British and American troops. In February 1948, the Rada passed a special manifesto, by which it declared its return to activity. In April 1948 the Rada, together with deputys of the Belarusian post-war refugees, held a conference in Osterhofen, Bavaria. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, similar governments-in-exile of the neighboring countries (Lithuania, Poland and others) handed back their mandates to the corresponding independent governments. Upon declaration of independence of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990, it was stated then that the Rada was ready to hand its status to a democratically elected parliament of Belarus. The parliament of Belarus of that time had been elected under Soviet rule. However, these plans were dropped after president Alexander Lukashenko, elected in the 1994 presidential election, established an authoritarian regime accompanied by a return to Soviet policies in regards to Belarusian language and culture. The Rada BNR still exists as a government in exile and attempts to lobby for interests of the Belarusian diaspora in countries where it has its deputies. Since the late 1980s, March 25, the Independence Day of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, is widely celebrated by the Belarusian national democratic opposition as Freedom Day (). It is usually accompanied by mass opposition rallies in Minsk and by celebration events of the Belarusian diaspora organizations supporting the Belarusian government in exile. Symbols A national flag of three stripes — white-red-white — was adopted, as well as a state seal (Pahonia) based on an emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Presidents Chairpersons of the Council of the Belarusian People's Republic: Jan Sierada (1918) Jazep Losik (1918–1919; acting) Piotra Krečeŭski (1919–1928) Vasil Zacharka (1928–1943) Mikoła Abramčyk (1944–1970) Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič (1970–1980) Jazep Sažyč (1980–1997) Ivonka Survilla (1997–present) Archives In 1998, Belarusian linguist and translator Siarhiej Šupa published a two-volume collection of BNR archives (Архівы Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі. Менск-Вільня-Прага-Нью-Ёрк). The total size of the two volumes is more than 1700 pages. Essentially these are the processed and re-organized documents from the Lithuanian archival fund #582 in Vilnius and they constitute roughly 60% of all the BNR official documents from 1918. Another 20% of BNR official documentation is located in the Minsk archives, and the fate of the remaining 20% is unknown. See also Freedom Day (Belarus) Ukrainian People's Republic References Further reading External links The Rada of the Belarusan Democratic Republic in Exile website Timeline of Belarusian People's