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At the level of public opinion there is an increase in pro-Soviet sentiments. The perception of the BPR moves from the “I assess it negatively” to “I don't know”, and this is relevant both to public opinion and state policy.
2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic. In the same year the first volume of the History of Belarusian Statehood was published, a number of events dedicated to the problems of national identity were held. Both at the level of state policy and at the level of public opinion, however, there is uncertainty about the role of the BPR. The commitment to the Soviet heritage, coupled with attempts to revise some of its elements, remains, and the consensus on the identification function of the Belarusian language is consolidated.
Trends:
- The trend of ‘soft Belarusization’ continues in state policy: strengthening the national identity by promoting the idea of the “long history” of the Belarusian statehood and cultivating the identification role of the Belarusian language;
- At the level of public opinion there is an increase in pro-Soviet sentiments;
- There is a trend towards Belarusian-centric understanding of the Soviet heritage – both at the level of state policy and at the level of public opinion;
- The perception of the BPR moves from the “I assess negatively” to “I don't know”, and this also applies both to public opinion and state policy.
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