Lukashenka proposes to call Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period occupation
Lukashenka holds a meeting on historical policy today / BELTA
On January 6, Alyaksandr Lukashenka held a meeting on historical policy, BelTA informs.
During the meeting, Lukashenka suggested using Belarusian history in the ideological struggle against modern Lithuania and Poland. These countries actively supported the Belarusian democratic movement, which is not to the liking of the official Minsk.
"If Lithuanians and Poles deny the contribution of the Belarusian people to the development of such historical forms of statehood in our land as the GDL and Rzeczpospolita, what prevents us from giving an adequate assessment of these periods," he said.
In particular, he suggested calling the period of the Rzeczpospolita in the history books, as well as in museum exhibitions, the occupation of the Belarusian land by the Poles, and ethnocide.
"And what was it for our ancestors? Native language, culture, faith were under a ban. The magnates traded the Belarusian peasants for dogs. But the people survived and preserved their identity," BelTA quoted Lukashenka.
The Rzeczpospolita was formed in 1569 by a voluntary merger of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. The GDL as part of the new state retained a wide autonomy.
Lukashenka's view on this reflects the Soviet historical concept.
