Władimir Adamuszko, Organizacja archiwów na Białorusi, w: Archeion, t. 106, wyd. NDAP, Warszawa 2003, ss. 191-207
"Władimir A d a m u s z k o, Organisation of archives in Byelorussia. The history of archives in
Byelorussia is several centuries long. In the 15th c. there existed the state archives of the Great Duchy of
Lithuania – the former state of Byelorussians, Lithuanians and Ukrainians. Since the 16th c., the archives
have already been known of local institutions like district or chamberlain’s courts and others.
Contemporary State Archival Service of the Republic of Byelorussia originated in 1922 when the act
on the Central Archives of Byelorussia. According to the act, all types of archives (state and
departmental) contributed to the Joint State Archival Holdings and the documents became the property of
the state.
At present, the activities of the state archives are regulated by the act on the national archival holdings
and the archives of the Byelorussian Republic first adopted in 1994 and readopted in new wording in
1999. The act determines the contents of the national archival holdings and the division thereof into
a state and a non-state part; it also sets forth ownership rights to documents, as well as the rules of
preservation, utilisation, access and the basics of archive management. The act guarantees equal rights to
all owners (state and non-state) of archive documents and equal opportunities of access to archive
materials to both Byelorussian nationals and foreigners.
Archival service administration bodies and institutions have been entrusted by the act with obligations
related not only to the protection, registration and elaboration of the national archival holdings but also
with the development and implementation of contemporary systems of documenting administrative
activities and exercising control over archival activities of organizational units, irrespective of the form of
ownership.
Under the said act, the control functions of the state in respect to archives are performed by the State
Inspection of Archives and Offices of the Byelorussian Republic.
Byelorussian archives meet the needs and expectations of the public providing access to their reading
rooms, publishing documents, organising exhibitions and meetings at the archives. Between 1991–2002,
the state archives have elaborated about 800,000 applications of social and legal nature for the citizens
documenting i.a. the history of prisoners deported to Germany as forced workers or those who suffered
material property damages during the World War II."
Źródło: Archeion, t. 106
