On holding the Republican Conference of students «Partisan Archive. I Children’s Partisan Readings» in the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus

Published: December 12, 2024

On December 12, 2024, the Republican Conference of students «Partisan Archive. I Children’s Partisan Readings» was held in the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as NARB) with the support of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. The conference was attended by senior students (9-11 grades) of sponsored schools and gymnasiums of the republican archival institutions.

The purpose of this forum is to involve young people in research work and to foster a sense of patriotism and pride using the example of the heroic events of the Great Patriotic War.

The director of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus O.L.Voinov addressed the conference participants with a welcoming speech. He emphasized the importance of the event, noting that it is thanks to the «Archives for School» campaign that this forum is possible today. Oleg Leonidovich noted: «This is the first conference – a pilot one. Of course, it will change both quantitatively and qualitatively. Now it is important for us to take the first steps, look at problem areas, and find the optimal regulations. I would also like to note that the students’ reports will be printed and each will be given an author’s copy of the collection».

The conference participants were addressed by the head of the Center for Military History of Belarus at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor A.M.Litvin, who pointed out the importance of involving children in the research process, starting from school age.

The grandson of the chief of the Belarusian partisan movement headquarters P.Z.Kalinin, first deputy chairman of the International Public Association «Federation of Martial Arts», Honored Trainer of the Republic of Belarus P.M.Kalinin shared his memories of his famous grandfather, and also thanked the archivists of Belarus for their great work in preserving the historical memory of the events of the Great Patriotic War.

The head of the ideological support department of the personnel policy and ideological support department of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus M.N.Skomoroshchenko noted the great work on preserving the traditions of continuity in preserving historical memory, which is carried out in our republic, and also expressed confidence that the said conference will be held on an annual basis.

The director of the NARB A.K.Demyanyuk wished the conference participants good, fruitful work, interesting speeches and new discoveries.

The conference participants were shown newsreels about the partisan movement from the funds of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents, and were given a tour of the archive.

At the plenary session, a report was presented by the deputy director of the NARB, PhD in History S.V.Kulinok on documents on the history of the partisan movement in the funds of the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus.

The heads of the republican archival institutions also took part in the conference.

The work of the forum continued at a sectional meeting, where 12 reports on various aspects of the history of the partisan movement in Belarus were presented and discussed.

Following the conference, students were awarded certificates of conference participation and memorable gifts.