Memory of the Uprising: How Narratives of 1863 Have Evolved in Belarusian Public Discourse

This study examines how the memory of the 1863–1864 uprising evolved in the Belarusian information space between 2010 and 2024. It focuses on differences in how state and independent media covered the uprising, the competition between historical narratives, and the role of Kastus Kalinouski and other participants in the uprising in collective memory.

An analysis of 1,967 publications reveals that media interest in the uprising increased significantly, particularly after 2020. At the same time, state and independent media demonstrate substantial differences in their interpretations of the events. Independent media predominantly place the uprising within the context of Belarusian national history and devote considerable attention to practices of commemoration.

In the state-controlled information space, the opposite trend has emerged since 2020: the gradual marginalization of national interpretations and the growing prominence of narratives portraying the uprising as a “Polish” event. These changes became particularly pronounced in 2022–2023.

A separate section of the study explores the formation of the uprising’s pantheon of heroes and changes in the terminology used to describe the events of 1863. The findings show that Kastus Kalinouski remains the central figure in historical memory, despite significant differences in how he is portrayed and assessed. The study traces how historical memory has become part of contemporary political confrontation in Belarus.

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