We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Every May 8, European, North American, and many other countries around the world celebrate Victory in Europe Day (known as VE Day). For millions of people living in the West, VE Day has a special meaning, symbolising the historic victory over Nazi Germany and an end to nearly six years of a brutal war. On this day, various celebratory events are held to mark the occasion, including parades, memorial services, and street celebrations.
More...
This paper argues that the proper origin of Serbian-Albanian hostility had been established in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In the first part, the paper offers examples of positive mutual perceptions between Serbs and Albanians in the oral tradition, early Balkan ethnography and historiography from mid-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth century. It is contended that the appreciation for Albanian heroes found in Serbian/Montenegrin folk oral songs and narratives stems from a similar social background and shared patriarchal values among the two ethnic groups. In the second part, the paper follows the change in their perceptions from the later part of the nineteenth century onwards, influenced by the Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878, formation of the Albanian national movement, weakening of the Ottoman rule and territorial disputes over the present-day Kosovo and Northern Albania. It is argued that these tendencies gradually led to the establishment of Serbian-Albanian hostility, which became cemented on the eve of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In the last instance, the article focuses on positive examples of Serbian intellectuals who contested such approach and advocates for the re-affirmation of these narratives that emphasize similarities and promote friendship between Serbs and Albanians.
More...
The article examines the role of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourse in the Former Yugoslavia with a particular focus on Albanians. Here, Western Orientalist and Balkanist stereotypes of the Former Yugoslavia are examined arguing that the Orientalism and Balkanism of peoples living in the Former Yugoslavia is and was viewed differently from Western standards and by the peoples living in the Former Yugoslavia in the way how they perceive each other. In addition, this article analyzes the perceptions of Albanians living in the Former Yugoslavia, both in the sense of how they defined themselves and how they were viewed by the South Slavic majority. Methodologically, the article relies on three seminal works that shall serve as pillars of this theoretical analysis: concepts of Edward Said’s “Orientalism, ”Milica Bakic-Hayden’s theories on “nesting Orientalisms” in the Balkans, and Maria Todorova’s analysis of the external practices of representation of the Balkans.It is argued that these authors provide a useful theoretical framework for exploring the distribution of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourses in Former Yugoslavia.
More...
This paper focuses on inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo by analysing the process of adoption of two relevant minority-laws in Kosovo: the Law on Historic Centre of Prizren and the Law on the Village of Velika Hoča/ Hoce e Madhe. Using critical frame analysis, the paper examines what is going on during legislative process, what representations are made of the issues on the agenda, beneficiaries of the law and other actors involved in the process. The findings show that even minority favourable legislation can serve as an exclusion mechanism. While legislative framework in Kosovo guarantees full protection of minority rights, political institutions in Kosovo encourage ethnic cleavages and inter-ethnic tensions.
More...
In the late 19th century national movements prevailed in the Russian Empire, and nationality and religion converged. In 1897 Russian territories were dominated by the Orthodox population (75%), which inhabited mainly the European part of Russia and the Siberian regions colonized by the Russians. Orthodoxy was rather weak in the peripheral provinces of the Empire. The Congress Kingdom of Poland was dominated by Catholics, Finland, Estonia and Latvia featured mostly Protestants, while Muslims prevailed in Central Asia. In the 19th century no religion in Belarus was conducive to Belarusian national revival. It is a myth to point to the Uniate Church as a source of national revival. This rite, Latinized in the 18th century, became the object of rivalry between the two main Christian denominations: the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Russian Orthodox Church, which has been a strong Russification factor on the territory of Belarus, did not foster Belarusian national revival. Even though most of the pioneers of the revival belonged to it, the Catholic Church also did nothing to support the Belarusianization of religious life. Catholicism remained a Polish religion reluctant to Belarusian national ideas. We also have no evidence of any role of Protestant or non-Christian denominations in shaping the Belarusian national movement.
More...
The article is a polemic with Oleg Łatyszonek, a Belarusian historian from Białystok, over whether Franciszek Bohuszewicz can be considered an ideologist and a creator of the Belarusian national idea. Based on Bohuszewicz’s poems (published under pen name Maciej Buraczok), statements of the poet’s relatives and friends, obituaries, and material of 20th-century researchers, the author claims that, regardless of the persecution by the authorities and the censorship of his works, Bohuszewicz accomplished his mission: he showed the hard life of Belarusians in the times after the enfranchisement of peasants, he named those who were to blame for their situation and outlined ways to overcome it (through legal action, education and even death for freedom, like the Kościuszko Uprising fighters). Bohuszewicz was therefore an ideologist and a creator of the Belarusian national idea in the second half of the 19th century.
More...
The article considers the attempts to create a system of primary and higher education in the Belarusian language in 1906–1907, as reflected in the journalism of the newspaper “Nasza Niwa” (“Наша Нива”), published in the Belarusian language in Vilnius. The newspaper voiced the concerns of the Belarusian national movement about the opening of Belarusian-language schools and universities, which was complicated by the dominance of the Russian language in the education system as well as the low level of literacy of the population of Belarus. At the same time, the journalism of “Nasza Niwa” cited the examples of Poles, Lithuanians and Ukrainians as those who solved these problems more successfully and should become role models for Belarusians.
More...
The article considers the specifics and mechanism of constructing the Belarusian national pantheon, which, to a large extent, formed the collective identity during Khrushchev’s “Thaw”. The socio-political context in the Soviet Union that caused the appearance of a pantheon of national heroes is analyzed, and options for their commemoration and presentation are revealed. The construction of the Belarusian pantheon at the time in question was the result of initiatives of the national intelligentsia, undertaken mostly on the eve of various anniversaries. Not all such initiatives met with the support of the Party leadership of the Republic, who used the lion’s share of their forces and funds on the memorialization of the events of World War II. The national pantheon formed in Soviet Belarus during Khrushchev’s “Thaw” was a bizarre hybrid of national cultural figures and war heroes who embodied Soviet internationalism.
More...
Belarusians were one of the largest ethnic groups in Latvia in the interwar period. The main clusters of the Belarusian population were located in the south-eastern part of the country – in Latgale (former Polish Livonia). In the summer of 1941, Latvia was seized by the Wehrmacht and the occupation regime was established. The German occupying authorities, using the principle of “divide et impera”, were willing to give the Belarusians a certain degree of cultural and educational autonomy. In 1941 the Belarusian National Committee (since the spring of 1942: the Belarusian Association) was established in Riga and Dyneburg. The organization of Belarusian education under the German occupation was its priority. In the school years 1941/42 and 1942/43 thirty-five primary schools, two high schools and one agricultural secondary school were opened. Moreover, attempts were made to stimulate artistic and publishing activities. The activities of Belarusians aroused antipathy among local Latvians, who were afraid of an increase in the Belarusian national consciousness in Latgale.
More...
After the Second World War, emigrants from Belarus who found themselves in the West had very different levels of national self-consciousness. United by a common origin and memory, they never theless faced a real threat of disappearing in the host societies without leaving a trace. However, representatives of the national intellectuals took care of preserving and expanding the Belarusian national identity among Belarusian emigrants. Founded in 1951 in New York, the Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences has become a flagship in this field. Over the decades, through its cultural, educational and publishing initiatives, it has been spreading information about Belarus, its history and culture to the masses of emigrants, contributing in many ways to the preservation and expansion of Belarusian identity not only among emigrants, but also in Belarus.
More...
This article is devoted to the Belarusian immigrants in Argentina and the study of their ethnic and national identification. Until 1991 Belarusians in Argentina were a numerically small ethnic group, which due to the absence of an independent Belarusian state was not noticeable to the Argentinians. The elements of Belarusian culture kept up by immigrants (such as language, traditions, songs, dances, cuisine and folk costumes) are highlighted and described. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the development of the Belarusian language among immigrants and their descendants. The cultural characteristics of immigrants from the Belarusian Polesie (Palesse) are also identified. The article summarizes the practical experience in the development of Belarusian culture in pro-Soviet organizations of immigrants, their use of both folklore and the work of Soviet cultural figures (writers, composers). The influence of the BSSR and its institutions on Belarusians in Argentina is discussed. The educational activities of the members of the Association of Belarusians in Argentina as well as the participation of the immigrants’ descendants in ethnic festivals in the states of Buenos Aires and Misiones are noted. The factors that currently allow for the preserving of Belarusian culture in the former clubs of Soviet citizens are pointed out. The author concludes that culture is an important element of the Belarusian identification of immigrants and their descendants in Argentina.
More...
The article examines the current state of the Belarusian language and the non-linguistic factors influencing its current situation, e.g. linguistic prestige, linguistic shame, stereotyping of the language. Also highlighted are subjective and emotional factors that influence negative or positive attitudes towards the Belarusian language depending on current social events.
More...
Mass protests after the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus laid bare all the weaknesses of the official propaganda machine and exposed not only the deficit of truth in relations between the authorities and society: they disavowed and ridiculed both the organizational efforts undertaken by the government and the narrative threads that set the long-term strategy of official propaganda – and in doing so, destroyed its foundations. The music of the protests played a significant role in this process. The article analyzes the texts as well as the visual aspect of the music videos, which, from a social perspective, contributed to the change of the political situation in Belarus. Alaksandr Lukashenka’s policy and himself as a guarantor of social peace and stability are discredited, and the image of a society rebellious against the pretence of values, perpetuated by the system of power built by Lukashenka, is the major theme. The music of the protests shapes the community and modern cultural identity of Belarusians around separate Belarusian cultural codes concerning language, traditions, history and heroes. Songs of resistance, most often written in response to current events, in their verbal layer carry authentic messages, alternative to the official “ideology of truth”. In this way, musical works become a tool for social controversy and fight against the system, i.e. an important part of the process of change and building a new national identity.
More...
For many years, historical science in Belarus has been in a difficult situation. The Belarusian authorities use it for their own purposes and manipulate historical facts. In order to maintain reliable knowledge and historical memory among Belarusian society, it is necessary to search for new, attractive means of independent historical communication. The aim of this article is to present how elements of Belarusian music culture can be used to popularize a patriotic and national historical narrative.
More...
Theological works were the prevailing literary works during the early Middle Ages. For western Europe at that time, the Catholic Church was the intellectual center of society and was, by far, the most productive source of literary works. The main purpose of these works was to increase the religious influence of the church on people and to guide the behavior of the audience. Literature was also used as a means of propaganda for the values and deeds of a king or a people, as was the case with the chansons de geste. Many medieval literary works, from the chanson de geste and finishing to the chivalry novel, have a high theological symbolism and many details of the text may be used as a support for various reading methods. The central figure of the chivalry novel emphasized was the knight-errant, bringing forth a new set of virtues, different from the warrior’s heroism and fidelity towards the senior. The knight–errant was always on the quest to punish injustice, help the poor, and serve God and one lady of his heart. Spite all obstacles, the real quest of the knight-errant was spiritual perfection. His journey was full of fictional adventures set in the medieval west. Exile and madness, decay and redemption, as well as a perpetual journey are specific features of mythical characters revived in the medieval characters. The novel Yvain- the Knight with the Lion of Chretien de Troyes is full of biblical symbols. The present article aims to emphasize the biblical symbolism of the fountain, considered the source of new perspectives, of a new destiny, as well as a passage towards a new stage in the life of Yvain.
More...
