Conducting classes as part of professional development activities

On March 20, 2023, a lecture “Polotsk Magistrate: the history of the institution, the history of the fund” was held at the National Historical Archive of Belarus as part of the activities to improve the skills of workers and specialists for 2023, during which the deputy director of the archive, Candidate of Historical Sciences M.D. Makarov told the labor collective about the history of the self-government bodies of Magdeburg Polotsk in the 16th–18th centuries. and their documentary heritage, which in our time is concentrated in the fund 1823 (“Polotsk magistrate”) of the NIA of Belarus.

During the lecture, the history of such social institutions in the system of the city authorities of Polotsk of the early modern era as voitovtsy (lantvoytovstvo), magistrate, commune men, police and judicial-executive bodies was covered. The issues of functioning in the system of city authorities of three offices were considered: vojto, magistrate and husbands of gminas. Particular attention was paid to the history of the formation of the complex of documents of the fund 1823 (“Polotsk magistrate”), the connection of this complex with the work of the three indicated offices and its fate in different historical eras.

The information presented during the lecture will undoubtedly be useful to archivists, as it will allow them to better understand the funds of Belarusian cities with Magdeburg rights, which are now stored in the NIA of Belarus.