New on the site

A special jubilee section: 65 Years of Victory. The Great Patriotic War. Belarus is posted in the Subject Catalogue of the website.

The rubric consists of the three main sections:

A survey of events of the Great Patriotic War in the Belarusian SSR and the Soviet Union and the chronology of key events of the Second World War.

Summary information on 25 archival publications relating to the Great Patriotic War in Belarus (directories, documentary editions, research papers), with links to their contents and prefaces in the Russian version of the website.

A virtual exhibition of documents (textual records, photographs, film and sound recordings).

On display in the online exhibition are 405 wartime records available from 12 state archives in the Republic of Belarus illustrating the tragic and heroic pages from the history of World War Two in Belarus.

The Administrative Division of Belarus page in the Genealogy section has been comprehensively revised and expanded with new details on the topic. In addition to the main article, the page contains a list of main administrative units that existed in the area of present-day Belarus in different historical periods and includes many links to maps.

A special Jubilee Rubric, "The Prominent Figure in Belarusian Culture Bronislav Epimakh Shipillo" has been posted in the Russian version of the site to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the noted Belarusian enlightener, publisher, literary scholar, linguist, a collector of Belarusian rarities, who contributed to the investigation of Belarusian life and the national rebirth of Belarus. The page offers his comprehensive biography, a survey of archival collections and many online photographs and documents concerning his life and work.

The Finding Aids page has been added to the Local Archives section with information about finding aids available at the Baranovichi Zonal State Archives, Kobrin Zonal State Archives, Pinsk Zonal State Archives (Brest Region), Glubokoe Zonal State Archives, Orsha Zonal State Archives, Polotsk Zonal State Archives (Vitebsk Region), Zhlobin Zonal State Archives, Mozyr Zonal State Archives, Rechitsa Zonal State Archives (Gomel Region), Lida Zonal State Archives, Novogrudok Zonal State Archives (Grodno Region), Borisov Zonal State Archives, Molodechno Zonal State Archives, Slutsk Zonal State Archives (Minsk Region), Bobruisk Zonal State Archives and Krichev Zonal State Archives (Mogilev Region).

A new page has been added to the Famous People section in the Subject Catalogue to offer information on Napoleon Orda, a well-known painter, composer and pianist, whose life was closely connected to Belarus. The page provides a biography of Napoleon Orda and a list of archival documents relating to his life and work, which have been selected from the holdings of the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno.

A photo exhibition "Arkashev. My War" is posted on the website to celebrate 65 Years since Belarus' liberation from the Nazis.

This virtual exhibition features photographs taken in the Second World War by Vasily Arkashev, a Soviet photojournalist. Thirty photographs have been selected from Arkashev's collection held at the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings (in all, the collection includes 508 photoprints). Except for photographs, the page offers a short bio of the photographer and an introduction article.

A new page called "Archival guides" has been added in the main menu bar, with information about sixteen directories and guides to archival holdings in Belarus (including title page, introduction, contents list). Five of these reference books are now available for download in Zip Doc format. Please note that all texts are in Russian or Belarusian. Only the guide titles have been translated into English.

The page will be further updated with more information about archival guides, reference tools and other bibliographies available at Belarusian archives.

The "Finding Aids" page has been added to the Regional Archives to offer information about reference aids and research tools available at the State Archives of Brest Region, the State Archives of Minsk Region, the State Archives of Grodno Region, the State Archives of Gomel Region, the State Archives of Vitebsk Region, the State Archives of Mogilev Region, the State Archives of Public Organizations of Gomel Region, and the State Archives of Public Organizations of Mogilev Region, the State Archives of Public Organizations of Grodno Region.

The "Finding Aids" page has been added to the Central Archives section to offer information about reference aids and research tools available at the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Minsk, the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno, the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings, the Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art, and the Belarusian State Archives of Scientific and Technical Documentation.

A new page has been added to the Famous People section in the Subject Catalogue with information on Ignacy Domeyko, the world-famous nineteenth-century scholar, teacher, geologist, mineralogist, and ethnographer. The page offers an extensive article about Domeyko and a list of archival documents relating to his life and work, which are preserved at the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno.