The website of the National Historical Archives of Belarus has hosted a virtual exhibition dedicated to the history of the electoral system in Belarus at the beginning of the 20th century

The National Historical Archives of Belarus has prepared and hosted a virtual exhibition on the archive’s website dedicated to the history of the electoral system in Belarus at the beginning of the 20th century.

The exhibition of documents covers elections to such government bodies as the State Duma and the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. The elections to the State Duma were the first steps towards the development of a modern electoral system in Belarus. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that such concepts as «deputy», «ballot», «election campaign», «political party», etc. began to come into widespread use. The elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly were the first experience of introducing universal suffrage in the Belarusian lands. The exhibition displays documents from 1905-1917, including the manifesto of Emperor Nicholas II of August 6, 1905 on the establishment of the State Duma, lists of voters for the State Duma, lists of candidates for deputies of the Constituent Assembly, and a number of others.

You can view the contents of the exhibition here.