Brief review of the Belarusian culture

The Belarusian people have always been notable for their ingenuous and original culture whose roots can be traced back to most remote pre-Christian, pagan epoch.
The ancient Belarusian culture gained much from the fact that the Slavonic people, who were beginning to settle on this land, did not resort to destruction of everything that had been created by the indigenous population (believed by many historians to be of Baltic and Finno-Ugric origin). Pacific and respectful attitude of the Slavs to the spiritual heritage of the indigenous population can be proved by a great number of the names of villages and towns, rivers and lakes, which have Baltic or Finno-Ugric origin and which exist up to now. Many surnames of contemporary Belarusians can also be accounted for by this factor.
In the beginning, our ancestors, just like all the East-Slavonic tribes were pagans. This kind of religious conscience had been in existence for a long time and left an important vestige in culture. At present there are no doubts as to existence of our written language in the pagan times, although in the past it was wrongly believed that this written language had appeared only after the adoption of Christianity.

The Christian religion was reaching our land from the end of the 10th century. First the rites were Byzantine (Eastern), somewhat later they changed to Latin (Western), both of them influencing the spiritual development of our land. With the advent of Christianity the written language was spreading quite fast, especially in the well-to-do and privileged sections of the public. Very soon, alongside with dogmatic literature there appeared secular books. Book writing and book copying was done at Christian cloisters. Quite a lot of years were devoted to this sacred deed by Euphrasinia Polatskaya. Kiryła Turaŭski (also called Zlatoust - "Kiryl the Golden Lips" for his eloquence), Klement Smoliatich, Avraniy Smolensky and other prominent religious leaders were also engaged in various enlightenment activities.
Christianity made a significant influence on the development of architecture and painting. St. Sofia Cathedral, St. Euphrasinia Church, St. Boris and Gleb (Belchytsy) Monastery in Polotsk, Annunciation Church in Vitebsk, St. Boris and Gleb (known as Kalozhskaya Church since the beginning of the 15th century) in Grodno and many other churches were built in the 11th-12th centuries. The celebrated Polotsk goldsmith Lazar Bohsha made a filigreed religious cross for Euphrasinia Polatskaya, that was so fine and precious, that it was regarded as the most beautiful cross in Eastern Europe.

The formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century provided favourable conditions for the development of culture. The Old Belarusian language was the official language of that state as stipulated by the provisions of the second wording of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Statute in 1566.

The geographic vicinity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as a high level of the country's spiritual development fostered progressive ideas of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. At that time a lot of Belarusians were known all over the world. The great Belarusian and East-Slavonic enlightener, publishing pioneer and thinker Francysk Skaryna ranked second to none. During his period of work in Prague in 1517-1519, he translated and published 23 books of the Bible, using words and structural patterns of the Old Belarusian language. By that time the Bible had only been published in German (1445) and Czech (1448). Skaryna's followers such as Mikoła Husoŭski, the author of a poem in Latin, called "The Song about the Aurochs" (1523, published in Krakow), Symon Budny, who wrote a number of works not only in Old Belarusian, but also in Polish and Latin, were famous in the Europe of that time.

The ideas of the European Renaissance period affected the development of architecture and art in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A vivid example of this influence was its capital - the town of Vilnia (now Vilnius, Lithuania). The castle of Mir, a popular attraction for tourists nowadays, was built in the 15th-16th centuries. The following prominent sites date back to this period: Mir Trinity church, the Trinity church in Ishkold (Baranovichi district), Holy Spirit church in Noden (Brest district), the church of St. Boris and Gleb in Novogrudok, the fortress of Novogrudok, the castle of Nesvizh, the church of Ostashino (Novogrudok district), armoured churches in Synkovichi (Zelva district), Malomozheykovo (Lida district), etc. As the Jews and the Tartars were allowed to reside on the territory of Belarus, the local authorities encouraged their cultural development, including the foundation places of worship as well as their secular buildings. The mosque of Davbuchishki (Smorgon district) is one of the oldest in Europe (it was mentioned in the Lithuanian chronicles in 1558). A lot of local craftsmen took part in building mosques and synagogues; hence these buildings have a lot of features and designs typical of the Belarusian architecture.

The situation of Belarusian cultural development changed dramatically in the second half of the 16th century. As the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was devastated by frequent wars with the Moscow Principality, it decided to unite with the Polish Kingdom. It took place in 1569 after the signing of the Union of Lublin, which established a large federation called Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth). It seemed so as though nothing had threatened Belarusian culture in the beginning. Positive results were achieved in all spheres of spiritual life, though preceded by some difficulties, but the leaders of the Rzeczpospolita launched a resolute campaign against the moral values of the Belarusian people at the beginning of the 17th century. Its major attack on Belarusian culture began with the adoption of the law by the General Confederation of the Rzeczpospolita nobility in 1696 on banning the Belarusian language from its official use in all the matters related to the state, administrative and judicial bodies, substituting it by the Polish language. Belarusian ballet, music and arts developed in spite of the official policy of polonization (Polish cultural domination).
Despite the devastating wars, Belarusian people built dozens of architectural masterpieces combining foreign and local styles. The Baroque style was prevailing in Belarusian architecture. Such marvelous buildings as the Sapegas' palace in Ruzhany, the Khreptovhichys' palace in Shchorsy, the Radzivils' palace in Nesvizh, St. Nikolai church and Carmelite church in Mogilev, parish churches in Nesvizh and Grodno, St. Peter and Paul cathedral in Vitebsk were all built in the baroque style. The famous Italian architect Giovanni Bernardoni, invited by Radzivil Sirotka, designed the Jesuit church and collegium and built the Radzivil Palace in Nesvizh in the 16th century.
The situation to preserve and develop Belarusian culture after the annexation of Belarusian land to the Russian Empire after the three divisions of the country (1772, 1793, 1795 respectively) did not get any better. Russification (Russian cultural domination), discreet at first, was later added to already existent polonization. Still, in the condition of Belarusian culture suppression, Belarusian land was known in the world for such famous people as: Adam Mickievicz, Stanislaw Moniuszko, Mikhal Kleofas Aginski, Ignaty Dameyko, Mikhail Glinka, Iosif Gashkevich, Ivan Cherski and others.

Russian authorities strived at dispersing and establishing their influence over Belarusian people. Their "cultural and spiritual" concepts included the necessary measures to eliminate "Polish influence". Polotsk and Vilnia Universities were closed down (1820 and 1832 respectively), the Belarusian language was banned from schools and Orthodox churches, the Uniate Church was liquidated (1839). The Uniate church schools were closed down. Russian schools were opened instead.
After the 1863-1864 Rebellion, book publishing in Belarusian was prohibited in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania (in 1867). However, a lot of scientists and writers, such as Vincent Dunin-Martinkevich and Francishek Bogushevich made a great contribution to the development of Belarusian culture.
Belarusian national movement upheaval at the beginning of the 20th century led to the revival of Belarusian culture national traditions. The talented writers such as J. Kupala, J.Kolas, M.Bogdanovich, Tsetka and others, whose works later became classics of the Belarusian Literature, worked at that time. Newspaper "Nasha Niva" contributed to the advocacy of Belarusian culture.

Belarusian culture enjoyed favourable conditions in the 1920s, at the time of Belarussization policy. Belarusian schools were opened. The Belarusian Culture Institute was established in Belarus, that was transformed into the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in 1929. However, since the beginning of the 1930s this positive process was put an end to, due to the ideological control in all spheres of cultural life. A lot of Belarusian culture and science activists were subjected to repressions.
Harsh conditions for Belarusian cultural development were also set forth in Western Belarus. A lot of Belarusian schools were closed down, but nevertheless there emerged a group of young Belarusian writers, such as M.Tank, V.Tavlay, N.Taras and others.
In 1941-1945 Belarusian culture suffered greatly from the war between the Nazi Germany and the USSR. A number of Belarusian writers, scientists and culture activists were killed in the war, in its fronts, partisan detachments, and underground movement organizations. But even in the terrible conditions of the occupation there still existed some cultural and educational establishments, such as theatres, schools, museums, newspapers. There were also religious services.
Belarusian cultural development took place within the ideological pre-determinism and the Communists party control after the war and till the 1980s. Nevertheless, there appeared quite a number of talented post-war writers, such as: A.Adamovich, V.Bykov, R.Borodulin, G.Buravkin, A.Vertinski, V.Zuenok, I.Naumenka, B.Sanchenko, I.Chigrinov, I.Shamiakin, and a number of distinguished artists, such as painter M.Savitski, sculptors, such as Z.Azgur, S.Selikhanov, etc. There was a whole net of cultural establishments in the country; all sorts of cultural activities were also popular.

A new policy of openness, called "Glasnost" (Openness), contributed to Belarusian cultural liberation from the ideological dictatorship and brought about spiritual revival of the Belarusian nation. The language situation changed. In 1990 the law "On the Languages in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic" was adopted. The works of many writers, banned before, were published (J.Vitbich, M.Sednev and others). The number of theatre companies increased.
However, in 1990-ies, difficulties in developing national traditions remain and they are mainly caused by the transition period in the country's economy, and also in the cultural and spiritual field.