On holding a scientific-practical conference «Archives and archivists of Belarus: moving along the path of development», dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the National Historical Archives of Belarus

On July 4, 2023, the National Historical Archives of Belarus held a representative scientific and practical conference «Archives and archivists of Belarus: moving along the path of development», which was attended by more than 40 archivists and historians from a number of archival and scientific institutions of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

The beginning of the conference was given by welcoming words expressed by the head of the department of office work, formation and preservation of the National Archival Fund of the Department for Archives and Office Work of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus Olga Zayanchkovskaya and the deputy director of the NIA of Belarus Irina Kovganova. At the plenary session, meaningful reports were presented by the Deputy Director of the NIA of Belarus Maxim Makarov and Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Source Studies of the Faculty of History of the Belarusian State University Mikhail Shumeiko. In their speeches, both practical and theoretical aspects of the development of archiving at the present stage were revealed.

The work of the conference was organized in three sections, which presented research on certain periods of the history of Belarus – respectively, the XIV-XVIII centuries, the XIX – the beginning of the XX century. and XX – early XXI century. At the first of the sections «Grey Centuries of Echoes: Periods of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth in Archival Documents», reports were made that demonstrated the possibilities of using archival materials in studying the history of individual social groups in the Belarusian lands, reconstructing the composition of archival complexes of authorities and tribal assemblies. The section «The Long 19th Century in the History of Belarus and Archival Documents» presented research on the information potential of archival documents reflecting the most important events in social and political life, the functioning of government bodies, the development of industry and agriculture, the position of ethno-confessional communities, the emergence of the physical culture and sports movement in Belarusian lands during their stay in the Russian Empire. During the work of the third section «Archives and archivists in the «short twentieth century» and at the present stage», the features of the functioning of Belarusian archives in the Soviet period were revealed, special attention was paid to the use of the latest information technologies in the activities of archives.

Summing up the results of the conference, the moderators of the sections noted the high level of the presentations made, the wide use of the documents of the NEA of Belarus in their preparation. The materials of the conference will be published in a separate collection and will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the development of historical science and archiving.

1. Presidium of the conference (from left to right: Maxim Makarov, Irina Kovganova, Olga Zayanchkovskaya, Mikhail Shumeiko)

2. Olga Zayanchkovskaya read out a welcoming speech to the participants of the conference from the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus

3. Report of the Deputy Director of the NIA of Belarus Maxim Makarov at the plenary session

4. Report by Professor Mikhail Shumeiko at the plenary session

5. Work of section III

6. Summing up the results of the conference