Why would a family flee and/or be killed in Belarus in the early 1900s?

by writtensparks

I've been looking into my family history for several years now but have not been able to get any further than my great-grandfather on one line. I'm not looking for family history help (although that would be appreciated) just possible reasons why the majority of a family could have been killed and the remaining survivors flee Belarus in the early 1900s.

TheCreepero

What exactly do you mean by early 1900s? 10s? 20s? Later than that?