Memory Creators: References to the Heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by the Politicians of the Belarusian People's Republic

• In Event: Constructing Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish and Jewish Memories: Visions of the Past in the 20th Century

Abstract

The multicultural heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania significantly influenced the Belarusian state idea (the idea of ​​Belarusian-Lithuanian autonomy, the confederation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), as well as attempts to arrange future political and economic relations in the region (the national idea, the Baltic-Black Sea idea). The memory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, evoked by Belarusian historians-politicians, was intended to play an integrating role for the mixed religious and ethnic society of the Belarusian lands, to reject accusations that Belarusians have no state tradition, and to counterbalance the Russian version of Belarusian history.

Author

• Dorota Michaluk, Nicholas Copernicus U (Poland)