Государственный архив Витебской области

The Archives was established in August 1919 as an archival repository of the Vitebsk Gubernia (Province) Archival Administration (from 1922 the Archival Bureau). In 1924, the archival repository was reorganized as the Vitebsk District Division of the Central Archives of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), which was reorganized into the Vitebsk Historical Archives in 1927. In 1930, the Vitebsk Historical Archives was reorganized as a division of the Central Archival Administration of the BSSR. In February 1933, the Vitebsk division was renamed the North-Baltic division, and in April 1936 it was made the Vitebsk division of the central state archives of the BSSR. In 1938, the latter was reorganized as the State Archives of Vitebsk Region. In the Second World War, during the German occupation of Belarus (from mid-1941 to mid-1944) the Archives did not function. In 1947, the prerevolutionary documents were transferred to the Central State Historical Archives of the BSSR in Mogilev. In May 1992, the Archives acquired records of the Party Archives of the Vitebsk Region Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. On November 1, 2001 the Archives received its present name of the State Archives of Vitebsk Region.  

Amount of holdings: 3.098 fonds, 1.091.939 items Chronological scope: from 1917 to the present (certain records dating from the 19th century) Geographical coverage: - abolished Vitebsk gubernia (province) - abolished Ezerishche, Mekhovo, Sirotino, Surazh and Ula districts - the town of Vitebsk, the Beshenkovichi, Vitebsk, Gorodok, Liozno, Chashniki and Shumilino districts of the Vitebsk region Contents: The fonds of the revolutionary committees and executive committees of local councils illustrate the process of formation and the first steps of Soviet power in the Vitebsk region; the organization and work of the poor peasants committees. There are data concerning the formation of the Red Army units, the restoration of economics after the civil war, the joining of the Vitebsk province to the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR), as well as records on economics, health care, public education, culture and sports. The fonds of various industrial enterprises, such as the Dvina flax-mill, the KIM knitting factory, the Komintern plant and others throw light on the industrial development in the region and its restoration after the Second World War. The fonds of agricultural and forestry agencies contain data on land nationalization, land tenure, collectivization in agriculture, the organization of soviet farms, agricultural artels and machine-&-tractor stations, forest management, timber purchasing, land reclamation, and more. The fonds of courts, prosecutor's, notary offices and the Vitebsk Province Justice Division contain minutes of meetings of the regulatory commission for places of detention and agricultural colonies, as well as materials relating to repressed individuals and dispossessed kulaks (better-off peasants), civil and criminal case files, agreements of sale, gift and building, etc. The issues of education, culture, health care and sports are reflected in the fonds of educational agencies and institutions, the Vitebsk Local Museum, and various health institutions. The fonds of Vitebsk educational institutions contain information relating to M. Bakhtin, V. Presniakov, N. Malko, M. Chagall, M. Dobuzhinski, S. Yudovin, K. Malevich. The fonds of the Vitebsk Local Museum contain materials about the foundation of the Y. Pen Art Gallery. Records of the local administration of the German occupation (1941-1944) contain data on the work of the occupation authorities, migration of population, lists of residents and those arrested, and more. There are also data on the damage attributable to the Nazi occupation of the region. The Archives preserves personal fonds of the playwrights A. I. Movzon and I. L. Dorski, the children's female author M. M. Boboriko (member of the USSR and BSSR writers unions), writers A. S. Gomon and L. A. Markevich; painters V. K. Dzezhits and I. Iu. Borovski (members of the USSR and BSSR painters' unions); artists Z. I. Konopelko, M.S. Belinskaia (people's artists of the BSSR) and B.A. Levin (honorary artist of the BSSR); the teacher and museum specialist V.K. Zeilert and the specialist in local lore A. M. Podlipski (member of the Belarus Journalists Union), and more. Of the most valuable are the fonds of the Vitebsk People's Conservatory, the Vitebsk People's Arts School and the Vitebsk Local Museum. These fonds contain documents relating to painters M. Chagall, Y. Pen, V. Ermolaeva and R. Falk, conductor M. Malko, composer M. Antsev, philosopher M. Bakhtin, and more. Records of the Communist Party and Komsomol institutions contain materials illustrating the political and social history of the Vitebsk region, the developments in economics, culture, education, health care and sports. These also reflect the activities of the Pioneers youth organization in the region. In addition, the Archives holds records of various private organizations that functioned in the region in the late 1980s, as well as records of various social organizations with data on their registration procedure, principles of functioning, and the results of their activity.