Hybrid remembrance
The October Revolution in Belarus. A literary review
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
To date Belarus has not officially broken with the Soviet past. However, while the Soviet myth of the “Great Socialist October Revolution” continues to be perpetrated, it has been subject to change. 1917 is remembered in whichever way is expedient to the regime under Aleksandr Lukashenko. The spotlight has increasingly been directed towards the national issue and the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic in 1918 in order to legitimise Belarus’ own statehood. The Soviet presentation of the Revolution as a breakthrough for justice and equality is still upheld, while at the same time, the term “revolution” has been increasingly negatively connoted. The authoritarian Lukashenko regime fears overthrow and change like the devil fears holy water.
(Osteuropa 6-8/2017, pp. 305–322)