The Story of Belarus Talk Eastern Europe

The first part of the series will be available after November 23rd 2020!

The country of Belarus has been dominating international news headlines since the forged August 2020 presidential election and the massive protests that broke out since then.

To understand the processes taking place in this country and to give our audience a deeper context and background, Talk Eastern Europe is preparing a special documentary podcast series.
The series is called The Story of Belarus - The nation, its history and a new hope.

In this 10-part podcast documentary we will explore the country’s deep history, its people, their unique identity - forged in the early years of the 20th century and later molded after the fall of the Soviet Union.

We will discuss with experts how it has happened that Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been running the country with a strong hand since being elected in 1994 – in the country’s only free and fair election.

We will look at the rich culture of Belarusians, the role of language in identity, and the relationship with Russia. We will examine the social and economic consequences of Lukashenka’s 26 year rule and highlight the bright spots of this unique society. Lastly, we will discuss the most recent turmoil and hear from Belarusians themselves and their thoughts on the future of their country.
Join us as we discover The Story of Belarus.

The premiere episode of the Story of Belarus poses the questions on the origins of Belarusian statehood and what are the roots of “Belarusianness”. The examples of the two pre-WWII Belarusian states, the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and contemporary reflections of the past in Belarusian national identity discourse are the main topics of this episode.

Hosted by: Maciek Makulski

Guest Speaker: Nelly Bekus, Associate Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. She works in the project “1989 after 1989, Rethinking the Fall of Socialism from a Global Perspective”. She is the author of a seminal book on Belarusian identity titled: Struggle over Identity. The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness".

Background readings:

Nelly Bekus, Struggle over Identity. The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness” (Central European University Press, 2010).

Vadzim Smok, Belarusian Identity: The impact of Lukashenka’s Rule, European Union Foreign Affairs Journal, 2013.

Timothy Snyder, The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999, Yale University Press, 2002.

Miroslav Hroch, Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe. A Comparative Analysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Columbia University Press, 2000.

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

In this episode, we take a look at two of the most important events which have shaped modern Belarus and the contemporary Belarusian identity: the experience of the Second World War and the fall of the Soviet Union. The level of devastation that Belarus experienced during the war was an important element in shaping Belarus during the Soviet period. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the Belarusian National Front emerged hoping to capitalize on the fall of the Soviet Union, hoping to build a new Belarusian state. Yet, the level of Russification and Sovietization of the society remained strong factors, ultimately helping Lukashenka come to power.

Hosted by: Adam Reichardt

Guest Speaker: David R. Marples, a Canadian historian and Distinguished University Professor at the Department of History & Classics, University of Alberta. He specializes in history and contemporary politics of Belarus

Background Readings:

David R. Marples, Our Glorious Past: Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War, Columbia University Press, Sep 1, 2014.

Brian Bennett, The Last Dictatorship in Europe. Belarus under Lukashenko, Hurst & Company, London, 2011.

David R. Marples, Understanding Ukraine and Belarus: A Memoir. E-International Relations, 2020.

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has ruled Belarus for 26 years. How did this little known figure rise to the highest office in the newly independent post-Soviet space? What were his motivations for power and how did he stop the nascent national movements that were trying to create a new Belarus strongly tied to the historical idea of the country? This episode is the first of two-parts dedicated to looking at Lukashenka, the man, his history and his growing authoritarian tendencies.

Hosted by: Adam Reichardt

Guest Speaker: Andrew Wilson, professor of Ukrainian Studies at University College London and senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Background readings:

Andrew Wilson, Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship, Yale University Press, 2011 (updated edition available 2021).

Andrei Kazakevich, “Uncertainty and risk in Lukashenka’s time”, New Eastern Europe 6/2019. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/11/13/uncertainty-and-risk-in-lukashenkas-times/

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

This episode deals with the formative period of the Lukashenka system of power. After winning the only free and fair elections in 1994, “the last dictator of Europe’’ started to build his authoritarian regime. His initial ambitions went beyond Belarus itself. His dream was to become a leader of a new federal Russian-Belarusian state. The coming to power of Vladimir Putin frustrated these plans and at the same time started a new period of Belarusian-Russian relations.

Hosted by: Maciek Makulski

Guest Speaker: Anna Dyner, analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs within the International Security Program. She’s work focuses on Belarus’s domestic and foreign policy, Russian security policy, and Russia’s role in the post-Soviet space.

Background readings:

Andrew Wilson, Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship, Yale University Press, 2011

Andrzej Poczobut, System Białoruś, Editio, 2013

What’s New with Belarus, New Eastern Europe, Issue 5/2018, September-October 2018, https://neweasterneurope.eu/product/issue-52018-whats-new-belarus/

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

Belarusian culture possesses a long history of prolific authors and creators. However, it is still a bit unknown to a broader public. This episode brings examples of the most outstanding artists and writers of Belarus, remarks on the role of Belarusian language in culture creation and consumption as well as a discussion about the difficult situation of the Belarusian artists due to the repressions from the state authorities during ongoing protests against Lukashenko.

In this episode you will also listen to “Mahutny Bozha” (Магутны Божа), a song that became an anthem of 2020 protests.

Hosted by: Maciek Makulski

Guest speakers:

Tomasz Kamusella, an interdisciplinary historian of modern central and eastern Europe, with a focus on language politics and nationalism who works at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of over 200 research publications.

Viktar Martsinovich, a Belarusian writer, journalist and assistant professor at the European Humanities University in Vilnius. He is the author of several books including: Paranoia (2009), Stsyudzyoni vyrai (2011), Sfagnum (2013), Mova (2016), Revolution (2020).


Background readings:

Tomasz Kamusella, Belarusian culture: Still a terra incognita, https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/06/05/belarusian-culture-still-a-terra-incognita%ef%bb%bf/

Tomasz Kamusella, Russian: A Monocentric or Pluricentric Language?, Colloquia Humanistica. No. 7, 2018.

Viktar Martsinovich, Belarusian culture: national, European, post-Soviet, New Eastern Europe, Issue 5/2018, September-October 2018.

What If Your Language Were an Illegal Drug? An Interview with Viktor Martinovich, www.culture.pl

https://culture.pl/en/article/what-if-your-language-were-an-illegal-drug-an-interview-with-victor-martinovich

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.