View source for Stanislav Shushkevich

{{Short description|Leader of Belarus from 1991 to 1994}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{family name hatnote|Stanislavovich|Shushkevich|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Stanislav Shushkevich
| image               = RIAN archive 52076 Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislav Shushkevich and Boris Yeltsin (cropped)1.jpg
| caption             = Shushkevich in 1991
| order               = 1st
| office              = Supreme Council of Belarus#Chairmen of the Supreme Council{{!}}Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus<br>(Head of state of Belarus)
| term_start          = 18 September 1991
| term_end            = 26 January 1994<br />[[Acting (law)|Acting]]: 25 August – 18 September 1991
| primeminister       = [[Vyacheslav Kebich]]
| predecessor         = [[Nikolai Dementey]] (as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR)
| successor           = [[Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (politician)|Vyacheslav Kuznetsov]] (acting)<br>[[Myechyslaw Hryb]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1934|12|15|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Minsk]], [[Byelorussian SSR]], Soviet Union
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2022|5|3|1934|12|15|df=y}}
| death_place         = Minsk, Belarus
| constituency        = 
| party               = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (1968–1990)<br>
[[Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly]]
| spouse              = 
| children            = 2
| profession          = Scientist
| religion            = 
| signature           = 
| alma_mater          = [[Belarusian State University]]
| footnotes           = 
| awards              = [[File:Ribbon-BNR 100 Jubilee Medal.png|40px|link=Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal]] [[Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal]] (2018)
| native_name         = {{nobold|Станіслаў Шушкевіч}}<br/>{{nobold|Станислав Шушкевич}}
| native_name_lang    = be
}}
{{Socialism in Belarus}}'''Stanislav Stanislavovich Shushkevich'''{{efn|{{langx|be|Станіслаў Станіслававіч Шушкевіч|translit=Stanislaŭ Stanislavavič Šuškievič}}; {{langx|ru|Станислав Станиславович Шушкевич|translit=Stanislav Stanislavovich Shushkevich}}; {{langx|pl|Stanisław Szuszkiewicz}}}} (15 December 1934 – 3 May 2022) was a Belarusian politician and scientist who served as the first [[head of state]] of independent Belarus after it [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|seceded]] from the [[Soviet Union]], serving as the first [[Supreme Council of Belarus#Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet|chairman of the Supreme Soviet]] (also called chairman of Parliament or president) from 1991 to 1994. He supported [[social democratic]] reforms and played a key role in the creation of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. He later became an [[Belarusian opposition|opposition]] leader against [[Alexander Lukashenko]].

As a scientist, he was a [[corresponding member]] of the [[Belarusian Academy of Sciences]], [[Doktor nauk|Doctor]] in Physics and Mathematics, recipient of various state awards, professor and the author and originator of textbooks and over 150 articles and 50 inventions.

== Biography ==
Shushkevich was born on 15 December 1934, in Minsk. His parents were teachers who came from peasant families. His father, poet [[:ru:Шушкевич, Станислав Петрович|Stanislau Petrovich Shushkevich]] (born 19 February 1908 in [[Minsk]]) was arrested in the 1930s and was released from prison in 1956 (but completely exonerated only in 1975). His mother, writer<ref>[https://www.currenttime.tv/a/umer-shushkevich/31833512.html Умер первый глава независимой Беларуси Станислав Шушкевич]</ref> Helena Romanowska was ethnically Polish and her family had [[szlachta]] (noble) roots. During World War II Shushkevich lived with his mother and grandmother in Nazi-occupied Minsk, with a Jewish boy hiding in their house.<ref name="svaboda.org">{{cite web |title=First leader of independent Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich has died. The life story of personality and politician (Памёр першы кіраўнік незалежнай Беларусі Станіслаў Шушкевіч. Шлях асобы і палітыка)(in Belarusian) |url=https://www.svaboda.org/a/31822342.html |access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref>

After finishing school with a medal in 1951, he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Belarusian State University and graduated in 1956. He subsequently studied at the graduate school of the Institute of Physics of the [[Belarusian Academy of Sciences]], conducting research in the field of radio electronics.<ref name="svaboda.org"/>

In the early 1960s, while working as an engineer in an electronics factory, he was in charge of teaching the Russian language to [[John F. Kennedy]]'s assassin [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], when Oswald lived in Minsk.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/10/soviet-union-comeback|title=Back in the USSR: Belarusian leader who helped bury Soviet Union says it is making a comeback|last=Rice|first=Mark|date=10 June 2014|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 August 2019|language=en|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918031819/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/10/soviet-union-comeback|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20131122/978039326.html?inj=1|title=2013 interview with Shushkevich about Lee Harvey Oswald|date=22 November 2013|language=ru|access-date=22 February 2019|archive-date=23 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223081147/https://ria.ru/20131122/978039326.html?inj=1|url-status=live}}</ref> This is confirmed by a CIA document, [https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=190776 RIF #104-10014-10053.]

He was married to his wife Irina from  1976 onward. According to him, she forced him to start a healthy lifestyle. They had a son named Stanislav and daughter named Elena.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kp.ru/daily/26316.3/3194152/|title=Станислав Шушкевич: "Я до сих пор человек Ельцина, а с Кебичем помирюсь - если извинится!"|last=правды»|first=Татьяна ШАХНОВИЧ &#124; Сайт «Комсомольской|date=4 December 2014|website=KP.RU - сайт «Комсомольской правды»|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.tut.by/culture/514573.html|title="Мой папа убил Михоэлса". Кем стали дети руководителей Беларуси|date=4 October 2016|website=TUT.BY|language=ru|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=8 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108070033/https://news.tut.by/culture/514573.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shushkevich was admitted to hospital and placed in an intensive care unit in April 2022, due to complications from [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=First Leader Of Independent Belarus, Stanislau Shushkevich, In Intensive Care |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-shushkevich-intensive-care/31821748.html |access-date=26 April 2022 |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}}</ref> On the night of May 3, Shushkevich died in Minsk.<ref>[https://ria.ru/20220504/shushkevich-1786722293.html Умер первый глава независимой Белоруссии Станислав Шушкевич]</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/ex-belarus-leader-shushkevich-man-who-sacked-gorbachev-dies-87-2022-05-04/ Ex-Belarus leader Shushkevich, the man who sacked Gorbachev, dies at 87]</ref>

== Political activity ==
When Supreme Soviet chairman [[Nikolai Dementey]] was ousted for his support of the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August 1991 coup attempt]], Shushkevich became interim speaker,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.knowbysight.info/1_BELOR/03491.asp |title=Высшие органы государственной власти Белорусской ССР |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=24 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024023825/http://www.knowbysight.info/1_BELOR/03491.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> and presided over Belarus voting to secede from the Soviet Union. He thus became the newly minted nation's first leader. On 18 September, Shushkevich was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/892 |title=Беларусь свободна. Назло надменному соседу |date=23 September 1991 |access-date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=16 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716100339/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/892 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 52076 Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislav Shushkevich and Boris Yeltsin.jpg|thumb|left|Stanislav Shushkevich at the signing of the [[Belavezha Accords]] with [[Leonid Kravchuk]] and [[Boris Yeltsin]] in 1991]]
On 8 December 1991, in [[Belavezhskaya Pushcha]] and together with the leaders of Russia ([[Boris Yeltsin]]) and Ukraine ([[Leonid Kravchuk]]), he signed a declaration that the [[Soviet Union]] was dissolved and replaced by the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]; the declaration later became known as the "[[Belovezh Accords]]".

Shushkevich had the vestigial Soviet nuclear arsenal (both tactical and strategic) withdrawn from Belarus, without preconditions or compensation from Russia or the West. However, other reforms became stalled due to the opposition from a hostile parliament as well as from Prime Minister [[Vyacheslav Kebich]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In late 1993, [[Alexander Lukashenko]], the then-chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament, accused 70 senior government officials, including Shushkevich, of corruption, including stealing state funds for personal purposes. Lukashenko's accusations forced a [[vote of confidence]], which Shushkevich lost. Shushkevich was replaced by [[Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Kuznetsov|Vyacheslav Kuznetsov]] and later by [[Myechyslau Hryb]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

At the [[1994 Belarusian presidential election]] (the first one after the secession from the Soviet Union), six candidates stood, including Lukashenko, Shushkevich and Kebich, with the latter regarded as the clear favorite. In the first round Lukashenko won 45% of the vote against 17% for Kebich, 13% for Paznyak and 10% for Shushkevich.

In 2002 Shushkevich sued the Belarusian Ministry of Labor and Social Security: due to inflation, his retirement pension as a former head of state was the equivalent of US$1.80 monthly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trud.ru/trud.php?id=200503030361101 |language=ru|script-title=ru:Как поживают экс-президенты стран СНГ |trans-title=Life of the Ex-presidents of CIS Countries |date=3 March 2005 |publisher=[[Trud (Russian newspaper)|Trud]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224533/http://www.trud.ru/trud.php?id=200503030361101 |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.svoboda.org/archive/ll_man/0302/ll.031102-1.asp |title=Stanislav Shushkevich |last1=Шарый |first1=Андрей |date=11 March 2002 |website=[[Radio Liberty]] |language=ru |access-date=20 July 2007 |archive-date=4 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204182837/http://www.svoboda.org/archive/ll_man/0302/ll.031102-1.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> To earn income, Shushkevich lectured extensively in foreign universities including in [[Poland]], the [[United States]] and Asian countries.

In 2004 he attempted to [[2004 Belarusian parliamentary election|participate in parliamentary elections]], but was refused registration by the [[Election management body|electoral commission]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

[[File:Šuškievič bchd (cropped).jpg|thumb|Shushkevich in 2009]]
He continued to be active in politics,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-with-belaruss-first-president-stanislav_b_58f4c2c1e4b04cae050dc8fa|title=Interview with Belarus's First President Stanislav Shushkevich on Lukashenka's Rise and Belarus's Political Future|last=Ramani|first=Samuel|date=17 April 2017|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=29 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329011941/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-with-belaruss-first-president-stanislav_b_58f4c2c1e4b04cae050dc8fa|url-status=live}}</ref> heading the [[Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly]] party from 1998 until 2018.

== Awards and decorations ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2022}} 
* 1982, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the BSSR
* 1997, Polish Prize of [[Jan Nowak-Jeziorański]]
* 6 July 2010, [[Lithuania]]n presidential [[Order of Vytautas the Great]], "for active support of the independence of Lithuania in 1991"
* 2012, [[Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://charter97.org/en/news/2012/2/18/48191/|title=Former Leader of Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich to Receive Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom|website=charter97.org|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801035355/https://charter97.org/en/news/2012/2/18/48191/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2018, [[Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal]], "for contribution to the Belarusian democracy and independence"

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Stanisłaŭ Šuškievič}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{Succession box
|before=None
|title=[[President of Belarus|Leader of Belarus]]
|years=1991–1994
|after=[[Myechyslaw Hryb]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{BelarusPres}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shushkevich, Stanislav}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Minsk]]
[[Category:Scientists from Minsk]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the Supreme Council of Belarus]]
[[Category:Presidents of Belarus]]
[[Category:Soviet engineers]]
[[Category:Belarusian people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:Belarusian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly politicians]]
[[Category:Candidates for President of Belarus]]
[[Category:Belarusian State University alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus]]