Historical Memory, Embodied in the Social Space of Minsk, and its Influence on the Formation of National and European Identity of Belarusians

Historical memory embodied in a social space of Minsk represents "cultural signs" of several different epochs. In fact, the historical past of Minsk up to the beginning of the XIX century can be considered as the process of construction of its European identity. In this aspect, the XIX century demonstrated a shift to Russian euro-asianism, while the soviet history was a unique attempt to construct the universal Soviet identity with only a few features of the national culture. The contemporary epoch gives Minsk a unique chance to simultaneously increase both European and national identity of Belarusians.