BSSR is the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 16 republics that were part of the USSR. After the collapse of the USSR, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of the BSSR became Belarus. The capital was the city of Minsk, which was one of the largest and most populous cities in the Soviet Union. In addition, in the BSSR, it is necessary to allocate 6 regions, 117 districts in rural areas, 98 cities, as well as 111 urban-type settlements.
The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic existed for a long time. The flag has been represented by various variants throughout its history. These options are presented in the article.
Interestingly, when the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic existed, the coat of arms hardly changed.
Educational History
Between such states,like Poland, the Lithuanian SSR, the Latvian SSR, the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was created after the revolution. Its territory totaled about 207,600 km2. Initially, the BSSR belonged to the RSFSR and only two years later became an independent republic. Immediately after the separation of the BSSR, it united with the Lithuanian Soviet Republic and the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, or, as it was also called, the LitBel SSR, but only for a year and a half. The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1919 was actually part of a larger republic. The Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic consisted of two. The Moscow-Lithuanian Treaty, which was signed on July 12, 1920, was an omen of the collapse of the SSR LitBel. And already on July 31, the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic completely disintegrated. Thus, the BSSR was created in 1919, then entered a larger association, after, from 1920 to 1991, it existed in the same status and became an independent state.
Economic characteristics
In 1980, 4.3 billion rubles were invested in the BSSR for the development of industry, economy and infrastructure. The most developed industries of this state can be called the chemical, petrochemical and food industries. The rapid economic growth (from 1940 to 1980) was carried out due to the abundant capital investment and labor of the Belarusian people. People who lived in the republic after the war rebuilt cities, many of which, one might say, were builtre-established production and mining. As much as 29 times the volume of production has increased in just 40 years. The fuel of the BSSR, as well as the Republic of Belarus, was and is provided with the help of its abundant reserves of natural gas, oil, coal and peat. Rich mineral deposits were also developed and developed with the help of investments from the USSR. The length of railways in the BSSR in 1982 was as much as 5,513 km, and roads for vehicles - 36,700 km.
Population
BSSR was one of the most densely populated parts of the Soviet Union, in 1984 the population density was 47.6 people per 1 km2. The uniform settlement of the republic is determined by relatively equal natural conditions throughout its territory. However, the center of the country was the most populated, which can be explained by the location of large cities here, including Minsk. Between 1950 and 1970, the urban population grew faster than the Soviet average.
Nature of the BSSR
The Republic is located on the East European Plain, occupying the basin of the middle Dnieper, as well as the Western Dvina and Neman in its upper reaches. The flat surface type prevails. However, the area is characterized by an alternation of uplands and lowlands, which are very swampy in places, in addition, there were a large number of lakes on the territory of the BSSR. Quaternary glaciation determines this feature of the relief. In the northwestern part of the state there is a whole systemterminal moraine ridges. Uplands are in the northeast.
Relief
In the direction from west to east on the territory of the former BSSR, the Belarusian ridge stretches, which consists of separate parts, hills formed in the Moscow glaciation. Parallel to it are the glacial plains. Belarusian Polesye, located in the south of the state, is called a special case of the plain. Hills and ridges also jut out in the south, next to Belorussian Polissya.
Climate
BSSR was in the temperate zone, which means that the climate is temperate continental. The temperature in January is about -4 °С, however, due to the relatively large length from north to south, this value may vary. The average temperature in July is about 17 ° C, but for the same reason the value cannot be accurate for absolutely all regions of the country. The climate is continental, which means that there is little precipitation - 550-700 mm.
Rivers
In the BSSR there were a large number of rivers, both small and large in length. Their total length is considered to be 90,600 km. All of them belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, namely to the Black and B altic Seas. Some rivers are used for transportation. The BSSR was very rich in forests, which occupied 1/3 of the entire territory, swamp vegetation and shrubs were located on 1/10 of the territory.
The territory of the BSSR was not on the edge of the East European Plate, which means that seismological activity could not be strong, the most powerful earthquakes did not even reach 5 points.
Mineral resources of the BSSR
The most important minerals, which are still found on the territory of Belarus in large quantities, are gas, oil, coal and various s alts.
The region of the northern part of the Pripyat trough is very rich in oil and gas. A distinctive feature of oil deposits is their massiveness and their arrangement in layers. Natural gas is not presented in large volumes, and therefore is produced along the way.
Brown coal and slates
Also, huge reserves of brown coal were discovered on the territory of the BSSR. Peat is represented by 39 species. It is one of the main types of fuel in Belarus. As many as 7,000 coal deposits, the total area of which is about 2.5 million hectares, simply cannot be unused. The total amount of peat is 1.1 billion tons, these are truly rich reserves.
In addition, oil shale mining began in the BSSR, which, according to geologists, are located at a depth of up to 600 m. Huge reserves of shale are also actively used as fuel.
S alts
Potassium and rock s alts are mining and chemical raw materials. The thickness of the layers is 1-40 m. They lie under carbonate-argillaceous rocks. The reserves of potash s alts amount to about 7.8 billion tons. They are mined at various deposits, for example, at Starobinsky and Petrikovsky. Rock s alts are represented by 20 billion tons, they occur at a depth of up to 750 meters. They are mined at such deposits as Davydovskoye and Mozyrskoye. In addition, the BSSR was rich in phosphorites.
Building rocks
The territory of Belarus also has rich reserves of building and facing stone,chalk rocks, clays and building sands. Stocks of building stone - about 457 million m3, facing - about 4.6 million m3. The southern regions of Belarus are richest in building stones. Dolomites, on the other hand, come to the surface in the north. Their reserves are about 437.8 million tons. The BSSR was also rich in Cretaceous rocks, the reserves of which today amount to about 3679 million tons. Clays of various types are represented on the territory of Belarus with reserves of 587 million m3, they are located mostly in Minsk, Grodno, Gomel and Vitebsk regions.
Development of mineral resources
On the territory of the BSSR, as already mentioned, mineral resources were actively mined. Their development began 30,000 years ago, in the late Paleolithic era. At that time, people who lived in this area mined flint from the surface of the earth. About 4500 thousand years ago, flint mining was already developed. A large number of mines have been discovered that were used even in the Cretaceous periods. Their depth is no more than 6 meters, however, given the time of their occurrence, we can assume that the extraction of flint was very developed among the inhabitants of these areas. There were also whole complexes of mines connected by passages, usually up to 5.
Production development
Ancient needles were found in the mines, which were intended for stitching bags needed to transport the mined mineral. The material was processed near the exit. Flint was used to makeaxes. Already in the fifth century BC. the development of metal deposits began, from which people who lived on the territory of Belarus created household items and weapons. In addition, utensils for various needs were made from clay. Already from the 16th century, glass factories began to appear, and in the 18th, the first manufactories in this area appeared.
Peat mining
Peat mining in the BSSR has become an independent industry. Volumes have steadily increased due to increased usage. Peat enterprises appeared, which strengthened the industry. But during the Second World War, almost all of them were destroyed. Only by 1949 did the volume of extracted peat reach its previous values.
S alt mining
As already mentioned, potash and rock s alts are found in large quantities on the territory of Belarus. But only in 1961 their active mining began. The underground mining method was used. The richest of them is Starobinskoye. The mechanization of most of the mining led to an increase in the volume of s alts by 60% in 1965 and by 98% in 1980.
Subsoil protection
Minerals were actively mined in the BSSR, it is easy to guess that this greatly affected the environment. Huge areas were badly damaged. Therefore, recreational activities aimed at enriching the subsoil and restoring resources, such as fertilizing the soil and planting trees, began to be carried out.
Education of industrial specialists
Belarusian Polytechnic Institute, formed back in the BSSR, trains personnel for work in the mining industry. It was founded in 1933 in Minsk. Already in 1969 there were as many as 12 faculties. There are also other educational institutions. Technical schools still provide education in the development of peat deposits, underground processing of ores and non-metallic minerals, and in other industries.
Confrontation Arena
In 1920, the BSSR, one might say, was the center of confrontation between bourgeois Europe and the USSR. The latter side wanted to retain power in Poland, the interests of the Soviet Union were represented by a delegation from the RSFSR. The decision was made not in favor of the BSSR. The resolution did not allow the expansion of Belarus at the expense of Poland.
Socialists of the BSSR were dissatisfied with the location of the borders with their neighbors, namely with the RSFSR and Poland. They believed that it was impossible to establish boundaries on an ethnographic basis. There was no unity on territorial issues.
The Great Patriotic War
During the Second World War, the BSSR and the Ukrainian SSR suffered more than other parts of the Soviet Union. More than 2 million people died in the BSSR, and about 380 thousand people were taken out of the country. The population that lived before the war was reached only by 1971. The Nazi invaders destroyed 209 cities and regional centers, many of which had to be rebuilt, only 2.8 million square meters of housing stock survived out of almost 10.8.
Independence and interesting facts
In 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the BSSR was signed, which meant its imminent separation. On September 19, 1991, it officially became known as the Republic of Belarus. In the same year, an agreement on the creation of the CIS was created and signed. The association included the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. An interesting fact in the history of this state is that for 46 years this republic, like the Ukrainian SSR, was one of the members of the UN (United Nations), although it remained a dependent state - the BSSR. In the 1920-1930s, constitutionalism was developing in the republic.
