How were archives improved 60 years ago?

Published: November 10, 2023

On November 11, 1963, the Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian SSR adopted Resolution No. 537 «On measures to improve archival affairs in the Byelorussian SSR», which played an important role in the development of the archival industry in Belarus.

The decree approved the network of state archives of the BSSR. The most important changes were the transfer from Mogilev to Minsk of the Central State Historical Archive of the BSSR (currently the State Institution «National Historical Archive of Belarus»), as well as the abolition of district and city state archives with the creation on their basis of branches of state archives of the regions and consolidation behind them there is a service area of several districts. Created in 1963, the network of branches of regional archives (currently zonal state archives) has survived to this day. The Council of Ministers of the BSSR also paid great attention to the development of the acquisition of archival funds, recording of documents, ensuring their safety, as well as their use, including publication activities.

The State Institution «National Archive of the Republic of Belarus» stores the original resolution with the autograph of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR T.Ya.Kiselev and documents on the development of the resolution (draft resolutions, letters from the Council of National Economy, ministries of the BSSR, the Main Archive Directorate under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Archive Directorate under Council of Ministers of the BSSR, regional executive committees, Academy of Sciences of the BSSR, Belarusian State University named after V.I.Lenin, etc.). The documents indicate the active position of government bodies in resolving issues related to the development of the archival industry in the republic.