17.00 – 18.00, Putvinskio 23, room #310. Zoom

Presentation of the first Lithuanian history of Belarus: Rūstis Kamuntavičius “Gudijos istorija/Baltarusijos istorija” MELC/LDKI 2021

To date, no Lithuanian author has published a synthetic history of Belarus. Even translations from other languages do not exist. This happened despite the fact that from the 13th century Lithuanians and Belarusians lived together in one state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This history book is not written with the intention to tell “how things really went”, with a list of events and processes that once took place. Its aim is to compare the Lithuanian and Belarusian narratives of their common past. Why are these narratives so different? What is the cause behind the establishment of some “truths” in Lithuania and some others in Belarus? What is their impact on the identity of these people and on mutual communication? Particular attention is paid to the 19th-20th centuries, especially to how both nations developed and to what are the common and the distinctive features of each path.

Speakers: the author Rūstis Kamuntavičius (Vytautas Magnus University), Siarhiej Chareŭski (European Humanities University) and Tomasz Błaszczak (Vytautas Magnus University).

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 310. Zoom

Public discussion: “How to call Belarus in Lithuanian?” (the discussion will be held in Lithuanian)

On September 19, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Byelarussian SSR passed a law which changed the name of the country into the “Republic of Belarus” (Рэспубліка Беларусь, or shortly – Беларусь in Belarusian). It also declared that the name has to be transliterated into other languages in accordance with the Belarusian version. The United Nations recommended for other countries to take that into account; many nations chose the name Belarus even before that. In Lithuania there have been numerous proposals to change the current name – Baltarusija. In early 2021 the leader of Belarusian opposition S. Tikhanovskaya (С. Ціханоўская) approached the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs with a request to officially call her country Belarusia. Subsequently, Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, urged the experts to publicly discuss the use and the possibility of changing the Lithuanian current name of Belarus. In this public discussion, arguments, counter arguments, differences and similarities between possible alternative Lithuanian names for Baltarusija are going to be discussed by their proponents. The language of the discussion – Lithuanian, with a possibility to express an opinion in a different language.

Speakers: Dr Valius Venckūnas (Vilnius University), Dr Arūnas Vyšniauskas (Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania), Dr Rūstis Kamuntavičius (Vytautas Magnus University).

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 311. Zoom

Presentation of the monograph “Belarusian Detachments of Lithuanian Army in 1918-1923” by Gintautas Surgailis​

The monograph "Belarusian Detachments of Lithuanian Army in 1918-1923" by the Chief Researcher of the World Policy Research Group of the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Gintautas Surgailis, was published in 2020. Using printed sources from Lithuania, Poland and Belarus, as well as rich archival sources, the author presents a detailed history of the Belarusian national military formations of the Lithuanian Army, from the organization of the First Belarusian Infantry Regiment in Vilnius at the end of 1918 to the last Belarusian military unit of the Lithuanian Army. Surgailis reveals the difficult conditions under which they were organized and operated, as well as their contribution to the struggle for freedom and independence of Lithuania.​

Speakers: the author Gintautas Surgailis, Dr Manvydas Vitkūnas (Military Academy of Lithuania), Dr Jonas Vaičenonis (Vytautas Magnus University), Dr Irmina Matonytė (Military Academy of Lithuania).

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 312. Zoom

Presentation of the monograph "Iwan Kraskowski: (1880–1955) w służbie Białorusi i Ukrainy" (Ivan Kraskovski (1880-1955). At the service of Belarus and Ukraine"), Białystok 2019, by Tomasz Błaszczak, Iryna Matiash, Darota Michaliuk

Published in 2019, the book written by researchers from Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine is the first attempt to present the life and work of Ivan Kraskovski, who was born in 1880 in Dubicze Cerkiewne, located in present-day Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. His journey took him to Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Vilnius, Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, the Caucasus, post-war Austria and Germany, independent Lithuania and Latvia, various parts of the USSR and ended in Czechoslovak Bratislava in 1955. His activities date back to a time of great changes characterized by two world wars, revolutions and the emergence of new states on the map of Europe. An active participant in public life, Kraskovski has been inscribed in the history of the Belarusian People’s Republic and the Ukrainian People’s Republic as a diplomat and one of the founders of the Ukrainian diplomatic service.​​

Speakers: the authors Tomasz Błaszczak and Dorota Michaluk

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 313. Zoom

Presentation of the project “Skaryna’s Route: from Polack to Vilnius”​

The Francysk Skaryna Cultural Route (Polotsk-Vilnius part) is the initiative of a group of specialists from the European Humanities University, Skaryna Gymnasium in Vilnius, Polotsk State University and Polotsk National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, supported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme. The initiative has two aims: first, to form a network of people interested in developing and promoting the idea of the European cultural route of Francysk Skaryna, which may potentially become part of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe; second, to develop ideas for the first part of the Polotsk-Vilnius route.​

Speakers: Aliaksandr Kalbaska (European Humanities University), Siarhiej Chareŭski (European Humanities University), Aliaksej Lastoŭski (Polotsk State University)

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 101. Zoom

Presentation of the book “Pokolenie RU belorusskoĭ dramy: kontekst, tendentsii, individualʹnosti”, Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 2020. (“Generation RU of Belarusian drama: context, trends, individualities”, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Press, 2020) by Irina Lappo, Siarhiej Kavalioŭ and Natallia Rusieckaja.

The work of the three authors from Lublin focuses on the phenomenon of Belarusian dramaturgy of the first two decades of the 21st century. The book examines such aspects as the predominance of the Russian-language dramaturgy, its place in the Belarusian theatrical context, its main development trends, and the export potential of the Belarusian dramaturgy. Particular attention is devoted to the works of the leading Russian-speaking playwrights from Belarus: Paviel Pražko, Mikalaj Rudkoŭski, Dzmitry Bahaslaŭski and Andrej Ivanov.

Speakers: the book’s authors Irina Lappo and Natallia Rusieckaja (Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin), and the presenter Andriej Moskwin.

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18.00 – 19.00, Putvinskio 23, room # 102. Zoom

Book presentation "German-Belarusian Relations 1916-1925"

The Book is a Belarusian translation of the publication "Die Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Belarus 1916 bis 1925", which was published 2019 and translated into Belarusian in 2020. The book reviews the difficult chapter of the Belarusian history after World War I and publishes materials from the Archives of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which are published for the first time. The book also contains photos of people and paces, where important events happened, faxcimile copies of documents, which gives even deeper impression of the time and bilateral relations.

Presenters: Matthias Dornfeldt and Enrico Seewald (Germany)

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