For the sake of the Russian world, how the history of Belarus is being rewritten
Evaluating the ideological standards of main Minsk, historian Alexander Fridman directs out that the authorities are trying to provide the existing "unique path" of the nation as the quintessence of the centuries-old background of Belarus In October 2022, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin saw Minsk.
Belarusian state publicity paid unique focus to the see of the theoretician of Eurasianism and also one of the columns of the belief of the "Russian world" Dugin was raised to the rank of "exceptional thinker of our time", he also received an audience with Alexander Lukashenko.
The latter highlighted his individual rate of interest in the personality and views of the Russian guest, lamented the reality that main Minsk had not yet been able to develop the nationwide suggestion of Belarus, and additionally revealed hope for Dugin's help in this issue And, without a doubt, Alexander Dugin's visit left its mark.
He added to the more dissemination in Belarus of the ideas of Eurasianism and also particularly the "Russian globe" with its principle of the "triune Russian individuals" This principle, albeit in a slightly altered form, can also be located in the resolution of the checking out seminar "The Republic of Belarus: from the origins to the existing", held at the end of January 2023.
The resolution gives an official analysis of the past of Belarus as well as is one more attempt to ideologically validate the "unique historical path" of the nation, the conclusion of which is identified as the regimen of Lukashenka What are the ideological standards of the main Minsk today? What does the "only real" sight of history resemble from the perspective of the Belarusian authorities? And will they be able to impose their narratives on the Belarusian society?" with traditions of spiritual resistance and also a positive attitude in the direction of reps of different nationalities and also admissions, turning down any type of nationalism and promoting the fact concerning its historical past.
The concept of the "triune Russian individuals" no more raises any kind of grievances Polotsk and Turov principalities ("the very first historical types of Belarusian statehood") and also the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (a state with a sophisticated system of management and law in which the "Belarusian people" was formed) are positively analyzed.
The age of the Commonwealth, however, is defined as "an ordeal for Belarusians", and with the access of the regions of modern Belarus right into the Russian Empire, confidential writers link economic modernization and a lengthy tranquil duration that added to" regions of modern Belarus as component of the BSSR after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is translated as "repair of historical justice", and the post-war growth of the republic is recognized as effective In evaluating the collapse of the USSR, the writers are led by Vladimir Putin, repeating his thesis regarding a significant "geopolitical disaster" and also at the exact same time supplementing it by noting that it occurred versus the will of the Belarusian people.
The concern instructions of the historical plan of Belarus The major catastrophes of Belarusian history are connected with the West as well as, most of all, with Germany The production of the Belarusian Individuals's Republic (BNR) throughout the German line of work in 1918 - one of the key occasions in regards to autonomous forces - is identified as a "stumbling block in the growth of nationwide statehood", which did not locate the assistance of the people.
The history of the Great Patriotic War, as expected, takes a leading place: the emphasis is on both the Nazi policy of genocide and the important contribution of Belarusians to the victory over Nazism The fight against "distortion" and "falsification" of the history of the war by the West is presented as a priority direction of the historical policy of Belarus.
Lukashenka's regime, established in 1994, which built an independent Belarusian state, is defined as a logical continuation of the "special historical path" of Belarus Flattered by the magnificent reception in Belarus and traditionally flirting with the authorities, Alexander Dugin called Alexander Lukashenko himself in October 2022 the modern embodiment of the national idea of Belarus.
Unlike the Russian, the Belarusian authors of the resolution refrained from excessively praising the figure of Lukashenka, but nevertheless, it is precisely this idea of Dugin that runs like a red thread through the formulated concept History as "politics overturned into the past" Soviet historian Mikhail Pokrovsky defined history in 1928 as "politics overturned into the past.
" This assessment concerned Russian bourgeois-noble historiography, but it is precisely this that characterizes the Soviet practice of political and propaganda instrumentalization of the historical past, which found its continuation in Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus The resolution of the seminar is notable for its selective and tendentious attitude towards historical events and reflects the radical anti-Western (especially anti-Polish) narratives that have dominated Belarusian state propaganda since the events of 2020.
Thus, the role of Poland in the history of Belarus is assessed mostly negatively The authors also seek to discredit the BPR project, and when covering the Great Patriotic War, the topic of "genocide of the Belarusian people" now comes to the fore.
In the spirit of soviet post-war historiography and the modern ideology of the "Russian world", Russia - both tsarist and Soviet - is presented as the engine of progress and development of Belarus, and Belarusian nationalism (or rather, what the authorities consider Belarusian nationalism) and any attempts to establish intolerance towards "brothers -Slavs" (in other words, criticism of Russian policy) war is declared Key events of the Russian and Soviet periods, such as the uprisings against Russian rule in 1794, 1830/1831 and 1863/64, the Stalinist repressions and the Chernobyl disaster, are bracketed out.
If the analysis of the historical past suffers from schematism, one-sidedness and ideological narrow-mindedness, then in describing the principles and values of today's Belarus, the authors limit themselves to loud, but general streamlined formulations It is noteworthy in this regard that although they emphasize the originality and exclusivity of the "Belarusian way", they do not seek to openly oppose their own ideology to the liberal democracy of the "collective West".
In general, the resolution can be called an attempt to smoothly plunge into the "Russian world" with the nominal preservation of regional features Is there any chance of success? If Lukashenka's opponents have for many years seen the Belarusian dictatorship as a relic of the Soviet past and emphasize its archaism, then the official Minsk seeks to present the "special path" as the quintessence of the centuries-old history of Belarus.
Impressed by the 2020 protests, the Lukashenka regime has already made significant efforts to “re-educate” Belarusian society There is no doubt that government agencies, the propaganda apparatus, educational, scientific and cultural institutions will be thrown into the dissemination of the narratives formulated in the resolution, and the already very limited opportunities for historical research will narrow even more.
It is extremely difficult to assess the ideological and propaganda achievements of the regime in the conditions of dictatorship, repressions and war on the borders of Belarus, but the emphasized primitivism of the concept, outright distortions and manipulations, as well as fixation on the history of the Second World War and flirting with the "Russian world" do not increase its attractiveness - especially for the younger generation born in the last years of the USSR or after its collapse and familiar with the Western world and its culture What Lukashenka said to Dugin did not lose its relevance in this way: the dictatorship could not offer the Belarusians a convincing and modern ideological project.
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