An extended board meeting of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus

An extended board meeting of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus took place on 26 January 2022 to review the results of the archives and records management bodies and state archival institutions of the Republic of Belarus in 2021 and to define the tasks for 2022.

The Board was attended by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus S. N. Khomenko, heads and deputy heads of the main justice departments of regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee, heads and deputy heads of structural subdivisions for archives and records management, directors of state archival institutions, employees of the Department for Archives and Records Management.

The Director of the Department for Archives and Records Management V. I. Kurash made a report, noting that in 2021 the state archives institutions fulfilled the planned targets. The total volume of the documents accepted for permanent preservation amounted 125 397 items. The state archival institutions have digitized 1 123 350 electronic pages. The figures for digitisation of archival documents exceeded the target by 15.7%, which meets the objectives set for the archival sector by the Government in this area.

In 2021 the state archives held 179 exhibitions on topical subjects (Year of National Unity, 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, 100th anniversary of the Riga Peace Treaty, 100th anniversary of the Belarusian State University, 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States, etc.).

Fifteen editions22 957 enquiries of social and legal character were fulfilled, the reading rooms of the state archives received 3 121 users.

The Department for Archives and Records Management and the state archives provided advisory, methodological and practical assistance to representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Belarus to identify documentary materials for the criminal investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian population during the Great Patriotic War and the postwar period (over 168 000 pages of copies of archival documents were produced and made available).

The research institutions in the archive industry were developing 16 research topics, 11 of which were completed in accordance with the calendar plans.

In 2021 the Department for Archives and Records Management worked on the draft law of the Republic of Belarus on amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Belarus of November 25, 2011 № 323-З “On archives and records management in the Republic of Belarus” (the bill was passed by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly in first reading), Draft Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus “On Official Heraldic Symbols”, which defines the list of bodies and organizations entitled to establish banners and persons authorized to wear uniforms (Decree No 258 was signed by the Head of State on July 6, 2021).

In preparation for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Archival Service of Belarus (2022), an organizing committee was formed, an Action Plan was approved, a logo was presented, and presentation materials about the archive institutions were developed. A documentary edition, a jubilee stamped envelope and a virtual exhibition were prepared. The Archives of Belarus website has a special anniversary section that accumulates up-to-date information and materials.

For the full report of the extended board meeting, see the Russian version of the website