Administration of Institute of History Threatens to Fire Those Who Join Public Association of Independent Historians
According to Pahonia
‘The historians who will join the organizational committee on the establishment of the public association of independent historians will be fired’ – this warning of the administration of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Belarus that was voiced during the 20 March sitting of the organizational committee.
By establishing such organization the historians try to defend themselves from repressions for scientific activity, which are now applied to those who do research concerning Stalin’s repressions. Such scientists as Iauhen Anishchanka, Andrei Kishtymau, Tatsiana Protska, Henadz Sahanovich and Nina Stuzhynskaia have already been fired from the institute. The scientific research topics that don’t suit the present ideology aren’t approved by the administration.
On 14 March the Supreme attestation commission refused to approve the scientific dissertation of Iryna Kashtalian ‘Daily life of the Belarusian society in 1944-1953’. ‘Firings, obstacles to publications, non-granting of scientific titles for the attempts of objective consideration of historical present are characteristic for the present historical science of Belarus. On the contrary, the research works of small scientific value are approved and awarded,’ commented Iryna Kashtalian.
On 20 March Henadz Sahanovich proposed to hold the conference ‘History in Irons of Politics’ to give publicity to the problem of ideological coloring of the official history and its influence on adoption of scientific dissertations by the Supreme attestation commission of Belarus.
