Nikolai Statkevich: Three Reasons For One Celebration

September 8 is a special day in Belarusian history.

September 8 has repeatedly been a landmark date in Belarusian military history.

If we look at it chronologically, we should start as far back as September 8 (according to the old calendar) 1380, when the forces of Mamai, the temnik of the Horde, clashed with those of the Russian principalities led by Prince Dmitry of Moscow in the Battle of Kulikovo Field. Fighting on Dmitry’s side were regiments from the Belarusian principalities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania—Polotsk, Bryansk, and Smolensk—led by Princes Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich, even though our lands had never been under Mongol rule. And the Mongols’ attempts, together with their Muscovite vassals, to attack them were always repelled.

The Belarusian regiments played a major role in the battle. Perhaps this was because their principalities already had experience defeating significant Mongol forces. In 1362, at the Battle of Blue Waters, a combined Belarusian-Ukrainian army led by Grand Duke Algirdas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the forces of three Mongol khans, as a result of which the Ukrainian lands, like the Belarusian ones, which had always remained free, were liberated from Mongol rule. This experience—and the confidence it instilled in the Belarusian regiments and commanders—helped the combined forces defeat the Horde’s substantial forces on the Kulikovo Field. Admittedly, the position of Grand Duke Jogaila of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was unique: he led his troops to aid Mamai but did not take part in the battle. I believe that Jogaila was a shrewd geopolitical strategist and did not want to see neighboring Moscow grow stronger, as that would threaten the future security of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Nevertheless, we can justifiably consider September 8, 1380, a glorious date in our military history as well.

Almost every Belarusian today knows about September 8, 1514—the date of the famous victory over the 80,000-strong Moscow army, which outnumbered the Belarusians three to one, at the Battle of Orsha.

The date of September 8 once again played an important role in our country’s modern military history. This was in 1992. At that time, Belarus brought the Soviet military units stationed on our territory under its control. But they were still a long way from becoming a truly Belarusian army. The officers, most of whom were natives of other Soviet republics, viewed Belarusian independence with suspicion, and it is unclear whether they would have defended it in the event of an attack by another former Soviet republic. After all, there was not even a legal basis to demand this of them—they had not taken an oath of allegiance to Belarus, which would have made defending its independence a legally binding obligation for them. The Kebich government, as usual, ignored the issue so as “not to anger Moscow.” Therefore, as chairman of the “Belarusian Association of Military Veterans” (BZV), I proposed holding a symbolic oath-taking ceremony pledging allegiance to Belarus in the center of Minsk on the very anniversary of the victory at Orsha, in order to inform Belarusians as widely as possible about the glorious victory of their ancestors.

The chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Community, the well-known historian Mikhash Tkachev, immediately supported this proposal. So did the leader of the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF) Zenon Poznyak, who offered the BZV his party’s assistance in organizing the oath-taking ceremony. The event took place on September 8, 1992, on Independence Square in Minsk. The artistic and musical arrangements were excellent, with the BNF’s renowned artist Mykola Kupava overseeing them.

The event began with the sound of a trumpet. After the speeches, I read the text of the oath, which was repeated by career officers—members of the BZV—and thousands of reserve servicemen gathered in the square.

As it happened, the text of the oath was recited twice that day. Colonel Vladimir Borodach, a former commander of a special forces brigade who had arrived late for the ceremony, asked for permission to read the oath as well. I agreed, because words of loyalty to one’s country can be repeated many times, and everyone in the square once again unanimously swore to defend Belarus. This action was not a legal act. But it garnered widespread attention. As a result, a few months later, the Kebich government was forced to administer an oath of allegiance to Belarus to all officers of the Belarusian army. And Belarusians, who had been told their whole lives that their country had no history of its own, finally learned about one of its most glorious chapters.

Nikolai Statkevich, “Telegram”

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