The State Archives of the Vitebsk Region was awarded the «Best Regional State Archive» and «Best Reading Room of the Regional State Archive» awards for 2025

At an extended meeting of the Board of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region was awarded diplomas and challenge badges recognizing the archive as the winner of the 2025 awards in the categories of «Best Regional State Archive» and «Best Reading Room of the Regional State Archive».

In 2025, the archive accepted 15,343 management documentation files from organizations providing paper copies for permanent storage. Of these, 11,016 files from 1988–2017 were received by the state archive due to the settlement of document transfer arrears and the commissioning of the «Reconstruction of the ATS-24 building at 90A Frunze Avenue in Vitebsk for use as an archive» project in 2024.

In total, 1,663 files were digitized in 2025, including 624 files «containing particularly valuable documents». 261,695 electronic pages were created, including 137,701 electronic pages of «particularly valuable documents».

37,042 storage units were issued from archival storage facilities, 27,044 sheets underwent restoration processing, and 57,575 sheets of archival documents were repaired. In 2025, the archive participated in 39 television programs, including four television interviews; seven media interviews were published; and 46 articles and interviews were published in the media and scientific journals. Archive staff participated in 49 scientific conferences, readings, and roundtable discussions, giving 43 presentations. Forty-four articles were published. A total of 268 activities were implemented, including 14 virtual exhibitions and exhibitions on stands and display cases.

Seventy-one events were held as part of the «Archives for Schools» campaign.

Sixty-one events were organized for institutions and educational institutions in Vitebsk, featuring film screenings created by the BGAKFFD as part of the «Open Film Archive» campaign. The total number of participants in these events was over 2,000. This year, as part of international cooperation with the State Archives of the Volgograd Region, work was carried out to create a collection of archival documents and materials, «Stalingrad – Vitebsk: Rebuilding Cities. 1943-1953».

Participation was also taken in the preparation of the publication «Here the Past Doesn’t Go Away, but Becomes the Foundation», published for the 85th anniversary of the Zheleznodorozhny District of Vitebsk. The book was prepared jointly with the district administration and the Belarusian State Archives of the Fundamental Cultural Heritage of the Russian Federation (BSAF). A meeting with the authors was held as part of the publication’s presentation.

A collection of materials from regional archival readings, «Thematic Living Rooms ‘Archive Important», dedicated to the Year of Peace and Creation and the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Vitebsk Region, was published. At the suggestion of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (NARB), participation was taken in the preparation of collections of documents on the history of archival affairs and public utilities during the NEP period. In 2025, the reading rooms were visited by 1,725 researchers and representatives of collection creators.

Photo: Archive Director Alexander Nikolaevich Korol being presented with the «Best Regional State Archive» challenge badge by Oleg Leonidovich Voinov, Director of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus.