{"id":180875,"date":"2026-03-25T15:39:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/180875\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:39:52","slug":"belarus-oldest-government-in-exile-greets-the-nation-on-dzien-voli","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/180875\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019 oldest government in exile greets the nation on Dzie\u0144 Voli"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n Canada-based BNR Rada President Ivonka Survi\u0142a \n <\/div>\n \n
\n (radabnr.org)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

March<\/strong> 25, <\/strong>Pozirk<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong> The Rada of the Belarusian People\u2019s Republic (BNR), a successor to the first government of independent Belarus, has greeted Belarusians on Dzie\u0144 Voli (Freedom Day), the 108th<\/sup> anniversary of the proclamation by the BNR in 1918.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada-based BNR Rada President Ivonka Survi\u0142a has urged Belarusians to stop letting Russia to mistreat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was Bolshevik Russia that drowned in blood the Belarusian People\u2019s Republic\u2019s independence,\u201d she said. She added that the Belarusians could have been free if Moscow had not backed Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka during the 2020 postelection protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Belarusian authorities declared the BNR Rada an extremist group and opened a criminal case against its leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charges included conspiracy to seize the state power, creation of an extremist group and facilitating extremism, inciting hatred, the rehabilitation of Nazism, promoting the participation of Belarusians in an armed conflict abroad, and discrediting the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activities of the Rada \u201care based on denial of the existence of the sovereign Belarusian state,\u201d while its leader [Ivonka Survi\u0142a, 87] proclaims herself as \u201cpresident,\u201d prosecutors charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rada was formed in 1918 shortly before Belarus briefly declared independence from Russia during World War I. Survi\u0142a has headed it since 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dzie\u0144 Voli celebrations have been banned in Belarus since 2020, but Belarusians living in Lithuania, Poland, the United States and other countries mark Freedom Day with rallies, demonstrations, concerts and other events. Belarus\u2019 Investigative Committee has warned that Belarusians taking part in these events will face criminal prosecution and property confiscation in their home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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