Belarusian folklore as a language of expression during repressions
Throughout history, Belarusians have turned to their rich folklore traditions in times of repression. What may appear as a period of cultural stagnation is, in fact, often a moment of resilience and creative revival. The current wave of repression is no exception – once again, Belarusian culture is finding ways to endure.
September 26, 2025 -
Alina Kovalev
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Issue 5 2025MagazineStories and ideas
In the history of Belarus throughout the 19th and 21st centuries, there is a pattern – after each failed uprising or short-term thaw, the society faces a crisis, resulting in culture retreating into folklore. During repressions, it becomes dangerous to speak about new meanings that emerged in the previous pre-crisis decades. Thus, folklore serves as the only acceptable and safe form of cultural existence and preservation. From it grows a new generation that leads to another uprising or “thaw”, and this cycle repeats.
This process manifested in the middle and second half of the 19th century. After the uprising of 1830-31, repressions occurred, including the “review of nobility”, the closure of Vilnius University, and the abolition of the Union of Brest. In 1844, Jan Barshcheuski published Nobleman Zavalnia, or Belarus in Fantastic Stories. This is an author’s expression wrapped in folklore form, where folklore serves an allegorical function and speaks through fairy tales and fantastic stories about events that occurred over the previous 50 years. These include the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and those other events up to the book’s publication. At the same time, Pavel Shpileuski began his ethnographic and mythmaking activities, and his findings and works are still used in compiling encyclopaedias. His version of Belarusian mythology is taught in schools and penetrates modern literature (On the Other Side by Zaraslava Kaminskaya, Volnery by Valer Gapeev, or Ornaments by Alina Dlatouskaya).
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