The use of history interpretation is a reference for identity shaping and political system legitimacy appears in different contexts.
Twenty years after perestroika historical consciousness is still a source of controversy in all fifteen Post-Soviet states, each of which is engaged in its own way in a process of individual and collective interpretation of the past. Under Soviet rule and since the collapse of the Soviet Union interpretations of national history in these countries have consistently been used to legitimize and define social, political and identity structures.
Cognitive and cultural factors, as well as geopolitical issues, pragmatic economic constraints, political and ideological choices (between the European Union and Russia) in their turn influence the shaping of historical consciousness, especially in case of a very specific URSS successor - Belarus.
Since the break-up of the Soviet Union the majority of post-Soviet countries have tended to articulate historical consciousness in opposition to Soviet and Russian interpretations of the past, seeking for European roots in their histories.
According to numerous research projects into historical discourse in all the post-Soviet countries, only Belarus (strongly dependent on Russia economically) promote a Russia-oriented identity and history discourse.
The relationships between intellectual, political and pragmatic issues, between interpretations of the past and the use of the past interpretation for the identity building in Belarus can enrich the understanding of the role of the pragmatic use of historical consciousness for identity building and legitimizing.
The link between specific Belarusian authoritarian-populist political system, which actively promotes Soviet-Russian - oriented identity project and marginalizes all alternative discourses and the relative success of the official identity project is a highly heuristic and instructive topic
