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West Belarus joined the USSR
On November 2 1939 the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), having listened to the statement of the Plenipotentiary Commission of the West Belarusian National Assembly, passed a decision to satisfy the request of the National Assembly of West Belarus and include West Belarus into the USSR with its unification with the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR).
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was assigned to fix the date of elections of deputies of West Belarus to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was suggested to accept West Belarus into the BSSR, and submit to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR a draft of demarcation of regions and oblasts between the Belarusian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR.
A final legislative act concerning the re-unification of Belarusian people was adoption of the law by the third session of the Supreme Soviet of BSSR on November 14 1939, which read: “Include West Belarus into the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and thus reunite the great Belarusian people in the one Belarusian state”.
Earlier, on November 1, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union adopted a similar resolution entitled “On Inclusion of the West Ukraine in the Union of SSR with its unification with the Ukrainian SSR”.
Territories of the West Belarus and West Ukraine following the terms of the 1921 Peace Treaty of Riga were made a part of Poland. Belorussian and Ukrainian peoples were divided into two parts: one part belonged to according republics of the USSR, while another was incorporated into the Second Polish Republic known as “eastern outlying districts”.
In September 1939 after the attack of Germany on Poland the Soviet Union took under protection the population of West Belarus and Ukraine.
On the liberated territories of Belarus and Ukraine were held elections of representative bodies, who in their turn voted for inclusion in the BSSR and the Ukrainian SSR.
With an adoption and publication of Laws of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR and the Belorussian SSR on incorporation of the West Ukraine and West Belarus into the USSR with their re-unification with the Ukrainian SSR and the Belorussian SSR, on the territories of former West Ukraine and West Belarus took effect the Stalin’s Constitution of 1936 and the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR and BSSR of 1937, as the principal laws, as well as all other existing laws of the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR and BSSR.
Lit.: Закон о включении Западной Белоруссии в состав Союза Советских Социалистических Республик с воссоединением её с Белорусской Советской Социалистической Республикой // Сборник законов СССР и указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР. 1938 г. — ноябрь 1958 г. М., 1959. С. 23—24; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.oldgazette.ru/lib/propagit/21/04.html; Закон о включении Западной Украины в состав Союза Советских Социалистических Республик с воссоединением её с Украинской Советской Социалистической Республикой // Сборник Законов СССР и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР (1938 г. — ноябрь 1958 г.) М., 1959. С. 23; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.oldgazette.ru/lib/propagit/21/03.html; Пронин А. А. Советско-германские соглашения 1939 г. Истоки и последствия // Международный исторический журнал. №№ 10-12, 2000. Гл. 3; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/research/pronin/03.html.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: