 The BSA had branches in Minsk, Vilna and also in St. Petersburg.After the February Revolution in Russia, the political activity in Belarus increased, and in summer of 1917 BSA gave rise to the Communist Party of Byelorussia and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party.On March 19, 1918, on the initiative of the BSA, the Council ("Rada") of the Belarusian People's Republic has become a temporary, short-lived parliament in Belarusian lands.