Stsiapan Stureika (European Humanities University)
The presentation focuses on how Vilnius became a model for the preservation of historical environment for Belarusian restorers, the employees of the Special Scientific and Project Workshops founded in Minsk in 1968 under the Belarusian Ministry of Culture. The restoration of Vilnius historical quarters in 1960-1972 became a source of inspiration for many cultural figures and intellectuals in Soviet Belarus. Subsequently, in 1980, Belarusian specialists joined the regional Baltic group of ICOMOS, exchanging experience, participating in internships with the corresponding Lithuanian organizations, etc. As a result, today many monuments restored during the Soviet era exhibit techniques and approaches developed at that time primarily in Lithuania and specifically, in Vilnius. This includes environmental solutions for the sanitation of historical spaces, the use of traditional roofing materials, such as tiles, intensive use of restoration test pits, a critical attitude towards comprehensive restorations, etc.
After 1991, the intensity of those exchanges began to decrease due to the gradually increasing language barrier and the growing complexity of international travel. Nevertheless, even today, the reference to Vilnius experience has remained one of the rhetorical strategies for legitimizing the restoration decisions in Belarus.
The presentation is based on numerous recollections of Belarusian restorers (in total, about 40 interviews were conducted) and a few publications.