# The Old System

- URL: https://syn.by/en/history/archives/the-old-system/
- Published: 1924-05-25T20:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T14:40:33+00:00
- Section: Archives
- Language: en
- BE edition: https://syn.by/historya/arkhivy/staraja-systema.md
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/istoriya/arhivy/staraya-sistyema.md

> The government promises the Borderlands "healing" but in fact increases the police, draws the army in to assist the administration, and prepares a Russian party to split the Belarusian movement. The author is convinced that no one can now stop the mass movement of the people.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/illustration-897-1024x585.webp)

For the sake of advertising before Europe, "unofficial" reports about government projects for the "healing" of conditions in the "Kresy" (Borderlands) are being released into the press. Naturally, first place, as we read in the Cracow conservative newspaper "Czas", is given to increasing the number of police in the "Kresy" — so that there is one policeman for every kilometre. And, without waiting for the end of the deliberations of the commission for Borderland affairs, the government has already given General Rydz-Śmigły the order to provide the administration with the assistance of the army in the three Belarusian voivodeships: Białystok, Nowogródek and the Wilno region.

Having strengthened the already heavy hand of our administration, the government intends to give the Belarusian population of Western Belarus the right to demand schools in their native language, in proportion to a percentage of people using the Belarusian language that the government will set. Well, there is nothing new here: the constitution gives us this very same "right", yet not a single school inspector has so far satisfied our demands, and one can boldly say that the school administration, already accustomed to such treatment of our right, will go on treating it as it does now.

Finally, the government's project embraces the affairs of the Orthodox Church. It is to be established that one Orthodox parish should have from 3 to 5 thousand souls — so that no one would have to go to church more than 7 — 10 kilometres. A plan has also been set for reorganizing the Orthodox theological seminary in Vilnia: it will consist of eight gymnasium classes and two theological classes. But, as we already reported in the previous issue of our newspaper, instruction in the seminary will be conducted in Polish, even though Belarusians will study in it and it is meant to train priests for work among Belarusians.

Those are all the "benefactions" that can be expected from the Polish government. Of course, Mr. Grabski himself understands very well that such "reforms" absolutely cannot satisfy the Belarusians. And so, while repeating for Europe the fine words of the Polish constitution, which long ago lost all value (fine on paper, but not in life!), plans are being devised in government circles for how to stick a knife into the Belarusians' back and break up our cultural forces. As we are informed, the work in this direction is directed by circles close to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Here the idea was born of applying to the Belarusians the old political system: "divide et impera" (divide and rule). Knowing that quite a few of the Belarusian intelligentsia grew up in Russian culture and are only now returning to their own people, the authors of the project decided to begin agitation among them in the spirit of "Russian nationality" ("русской народности"), and for this a special Russian party is being prepared, to which large sums are to be assigned for its "work" and for publishing a Russian newspaper in Brest or in Vilnia. Orthodox priests who are Russians are to be drawn into this party first of all, and for this they are promised all civil rights — "citizenship" ("abyvatelstva"), and so on. The party is to develop energetic activity aimed at tearing away from the Belarusian movement those intellectuals who by their upbringing are close to Russian culture.

These reports explain to us some acts of the Vilnia administration that at first glance are quite incomprehensible. It would seem, what business is it of the authorities that the Vilnia Belarusian Gymnasium, among the concerts it organizes in its own hall for the benefit of needy pupils, intended to devote one specially to Russian music? Yet it turned out that our administrators did not like this act of respect for the culture of a fraternal Slavic nation, and Mr. Wimbor forbade the holding of this concert. In connection with the plan to set the Belarusians of Russian culture at odds with the general national Belarusian movement, this step of the Government Commissioner is fully clarified…

However, we think that the calculations of the "high spheres" to weaken the Belarusian forces by creating a "Russian party" will end as the Belvedere organization of list No. 22 ended at the time of the elections to the Sejm and Senate. There too Orthodox priests were drawn in — there were even two bishops! And then Mr. Piłsudski in Nowogródek treated the village-district elders (volost starshynas) to dinner, and his henchmen tried to turn them against the peasantry, which was going in a mass behind the call of the Belarusian National Committee. But there too everything ended in a great compromising of Mr. Piłsudski and his candidates for members of the Sejm: not one of them got into the Sejm! Besides, one must suppose that among the countless local ideological representatives of the Russian nationality there will not be many so naive as to believe that, having used the Russian element in the struggle against the Belarusians, the "masters of the situation" will go on favouring and nurturing Russians among themselves if these do not become "good Poles". The "Russian party" can count only on hired people, on the dregs of Russian society who for money are ready to serve anyone who pays well; and such people are not dangerous!

And long since have passed the times when the Belarusian movement was represented only by a tiny handful of idealist intellectuals. Now it is no longer the intelligentsia, though it too has reached a considerable number, but the peasant mass itself that has spoken up for itself. Now the Belarusian movement is a mass movement, it is the striving of our working people of village and town toward freedom and happiness. And such a movement, such a striving, no one can now "break, stop or restrain!"