{"id":131514,"date":"2025-03-25T15:55:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T12:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/131514\/"},"modified":"2025-03-25T15:55:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T12:55:05","slug":"belarusian-government-weaponizes-history","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/131514\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian government weaponizes history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Belarusian officials are rewriting history to align it with the government\u2019s political objectives. On March 21, at a ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the Faculty of History at Belarusian State University, House of Representatives speaker Ihar Sierhiajenka outlined to historians what the government expects from them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/moscow-sunset_1440_freepik.com_nikitabuida_001-e1715360663334.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" \/>\n    <figcaption>\n        \n                    <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                                <span>(nikitabuida \/ freepik.com)<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Historical revisionism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka established the National Council for Historical Policy under the Presidential Administration. This move formally introduced a historical policy, making it part of Belarus\u2019s broader strategy alongside economic, military and foreign policies. The year 2022 was also declared the Year of Historical Memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 21, Sierhiajenka, a retired general from the Committee for State Security, presented the tasks that historians must undertake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFirst and foremost, it is essential to put up a strong barrier against the falsification of history. The preservation of national unity and territorial integrity of our country directly depends on this, because speculations surrounding historical issues pose a real threat to our national security,\u201d <em>BelTA <\/em>quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is national security really so fragile that it can be endangered by a misinterpretation of history? Can scholarly works on past events destroy the Belarusian state?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cHistorical memory\u201d fills ideological vacuum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The government\u2019s historical policy has several key dimensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Substitute for ideology<\/strong><br>The government has failed to create a coherent ideology, so it has turned to history as a substitute. Rather than offering a vision for the future, it presents the public with a glorified past.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This explains Sierhiajenka\u2019s alarmism. He emphasized that \u201chistory is not just a science; it is directly connected with ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, science and ideology cannot mix. When history serves ideology, it ceases to be a science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Justifying repression<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many other governments, Belarus uses historical narratives to justify repressive policies. However, the Belarusian government does so in a particularly blunt manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials hope that emphasizing the Soviet Union\u2019s victory over Nazi Germany and condemning the Nazi &#8220;genocide against the Belarusian people&#8221; will strengthen public support for \u0141uka\u0161enka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>No room for alternative views<\/strong><br>Official historical narratives are aggressively imposed as the only acceptable truth.<br>Sierhiajenka made it clear: history must align with state policy. Any perspectives that differ from the official narrative have been criminalized. Criticism of the Soviet Union\u2019s historical view is now labeled as extremism.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The Prosecutor General\u2019s Office has been involved in drafting textbooks on the genocide against the Belarusian people and prosecuting those who deny it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This propaganda machine cannot function without political repression\u2014silencing opposition is a prerequisite for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Glorifying \u0141uka\u0161enka<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>History textbooks glorify \u0141uka\u0161enka, portraying his victory in the 1994 presidential election as the founding moment of Belarusian statehood, with \u0141uka\u0161enka cast as its \u201cfounding father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other significant events and national figures are downplayed. In 2005, the Belarusian ruler renamed central avenues in Minsk that had previously honored Belarusian printer Franci\u0161ak Skaryna and Soviet-era Belarusian politician Piotr Ma\u0161era\u016d. Nationalists fear that \u0141uka\u0161enka may soon rename the few remaining streets honoring Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski, a leader of an anti-Russian uprising who is considered one of the founders of Belarusian nationalism.<br>Renaming Belarusian streets is not only pandering to the \u201cRussian world\u201d but also an attempt to erase historical figures who could compete with \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Focus on Great Patriotic War<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The regime\u2019s historical policy is rooted in the 1941\u20131945 Great Patriotic War\u2014the Soviet Union\u2019s fight against Nazi Germany. A few years ago, the government established National Unity Day on September 17 to mark the unification of Eastern and Western Belarus after the 1939 partition of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.<br>In contrast to nationalist intellectuals who trace the roots of the Belarusian nation-state to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the government is fixated on the Soviet period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Sierhiajenka speaks of the \u201cfalsification of history,\u201d he refers to events like the unification of Western and Eastern Belarus in 1939, the role of Belarusian partisans in defeating the Nazis and the genocide against the Belarusian people\u2014while completely ignoring other periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thousand-year history of Belarus is omitted from the official narrative because it does not align with the regime\u2019s political objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Russian influence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The entire history of Belarus is now framed as part of Russian history. Historians have been ordered to write textbooks about the shared history of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To assert their national identity, Belarusians must break free from their colonial legacy, yet the government does the opposite. National and cultural symbols have been discarded or labeled as Nazi, while Belarusian identity has been shaped by Russian historical narratives, deepening Belarus\u2019 ideological and sociocultural dependence on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sierhiajenka and other officials expect historians to present Russia favorably when interpreting events related to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Napoleon\u2019s 1812 Russian campaign and the 1863\u20131864 anti-Russian uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, the term \u201cPatriotic War of 1812\u201d was coined by Russia. In Belarus, many nobles and peasants supported the French emperor in his campaign against Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kalino\u016dski cast in a negative light<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kalino\u016dski, the leader of a 19th-century anti-Russian uprising, has long been regarded as a national hero by both Belarusian nationalists and communists. However, in recent years, the government has downplayed his significance, even casting him in a negative light. This distortion has led to division in society, as many Belarusians continue to hold Kalino\u016dski in high regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, Belarusian officials attended the reburial of Kalino\u016dski\u2019s remains in Vilnius, emphasizing his role in the struggle for Belarusian statehood and reaffirming his status as a national hero. Deputy Prime Minister Ihar Pietry\u0161enka claimed that Kalino\u016dski\u2019s rebels used the phrase \u201cI love Belarus\u201d as a password, attempting to present \u0141uka\u0161enka as the ideological successor to Kalino\u016dski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka himself said in November 2019 that Kalino\u016dski \u201cacted on our territory, was our kin, our citizen, if I can put it this way.\u201d However, in July 2022, \u0141uka\u0161enka changed his stance, labeling the 1863 uprising as Polish and anti-Belarusian, falsely claiming that peasants supported the Russian tsarist government and fought against the rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The regime now views any rebellion against Russia in Belarus as Polish and anti-Belarusian. This shift in rhetoric came after the 2020 protests, as the regime turned to Russian narratives to ensure its survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/108828\/\">Propaganda distorts historical narratives to magnify \u0141uka\u0161enka<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belarusian officials are rewriting history to align it with the government\u2019s political objectives. On March 21, at a ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the Faculty of History at Belarusian State University, House of Representatives speaker Ihar Sierhiajenka outlined to historians what the government expects from them. Historical revisionism In 2022, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka established the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":57831,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-131514","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarusian government weaponizes history | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Belarusian officials are rewriting history to align it with the government\u2019s political objectives. 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