Arkadź Smolič

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Arkadź Smolič
Аркадзь Смоліч
Arkadź Smolicz.jpg
Born(1891-09-29)September 29, 1891
Bacevičy, Minsk Governorate (nowadays - Mahiliou Region of Belarus)
DiedJune 17, 1938(1938-06-17) (aged 46)
Cause of deathexecuted
Resting placeunknown
Alma materMinsk Seminary; New Alexandria Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (Puławy, Poland)
Occupationacademic, active participant of the Belarusian independence movement
OrganizationRada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic

Arkadź Smolič (also spelled Arkadzi Smolich, Belarusian: Аркадзь Смоліч; 29 September 1891 - 17 June 1938) was an academic, active participant of the Belarusian independence movement and a victim of Stalin's purges.

Early life[]

Smolič was born into the family of a parish priest in the village of Bacevičy, Minsk Province of the Russian Empire (nowadays in Kličaŭ district, Mahilioŭ region of Belarus).[1][2]

In 1905 he graduated from the Minsk Seminary and in 1916 from the New Alexandria Institute of Agriculture and Forestry in Puławy (Poland). He also studied at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute.[2][3]

Involvement in the Belarusian independence movement[]

While a student, Smolič became involved in the Belarusian movement by joining the Belarusian Socialist Assembly (Hramada) and later edited its newspaper. He became particularly active during World War I organising conferences of Belarusian political organisations and writing numerous articles advocating the Belarusian independence movement.[1][2][3]

Smolič actively participated in the First All-Belarusian Congress in December 1917, was one of the initiators of the declaration of independence of the Belarusian Democratic Republic and later became its Minster of Education.[1][2][3][4]

Life in Soviet Belarus[]

After the defeat of the Belarusian independence movement by the Red Army, Smolič went into exile for a short time but returned to Soviet Belarus in 1922.  He was accepted by the Soviet authorities, served in many scholarly institutions and administrative bodies and initiated many important research projects in the fields of geography, agriculture and economics.[2][3]

He was actively involved in the establishment of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences and was one of the authors of the Academy's charter.[3]

One of his most important accomplishments as scholar was the first textbook on Belarusian geography which was used by thousands of students.[1][4]

Persecution and execution[]

In 1930 the attitude of the Soviet authorities changed. Smolič was arrested in June of that year in connection with the Case of the "Union of Liberation of Belarus" and deported for 5 years to the Perm and Tyumen regions of Russia. He was rearrested in June  1937 and sentenced to death by an NKVD troika.[2][3]

He was posthumously exonerated of all charges during the Khrushchev Thaw in 1957 and Gorbachev's Perestroika in 1988.[2][3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Smolič Arkadź". www.slounik.org. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Маракоў, Леанід. "Рэпрэсаваныя лiтаратары, навукоўцы, работнiкi асветы, грамадскiя i культурныя дзеячы Беларусi. 1794-1991. СМОЛІЧ Аркадзь Антонавіч" [Repressed writers, scientists, educators, public and cultural figures of Belarus. 1794-1991. Smolič Arkadź, by Leanid Marakou]. www.marakou.by. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Аркадзь Смоліч" [Arkadź Smolič]. Рада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі / Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (in Belarusian). Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Арлоў, Уладзімер (2020). ІМЁНЫ СВАБОДЫ (Бібліятэка Свабоды. ХХІ стагодзьдзе.) [Uładzimir Arłou. The Names of Freedom (The Library of Freedom. ХХІ century.)] (PDF) (in Belarusian) (4-е выд., дап. ed.). Радыё Свабодная Эўропа / Радыё Свабода - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. pp. 180–181.
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