Piotra Murzionak: To Live Belarusian Nation 

(Abstract, magazine “CULTURE, NATION”, June 2016, issue 14, pp. 5–21)   

The sovereign Belarusian state held and significantly strengthened over the past quarter of a century. However, the Belarusian statehood is threatened by Russia as not as a country with a huge military, economic and political potential, but as the country carrying Eurasism ideology, the ideology of the state preference and collectivist mentality over the individual, respect for strong authoritarian leaders. Another dangerous factor for the Belarusian nation is that Russia, having a multi-faceted cultural heritage and contemporary culture and using the Russian language as a tool, can absorb the culture of small countries, including the post – Soviet space countries. There are plenty of recent evidence that the ideological, imperial war against the Belarusian nationalism on the part of Russia carried out for a long time, and unfortunately, neglected or even with possible support by the Belarusian authorities. Unfortunately, an island of the former USSR with its ideology remained in Belarus where national issues are still not resolved. All this encourages Belarusians to look, justify and defend its own specific way for the preservation and development of the nation-state. This way is based on the differences between Russia and Belarus – Belarus in the course of the long history has gained a lot of signs of Western civilization. In addition, there is a significant ethnic, mental and historical difference between the East and the people of not a borderland between East and West, but independent peoples of Belarus and Ukraine, which together constitute the East Slavic Belarusian-Ukrainian civilization. Ukraine is now trying to escape through the war from political, economic and spiritual influence on the part of Russia. Belarus, having with Ukraine a very similar fate, will seek to protect itself from absorption by “Russian world” and has no choice but to look his own way. However, if these problems will not be solved themselves by Belarusians, no European Union or the United States will help. Everything is determined by the inner life of the nation, its spirit. Without denying its historic, cultural, and mental belonging to Europe, we advocate a neutral development of the Belarus, therefore, it appears neutrality-Europeanness must be at the center of the Belarusian specific way. Neutrality allows Belarus to get out of a “block” thinking by which she is now forced to be together with Russia (Union Treaty with a number of military duties, the Organization of States of Collective Security), and on the other hand it will not require a connection to other military alliances (NATO). Neutrality does not deny Europeanness of Belarusian nation and over time may correspond to the thoughts and sentiments of the majority of society and to meet the challenges of the global world. National elite is in a complex environment characterized by the need to address national and democratic issues simultaneously. Get out of the vicious circle will be possible with the strengthening of national forces and their unity in the performance of the overall strategy for the education of national consciousness among the population of Belarus. It is hoped that the development of the Belarusian nation in the global universe will be able in neutral environment while preserving and enriching the Belarusian culture and traditions.

Categories: Нацыя, Нацыя Беларусы