The Slutsk uprising (Belarusian: Слуцкае паўстанне, romanized: Sluckaje paŭstannie) or the Slutsk defence, or Slitsk military action (Belarusian: Слуцкі збройны чын, romanized: Slucki zbrojny čyn) was an unsuccessful armed attempt to establish an independent Belarus. It took place in late 1920, near the end of the Polish-Soviet War, in the region of the town of Slutsk. It involved a series of clashes between irregular Belarusian forces loyal to the Belarusian People's Republic and the Soviet Red Army, ending in a Soviet victory.
Prelude
Peace of Riga
The preliminary peace accord (later finalized in Peace of Riga), signed on October 12, 1920, set new borders between Poland and the Soviet republics that divided modern Belarus and Ukraine in two parts. No Belarusian delegation was invited to the Riga congress — neither from the Belarusian Democratic Republic nor from the puppet Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia.
Modern reflections of the Slutsk military defence
During Perestroika, a number of political groups dedicated themselves to publicise a movement that was virtually erased from history during the Soviet time. November 27 became a holiday that groups like the Belarusian Popular Front and some intellectuals celebrate as Heroes Day. However, Belarusian officials under president Alexander Lukashenko do not recognise the Słuck military defence as significant.
In 1948, a monument in honor of Słuck rebels was placed by Belarusian emigrants near Mittenwald, a German city near the Alps.
In culture
- 1994: On Black Slash-and-Burn Fields (Belarusian: На чорных лядах), a novel by Vasil Bykau
- 1995: On Black Slash-and-Burn Fields a film based on the short story