part to Pskov and Smolensk Oblasts of Russia.Together with the Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev Governorates, it formed the Northwestern Krai. The provincial city was Vitebsk, the largest city was Dvinsk.

On January 1, 1919, the Provisional Revolutionary Government issued a manifesto proclaiming the formation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus