Belarus’ in the great patriotic war: (re)constructing and rethinking historical memory

This essay may be considered a product of memory studies, but it represents not only the historical memory of Belarusians about the war and the image of Belarus that has long been established in the mass consciousness. This is an attempt to rethink the past at the national level, taking into account the 80 years lived after the Great Patriotic War. In the anniversary year, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, many new materials are appearing in the Belarusian media, government structures, and educational institutions, making us to take a new look at the events of the war years and their influence on the entire subsequent development of the Republic of Belarus. The unambiguity in the assessments of this or that event and factor of wartime is on the wane, information previously known only to a narrow circle of people is becoming public, as a result of which the historical memory of those citizens of Belarus whose ideas about the war were formed long ago is being updated, and the perception of the war by the younger generations is arguably becoming multifaceted and well-reasoned national narrative.