Jazep Varonka
Who directed or managed Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs in Jun 1920?
Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs The Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was a short-lived interwar Lithuanian ministry . It was established in December 1918 to gain support of Belarusians in international negotiations over the borders of the newly independent Lithuania . However , the Lithuanian government did not support Belarusian autonomy and the ministry effectively competed with the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic . Activities of the ministry were limited to publication of several books and two periodicals and other cultural work . The ministry was officially closed in January 1924 . History . This ministry was established as a result of negotiations between leaders of the Belarusian Peoples Republic and the Council of Lithuania in November–December 1918 . Lithuanians wanted to secure Belarusian support in the upcoming Paris Peace Conference over the borders of the new Lithuanian State . For the same reason , there was a Ministry for Jewish Affairs . As a result of the negotiations , six Belarusians were co-opted into the council on 27 November and the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was established on 9 December . Jazep Varonka became the first minister without portfolio . When Vilnius was captured in December 1918 by the Red Army at the outbreak of the Lithuanian–Soviet War , the Ministry for Belarusian Affair evacuated to Grodno while other Lithuanian government institutions evacuated to Kaunas . The ministry moved to Kaunas in spring 1919 when Grodno was captured during the Polish–Soviet War . By spring 1919 , Belarusian leaders became disillusioned with Lithuanian support . Belarusian Prime Minister Anton Łuckievič sent Piotra Krečeŭski to negotiate with Lithuania regarding liquidation of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs and establishment of a diplomatic mission of the Belarusian Peoples Republic in Kaunas . Negotiations failed and Varonka remained minister . In late 1919 , the Lithuanian government decided to reign in ministrys contacts with foreign powers , specifically the West Russian Volunteer Army and the Belarusian Peoples Republic . Several Belarusian couriers traveling from Berlin to Riga were arrested and Varonka resigned in protest on 3 January 1920 . Government inspectors found no irregularities at the ministry and the couriers were soon released , but the ministry was essentially inactive from February to June 1920 when new minister Daminik Siamaška was appointed . He did not support Belarusian autonomy and thus was largely isolated from the community . On 11 November 1920 , after Lithuania lost its capital Vilnius to the Żeligowskis Mutiny , the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic signed a partnership treaty with Lithuania and relocated to Kaunas . That brought two centers of Belarusians activities to Kaunas but they were not inclined to cooperate . Their competences were divided : the ministry was in charge of Belarusian affairs inside the Lithuanian borders up to the demarcation line with Poland , while the Rada was in charge in Vilnius Region ( i.e . between the demarcation line and the border drawn by the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty ) . That pushed the ministry into a secondary role as the Lithuanians cared more about the support Belarusians could provide in their territorial conflict with Poland over the Vilnius Region . Siamaška resigned in February 1923 when a new cabinet was sworn in . Lithuanians could not find a suitable replacement and Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas also became acting Minister for Belarusian Affairs in the 8th cabinet that was appointed in June 1923 . The last employees of the ministry were dismissed on 31 December 1923 . The Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was officially liquidated on 19 January 1924 . Its Jewish counterpart followed suit a couple months later . Activities . Belarusians envisioned Lithuania that would include territories of the former Vilna and Grodno Governorates and where Belarusians would be treated not as an ethnic minority but as an equal . To that end , they sought autonomy in Belarusian-inhabited areas . The Lithuanian government did not support such aspirations and limited activities of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs . In January 1919 , Varonka presented a plan for the ministrys functions that included education and social support . However , the government approved only seven out of 20 activities and provided funding of 28,400 German Papiermarks out of requested 197,300 . Thus , the ministry carried out mostly representative functions . Varonka sent notes to German and the Entente Powers protesting Polish and Soviet military actions in Belarusian-inhabited areas , and met with American and French military attachés . From September 1919 to February 1920 , the ministry published illustrated Belarusian-language Journal of the Ministry for Belarusian Affairs ( Часопісь Міністэрства беларускіх спраў ) which wrote on activities of the Lithuanian government , culture and education of Belarusians , biographies of prominent activists . The ministry published weekly two-page Belarusian newsletter Pahonia ( Пагоня , name of Belarusian coat of arms ) from July to October 1920 . Its circulation was 2,000 copies . The newsletter reported on military actions and other news from Belarusian territories . The ministry also published several Belarusian language books , including two collections of poems by Francišak Bahuševič , translated fairy-tales by Hans Christian Andersen , primer by Jan Stankievič , several books by Vacłaŭ Łastoŭski . After the resignation of Siamaška , Kłaŭdzi Duž-Dušeŭski continued cultural activities of the ministry and organized a six-week training on Lithuanian and Belarusian languages . When the ministry was closed , the publication of Belarusian books was taken over by Łastoŭski and Duž-Dušeŭski . Ministers . List of ministers : - Jazep Varonka from 9 December 1918 to 3 January 1920 ( resigned ) - Daminik Siamaška from 19 June 1920 to 1 August 1922 , continued as acting minister until 22 February 1923 - Ernestas Galvanauskas acting from 29 June 1923 to 19 January 1924 ( at the same time also Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs )