Belarus gained independence 20 years ago

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Lenin Square in Minsk as the Supreme Council held the historic session.

The Supreme Council of the BSSR gathered for the 5th special session on August 25, 1991 and adopted the Law on Giving the Status of the Constitutional Law to the Declaration of the BSSR Supreme Council on the State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and the ruling on political and economic independence of the BSSR, “Nasha Niva” runs.

This law proclaimed independence of the BSSR.

As Syarhei Navumchyk underlines in his book “Seven Years of Revival”, only parliament member Lukashenka voted against giving the status of the constitutional act to the Declaration of State Sovereignty.

The parliamentary session, marked by impassioned debate, took place three days after the August coup.

The BPF party took tens of thousands of people to Lenin Square on August 24, while Valyantsin Holubeu, Zyanon Paznyak and Halina Syamdzyanava brought the national white-red-white flag in the session hall. Then BPF PM banned Belarus's main communist Anatoly Malafeyeu to take the floor.

Chairman of the BSSR Supreme Council Mikalai Dzemyatsei resigned on August 24 and Stanislau Shushkevich, who had been the deputy chairman before, became the first head of Independent Belarus.

On September 19, 1991, the Supreme Council took a decision to call the BSSR the Republic of Belarus, or shortly Belarus.

The Supreme Council adopted a ruling on state symbols – white-red-white flag and Pahonya (Chase) court-of-arms.