18-19.05 – Programme of the conference “National Sovereignty (1918-2018): Idea and Political Practice” (guest registration until 15.05!)

It is possible to register for the conference as a guest!

To do this, please complete the online registration form by 15 May (https://palityka.wufoo.eu/forms/z4g9i310rtsgw2/).

Admission to the public discussion is free and does not require registration.

Political Sphere Institute (Belarus-Lithuania)
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Belarus
Polish Institute in Minsk
Belarusian Collegium
Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History
VII Minsk Conference of the Political Sphere Institute
National Sovereignty (1918-2018): Idea and Political Practice
17 May
Art-Siadziba, 18 Masherava Ave.

Start – 20.00.

Presentation of the monograph by Tomasz Błaszczak “Belarusians in the Republic of Lithuania. 1918-1940” (Białorusini w Republice Litewskiej 1918-1940).

The monograph is the first attempt at a multidimensional analysis of the Belarusian question in the independent Republic of Lithuania: from cooperation between the two nations on the eve of 1918, through the actualization of the Belarusian question during the formation of the Lithuanian state and its struggle for independence, to the situation of Belarusians regarding the Vilnius region in 1939.

Special attention is given to the activities of the Belarusian emigration in Lithuania, its integration into Lithuanian society, and cultural activity in interwar Kaunas.

The book was published in the summer of 2017 by the Belarusian Historical Society in Białystok.

A Belarusian translation is currently being prepared.
18 May
Venue: Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Belarus (68 Zakharava St.).
9.00-10.00.

Registration
10.00-10.15.

Opening of the conference.

Speeches by the organizers.
10.15-12.00.

Plenary session.

Paweł Kowal (Poland). 1991 for Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus: Between Ambitions and Possibilities for Action
Algimantas Kasparavičius (Lithuania).

Imperial Heritage: Problems of Lithuanian Political Thought and the Realization of National Sovereignty (1914-22)
Dariusz Tarasiuk (Poland).

The Attitude of Belarusian Poles toward the Idea of Polish Independence (1905-1918)
12.00-12.20 Coffee break
12.20-14.00.

Panel I.

Perestroika, the Collapse of the USSR and the Emergence of New States, 1988-1991
Valer Karbalevich (Belarus).

Why Did the USSR Collapse?

Andrei Kazakevich (Belarus). “For” and “Against” the Union.

A Comparison of the Activities of Pro-Soviet and Independence Organizations in the Western Republics of the USSR, 1988-1991
Aleg Dziarnovich (Belarus). “Historical Resource” during Perestroika in Belarus (1988-1991)
14.00-15.00 Lunch
15.00-16.15.

Panel II.

The Emergence of Nation-States in Central and Eastern Europe in the Interwar Period
Pavel Tserashkovich (Belarus).

Social Resources of National Movements in Eastern Europe and the Building of Nation-States
Jacek Stasiorczyk (Poland).

Denationalization or Protection of Identity?

The Situation of Polish-Language Education in the Republic of Lithuania in 1918-40
Varvara Kukharenka (Belarus).

The Creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs: The Realization of Prečani Aspirations or a Pro-Serbian Project
16.15-17.30.

Panel III.

Problems of Sovereignty
Patryk Tomaszewski (Poland).

Independent Belarus, Moldova and Georgia in Polish Political Thought after 2004: A Comparative Approach
Ihar Sluchak (Belarus).

Language Policy in the Occupied Territory of Belarus in 1941-44.

Aliaksei Kryvalap (Belarus).

National Sovereignty in the Media Dimension
18.30 – 20.30.

Public discussion “The BPR and/or the BSSR: The Problem of the Basis of Belarusian Statehood” (Art-Siadziba, 18 Masherava Ave.).

Participants: Ihar Babkou, Andrei Kazakevich, Vadzim Mazhejka, Piotra Piatrouski.

Moderator – Rustis Kamuntavičius.

The centenary of the BPR and the expected centenary of the BSSR bring the discussion about the basis of Belarusian statehood to a new level.

What place should these formations occupy in Belarus’s historical memory?

From what
moment can we speak of the beginning of modern Belarusian statehood?

To what extent are the history, political experience and images of the BPR and the BSSR complementary or, on the contrary, incompatible within a single historical narrative?

These questions are to be raised in the discussion.
19 May
Venue: Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Belarus (68 Zakharava St.).
10.00-11.30 Panel IV.

The BPR: Cultural Memory and Representation (1)
Natallia Hardzienka (Belarus).

The Memorialization of the BPR as Part of the Construction (Preservation) of the National Identity of the Belarusian Postwar Emigration
Ksenia Shtalenkova (Belarus).

Representation of the Right to Belarusian Self-Determination in the Design of Banknotes, 1917-1924.

Radzivon Popel (Belarus).

The Belarusian National Movement, the BPR and Religion: A View through a Century
11.30-12.00.

Coffee break
12.00-13.00 Panel V.

The BPR: Cultural Memory and Representation (2)
Siarhei Yemelyanau (Belarus). The “Founding Myth of the State” in School Textbooks in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Aliaksei Lastouski (Belarus).

A Forgotten Jubilee: Marking the Centenary of the October Revolution in Belarus
List of participants
Tomasz Błaszczak (Lithuania) – Doctor of History, Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania)
Valer Bulhakau (Belarus) – Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, ARCHE journal
Natallia Hardzienka (Belarus) – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art
Aleg Dziarnovich (Belarus) – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
Siarhei Yemelyanau (Belarus) – MA in History, independent researcher
Andrei Kazakevich (Belarus – Lithuania) – Doctor of Political Sciences, Political Sphere Institute (Belarus – Lithuania), Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania)
Rustis Kamuntavičius (Lithuania) – Doctor of History, Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania)
Valer Karbalevich (Belarus) – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Strategy Analytical Centre
Algimantas Kasparavičius (Lithuania) – Doctor of History, Lithuanian Institute of History
Paweł Kowal (Poland) – Doctor of History, Institute of Eastern Europe, University of Warsaw
Aliaksei Kryvalap (Belarus) – Candidate of Cultural Studies, Polotsk State University
Varvara Kukharenka (Belarus) – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Belarusian State University
Aliaksei Lastouski (Belarus) – Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Political Sphere Institute (Belarus – Lithuania), Polotsk State University
Vadzim Mazhejka – Candidate of Cultural Studies, Liberal Club
Radzivon Popel (Belarus) – MA in History, International Institute of Humanities and Economics
Piotra Piatrouski – MA, Analytical Centre of the public association “Belaya Rus”
Dariusz Tarasiuk (Poland) – Habilitated Doctor of History, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
Ihar Sluchak (Belarus) – MA in Law, independent researcher
Jacek Stasiorczyk (Poland) – MA, University of Wrocław
Patryk Tomaszewski (Poland) – Doctor, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Pavel Tserashkovich (Belarus) – independent researcher, Candidate of Historical Sciences
Ksenia Shtalenkova (Belarus) – doctoral student, European Humanities University