About the history of Belarus — as truthfully and objectively as possible

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, convened a meeting on September 6th to discuss the architectural solution and the exposition concept of the National History Museum cultural and historical complex

BELTA

The Head of State underlined while opening the meeting that the agenda featured an issue of fundamental importance for the Belarusian state — the construction of the new Belarusian National History Museum. “There should be that type of a museum that will show young visitors that we have the right to our statehood, that we have achieved it, earned it by hard work, sweat and blood, having lived not even a century but a millennium. The museum should be a vivid display of our history,” the President urged. “No matter what happens around the country, no matter how busy we are with current issues, matters of state building will always be in the centre of our attention,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. According to the President, Belarus has done a lot in this area over the 30 years of its sovereignty. “We have decided on the approaches to the history of Belarusian statehood and the state policy on history in general. We have stopped being ashamed of some periods of our history. We speak about it honestly, openly, in the way we understand it. This resonates with particular relevance today, especially ahead of People’s Unity Day. The museum is the next step in this endeavour,” the President added.
The main goal is to show the Belarusians’ hard thousand-year-long path to statehood. 

“Despite all the political whirlwinds that swept over our country, Belarusian people have managed to preserve and develop their special identity, language, culture, their unique talent and peaceful nature. We have gone through a difficult path and achieved high results. This should be an object of pride, especially for our youth,” the Head of State emphasised.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, there should not be any nationalistic or patriotic overreach in the content of the exposition. “It should reflect an objective view of our history so that both Belarusians and other peoples could agree with its interpretation or, at least, could not reject or deny it. My main requirement is to present historical facts as truthfully as possible,” the President noted.
The Head of State believes the location of the museum to be the right one. The construction of this facility will complete the look of the area that is already called the quarter of Belarusian statehood, which also includes the Palace of Independence, the Supreme Court, and the State Flag Square. “The museum should become an iconic landmark of the country. It should delight both with its modern architecture and the interior,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
The President said that such a facility should have been built in Belarus long time ago. “Any self-respecting state developed its fundamental buildings and museums long ago for the new generation to feel pride in what the previous generation achieved,” the Head of State pointed out. The President placed a major focus on the architectural solution, “It should reflect the national spirit of the country. The maintenance and upkeep of the building, engineering structures and other issues are of utmost importance as well.” As for the museum exposition, the Head of State believes it is important to maintain a balance between traditional canons and modern information technology. “In short, the museum should become a new world-class centre,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said, adding that it was necessary to study the museum development experience in other countries and adopt the best practices. “We are developing — and we should realise this — an object not for a year or two. In the new museum, our descendants will see a model of attitude to their past,” the President stressed. 

“The museum should become a paragon of truth and objectivity. There should be no politicisation, no ‘hurrah’ for Lukashenko or anyone else who allegedly made history while the people are forgotten. Everything should be absolutely objective and on merit”. 

The Head of State highlighted the need to give special attention to the most remarkable events in the country’s history, and at the same time not to hide anything. “It should reflect the policy we are pursuing in Belarus today,” the President stated. Following the instruction of the Head of State, Minsk City Hall together with the Culture Ministry and historians has worked out all these issues. The relevant report was presented at the meeting.

Belarus' National History Museum, sketch

Project concept

The National History Museum will be located in Minsk’s Tsentralny District within the area of Pobeditelei Avenue, Orlovskaya Street and the Svisloch River. The People’s Unity Park will be built on the former Dreamland Park site to become part of the open water-green space of the city.
The new building of the National History Museum will have the shape of Belarus’ map. The museum exposition will boast exhibits and information about the history of the Belarusian lands from ancient times to the present.
According to Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev, plans are in place to develop a museum and park ensemble on the area of about 31 hectares and call the site the People’s Unity Park. No other construction projects are underway on this area. The area will be landscaped to feature a new park and a museum. “It will be a symbol of our country,” Vladimir Kukharev added. 

‘The museum will showcase the most advanced technologies’ 

Minister of Culture Anatoly Markevich presented the exposition concept of the future museum at a meeting. He shared some outcomes of the discussion with journalists, “The concept has been supported. There are sketch versions that have received approval, but there is very serious work ahead that will highlight the greatest history of our country.”  
According to Anatoly Markevich, each hall and each exposition must be filled with profound meaning, “The museum will gather the best, most advanced technologies. Our task is to ensure that the exhibition is interesting to people of all ages. We have seen leading practices in other countries and plan to apply them. We have a lot of meticulous, painstaking work ahead that will reflect our justice, independence, sovereignty, and, of course, a forward-looking vision for the future.”
Artistic solution for exhibition hall design: Belarus in late 18th - early 20th centuries

Without distortions or falsifications 

Vyacheslav Danilovich, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, noted, “The museum will demonstrate objectively, without distortions or falsifications, the role and significance of our ancestors during each historical period — what they accomplished and what challenges they faced to defend their right to live on this land, as they see fit.”    
According to the deputy, the National History Museum should become the main museum of the country, showcasing our history and modern times ‘clearly, distinctly, and expressively’. At the same time, the participants of the meeting expressed hope that the museum would become a source of pride for our country and the best in the post-Soviet space.  
Vyacheslav Danilovich emphasised, “The strength behind the national concept of history lies in the fact that we have not excluded any period from our history. Primitive society, the period of the 9th to 13th centuries, the ancient Russian period — the Polotsk and Turov principalities, the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, and Samogitia, the period of the Russian Empire (late 18th to early 20th century), and the Soviet period (1917 to 1991).”
According to the deputy, it was during the Soviet era that a powerful socio-political, socio-economic, and spiritual and cultural foundation for modern Belarus was laid. The museum will also feature a hall dedicated to the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War and the history of contemporary Belarus. Historians are planning to reflect the formation of the unity of the Belarusian people after the collapse of the USSR. It is expected that the history of the difficult 1990s will be portrayed, as well as the events that unfolded after the election of the first President of Belarus to the present day. As stressed by Vyacheslav Danilovich, our country has maintained peace for 80 years already since the end of the Great Patriotic War, “We have preserved peace and tranquillity. However, we will also show the attempts to destabilise and divide society — the events that happened in 2020. Future generations must remember that we stood firm thanks to the unity of our people.” 

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by