'Our Glorious Past’

Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-3-8382-0674-5
Verlag: ibidem

Buch, Englisch, Band 124, 400 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 454 g

Reihe: Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society

This timely book examines how the regime of President Aliaksandr Lukashenka has used the 'Great Patriotic War' (1941-45) as a key element in state and identity formation in Belarus. The campaign was discernible from 2003 and intensified after a rift with Russia that led to a re-examination of the earlier policy of close political and economic partnership. David R. Marples focuses in particular on the years 2009 and 2010, which commemorated two 65th anniversaries: the liberation of Minsk (3 July 1944) and the end of World War II in Europe (9 May 1945). Using a variety of sources, this unique book critically examines the official interpretations of the war from various angles: the initial invasion, occupation, the Partisans, historic sites and monuments, films, documentaries, museums, schools, and public occasions commemorating some of the major events. Relying on first-hand research, including books recommended by the Ministry of Education, state-controlled media and personal visits to the major historic sites and monuments of Belarus, Marples explains and measures the effectiveness of Lukashenka's program. In outlining the main tenets of the state interpretation of the war years, the book highlights the distortions and manipulations of historical evidence as well as the dismissal of alternative versions as 'historical revisionism.' It assesses the successes and weaknesses of the campaign as well as its long term effects and prospects.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Marples, David

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Geschichtspolitik, Erinnerungskultur
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Museumskunde, Materielle Kultur, Erinnerungskultur
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration of Names
Introduction: Lukashenka's Belarus
1. The Start of the War
2. The German Occupation Regime
3. The Partisans
4. Veteran Heroes
5. Liberation and Victory
6. Historic Sites and Memorials
7. Publicizing the War
8. Historical Revisionism
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

David R. Marples is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History & Classics, University of Alberta. He is author of fourteen single-authored books and two edited books on topics ranging from 20th Century Russia, 20th century Ukraine, Stalinism, contemporary Belarus, and the Chernobyl disaster.