On December 18–31, 1917, the theatre hosted the First All-Belarusian Congress, a representative national congress of Belarusians. The event brought together almost 1,900 delegates from all Belarus regions to discuss the future political status of Belarus and its system of government. The congress was forcibly dispersed by the Russian Bolsheviks, who controlled Minsk at the time. The Council formed at the congress continued to operate underground; in February–March 1918, it announced the creation of the independent Belarusian Democratic Republic and still exists today as the Rada BNR.