1918–1941 The first independent informational organization in Belarus was established on 23 December 1918, as a regional department of the
Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA), abbreviated as BELOTROSTA. Its primary objective was to inform the world about the formation of the
Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia, which occurred on 1 January 1919. However, this organization struggled to launch successfully, existing for only a few months due to the
Russian Civil War, and little information is available regarding that period. The second attempt to launch happened on 14 January 1921, by order from Moscow, under the name of BelROSTA as a regional department of ROSTA. On 7 March 1931, BelCTA was reorganized into the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, or BelTA, the name it's known by today. While subordinate to the government of the
Byelorussian SSR, it was also part of the
TASS system. BelTA experienced high staff turnover, with seven directors changing over nine years leading up to 1941.
1941–1950 Upon the
German invasion of the Soviet Union, BelTA evacuated from Minsk and temporarily ceased operations. An attempt was made to revive it in July 1942 with a staff of 14 people, though without a director, but it ceased functioning again in 1943. BelTA was re-established on 22 February 1944, becoming the main information agency of the Belarusian SSR. The first director, then working as a journalist in
Arkhangelsk, was appointed by TASS. By 1946, BelTA's staff had grown to 124 people, including 37 correspondents, all of whom required a recommendation from either TASS or the
Communist Party of Byelorussia for appointment. Fedor Kletskov became its director in 1955, serving for nearly 16 years—the longest tenure in the agency's history. In 1960, the
Council of Ministers of the Belarusian SSR adopted a new statute for BelTA, solidifying its role as the main informational agency of the Republic. In 1971–1972, BelTA underwent further reorganization, obtaining the status of a Republican
State Committee. This period brought a new statute, a change in leadership, and significant personnel shifts. Among the important changes, BelTA was now explicitly tasked with ideological work, such as exposing the "aggressive politics of imperialism" and glorifying the successes of "Leninist national politics." In the mid-1970s, BelTA had 22 correspondents and published 1,460 newspaper pages monthly. During
glasnost and
perestroika, BelTA reverted to
khozraschet and covered the political transformation of the Soviet Union. As the media landscape evolved, it faced competition from newly emerging news agencies, alongside accusations of bias and threats from a variety of political factions.
1991–present During the Soviet times BelTA cooperated with the
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), although it was legally independent of it. After the
USSR ceased to exist in 1991, BelTA has been the national news agency of Belarus. It transmits over a hundred daily reports, and provides information to other news agencies of
Commonwealth of Independent States members about the activities of Belarusian officials and organizations in and out of the country. BelTA has offices in all
regions of Belarus, as well as abroad. The main office is in
Minsk. == List of directors ==