History of Western Belarus in 1921–1939 in domestic soviet historiography of the 1950s–1980s.

Abstract

The study is aimed at understanding the process of formation and development of the Soviet national historiography in 1950s–1980s of the socio­cultural history of Western Belarus in 1921–1939, identifying its thematic, ideological and political orientation. Based on a wide range of sources, a conclusion was made about the conditionality of domestic journalism and scientific historical thought on the socio-cultural issues of Western Belarus in 1921–1939. the assimilation policy of Poland and the desire of the Belarusian people for social liberation and national consolidation. With the exception of the problems of the communist and democratic press and the state of public education, there was no systematic substantive development of the topic during the Soviet period, which was explained by the secondary importance of cultural themes in the system of Marxist-Leninist methodology. The events of social and cultural life were used to confirm the difficult situation of the Belarusian people and as an illustration of the revolutionary struggle for “social and national liberation”, the approaches to its study were determined by the place and role of the Communist Party in the social and political situation, the Polish was clearly negative and alien to Belarusians. Socio-cultural influence on Western Belarus, ignoring the socio-cultural life of members of other national minorities and under control Communist Party groups. Socio-cultural issues developed in accordance with the Marxist-Leninist social-class canons, aimed at leveling national features and fostering internationalist priorities, resulting in the impoverishment of the sociocultural history of Western Belarus, the rejection of significant achievements of the Belarusian people in material and spiritual culture, in the field of education and science literature and art.