At the beginning of the 1920s was founded Belarusian State University. Background of the department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages is closely linked with the history of the university. Already the first rector Vladimir Picheta contributed to the emergence of such disciplines as history of Belarus, the history of the national economy of the BSSR, the history of Belarusian law.
In 1934 he founded the Faculty of History. In 1936 there was founded Department of History of the Soviet Union and the Byelorussian SSR. A.P. Pjankov, D.A. Dudkov, T.S. Gorbunov worked there. In November 1958, was founded Department of History of the BSSR. From 1958 until 1975 the head of the department was Lawrence Abetsedarsky. Later the chair of the history of the BSSR headed Valentine Chepko, Iraida Tsariuk and Alexander Ignatenko.
The Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages has become an independent structural unit since 1994 after the reorganization of the Department of the History of Belarus. This the department divided into two: the Department of Belarus History of the Modern and Contemporary Time (the head – Professor Petr Brigadin) and the Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages (the head – Associate Professor Pavel Loiko). Since 2006 Associate Professor Jury Kazakou has been in charge of the Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages.
Today Associate Professors Vladimir Sosno, Vasili Voronin, Andrei Luby, Elena Denisova, Julia Funk, Senior Lecturers Elena Abetsedarskaya, Irene Gribko, Lecturers Elena Demidovich, the Assistant Anna Karpechenko work at the Department.
The Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages is basic and training of the students is realized in speciality “National and World History”.
The general courses “The History of Belarus” and “History of Belarusian Culture” are presented for all students of the Faculty of History. In addition, lecturers are teaching the general courses “The History of Belarus”, “The History of Belarus in the context of the World Civilization”, “The Great Patriotic War the Soviet people in the context of the World War II”, “The formation and development of Universities” (“Universitetovedenie”) practically at all university faculties.
Also specialists of the higher qualification are trained via MA education, postgraduate education, doctoral studies at the Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages.
The basic directions of the scientific and research work of the department are problems of the evolution of the class social structure and processes of the state building on the Byelorussian lands during the Middle Ages and the Modern Time, social conflicts of the Byelorussian society in the XV–XVIII centuries.
The research of two topics is carried out at the Department:
1. «The religious and confessional situation on the territory of Belarus on the background of the European processes (the second part of the XVI–XVIII centuries)» (Scientific advisor – Associate Professor Jury Kazakou).
2. «The processes of the social integration and disintegration on the Byelorussian lands in the context of their geopolitical situation in the XV–XVIII centuries» (Scientific advisors – Associate Professors Pavel Loiko, Vladimir Sosno).
History of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the important part of which was the Byelorussian lands forms the basis of the special courses of the department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages. They devote to the questions of the historiography and the source study. Among them are problems of the study of Lithuanian Metrica, agrarian and urban subjects, political relations, military science, art, problems of society and church.
For 17 years the Department of Belarus History of the Ancient Time and the Middle Ages has prepared the scientific school of research on History of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 25 PhD theses have been defended.
There is a students’ research laboratory (Scientific Advisor – Associate Professor Andrei Luby) including 15 students at the Department.
The members of the department take an active part in international and republican conferences. The Department maintains liaisons with other Universities and scientific organizations of Belarus and with Departments of History of the Universities in Jena, Warsaw, Bialystok, Torun, Wroclaw, Moscow, Vilnius and Kiev.
