Realities and myths of the Belarusian Partisan movement in Works of the Russian-Belarusian Association of Historians «Union Initiative of Memory and Consent»

Abstract. The article deals with activities of the Russian-Belarusian Association of Historians «Union Initiative of Memory and Consent» to consolidate historians of two countries and activities of the Association for Study of the Partisan Movement on the territory temporarily occupied by the enemy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. The events of those years are the most important aspect of the general history of two republics and their peoples, who were doomed to the common fate by the very nature of the criminal, racial-ideological war unleashed against the Soviet Union by German Nazism, its allies and satellites. Therefore, the common fate and trials bring two peoples closer to each other many decades later 9 May 1945. Therefore, it is not surprising that the tremulous attention is paid to the events of the Great Patriotic War, to preservation of the memory and to a struggle against falsification by historians of two countries. Some of myths most common in foreign historical science and journalism are analyzed below. The author is the Executive Secretary of the Russian-Belarusian Association of Historians «The Union Initiative of Memory and Concord» offers his readers a unique report on the first year of its existence and offers cooperation to all interested historians.

Keywords: Russian-Byelorussian Association of Historians «Union Initiative of Memory and Consent», Great Patriotic War, historiography, partisan movement, BSSR, Belarus, USSR.