National Historical Archives of Belarus

National Historical Archives of Belarus
Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі
Nacyjanaĺny histaryčny archiŭ Bielarusi
Building of the archives on Krapotkina Street in Minsk
State Archive overview
FormedJuly 5, 1938 (1938-07-05)
Preceding State Archive
  • Mahilou Historical Archives
JurisdictionBelarus
Headquarters
State Archive executive
  • Mikhail Glushakou, Director
Parent State Archive
Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
Websitewww.niab.by

The National Historical Archives of Belarus (Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі (НГАБ), NHAB; formerly the Central Historical Archives of the BSSR) is a state repository of documents of Belarus from the 14th to the 20th centuries. It was founded in 1938 based on the Mahiliou Historical Archives and was moved to Minsk in 1963.

History

Since its foundation, the archives have housed documents of general Belarusian significance from the former court archives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Belarusian lands of the Russian Empire, as well as from the former archives of magistrates and town halls of Belarusian cities, private individuals, the Vilna Archives of Ancient Acts, and the Viciebsk Central Archives of Ancient Acts.

The official founding date is considered to be 5 July 1938, but its history began in 1919 as the archival storage of the Mahiliou Archive Bureau. In 1924, the repository was reorganized into the District Archive. In 1927, the Mahiliou Historical Archive was created,[1] which was transformed in 1930 into a branch of the Central Archival Administration of the BSSR, under which the historical archive was established.[2]

On 5 July 1938, in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the CEC of the BSSR, the Mahiliou Historical Archive was reorganized into the Central Historical Archive,[3] and from 1943, into the Central State Historical Archive of the BSSR (ЦДГА БССР).[4] From September 1938, the archive was transferred to the jurisdiction of the NKVD of the BSSR, which led to negative consequences, specifically the unjustified restriction of access to documents.[5]

By the beginning of 1941, the archive contained 1,560 funds with a total of over 382,000 files. During World War II, most of the documents were looted and taken to Germany and Riga (Latvia). Only 38,054 files (10%) from 700 funds were successfully returned. In 1947, pre-revolutionary documents from the state archives of the Viciebsk and Homiel regions were transferred to the archive. With the relocation to Minsk (Kazlova St., 26), according to the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR of 11 November 1963, pre-revolutionary documents from the State Archive of the Minsk Region and ancient acts from the Central State Historical Archive in Hrodna were added to the collection. In 1992–1995, it was part of the National Archives of Belarus. In 2000, it received its current name and address.

After 2020

Following the mass falsifications of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, the violent dispersal of protests, and the beating and torture of detained protesters, the archive's staff went out on 13 August for a protest action on Mašerava Avenue.[6]

On 8 March 2022, as part of political purges, the director Dzmitry Jatsevič was dismissed, and on the same day, the deputy director for science Dzianis Lisejčykaŭ resigned.[7][8]

In May 2022, Major General Aleh Voinau was appointed director of the archive; under his leadership, a series of political dismissals took place.[9] On 14 August 2023, Mikhail Glushakou, a former KGB officer, was appointed director.[10] On 16 August, mass detentions of archive employees occurred (at least 7 people),[11] and some were sentenced to administrative arrest. On 23 August, at least 8 people from those previously detained were fired from the archive.[12]

Holdings

The archive contains parchment privileges of the 14th–17th centuries from the Grand Dukes of Lithuania for lands and estates, and to cities for Magdeburg rights, as well as court record books from the 15th–18th centuries. In total, there are about 6,000 record books in Old Belarusian, Polish, and Latin, containing royal privileges, charters, foundation records, wills (testaments), intromissions, decrees, and inventories. It also contains metric books of Orthodox churches, Catholic churches, and synagogues for the 19th and 20th centuries.[13]

Directors

  • Aleh Voinau (10 May 2022[14] – 20 January 2023)
  • Mikhail Glushakou (since 14 August 2023)[9]

References

  1. ↑ Архивное дело в БССР (1918—1968): Сб. законодательных и руководящих документов / Главное архивное управление при Совете Министров БССР; сост. Е. Ф. Шорохов; под ред. А. И. Азарова. — Мн.: Полымя, 1972. — 141, [1] с. — С. 43
  2. ↑ Архивное дело в БССР (1918—1968)... — С. 58.
  3. ↑ Архивное дело в БССР (1918—1968)... — С. 85.
  4. ↑ Архивное дело в БССР (1918—1968)... — С. 91.
  5. ↑ Архивное дело в БССР (1918—1968)... — С. 87.
  6. ↑ Protest action of archive employees.
  7. ↑ "Chronicle of cultural human rights violations (April 1–15, 2022)". PEN Belarus. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  8. ↑ "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office Digest on Education and Science, April 2022 / Issue 6". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 2022-04-15. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  9. 1 2 "«Наша Ніва»: з Нацыянальнага гістарычнага архіву звальняюць 8 чалавек" ["Nasha Niva": 8 people are being fired from the National Historical Archives]. Radio Svaboda (in Belarusian). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  10. ↑ "Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў узначаліў былы супрацоўнік КДБ" [Former KGB officer heads the National Historical Archives]. Radio Svaboda (in Belarusian). 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  11. ↑ "Mass detentions at National Historical Archives". euroradio.fm. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  12. ↑ "8 employees fired from National Historical Archives". Nasha Niva. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  13. ↑ "On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Historical Archives of Belarus" (in Belarusian). BelTA. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Директором государственного учреждения «Национальный исторический архив Беларуси» назначен О.Л.Воинов | Архивы Беларуси" (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-11-19.

Further reading

  • Пашкоў, Г. П.; et al., eds. (1999). Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі [National Historical Archives of Belarus]. Энцыклапедыя гісторыі Беларусі [Encyclopedia of the History of Belarus] (in Belarusian). Vol. 5. Мінск: БелЭн. p. 308. ISBN 985-11-0141-9.
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