The celebration of the anniversary of the proclamation of the 1918 Belarusian Democratic Republic starts at 18.00 at the Kastrychnik cinema in Minsk. The city authorities permitted demonstrators to march from the Independence Avenue to Bangalore Square and hold a rally there (19.30 – 20.00).
Freedom Day is an unofficial holiday in Belarus, which is celebrated on March 25 to commemorate the creation on that date in 1918 of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BNR). It came into existence at the end of the First World War, when Bolshevik forces left Minsk and the city was occupied by German troops. On March 25, 1918 the Provisional Government (Rada) proclaimed the independence of the BNR. After the Red Army re-entered Minsk, the Communist government replaced the Rada; its members had to emigrate. The current regime denies Freedom Day and often prevents the opposition forces from celebrating it.
