Today is Independence Day in Belarus

21 years ago the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted.

On July 27, 1990 the Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty. This landmark document of our country was the first official step towards independence of Belarus.

The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus proclaimed “full state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus as supremacy and independence of the state power of the republic within the borders of the country, validity of its law, and independence of the republic in foreign relations.”

This day was a beginning of the new history of our country. July 27 was proclaimed the Independence Day of Belarus.

On August 25, 1991, the Declaration of State Sovereignty received the status of a constitutional law, on which grounds the Constitution of 1978 was amended. The new Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted on March 15, 1994.

The official authorities cancelled the holiday after the referendum in 1996 that gave unlimited power to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The Independence Day is now marked on July 3, the day of liberation of Minsk from the Nazi invaders. The democratic community of the country continues to celebrate the Day of Independence on July 27.