In1990, Belarus declared its sovereignty and a year later it announced its full independence after the collapse of the USSR. At the beginning of this period, an elite national lyceum was established in Minsk. In 2003, this oasis of freedom, which fostered the cultivation of the Belorussian language, was outlawed. Neither the students nor the teachers refused to throw in the towel, however, and they illegally continued to have lessons. Moreover, they began to rebel more and more intensely.