Round table «United Belarus – Historical Justice» in the institution «State Archives of the Gomel Region»

On September 11, 2024, on the eve of the state holiday of National Unity Day, a round table «United Belarus – Historical Justice» was held in the institution «State Archives of the Gomel Region».

The event was opened by the director of the archive Andrei Nikolaevich Sushchevich. In his opening remarks, he noted that preserving history without distortion is a key direction of the state policy of our country, in connection with which, falsifications of the past of the Belarusian people cannot be allowed. Andrei Nikolaevich congratulated the audience on the upcoming holiday of National Unity Day.

As part of the event, the participants of the round table were presented with an exhibition dedicated to the events of September 17, 1939, which is on display in the reading room of the archive.

Then the floor was given to the Deputy Director of the Museum for Scientific Work of the Institution «Gomel Regional Museum of Military Glory» Konstantin Sergeyevich Mishchenko. In his speech, the expert told the audience about the latest research into the events of 1939. Konstantin Sergeyevich, in particular, noted that the September events of 1939 eliminated the historical injustice of the Riga Treaty (March 18, 1921), when the Belarusian nation and its ethnic territory were divided into three parts. The territory of Belarus regained its integrity, returned to the mainstream of historical tradition. Conditions for building a new life were created on the liberated western Belarusian lands. Since then, national unity has been the most important prerequisite for the further development of Belarusian society and the state. The head of the branch library No. 14 of Gomel, Lyudmila Evgenyevna Drozdova, joined the discussion and expressed the opinion that we have no right to forget the injustice that our people faced in 1921, being divided for two decades, the hardships that they experienced in the territories occupied by the Polish authorities. And the study of this period of Belarusian history should be continued.

The film «Reunification», prepared by the institution «Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents» for the events dedicated to the Day of National Unity, aroused great interest among those gathered.

Summarizing the results of the round table, the experts expressed their opinion on the high role of archives in attracting attention to the most important issues of the history of Belarus, and expressed confidence that archival documents will continue to be the main source for restoring the past of our region.

The participants of the round table also confirmed the importance of the round tables and dialogue platforms, and noted the relevance of the participation of representatives of the scientific community in these events.

1. Speakers of the round table (from left to right): Konstantin Sergeevich Mishchenko, Andrey Nikolaevich Sushchevich, Lyudmila Evgenyevna Drozdova;

2. Participants of the round table;

3. Stills from the film «Reunification».