Basking in the Baltics, Part II: Belarus: Vol. 1

Brest

The city of Brest is situated in the southwest corner of modern day Belarus and shares a border with Poland. In 1833, the construction of a fortress began at the outskirts of Brest, where the Bug and Mukhavets Rivers converge and along the border with Poland.

On September 1, 1939, one week after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (for info on this agreement, click here), Germany invaded Poland (this was known as The September Campaign). As a consequence of that invasion, the fortress at Brest (a part of Poland then) was also attacked. The battle (known as the Battle of Brest-Litovsk) went on for three days before falling into the hands of the German Army with heavy casualties on both sides. This part of Poland was part of the Soviets slice of the aforementioned Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and eventually was turned over to the Red Army.

In 1941, Operation Barbarossa, a plan by Nazi Germany to invade and conquer the western Soviet Union was underway. Brest was a strategic part of the plan. Without warning, German forces attacked the fortress at Brest (now occupied by Red forces) and engaged in a battle that lasted for eight days. German forces were expecting an easy victory, but the determination and patriotism of the defenders became a symbol of Soviet Resistance and the fortress was subsequently named a Hero Fortress to coincide with the same moniker for Brest as a Hero City.

In 1945, at the end of WWII, the Byelorussian SSR, the area now known as Belarus, became a founding member of the United Nations. In 1990, the republic declared sovereignty. After the break up of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared its independence in September, 1991.