On a guided tour for students of Minsk Gymnasium No.4 at the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus

On August 19, 2026, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (NARB) hosted a guided tour for students of Minsk Gymnasium No.4, organized as part of the nationwide «Archives for Schools» campaign.

NARB Deputy Director S.V.Kulinok, PhD in History, addressed the guests with a welcoming speech, emphasizing the archive’s special role in preserving the documentary heritage and historical memory of the heroic past of the Belarusian people.

During the meeting, O.Yu.Yurkevich, Head of the Information Retrieval Systems Department, spoke about the archive’s history, its main areas of work, and the composition of its archival documents. The students also watched two thematic videos: «We Remember…», produced by NARB staff using artificial intelligence technology, and «The Valiant Komsomol of Belarus», created by the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents.

The tour continued with a visit to the archives of the Great Patriotic War. A.V.Kukharenko, an archivist at the Information Retrieval Systems Department, explained the specifics of preserving archival documents and introduced them to authentic sources reflecting various events of the war years. Particular attention was paid to documents on the partisan movement, crimes committed by the German occupation authorities against civilians, and the forced deportation of BSSR residents to work in Germany.

The tour and introduction to the work of archivists were aimed at fostering an interest in archival work and a responsible attitude toward the documentary heritage of the Belarusian state. Information provided by A.V.Kukharenko, archivist at the archive’s Information Retrieval Systems Department.

1. Deputy Director of the archive, S.V. Kulinok, during his welcoming remarks

2. Head of the Information Retrieval Systems Department, O.Yu. Yurkevich, discusses the archive’s history

3. Visitors to the archive—students of Minsk Gymnasium No.4

4. During a screening of the video «The Valiant Komsomol of Belarus»

5-8. Visitors to the archive during a visit to the archival repository