After the protest movements of 2020, a number of commemorative laws were passed by the Belarusian government, including the law “On the Genocide of the Belarusian People” (January 5, 2022).
«Генеральной прокуратурой Республики Беларусь возбуждено и расследуется уголовное дело по фактам совершения нацистскими преступниками, их соучастниками, преступными формированиями геноцида мирного населения в годы Великой Отечественной войны.»1 (Russian original)
“The General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus has opened and is investigating a criminal case on the facts of the commission of genocide of civilians by Nazi criminals, their accomplices, and criminal groups during the Great Patriotic War.” (Translation of the Russian original)
The opening of criminal proceedings for genocide against the Belarusian people in 2022 can be explained as an attempt by the Belarusian authorities to respond to both internal and external pressure points. On this basis, a broad-based program to promote patriotism among all segments of the population was developed. The memory of the Second World War got highly instrumentalized for this purpose.
- Геноцид белорусского народа = Genocide of the Belarusian people: информационно-аналитические материалы и документы Генеральная прокуратура Республики Беларусь; под общей редакцией А.И. Шведа. – Минск, Беларусь, 2024, p. 6. ↩︎
