User:Rdgst/Vilnius Belarusian Museum

Belarusian museum in Vinius, or Ivan Lutskievič Belarusian museum in Vilnius (Беларускі музэй у Вільне (Biełaruski muzej u Vilnie), Muzeum Białoruskie w Wilnie, I. Luckevičiaus baltarusių muziejus) was a Belarusian scientific and educational organisation, which existed in 1921—1945 in Vilnius in ”Holy Trinity”, next to Belarusian scientific society and Vilnius Belarusian gymnasium, students of which regularly visited it with excursions.

Ivan Luckievič started to collect Belarusian antiques since he was in school. In 1908 he placed his collection in “Naša Niva“ editing house. At this moment the collection already contained Skaryna's Bible, a Statute of Lithuania, several Slutsk belts, exemplars of “Mużyckaja prauda”.

The collection was divided into sections of ethnography (clothes, textile, music instruments), archeology, numismatics and library (mostly, of incunabulas and manuscripts).



Interwar (1921—1939)
In 1921, long after Ivan Luckievič's death, his collection was transformed by Belarusian scientific society into a public museum, which was named “Ivan Luckievič Belarusian museum” (full title “Vilnius Belarusian historic-ethnographic museum named after Ivan Lutskievich”. The museum was located in ”Holy Trinity”, in a small space of 4 or 5 chambers. The museum was managed by Ivan's younger brother Anton Luckievič and engineer Liavon Dubeikauski.

Main idea of Ivan Luckievič was collecting of materials, which would foster studies of material and intangible culture of Belarusians, – first of all, their folk history with a stress on the period of Grand Duchy of Lithuania — wrote Anton Luckievič. In 1937 he answered an inquiry on museum's collecting: Regional and ethnic [materias] from Belarusian territory within borders of GDL.

First known inventory list of the museum was made in 1922. It is divided into sections ”Folklore” (106 items), ”Hand drawings, in files” (797 drawings), “Armour” (126 items), “Tiles, bricks etc” (435 items).

The inventory of 1933 describes ”prehistoric section” of 200 items from Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. There is also described sigillographic collection of 103 stamps, collection of rings, religious objects (old crosses, icons, clothes), painting and drawings, wooden sculpture. The ethnographic section contained textiles, clothes, musical instruments, clay and glass vessels. The section of daily life presented old clothes.

In inquiry of a ministry in 1937 Anton Luckievich lists the full collection of museum including 4228 items, exhibited 1511 and stored 2711. In ethnographic section: 86 exhibits, in visual arts 161 exhibit, in sculpture section 65 exhibits, in crafts 154, in numismatics 2492, archeology 184, and in library 10555 volumes.

During WWII
After occupation of Vilnius in 1939, members of the Museum's committee were arrested (Anton Luckievič, Ul. Samoila, A. Nekanda-Trepka). Although formally museum was not shut down, but did not function from October 1939 till 15 July 1940. Museum was included into Academy of Science of Lithuanian SSR.

In October 1940 the museums was opened back. The position of director was first proposed to an ethnographer Maryian Petsiukevich. The the director became Ianka Shutovich, who remained in this position during the Nazi occupation.

Liquidation in Soviet period (1944)
After return of Soviet regime, the collections were split among several other museums. Ianka Shutovich writes: “I recall last period of my work in the museum. 19 November 1944 arrived a delegation with proposal to relocate the museum to Minsk, with better salaries and building. Next day had to be gathered a council for discussion of this proposal, but 20 November I lost both director's position and allowance to stay in Vilnius.” Shutovich was arrested and sent to camps for 15 years.

In few days after Shutovich was arrested, the position of director took Juozas Pertulis and was formed the liquidation committee of Enlightenment department representative M. Meškanskaitė, representative of Cental Committee (of Communist party in Lithuania) historian Albinas Daukša-Paškevičius and director of the museum of Academy of Science of Lithuania K. Mekas. The committee finished its work in June 1945. The committee shared collections of the museum between other institutions of Lithuania and Belarus: items, which contained text in Belarusian language were given to Belarus; those which were connected with history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were transferred to Lithuanian museums. Some of items were given to central museums in Moscow.

Revival attempts in 2000s
In 2001 Siaržuk Vituška initiated the restoration of the museum. In Lithuania was registered NGO “Ivan Lutskievitch Belarusian Museum”, which declared its goals as historical research and public presentation of historical knowledge. The declaration, signed by Halina Voitsik, Siaržuk and Liudevika Vituška, Siarhei Dubaviets, Tatiana Poklad): “We interpret our activities as a continuation of Vilnius museum tradition, therefore we underline, that we not just crate but also revive Vilnius Belarusian Museum.” At the same time took place a scientific mini-conference “The Vilnius museum 100 years ago”.

During the first year of public work of the revived museum were organised exhibitions of paintings, photographs and book graphics, presentations of books of Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, Volha Hapeyeva, Jury Dzikavitski, concerts of Zmitar Bartosik, Zmitar Vajciukievich, Andrej Hadanovich, poetry festivals, workshops, theatre plays. Started to function a public library and circles for kids. The museums published guides “Folklore Vilnius” and “Vilnius printing houses' stories” (in Belarusian and Lithuanian languages).

The museum's memorialisation
From 15 October till 12 December 2021 in Belarusian National Art Museum ran an exhibition dedicated to 100 years from foundation of Ivan Luckievich Belarusian museum in Vilnius. The exhibition presented the artefacts, which former belonged to the Vilnius museum and later were moved to Belarus.