In the Year of the Belarusian Woman, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus presents a documentary exhibition, «The Female Face in the History of Belarus»
By Decree No.1 of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated January 1, 2026, this year was declared the Year of the Belarusian Woman. This document aims to shape the national image of working women, promote the role of women in preserving and developing society, and recognize their special contributions to the socio-economic and socio-political development of Belarus.
On February 24, 2026, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as NARB) opened the first documentary exhibition in the «Female Face in the History of Belarus» series.
Belarusian women have long made a significant contribution to the development of our state and society. The 1920s and 1930s hold a special place in our history. After the revolutionary events, women in Soviet society acquired a qualitatively new status, primarily thanks to higher education, and began to master professions traditionally considered unfeminine, including leadership positions, on an equal basis with men. Moreover, at this same time, many women demonstrated their ability to operate a tractor just as well as men during the «Komsomolskaya Pravda – To the Tractor!» campaign.
The exhibition features archival documents for the first time: work plans for the women’s section of the Central Committee of the Moscow Communist Party of Russia (MOPR); reference data on the number of women in the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus; the opening minutes of the 2nd All-Belarusian Congress of Peasant Women and the 1st Congress of Jewish Peasant Women; materials on the status of work among women in the agricultural and forestry workers’ unions of the Supreme Council of the National Economy; a questionnaire surveying enterprises to study and improve women’s working conditions; Slogans from the Women’s Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus for March 8, as well as posters and photographs of women of that era.
The 1920s and 1930s shaped a new image of women in the BSSR—well-educated and actively involved in public life—that remains relevant today.
NARB staff and visitors to the NARB reading room viewed the documentary exhibition.
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| 1. Exhibition Poster |
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| 2. NARB Department Head M.A.Starostenko introduces the exhibition «Women’s Faces in the History of Belarus» |
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| 3. NARB Department Head M.A.Starostenko introduces the exhibition «Women’s Faces in the History of Belarus» |
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| 4. NARB Department Head M.A.Starostenko introduces the exhibition «Women’s Faces in the History of Belarus» |
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| 5. NARB Department Head M.A.Starostenko introduces the exhibition «Women’s Faces in the History of Belarus» |
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| 6. Archival documents at the exhibition |
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| 7. Archival documents at the exhibition |
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| 8. Archival documents at the exhibition |