Vaclau Lastouski

Vatslaw Yustynavich Lastowski (, , ; 8 November 1883 – 23 January 1938) was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century and the Prime Minister of the Belarusian Democratic Republic from 1919 to 1923, as well as a writer, historian and academic of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences persecuted by the Soviet authorities.

Early years Lastowski was born on 8 November 1883 in the village of Kalyesnikaw in the Disna uyezd of the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Lastovichi, Belarus) into the family of a landless nobleman. Having received his primary education at the Pahost Primary School, he moved to Vilnius in 1896 where he worked as a shop assistant and, later, in Šiauliai, as a clerk. In 1902, Lastowski joined the Polish Socialist Party which was active in Lithuania. In 1905-1906 he worked as a librarian of a student library in St. Petersburg where he also attended lectures at the Faculty of History without being enrolled at the university.

In 1906, Lastowski relocated to Riga to work as a railway clerk. He attempted to pass examinations to receive a secondary school qualification but, despite good results in the main subjects, failed due to his poor knowledge of the Russian language. Afterwards, he would not be formally educated anywhere.

Involvement in the Belarusian independence movement Starting from 1915, Lastowski openly supported the idea of independence of Belarus both from Russia and Poland.

Lastowski was one of the leaders of the party Christian Unity in 1915. He co-authored The Memorandum of the Representatives of Belarus which formulated the right of the Belarusian people to national and political development and was presented at an international conference in Lausanne in 1916. In 1916—1917 Lastowski edited the newspaper Homan (“babble”) and, in 1918, published the journal Kryvich (“the Krivich”).

Arrested again on 20 August 1937, Lastowski was convicted as “an agent of the Polish intelligence service and participant of the national-fascist organisation” by the Supreme Military Court of the USSR and executed in Saratov. Lastowski was posthumously exonerated in 1958 (first sentence) and 1988 (second sentence).

Notable works

Chronicle of the G. D. of Lithuania and Samogitia (Kaunas 1925) Кароткая гісторыя Беларусі [A Short History of Belarus], Vilna (Vilnius), 1910. It was the first book that attempted to underline the Ruthenian side of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and present known facts of Belarusian History until 1905 from a Belarusian perspective. Што трэба ведаць кожнаму беларусу? [What Every Belarusian Should Know], Minsk (Mensk), 1918. Слоўнік геаметрычных і трыганаметрычных тэрмінаў і сказаў [Dictionary of Geometric and Trigonometric Terms and Sentences], co-authored with Klawdzi Duzh-Dushewski, Kaunas (Kovno), 1923. Падручны расійска-крыўскі (беларускі) слоўнік [Concise Russian-Krivich (Belarusian) Dictionary], Kaunas (Kovno), 1924. Лѣтописецъ Великого кн(я)зства Литовъско(го) и Жомоитсъкого [Chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Samogitia] (1925). (in Belarusian). pp. 68. Kaunas (Kovno). Гісторыя беларускай (крыўскай) кнігі: (Спроба паясніцельнай кнігапісі ад канца Х да пачатку ХІХ стагоддзя) [The History of Belarusian (Krivich) Books], Kaunas (Kovno), 1926. The fundamental book offered a survey of over one thousand of the most significant manuscripts, old documents, and old prints, dating from the beginning of the Belarusian literature in the tenth century to the nineteenth century.