Belarus' Cultural Identity: Traditions, Arts, And Folklore

Belarus has a rich cultural heritage that has been influenced by various factors over the centuries, including its physical environment, the diverse ethnic makeup of its population, and its religious history. The country's cultural identity is rooted in spiritual values that celebrate morality and humanity, with a strong emphasis on good, justice, respect, and the rejection of evil and violence. These values are reflected in Belarus's architectural and artistic traditions, as well as its unique musical and literary works.

Belarusian culture has been shaped by its historical connection to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which was introduced to the region during the time of the Kievan Rus in the 10th century. This period also saw the emergence of the written language, along with the construction of churches and monasteries, which became centres of education and cultural development. The influence of Byzantine culture, including literature and stone architecture, was significant during this time.

The country's location at the crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe has also left its mark on Belarusian culture. The merger of Slavic newcomers with Baltic natives, along with the variety of religions in the region, including Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam, has contributed to the cultural diversity of the country.

The medieval festival The White Caste, held annually in Minsk, showcases the country's medieval history with costume performances, knights' tournaments, and ancient music. Belarus is also known for its vibrant folk music and dance traditions, with many festivals celebrating these art forms.

In terms of visual arts, painting in Belarus first developed under the influence of Byzantine art in the 11th and 12th centuries, with some preserved fresco paintings in the Polotsk Sofia Cathedral. The Vitebsk School played a pivotal role in the early 20th century, with Marc Chagall, a native of Vitebsk, being one of its most renowned members.

Belarusian literature has a long history, with its origins traced back to the times of the Kievan Rus. The literary scene flourished in the 20th century, with notable figures such as Yakub Kolas and Yanka Kupala, who are considered pioneers of modern Belarusian literature.

The country also has a dynamic modern cultural scene, with numerous art exhibitions, musicals, theatrical performances, and cinema festivals that attract both national and international audiences.

Language and literature

The official language of Belarus is Belarusian, a Slavic language that uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Russian is also widely spoken, and most Belarusians speak two or three languages.

The origins of Belarusian literature can be traced back to the times of the Kievan Rus, with the formative period taking place during the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 16th century, Francysk Skaryna translated the Bible into Old Belarusian, making it the first book printed in Belarus or anywhere in Eastern Europe. This work was undervalued under the communist regime, but Skaryna later became an inspiration for the emerging national consciousness in independent Belarus.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Poland and Russia exerted deep political and cultural influence on Belarus, and the rulers succeeded in associating Belarusian culture primarily with peasant ways. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some national activists attempted to attain statehood for the nation.

In the 20th century, Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, along with several other outstanding writers, became the classics of modern Belarusian literature. They wrote widely on rural themes and modernised the Belarusian literary language, which had been little used since the 16th century. Post-independence authors in the 1990s continued to use rural themes.

In the early 20th century, V. Dunin-Marcinkevich, a poet and playwright, was the most dominant figure in Belarusian literature. He developed new literary forms such as the idyll, ballad, and comedy, and significantly influenced the formation of the literature, dramatic art, and spiritual culture of Belarusians.

In the 21st century, Belarus has a dynamic and diverse cultural life, with many art exhibitions, music, theatre, and film festivals that draw national and international audiences. The country has about 5,600 state-run cultural institutions, including clubs, public libraries, museums, theatres, concert organisations, and more.

Religion

The Republic of Belarus is a multi-faith state with no religious conflicts. The country's legislation ensures and guarantees everyone's rights to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, social justice, equality, protection of rights and interests regardless of religion and religious affiliation, freedom of association into religious organizations.

Demographics

According to a 2016 survey, approximately 53% of the adult population belongs to the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC), 6% to the Roman Catholic Church, 8% are atheist, and 22% are "uncertain". Smaller religious groups, constituting around 2% of the population, include Jews, Muslims, Greek Catholics, Old Believers, members of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and other Orthodox Christian groups, Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Apostolic Christians, Presbyterians and other Protestant groups, Armenian Apostolics, Latin Catholics, members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, Baha'is, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Buddhists. Most ethnic Poles, who constitute approximately 3% of the population, are Roman Catholic.

A 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 94% of respondents identified as Christian, 3% as irreligious, and 3% as belonging to other faiths. Of the Christians, 73% were Eastern Orthodox, 12% Catholic, and 9% other Christians.

A 2011 estimation by the Ministry of the Interior found that 73.3% of Belarusians were Orthodox Christians, 14.8% were irreligious, 9.7% were Catholic Christians, and 3.5% were members of other religions.

History

Belarus's religious history has been shaped by its location at the border of Western and Eastern Europe, with Catholicism dominant in the former and Orthodox and Byzantine influences in the latter. Before the 14th century, the Orthodox church was dominant in Belarus. This changed in 1385 with the Union of Krewo, which made Catholicism the religion of the ruling class. By the mid-16th century, Catholicism had become strong in Lithuania and the bordering north-west parts of Belarus, but the Orthodox church remained dominant in the country.

In the 16th century, a crisis in Christianity emerged with the Protestant Reformation in Catholicism and a period of heresy in an Orthodox area. From the mid-16th century, Protestant ideas began to spread in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the first Protestant Church in Belarus was created in Brest. However, Protestantism did not survive due to the Counter-Reformation in Poland.

The introduction of state atheism during the Soviet era also had a significant impact on the religious landscape of Belarus, with a proportion of Belarusians, especially in the eastern part of the country, becoming non-religious.

Legal Status

The Constitution of Belarus grants individuals the freedom to profess or not to profess and spread any religious belief and to participate in acts of worship and religious rituals and rites that are not prohibited by law. It stipulates that all faiths are equal before the law and that relations between the state and religious organizations shall be regulated by the law "with regard to their influence on the formation of the spiritual, cultural, and state traditions of the Belarusian people".

The law recognizes the "determining role" of the BOC in the development of the traditions of the people, as well as the historical importance of four other religious groups commonly referred to as "traditional faiths": Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and evangelical Lutheranism.

A concordat between the authorities and the BOC provides the church with autonomy in its internal affairs, freedom to perform religious rites and other activities, and a special relationship with the state. The BOC is the only religious community that receives state subsidies and has the exclusive right to use the word "orthodox" in its title and to use the double-barred image of the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne, the country's Orthodox patron saint, as its symbol.

Challenges and Controversies

The revival of religion in post-communist Belarus brought about a revival of the historical conflict between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Fledgling Belarusian religious movements have struggled to assert themselves within these two major institutions due to the historical practice of preaching in Russian in Orthodox churches and in Polish in Catholic churches. Attempts to introduce the Belarusian language into religious life have not been widely successful due to the cultural predominance of Russians and Poles in their respective churches and the low usage of Belarusian in everyday life.

The Greek Catholic Church, which existed in Belarus from 1596 to 1839 and had a significant following, has faced suspicion from some in the Orthodox Church due to its historical ties to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In recent years, there have been reports of authorities targeting members of the clergy and religious groups engaged in the pro-democracy movement and those protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There have also been instances of religious groups being denied registration, facing restrictions on their activities, and experiencing surveillance and harassment from the authorities.

Art

The first states, including the Principalities of Polotsk and Turov, emerged in the 10th to 12th centuries. The Belarusian national ethos and culture began to take shape during this time, and art and architecture began to exhibit unique and original features reflecting the lives of the people.

The most famous national antiquity from this period is the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk, made by master Lazar Bogsha in 1161. The cross was lost during World War II and was recreated by Belarusian artist and jeweller Nikolai Kuzmich in the 20th century. It is now on display at the Savior Transfiguration Church in Polotsk.

In the 16th century, Francisk Skorina of Polotsk translated the Bible into Belarusian and wrote extensive introductions to each book. His editions, produced in Prague and Vilnius, were the first printed books in Eastern Europe.

The history of painting in Belarus was initially religious in nature, with fresco paintings in churches being the most popular form of art. A fresco school of painting was established in the country in the 16th century. In later centuries, the art scene was influenced by Poland and Western Europe, and portraiture became quite popular.

After the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, the northern Belarusian town of Vitebsk became the centre for the revolutionary avant-garde movement. Marc Chagall, one of the most famous Belarusians, was born in Vitebsk in 1887 and founded an art school in the city.

The largest collection of Belarusian art can be found in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, which actively promotes national art. Other prominent museums include the Vitebsk Art Museum, the Mogilev Regional Art Museum, and the Polotsk Art Gallery.

The flourishing period of the gallery movement in Belarus was from 1990 to 2000. This period saw the emergence of the first contemporary art curators in the country and a wide international exchange in the fields of art and culture. Independent non-profit art galleries, created on artists' and art historians' initiatives, became an alternative to the traditional form of presenting artworks in museums and art halls.

The key concepts in the development of fine arts after 1991 were experimentation and the synthesis of different artistic movements. Artists with a classic academic education began to actively try other forms, such as performance art, installation art, conceptual art, and the festival movement.

The contemporary art scene in Belarus is represented by museums, galleries, exhibition halls, and other institutions that hold art exhibitions regularly. While there are no biennales or triennales held in the country, small local biennales are organised by the Union of Artists of Belarus, and an international student art festival called "Art-Sessiya" is held in Vitebsk. The only event of international significance is the Navinki International Performance Festival, held annually in Minsk since 1999.

Music

Folk Music

Belarusian folk music is known for its absolute lack of aggressiveness, with a peaceful and good-willed character, described by the Belarusian word "lahodny". This style of music reflects the patient and kind attitude of Belarusians towards life and people, and ancient Slavic melodies and songs are still prevalent in the country, especially in Palesse.

During Soviet times, folk art was strongly supported by the government, with hundreds of clubs and "houses of culture" dedicated to folk art practices such as choirs, dancing ensembles, painting, and ceramics. While folk art is not as widely supported today, there has been a recent trend of highly educated conservatory graduates studying and performing original traditional Belarusian folk music. These new collectives aim to find and perform Belarusian folk standards in their undistorted original forms, often building ancient Belarusian musical instruments from scratch.

Religious Music

Church music gained popularity in Belarus, with outstanding pieces of vocal and instrumental works such as the Polotsk Notebook and Chimes, created in the 15th to 17th centuries. A neumatic chant called "znamenny", used in Orthodox church music until the 16th century, was followed by stylistic innovations influenced by the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century, part singing became common for choruses, and private theatres were established in cities like Minsk and Vitebsk.

Classical Music

The first major musical composition by a Belarusian was the opera Faust by Antoni Radziwiłł. In the 17th century, Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko, who lived in Minsk, composed many operas and chamber music pieces. At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies, and the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus is now well-known both within the country and internationally.

Popular Music

In the 20th century, the emergence of rock music in Belarus coincided with the Perestroika times, with bands like Bi-2, Lyapis Trubetskoy, Krama, and ULIS gaining popularity. However, the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of popular music aired on the radio in favour of traditional music, leading some bands to sign with Russian labels and focus their performances on neighbouring countries.

Since gaining independence in 1991, new bands have appeared, including N.R.M., and modern pop stars such as Boris Moiseev and Lyapis Trubetskoy have gained popularity, although they tend to orient themselves towards Russia and Russian speakers. Belarus has also seen the rise of electronic music, with groups like Randomajestiq and Dreamlin emerging around 2002.

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Belarus holds 60 international and national festivals annually, including 30 music festivals, with the biggest being the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk. This festival, held in Vitebsk, the homeland of Marc Chagall, is Belarus' main cultural event of the year, bringing together renowned artists and rising stars with the mission of fostering peace and understanding through art.

Other notable music festivals include the Maladzechna national festival of Belarusian songs and poetry, Belarusian Music Autumn, Minsk Spring, and the Kupala Night Festival in the agrotown of Alexandria, which originated in 2011 and is meant to be a cultural bridge between different nations.

Film

The history of Belarusian cinema dates back to the 1920s and the founding of the Belarusfilm studio, then called Belgoskino. The first film shot at the studio was "The Forest Past" by Yuri Tarich. The studio was moved to Minsk in 1939 and was renamed Belarusfilm in 1946. During the Soviet era, the studio was known for its children's films and films portraying the Soviet partisan's struggle against Nazi occupation.

Today, Belarusfilm is one of the leading film studios in Eastern Europe, with a full production cycle and the capacity to produce numerous feature, documentary, and animated films annually. The studio also co-organizes the Listapad film festival, held annually in Minsk, and provides its services to film producers from other countries.

In recent years, Belarusfilm has presented its works at numerous international film festivals and has won several awards. Notable films produced by the studio include "In the Fog" by Sergei Loznitsa, which won the FIPRESCI prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and "Squad", a 2019 Bollywood film that was partially shot at the studio.

In addition to Belarusfilm, there are about 20 non-governmental film studios engaged in film production in Belarus. The country also hosts several major cinema festivals, including the International Film Festival Listapad, the Children and Youth Film Festival Listapadzik, and the International Animated Film Festival Animaevka.

While Belarusian cinematography tends to focus on heroic and romantic genres, as well as the psychology of characters, the country's films also reflect on the political and social realities of life in Belarus. For example, the documentary "An Ordinary President" by Yury Khashchavatsky draws parallels between the regime of President Lukashenka and the Third Reich. Similarly, the film "Courage" by Aliaksey Paluyan combines events of endless resistance to repressive power, underscoring the importance of preserving the memory of past resistance.

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