On March 25. 1918. their rada solemnly proclaimed the nations independence from Russian tsarism. During the months following independence. however. the Red Army occupied Bielarus and after that. the brutal face of Stalins communism began to manifest itself. Churches were dynamited or turned into stables and warehouses. farms were forcibly collectivized. and nearly all of the nationalist leadership. thousands of scholars. writers. teachers. state officials. and students were arrested. deported. or just "liquidated" in jail. Even the language of Blelarus was revised in 1933 by replacing certain words and other characteristics with the Russian equivalent. The courageous people of Bielarus are continuing their struggle to preserve their culture. traditions. and language. despite the terrible losses sustained in World War II and despite the continuing. and now official.
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deported