Archiving Belarus Political Protests: 2020–2021

ABSTRACT The implosion of the USSR in December 1991 was a relatively peaceful process that led to the creation of multiple new states. However, except for the transitional decade of the 90s, and with several frozen conflicts, the new states that emerged in the post-Soviet space embarked upon “a peaceful authoritarian democratic” reimagining of independence. Some have even admired the peaceful destruction of the USSR in comparison to Yugoslavia’s violent disintegration. However, the narrative about the peaceful secessions does not provide an authentic glimpse of what was yet to come almost thirty years later. Until the 2020 protests against President Lukashenko’s dubious victory, Belarus was relatively “calm,” with a blended economic system reminiscent of elements from the Communist past. The present article discusses how at UC Berkeley Library we archived peaceful protests in Belarus from August of 2020-through March of 2021.