25th March
What is Freedom Day?
Freedom Day is known in Belarusian as Дзень Волі (Dzień Voli), is an unofficial holiday celebrated on 25th March to commemorate the declaration of independence by the Belarusian Democratic Republic, proclaimed through the Third Constituent Charter on that date in 1918. It is also widely referred to simply as 25-aha sakavika, meaning “the 25th of March.” Today it stands as one of the most potent symbols of Belarusian national identity and resistance to authoritarian rule.
Historical Background: The Birth of the Belarusian Democratic Republic
To understand Freedom Day, one must look back to the turbulent final years of the First World War and the collapse of the Russian Empire.
The idea of creating a new Belarusian state was first proposed in December 1917 by a group of delegates at the First All-Belarusian Congress in Minsk, but the congress was dispersed by the Bolsheviks. Just a few hours before Minsk was occupied by troops of the German Empire on 21 February 1918, the Executive Committee of the All-Belarusian Congress declared itself the authority in the region through its First Constituent Charter and formed a provisional government known as the People’s Secretariat.
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The situation evolved rapidly over the following weeks. On 3rd March, the Germans and Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. On 6thh March, the Belarusian Council passed a Second Charter declaring the establishment of the Belarusian People’s Republic. This was a foundational moment, but it was the Third Charter that would be remembered above all others.
On 25th March 1918, under conditions of German occupation, the Third Constituent Charter proclaimed Belarus an independent and free state. The charter was approved overnight, during the night of 24th to 25th March, in Minsk. The Belarusian National Council, representing political and religious organisations from regions with majority Belarusian populations, proclaimed the Belarusian Democratic Republic to be a sovereign and free nation that protects the rights and freedoms of all citizens and all peoples of Belarus.
The foundational statutes of the BNR guaranteed freedom of speech, assembly, the right to strike, freedom of conscience, protection from unlawful arrest and search, and a universal right to vote regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion. For its time, this was a remarkably progressive document.
A national flag was adopted as well, the white-red-white tricolour that remains a powerful symbol of democratic Belarus to this day.
A Republic That Could Not Survive
The BNR’s independence was short-lived. After Germany’s defeat in the First World War and the annulment of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, German forces began to withdraw from the occupied territories, and by December 1918, units of the Red Army had already entered Minsk. The government of the Belarusian People’s Republic was forced to continue its activities in exile.
Being surrounded by more powerful neighbours and having no allies, the BNR lost its independence very quickly and did not become a real state with a constitution or definite territory. Nevertheless, its importance should not be underestimated. Many modern Belarusian historians suggest that the creation of the Belarusian People’s Republic was the reason the Bolsheviks created the puppet Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, and allowed some elements of national cultural life to continue in the 1920s.
The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic continued to operate in exile and, as of 2017, sees itself as the bearer of a symbolic mandate and a guarantor of Belarusian independence, to transfer that mandate to a democratically elected parliament once no threat to Belarusian independence remains.
The Soviet Era and the Suppression of Memory
Under Soviet rule, the memory of the BNR was suppressed, and the white-red-white flag was banned. Since the early 1920s, various Belarusian political movements and the Belarusian diaspora had been celebrating Independence Day on 25th March as the anniversary of the 1918 declaration, even while the Soviet authorities ignored or actively demonised the date. The diaspora, scattered across Europe and North America, kept the flame alive for decades.
As early as 1957, 25th March was declared Belarusian Independence Day in the state of Michigan by Governor G. Mennen Williams, a recognition and appreciation of the Belarusian-American community.
The Post-Soviet Revival
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the date gained new resonance inside Belarus itself. Since the late 1980s, 25th March has been widely celebrated by the Belarusian national democratic opposition as Freedom Day, usually accompanied by mass opposition rallies in Minsk and by celebration events held by Belarusian diaspora organisations.
Belarus’ independence became possible thanks to the struggle and work of generations of Belarusian patriots: the founding fathers of the BNR, participants of the Slutsk Uprising, the Belarusian underground resistance, youth associations, the intelligentsia, and the diaspora, which defended the interests of Belarusians across the world during the years of Soviet occupation.
Freedom Day Under Lukashenko: Repression and Resistance
Since Alexander Lukashenko consolidated power in the mid-1990s, Freedom Day has become a flashpoint between the regime and civil society. The Lukashenko government does not recognise Freedom Day, claiming that the Belarusian Democratic Republic was created by the Germans who occupied Belarus in 1918, with Lukashenko describing it as a “dismal page in our history.”
The Belarusian opposition celebrates Freedom Day annually, and the protests are regularly accompanied by mass detention and torture of protesters. Year after year, people have taken to the streets in Minsk, knowing the personal risks involved.
Since 2020, the Lukashenko regime has banned and criminalised celebrating the anniversary of the BNR proclamation. Today, under ongoing political repressions, politically motivated arrests, and an atmosphere of fear, Belarusians inside Belarus cannot openly celebrate Freedom Day.
The 2021 Freedom Day was the last day of protest marches against the alleged fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential election, with more than 200 people arrested.
Remarkably, some acts of defiance continue inside the country. In recent years, 75-year-old Nina Bahinskaya, a famous opposition activist, has held solitary pickets in downtown Minsk carrying a self-made white-red-white flag. Despite having been arrested countless times over the decades, she keeps protesting. Anonymous flash protests, stickers, and graffiti have also appeared across the capital.
In 2020, Belarusian musician Źmicier Vajciuškievič created a song commemorating the day, titled “25aha Sakavika.”
How Freedom Day is Commemorated Today
With open celebration inside Belarus effectively criminalised, Freedom Day has become a global event led by the diaspora and the democratic opposition in exile.
Belarusian-Americans in Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities celebrate Freedom Day each year. The mayors of Washington DC and Boston have recognised 25th March as a commemoration day of the 1918 declaration. In Warsaw and Vilnius, where hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have found refuge from the repressions of the Lukashenko regime, mass rallies are also held.
Events take place across different cities and continents, including meetings, rallies, and cultural initiatives dedicated to the history of the BNR and the ongoing struggle for a free Belarus.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and widely regarded as the true winner of the 2020 presidential election, has called on all friends of Belarus to show solidarity on 25th March. She urges people to display the white-red-white national flag, share messages of support using the hashtag #StandWithBelarus, host cultural events and film screenings about Belarus, and write letters to political prisoners.
The European Parliament has also issued statements of solidarity on Freedom Day, with MEPs calling on the EU to step up its support to the people of Belarus to safeguard their culture and identity, and affirming their belief that the day will come when Belarus stands among the European family of free and democratic nations.
The Broader Significance
The 2018 event marked the centenary of the BNR, and authorities somewhat rolled back their crackdowns that year, granting permission to organise events. But the window was brief.
Freedom Day today represents far more than a historical anniversary. Under 30 years of Lukashenko’s rule, 25th March has become a symbol of resistance against oppression and tyranny, a day that reminds Belarusians that their country is not Russia, that Belarus is Europe, and that Belarusians, like any other nation, deserve freedom.
As Tsikhanouskaya has said: “Freedom Day symbolises our statehood and our faith in our country. It is a day that reminds us that independence begins with responsibility, unity, and respect for our language, culture, and traditions.”
Criminal cases have even been opened against participants of Freedom Day celebrations held abroad, with Belarus’ Investigative Committee announcing proceedings in absentia against over 100 people who took part in emigrant celebrations in 2024. The lengths to which the regime goes to suppress even distant acts of commemoration only underline how threatening the idea of a free Belarus remains to those in power.
Freedom Day, 25th March, endures as a testament to the resilience of the Belarusian people and their centuries-long aspiration for self-determination. It began in a single night in occupied Minsk in 1918 and today echoes across the world wherever Belarusians live, gather, and refuse to forget.
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