Lukashenko on unified strategy for shaping historical memory
Scientists, teachers, journalists and experts should act in line with a unified strategy for shaping historical memory — as stated by President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko at a meeting with ideological advocates, historical and expert communities marking National Unity Day on September 17th
The Belarusian leader stressed that the emphases of all periods of Belarusian history must be analysed: which dates and events are important, who were the heroes and who were the enemies, “We understand that Belarus is still quite young after passing a third of a century of its sovereign history. The history of the sovereign state is only beginning. We are walking on a tightrope — those who dream of cutting that tightrope will endlessly speculate on historical dates that are important to us, posting fakes about some pacts, conspiracies and other nonsense easily refuted by historical documents.”
In this regard, the President referred to the historic Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed in August 1939 between the USSR and Germany. Aleksandr Lukashenko advocates for a thorough and comprehensive analysis of any historical event, including this particular agreement.
“We need to analyse more thoroughly why this happened. On the surface, it appears that the Soviet Union bears some responsibility — that something was divided, split, and so forth. But if we look deeper? This isn’t even the task of historians; it’s the task of experienced politicians who can assess those events through the lens of their political life and career. Poland was divided, but why did Poland allow this to happen? The idea of ‘od morza do morza’ [meaning ‘Poland from one sea to the other’] didn’t just come about suddenly; preparations had been underway for quite some time. And you know the kind of policies the Poles pursued, how they tried to ‘please’ Hitler. Therefore, everything must be considered from this perspective. The Poles should be encouraged to contemplate this and urged to deeply analyse the reasons behind their alleged division,” the Head of State pointed out.
According to the President, at this point, we must understand that historians analyse documents and facts and construct chronologies of events, “And our ideological task is to transform this data into narratives, arguments and counterarguments, and to work with them in the information space. Here, scientists, teachers, journalists and experts must act in line with a unified strategy for shaping historical memory.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked the meeting participants to analyse the work done on specific assignments, including those from the President of Belarus, and to share their vision of the future in terms of historical policy tasks.
