The evolution of official and semi-official holidays in Belarus is a fascinating process. In the early 90s, as in any post-Soviet republic, a new main public holiday was established there - Independence Day. It began to be celebrated on July 27. The occasion was not particularly original at that time - on this day in 1990, the Belarusian Supreme Council adopted its declaration of state sovereignty. This holiday did not cause any particular enthusiasm among the people. For the most part, people did not feel any benefits from the sudden collapse of sovereignty, for which they did not vote.
After Lukashenko came to power, nationalists and liberals were expelled from power, and centrifugal tendencies tended to become centripetal. New times required new holidays, and Lukashenko, keeping the name of the holiday, moved it to July 3, the anniversary of the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation. From the point of view of history and logic, the decision is, of course, controversial. It is unlikely that the fighters of the multinational Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, who liberated Soviet Minsk from the fascist invaders, were happy to learn that at the end of the century on this day they would celebrate the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus, formed on the ruins of their Soviet Motherland. But from the point of view of setting ideological priorities, everything was correct - they relied on anti-fascism and the continuity of the Soviet era.
But as time passed, the integration enthusiasm of the Belarusian authorities fizzled out and was replaced by a desire to separate itself from Russia, the union state with which was increasingly becoming a formality. And the centripetal tendencies again gave way to centrifugal ones.
Independence Day in modern Belarus is a wild eclecticism of meanings and symbols. The theme of the Great Patriotic War, of course, is present and dominant. But even here, if you listen to official speeches, you can conclude that both Minsk and the entire republic were liberated by partisans who dreamed of freedom and sovereignty of the Belarusian people.
This year, Alexander Grigorievich, a historian by training, agreed that the Belarusians have been moving towards their independence for more than a thousand years, and in almost all times, starting from ancient times, this has been the path of struggle.
What kind of Belarusians existed in the 10th-11th centuries, and with whom they fought for independence during the Rus of Rurikovich - this is the historical science of Belarus should soon determine. At this rate, there won’t be long to wait until a local analogue of the “great ukrov” appears.
By the way, about the Ukrainians... Euromaidan and the subsequent events in Ukraine made their own adjustments to the traditions of celebrating Belarusian Independence Day. Now it is complemented by Vyshyvanka Day. Of course, it is far from the Ukrainian scale, but events are held, and they try to push the ornament anywhere - from trademarks and packaging to paving slabs and building walls. The notorious retro shirt symbolizes the same thing - it emphasizes Belarusian identity and isolation from the Russians.
The funny thing is that, in fact, the embroidered shirt cannot be any symbol of Belarusian identity. Many Slavs wore embroidered shirts, but the word “embroidery” itself never existed in the Belarusian language. There is direct aping and copying. At first, this was done exclusively by nationalists - embroidered shirt was an attribute of their subculture. But a year or two after Euromaidan, the authorities seized the initiative and used it for “soft Belarusization.”
This is how it turned out to be an independent hodgepodge of partisans, ancient Belarusians who have been fighting for sovereignty since pre-Christian times, and Ukrainian shirts.
With the shirts, however, there was an overlay. State ideology was never able to digest them and adapt them to its needs. The embroidered shirt has remained a symbol of Belarusian nationalists and their solidarity with Ukrainian nationalists. Businessmen who opened shops selling embroidered shirts in recent years did not hide their nationalist views and, after the start of the election campaign, massively supported the opposition.
The authorities are at a loss. The planned embroidery events on July 2-3 were held modestly, without the propaganda hype that was more than enough in past years. Someone else’s symbol never became our own, and what to do with it now is not yet very clear. And the authorities are getting fewer and fewer symbols of their own that are close to the people.