The place and role of social sciences and humanities in the Belarusian society is addressed. Implementation results of the 2011–2015 State Program for Scientific Research in History, Culture, Society and the State are analyzed. The most important scientific results are specified which were achieved in the implementation of the Program in such areas as archaeology, history, economics, philosophy, sociology, linguistics, literature, art history, ethnology, law, and pedagogy. Major unique fundamental works are specified that unveil abundant historical, cultural and spiritual foundations of the Belarusian people. It is emphasized that the main tasks of humanitarian scholars are a) the advanced and reasonable justification of the historical legitimacy of the Belarusian statehood aimed to protect national interests of the Republic of Belarus in the world community; b) the preservation of spiritual and tangible historical and cultural values of the Belarusian people; and c) strengthening the international prestige of the Belarusian state and the Belarusian humanities in the world. Quantitative results of Belarusian humanitarian scholars’ contribution in the implementation of the History, Culture, Society and the State Program are presented. The conclusion is made that, working within the common scientific research program, humanitarian scholars in Belarus generally provide strong scientific support to the social, economic, political and cultural development of the modern Belarusian society, and contribute to maintaining social stability and preserving and developing Belarusian national culture.

The article reviews world-system approach research results based on the social network analysis as a methodological tool to identify structural characteristics of world-systems that go beyond the differentiation between core, semi-periphery and periphery, as is traditional for the world-system approach. This leads to a more complex set of categories and concepts in the world-system approach which includeds the categories of weak and strong periphery/semi-periphery etc. Using the social network analysis gives the world-system approach additional heuristic potential to describe the highly organized structure and dynamics of a world-system; however, this method is largely used to verify basic intuitive structuralist provisions of the world-system approach. At the same time, a network is used as methodological tool to conceptualize a world-system and is not regarded ontologically self-sufficient as in the network approach.

Young people are known to be an important social and demographic group in the structure of any society and the state. The future of any nation is connected with the younger generation. One could even state that young people are the engine of social and economic transformation. Therefore, studying the historical experience of the younger generation’s activities is essential to develop an effective and verified state youth policy nowadays. This article explores participation of young people in the development of the BSSR industry during the industrialization policy implementation period between 1928 and 1939. Methodologically, the study was based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, systemic examination of facts and phenomena, and comparative analysis. It is concluded that the Young Communist League which enjoyed support from the Communist Party and the Soviet State was active in organizing participation of young people in the industrial development, though not always successfully. The younger generation was actively involved in the industrial development and construction of industrial facilities both in the BSSR and other USSR regions. In general, young people played a crucial role in the successful implementation of the industrialization policy, creation of a strong domestic industry and acceleration of the BSSR industrial development. At the same time, the organization of young people’s participation in the country’s industrial development was far from being flawless.

The article explores an issue which has so far received little attention in Belarusian historiography, i.e. military preparations by the Polish authorities among Western Belarusian youth in the Interwar Period. Main objectives and areas of activities to involve the society in strengthening the defence capacity of the Polish state and specifics of these activities in Western Belarus are described. The role which public and governmental structures, first of all, militarized youth organizations, the army and education system played in military training (MT) for the young generation is evaluated. It is noted that these activities particularly intensified after the Sanation regime was established in the Polish state. It was headed by Marshal J. Pilsudski who initiated a rigidly centralized MT system. Besides ensuring military training for the younger generation, Polish authorities tasked themselves with educating it in terms of loyalty and patriotism. In the Western Belarusian context, that meant clear-cut polonization. A separate analysis covers main barriers to efficiently implement MT for young people in Western Belarus. These are, first of all, the region’s social and economic backwardness, and hostile attitude among the majority of the local population towards any action by Polish authorities. The article uses various documentary and historiographcal sources.

This article analyzes historiographical literature exploring the scientific works by V. O. Klyuchevsky, a famous Russian historian. The article’s objective is to summarize major historiographical opinions that were made in the previous century with regard to his scientific works. The article addresses historiographical assessments made by Klyuchevsky’s contemporaries and disciples, Soviet and foreign researchers and modern Russia’s scholars. It is noted that these assessments are diverse and contradicting and that scientific issues related to characterizing Klyuchevsky’s scientific methodology and identifying the existence of the Kluychevsky school are still relevant. The article concludes that the historical science retains an open question about the impact of the Klyuchevsky school on the formation of the Belarusian historiography in the 1920–1930s and in the subsequent Soviet period. Noteworthy are issues regarding V. O. Kljuchevsky’s and his disciples’ methodology of working with historical sources, i.e. their practical use of the comparative historical method, statistical method, typology, retrospective, and other traditional scientific historical research methods. Research in this area could contribute to updating modern theoretical ideas regarding the methodology of scientific historical knowledge and would make it possible to enrich university lecture courses on source criticism and historical methods with scientific examples.

The article is devoted to studying structural organization features of adjectival lexical semantic groups as separate partof-speech segments in semantic fields of colour in the modern Russian and Belarusian languages. The data structure of hierarchically organized lexical sets is explored by using definition and component analyses of the meanings of colour adjectives on the basis of two types of modeling. In accordance with the first modeling type, the structure of the lexical semantic group in the Russian language consists of a core zone, near-core zone, central zone and nearest peripheral zone; the correlative set in the Belarusian language consists of a core zone, near-core zone and central zone. According to the second modeling type, lexical semantic groups of colour adjectives in the both languages are structured into six subgroups: Basic (Absolute) Colour Lexemes, Secondary (Hue-denoting) Colour Lexemes, Mixed Colours, Human Organ and Body Part Colour Nominations, Rare Colour Lexemes, and Animal Colour Nominating Adjectives. Based on the analysis of a rich factual material, smaller semantic communities, i.e. parcels, are defined in each of the subsets. The parcels are formed by elements the meaning of which includes a colour characteristic. Specific examples are given to show cross-language similarities and differences in the structure of lexical semantic groups of colour lexemes in the Russian and Belarusian languages.

The asymmetric element in the Belarusian folk ornamented towel from Vitebsk region is explored. Names of a crossshaped rosette given by culture bearers in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine are collected. Based on the comparative analysis of these names, the etymology of the ornamental element which is part of the explored asymmetrical block is found. The link of the etymology to the deer cult and other geometrical ornament elements related to this cult is demonstrated. The areal spread of these symbols including Eastern Europe, the Urals, Zauralye and Caucasus has been studied. The interrelation between the deer cult and the archaic spider cult has been found. Examples are given to illustrate the presence of the spider cult in the past, and spider symbols used in the Belarusian folk needlework are shown. Illustrative evidence material is given including examples of a simple and complex grid and gridded rhombus in folk embroidery and needlework. The relation between the deer cult and Pancake Week, a folk fest is defined. The epithet “kryvosheyka” (crooked neck) given to this fest is considered, and its symbol in the Eastern European and Caucasian folk ornament is shown. Based on linguistic data, the name has been reconstructed for the Slavic and Scythian god whose zoomorphic symbol was a deer. The hypothesis is proposed regarding the etymology of Lada, a Slavic goddess.

Interpretation itself is one of the key phenomena of culture and social reality. What is the integrity of a work of art? By virtue of what does it get its individuality? What creates the unity of the art work and what individualizes it? What is its “center”? These questions drive the consideration of interpretation prerequisites to the highest point. Interpretation in art is replacing the original meaning of a certain artistic phenomenon by a different, independent meaning within each new mental representation system. Chinese artists’ interest was not in whether reality corresponds to some objective prototypes but whether it is loyal to the inner truth of life and to the deepest roots of human experience. For this reason, many masters of modern painting in China, having become acquainted with examples of the European art including works of contemporary art, paid attention to the artistic techniques that were close to the meanings which these masters were accustomed to attach to the process of art work creation. This article characterizes artistic techniques by means of which European art is interpreted in works by Chinese artists who worked in different styles and represented some of the most notable trends in modern Chinese painting. As noted for the first time, techniques of interpreting the achievements by the mid 20th century European painting school played a unique role in mainstreaming works by representatives of China’s national art schools during the new time.

The article explores the historical and artistic process whereby the Belarusian novel genre emerged and developed and substantiates the relevance of this prose form in the Belarusian fiction in the 20th century. The conclusion is made that the genre-based approach to analyzing the literary process is the most effective and justified way to comprehending the theory, poetics and aesthetics of the fictional discourse. Special attention is also paid to the analysis of the interaction between different prose forms, especially the interrelation between romance and novel. It is noted that studying the novel genre has long been neglected by Belarusian literary critics. Its genre definition was often much fragmented, vague and indefinite. The novel was often featured in the national literary criticism under a different name and defined as other prose genres: a story, novella or romance. An important place in the study is given to the deep theoretical analysis of In the Wilderness of Polesie by Yakub Kolas presented by M. Piotukhovich in his article, In the Wilderness of Polesie as a New Stage of Belarusian Fiction. It is noted that he assessed this novel as highly valuable for the Belarusian literature. The study also notes the intensive development of the novel in the Belarusian literature of the 1920s and exposes the productive nature of this fiction genre, and its relevant high poetic and artistic potential for the fruitful development of the Belarusian national literature.

The Belarusian literature in recent decades demonstrates rapid expansion of works with a distinct non-fictional basis. The increasing emergence of memoirs, diaries, confessions, epistolary and biographical texts is influenced by trends in foreign literature where documentary prose was termed non-fiction. However, studying documentary prose in the Belarusian humanitarian science is limited and fragmentary. This affects and distorts the perception of the literary process. The article seeks to explore and theoretically comprehend the non-fiction phenomenon using the comparison and structural analysis methods (including system modeling elements). The objectives include limiting the list of synonymic terms that are used to denote documentary literature, determining differentiating features and existence levels of the nonfiction phenomenon and identifying the genre field of documentary literature. The author arrives at the conclusion that the terms “documentary literature” and “documentary” are most relevant to denote the non-fiction phenomenon. It is typical for the non-fiction phenomenon to exist both as independent ‘literature of fact’ and as a documentary basis for a work of fiction. In the latter case, texts are subdivided into autobiographies (diaries, memoirs, confessions, epistolary texts etc.) and documentary fiction (fictional chronicles, essays, fictionalized biographies etc.). Common genre features of most non-fiction works are the author’s presence ‘triplication’, hypothetical incompleteness, correlation with the post-modern tradition, and balancing between reality and fiction.

The article explores issues related to the formation of a new generation of rights, i.e. somatic (personal) rights and freedoms. Today somatic (personal) rights are viewed quite differently than 20 to 30 years ago. New evaluations of these rights have been emerging. All that is positive should receive appropriate legal support in our law and practice. Somatic rights can include the rights to organ transplantation, artificial reproduction (in vitro fertilization, surrogacy), sterilization, abortion, sex change, sexual rights and some others. In this case, we are actually talking about rights to manipulate bodily substance. The right to life and human dignity and the right to liberty and security of person are the core of personal (somatic) rights. Attention is drawn to constitutional sources of somatic rights. Current Belarusian laws providing for the exercise of somatic rights is analyzed. It is emphasized that the foundations of our society are stronger as compared to some Western countries where same-sex marriages, homosexuality promotion and child adoption by same-sex couples are commonly practiced. The article makes proposals to improve legislation and law-applying practice.

Тhe article considers the process of formation of the judiciary on the basis of the historical stages of its development. The author analyses legal acts regulating the exercise of the judicial power, determines the main periods and directions of its improvement. Special attention is paid to the development of the judiciary in the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russian Empire, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Republic of Belarus. Based on the analysis of the regulatory framework, a general description of the judiciary carrying out justice at these stages of development of the judicial system. The author also examines judicial reform specific to certain historical periods. Summing up, the author formulates the conclusions which describe out the main outcomes of the judicial reforms, and established judicial institutions at different historical stages.

The EAEU countries are moving towards economic integration, lifting all barriers to the movement of goods, services, labor and capital. Liberalized and harmonized legal framework in the financial sector and the degree of development of the markets are among major conditions for the establishment of a full-fledged economic union. Therefore, this article’s subject matter is the financial activity of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The article seeks to analyze and identify prospects of establishing a monetary union through coordinated regulation and deeper economic integration of the EAEU states. The article is devoted to problems of monetary integration of the EAEU countries. It addresses main indicators of convergence between the countries, as described in the theory of currency areas and in normative documents, such as the movement of capital, inflation, openness of the economy, refinancing rate, state budget and public debt. Conclusions are made that the countries are ready for monetary integration. All economic sectors are to be fully harmonized to achieve further integration and form a monetary union. First of all, attention should be drawn to the convergence indicators specified in the EAEU Treaty. The logical and statistical analysis and synthesis methods and comparative and historical analysis methods were used to study the development level of the financial markets.