The 2nd International Conference «Archival Dialogue. Archives about people, people in archives»

Published: May 18, 2023

On May 18, at the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (NARB) began work the 2nd International Scientific and Practical Conference «Archival Dialogue. Archives about people, people in archives».

Oleg Voinov, Director of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, addressed the conference participants with a welcoming speech. He drew attention to the importance of holding such forums, and also noted that the archives have already become not only the main custodians of the National Archival Fund, but also full-fledged scientific centers.

NARB Deputy Director E.A. Stukanova congratulated the forum participants and stressed that the archive is constantly increasing the scientific component in its work. She noted that such events allow to exchange experience, establish new contacts and areas of cooperation.

Four reports were presented at the plenary session. Head of the Department of History and Social Sciences of the Moscow State Linguistic University, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor S.E. Novikov spoke with the topic «A Living Legend of the Archival Industry», dedicated to the famous archivist and historian V.D. Selemenev.

Acting Deputy Director of the Russian State Military Historical Archive V.O.Denisova presented a report: «We are trusted with memory: a review of documents accepted from family archives for storage at the RGVIA in 2022». D.Ch. Matveychik, Head of the Department of Research and Publication Activities of the National Historical Archive of Belarus, spoke about such direction of the archive’s work as biography.

The theme of the Great Patriotic War was voiced in the speech of the head of the Department of History and Tourism of the Polotsk State University named after. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Ph.D. A.I.Korsak. She presented the report «Pages of the Underground Struggle»: A Source Analysis of A.D. Titov’s Diary».

The work of the conference was continued in three sections. In the first section «Biographical and genealogical sources in the archives and archives in the Republic of Belarus» was attended by the leading archivist of the Publications Department Yu.N. Petukh «The formation of local archives of the BSSR in the 1920s. through the prism of the materials of the I All-Belarusian Conference and the II All-Belarusian Conference of Archival Workers» and researcher of the same department T.N. Ageenko «Mikhail Dzhagarov: pages of biography». She also acted as one of the moderators of the section.

The second section was devoted to historical sources on the history of the Great Patriotic War. The leading archivist of the publications department N.A. Shimanskaya «The activities of state security agencies in the occupied territory of the BSSR (1941-1944) in modern Belarusian historiography», the head of the department of funds of personal origin of the NARB I.V. Dorogush «Documents of participants in the Great Patriotic War in funds of personal origin: composition and information potential», leading archivist of the department of use and information of the NARB, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor V.P. Garmatny «Activities of the partisan detachment named after E.G. journal of the detachment)» and head of the publications department, Ph.D. S.V. Kulinok «Documentary sources on the participation of Armenians in the partisan movement on the territory of Belarus: based on the materials of the NARB funds».

In the third section «Archival documents as a source for the study of historical events» there were speeches by the leading archivist of the department for ensuring the safety of documents and funds T.V. Petyukevich «Housing and communal conditions of the cities of the BSSR during the NEP (1921-1928)», Leading Researcher of the Department for the Use of Documents and Information, Ph.D., Associate Professor V.G. Mazec «Some aspects of the deployment of the local history movement in Belarus in the 20s. XX century», researcher of the same department Yu.S. Prostakova «The Image of the West in Soviet Periodicals in the Second Half of the 1950s», Deputy Head of Information Retrieval Systems Department V.Yu. Monzul «The use of food cards and coupons as money surrogates in the daily life of the population of Minsk in July 1944-1947», researchers of the publications department N.E. Kalesnik «D.M. Rosenblum and his «Review of archival materials of the Belarusian National Commissariat» and M.E. Tumash «Appeals of citizens to central government bodies as a source on the history of everyday life in Belarus at the turn of XX—XXI centuries», deputy head of this department I.A. Vishnevsky «Reports of the deans of the Mogilev diocese of the Belarusian Renovation Church as a source for studying the Orthodox clergy in the 1920s-1930s.».

The international component of the conference was represented by scientists, archivists and teachers from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Perm, Smolensk.

In total, more than 60 speakers took part in the conference.

Photo: V.Monzul
The information was prepared by the head of the publications department S.V. Kulinok