The Formation of Belarusian Statehood in 1918-1920s
About the project
The project «The Formation of Belarusian Statehood in 1918-1920s» is a special rubric on the Archives of Belarus website, an internet resource of the archives and RM authorities and the state archives network in the Republic of Belarus.
Purposes
The purpose of the project is to provide a more complete and objective information on the Internet on the issues of Belarusian history, primarily on the basis of archival documents and materials describing the Belarusian national revival and nation-state building in the late 1910s and the 1920s.
Structure
The page consists of three main sections:
- Background and overview
- Exhibition of archival documents and materials
- Archival publications
The exhibition features 450 documents and materials (their electronic copies) available from the holdings of 12 archival institutions: the Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art, the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, the state archives of Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions, the state archives of public organizations of Grodno and Gomel regions, and the Belarusian Research Center for Electronic Records.
The exhibition is structured in two levels:
– List of records, including their title, date, type, language and location
index. On the right are links to view a full-size record. The records are
basically arranged in chronological order.
– Electronic copies of records.
The exposition consists of seven thematic sections showing archival sources relating to different state formations and administrative-territorial units in 1918-1920s in the Belarusian ethnic lands: the Belarusian National Republic (BNR), the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belarus (LitBel), the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), Western Belarus, Middle Lithuania, and some occupational structures.
The project describes preconditions and processes of nation-state formation on the ethnic territory of Belarus in 1918-1920s, gives information on the leaders of the Belarusian national revival and state building in that period, and shows how these processes have been reflected in literature, art and toponymy.
On display are the official documents, reminiscences and notes made by the
participants at those events.
The rest of the exposition are 78 photographs, mainly showing the participants
of the events, works of literature and art, toponymic objects, and 11 maps.
With the view of illustrating certain key questions, we have used some material published in the academic, encyclopedic, archival and other editions and mass media. Particularly, over 200 documents and materials (mainly from the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus) have been taken from the printed collection of documents “The State Borders of Belarus” (Vol. 1 (May 1917 – November 1926) / comp. by V.E. Snapkovsky et al. – Minsk, 2012. 195 p.).
In addition, to give a more comprehensive picture on the issue, we offer links to the documentary sources already present on the Archives of Belarus website on the specials pages relating to the First World War, Academician Karsky, and Professor Dovnar-Zapolsky.
The project also displays 18 printed editions and publications which contain data on relevant documents held in the Belarusian archives and/or prepared with the participation of the Belarusian archival institutions.
The offered material is not exhaustive and further research is possible on the subject to enlarge the virtual exhibition.
General coordination of the project – Department for Archives and Records Management of the Justice Ministry of the Republic of Belarus.
Main executor of the project, information contents, web design – Belarusian Research Center for Electronic Records.
Selection of records and digital copies – Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art, National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings, the state archives of Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions, the state archives of public organizations of Grodno and Gomel regions, and Belarusian Research Center for Electronic Records.
Notes
The use of the project materials requires a reference to the source of information – the Archives of Belarus Website and the individual archive which holds a record. For other issues regarding the use of data posted on the website, please contact the respective archival institution (see contact information on the website page “Archives and records authorities and the state archives network”).
For comments and opinions on the project please email: ed@archives.gov.by.