«The National Liberation Movement of Western Belarus 1921-1939 on the Pages of Periodicals». ZGA in Molodechno prepared a thematic virtual exhibition for the National Unity Day

At the beginning of the 20th century, Western Belarus became the scene of turbulent events. After the First World War and the collapse of empires, Belarusians began to actively strive to create an independent state. The socio-economic situation in Western Belarus was significantly different from the rest of Poland. From an economic point of view, the region remained a backward agrarian outskirts and was used primarily as a source of raw materials and cheap labor. Such an economic policy of the country’s ruling circles in the conditions of agrarian overpopulation and mass unemployment doomed it to backwardness and poverty. A mass movement against the oppression of Poland unfolded on the territory of Western Belarus. In this context, local newspapers played an important role in shaping public opinion and spreading ideas of national identity. The Zonal State Archives in Molodechno contain documents from the so-called «Polish period», including newspapers and magazines reflecting the reality of that time. They published articles on the history of Belarus, cultural traditions and language issues. An important aspect of their work was covering the struggle for the rights of Belarusians under occupation. For example, the archive contains publications of the BSRG. They were printed under extremely unfavorable conditions and in a short time they managed to gain wide popularity and support among the Western Belarusian peasantry. According to researchers, in January 1927, the BSRG included about 100,000 members and about 400,000 sympathizers. On the agrarian issue, the BSRG defended the vital interests of the Western Belarusian peasantry, for the allocation of land on preferential terms and the creation of economically strong peasant farms. For the majority of the Western Belarusian peasantry, the BSRG was a hope for a better future, a consistent defender of their economic interests and civil rights. The exhibition presents some articles from the BSRG newspapers.

For example, the magazine «Young Communist» published materials for Komsomol political education. On its pages, the most important aspects of youth life, problems of labor, education and upbringing of youth were discussed; issues of Komsomol history, Komsomol construction were developed, and the best practices of Komsomol organizations were covered and disseminated.

The situation in the cultural and ethnic sphere of life of Belarusians was difficult. Instead of cultural interaction, pressure and violence against Belarusian culture and language became the norm. Many articles are also devoted to this topic, pages of which are stored in the Molodechno zonal archive.

The virtual exhibition demonstrates the fact that newspapers and magazines worked in different genres: activists of the National Liberation Movement published works of art (poems, fables, stories, feuilletons, epigrams, humoresques, jokes), journalistic articles, reports; often contained satirical drawings and caricatures.

Undoubtedly, Western Belarusian publications were a platform for socio-political discussions: on the one hand, they served as one of the instruments of political propaganda, but at the same time they represented an opportunity to overcome ideological differences for the sake of a single task – the preservation and development of the Belarusian nation.

You can see the virtual exhibition at the link.