The National Historical Archives of Belarus held an educational event for students of Minsk Secondary School No.4

On April 16, 2026, Sergei Ryndin, Deputy Director for Research at the National Historical Archives of Belarus, and Galina Kutukova, Head of the Document and Collections Preservation Department, visited Minsk Secondary School No.4.

NAR staff members spoke to the students about the importance of preserving our country’s documentary heritage and the possibilities for its use.

The students were shown copies of documents on the family histories of several famous Belarusians, the activities of educational institutions in Belarusian lands, and other topics. The students were particularly interested in copies of documents created over 500 years ago.

The NAR collections contain materials on the history of the Minsk Private Boys’ Gymnasium of S.P.Zubakin and K.O.Falkovich, which became Minsk Secondary School No.4 during the Soviet period. The students were shown pre-revolutionary photographs of students, school diaries, class registers, and a floor plan of the building that originally housed the gymnasium.

The school library received recent editions of the National Historical Archives of Belarus, containing photographs of Minsk students from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One section is dedicated to the S.P.Zubakin and K.O.Falkovich Gymnasium.

The students listened to the lecture with keen interest, viewed the illustrative materials, and asked numerous questions.

The National Historical Archives of Belarus expresses its sincere gratitude to the students and teaching staff of Secondary School No.4 in Minsk for their warm welcome and their keen interest in the documents of the National Historical Archives of Belarus.

1. A lesson for students at Minsk Secondary School No.4

2. Students examining copies of archival documents

3. Presentation of books by the National Historical Archives of Belarus to the school

4. Presentation of books by the National Historical Archives of Belarus to the school