Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz
| Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of the Belarusian Provisional Government | |
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In office 12 November 1920 – 28 November 1920 |
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| Preceded by | Piotra Krečeŭski (in exile) |
| Succeeded by | Piotra Krečeŭski (in exile) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 10, 1883 Meyshty, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire
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| Died | May 10, 1940 (aged 57).svg){kind=small} Warsaw, General Government
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| Nationality | Belarusian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Russian Empire Belarusian People's Republic Poland
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| Service/branch |
 Imperial Russian Army Belarusian National Army Polish Army
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| Rank | General |
Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz (Belarusian: Станіслаў Булак-Балаховіч, Russian: Станисла́в Була́к-Балахо́вич; 12 November 1883 – 28 November 1940) was a Belarusian general, veteran of World War I, Russian Civil War, Estonian War of Independence, Polish-Bolshevik War and the Invasion of Poland at the start of World War II.
Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz was born February 10, 1883 in Meyszty, a small village in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Braslaw Raion in Belarus). Stanisław had two brothers and six sisters. His parents were servants to a local landlord of Belarusian ethnicity.
Following Stanisław' birth, his father left the landlord's service and acquired a small estate in Stakavievo near Vilnius.
After attending an agricultural school for four years in Belmonty, Bułak-Bałachowicz worked as an accountant, and in 1904 became a manager at the Count Plater's estates in Horodziec and Łużki.
At the time, he had a reputation as a defender of the less fortunate and was often an arbitrator in disputes between the farmers and their landlord. As a result of these activities he acquired the nickname "Daddy" (Bat'ka). His other nickname—"Bulak"— became part of his surname. It means a man who is driven by the wind in the Belarusian language.
After the outbreak of World War I and Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Romanov's address to the Polish people, Bułak-Bałachowicz joined the Russian Imperial army. As a person of noble roots, he was drafted as an ensign to the 2nd Leyb-Courland Infantry Regiment. However, unlike many of his colleagues who were awarded the basic NCO grades for their noble ancestry only, Bułak-Bałachowicz proved himself as a skilled field commander and was quickly promoted. By December 1914, only four months after he entered the army, he was given command over a group of Cossack volunteers, of whom he formed a cavalry squadron. Together with the 2nd Cavalry Division he fought on the western front, most notably in the area of Sochaczew near Warsaw.
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