The documentary exhibition «Archivists – Participants of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945» was prepared by the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus for Archivist’s Day

Archivist’s Day is celebrated annually on October 6 in Belarus, as established by Presidential Decree No.157 «On State Holidays, Public Holidays, and Memorable Dates in the Republic of Belarus» of March 26, 1998. This holiday was established in honor of the anniversary of the founding of the first centralized state archive in modern-day Belarus – the Vitebsk Central Archive of Ancient Registry Books, which began operations in 1863 and existed until 1903. The creation of this archive was prompted by the increasing number of forgeries of records in registry books, which had previously been kept in judicial institutions and were vulnerable to various types of falsification.

The work of an archivist, or archivist as it was known in the old days, may seem boring, monotonous, and repetitive to many, but in reality, this is far from the case – it is one of the most fascinating and intriguing professions in the world, allowing one to delve into the complex intricacies of human destinies. In the Middle Ages, only priests who earned special respect and trust became such specialists.

Today, the archival repositories of Belarus contain over 13,000,000 different documents. Gradually, particularly valuable documents are being transferred to digital media – this is being done to ensure more reliable preservation for future generations.

To commemorate Archivist’s Day, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter NARB) presents a documentary exhibition, «Archivists – Participants of the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945», which complements the photo-documentary exhibition, «Spring of Victory», and is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Soviet people’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. The exhibition features unique archival documents: reports from the heads of archival institutions on the mission of staff to select archival materials in Riga and on the results of the re-evacuation; lists of TsGAOR employees holding government awards; information on the quantity of documentary materials in the district state archives of the BSSR; personal records of partisan personnel; award sheets and service records of TsGAOR BSSR employees, and more.

Today, as many years ago, archives perform many functions. But the essence of archivists’ work has always remained and remains unchanged – preserving the documentary historical wealth of Belarus.

We sincerely congratulate archival workers on their professional holiday and wish them all the best!

1. Head of the NARB Department, M.A.Starostenko, introduces the archival documents exhibition.

2. NARB employees review archival documents.

3. Documentary exhibition «Archivists – Participants of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945».

4. Documentary exhibition «Archivists – Participants of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945»

5. Documentary exhibition «Archivists – Participants of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945»