Zacharka (also Zakharka) Vasil (1877-1943), political leader and president of the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) in Exile (1928-1943). He received a pedagogical education. Zacharka was involved in the cause of Belarusian independence during the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and was a delegate to the All-Belarusian Congress and a member of its executive council. Having settled in Prague after World War I, he continued to be active in political life and replaced Piotra Krečeŭski as chairman of the Council of the BDR after the latter's death in 1928. During World War II, Zacharka rejected the advances of the Germans for collaboration.
