents in an antique shop in Paris, examined them, considered them significant, and contacted us. And then the BNR Rada and the Library jointly purchased them. For how much? Not for astronomical money, but I'll say this: for a sum worth it. Now there is an agreement with the BNR Rada that the documents are transferred to the Library and will be studied there. According to the agreement, information about these documents will be gradually released," said the member of the Skaryna Library's Board of Trustees.
Ihar sent Svaboda photographs of some already studied documents with accompanying comments.
"What can I name already now? Here is the Belarusian original of the "Agreement" between the BNR government and the government of the Lithuanian Republic, concluded in Kaunas, which was then the capital of Lithuania.
"Agreement" between the governments of BNR and Lithuania
Among other things, the document contains a very important point that "the governments mutually undertake to support each other before the governments of foreign states." From the Belarusian side, the document was signed by Vaclaŭ Lastoŭski and Jazep Varonka, and it is dated November 11, 1920. Also among the interesting documents are several diplomatic passports issued by the BNR government, including the passport of the BNR representative in Ukraine, Aliaksandr Halavinski, issued in Grodno and valid until 1919. At that time, one could travel across European countries with similar documents. Or another interesting document - a photograph of Belarusians who studied in Prague and other cities of Czechoslovakia during the interwar period. It is signed as a photograph of students, but there are many middle-aged people there. It is surprising how many Belarusians received education in Czechoslovakia at that time.
"Agreement" between the governments of BNR and Lithuania
Another rich part of the collection is Lavon Rydleŭski's archives, and here too there are very interesting finds. For example, Lavon Rydleŭski's correspondence with his girlfriend, who was from West Belarus. This refers to the early 1930s. The correspondence is very touching. There is no politics there, only human relations. But these are very touching letters, I think such documents are worth showing to people today.
What else? Certain personal papers of Mikoła Abramchyk himself: his school certificates, his documents from his time in Prague. This is from his personal archive, in addition to organizational documents related to the BNR," Ihar said.
According to the interlocutor, the Skaryna Library staff have no doubt that the new documents belong to Mikoła Abramchyk's archive. As for the rest of the archive, activists believe the chances of finding them are quite high.
BNR era passport
"To find the remaining part of Mikoła Abramchyk's archive, which stayed with his wife Nina Abramchyk, the search must continue. Yes, after her death, these archives disappeared from view, but the fact that a part has now been found gives hope that the remaining part can also be found; the archive could be anywhere," believes Ihar.
Mikoła Abramchyk (1903—1970) is one of the key figures of the Belarusian post-war independence movement. It was he who officially resumed the activities of the BNR Rada in exile in 1947 and headed it until his death in France. Documents of the BNR state archive came into his possession already during World War II. On March 6, 1943, in Prague, the mortally ill president of the BNR Rada, Vasil Zacharka, drew up a will, by which he transferred his powers to Mikoła Abramchyk, and the position of secretary to the poetess Larysa Hienijuš.
Lavon Rydleŭski (1903—1953) — participant of the Słuck Uprising and the anti-Nazi partisan movement "Maquis" in France, a figure in Belarusian organizations in France and the BNR.
After Mikoła Abramchyk's death in 1970, by decision of the BNR Rada, the Rada's documents from his archive were to be transferred for safekeeping and study to the F. Skaryna Library, however, by 2025, they were no longer in the possession of the BNR Rada.
"Now, after the restoration of the BNR Rada's ownership of these documents, it was agreed that the BNR Rada transfers Mikoła Abramchyk's Archive for safekeeping and use to the Belarusian F. Skaryna Library until the historical mandate of the BNR Rada is drawn up in accordance with the Statute of the BNR Rada and a joint decision is made on the further legal fate of the Archive. After a preliminary inventory of the Archive, it will become available to researchers in the near future," the BNR Rada wrote on its page.
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