The premiere episode of the Story of Belarus poses the questions on the origins of Belarusian statehood and what are the roots of “Belarusianness”. The examples of the two pre-WWII Belarusian states, the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and contemporary reflections of the past in Belarusian national identity discourse are the main topics of this episode. Hosted by: Maciek MakulskiGuest Speaker: Nelly Bekus, Associate Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. She works in the project “1989 after 1989, Rethinking the Fall of Socialism from a Global Perspective”. She is the author of a seminal book on Belarusian identity titled: Struggle over Identity. The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness". Background readings: Nelly Bekus, Struggle over Identity. The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness” (Central European University Press, 2010).Vadzim Smok, Belarusian Identity: The impact of Lukashenka’s Rule, European Union Foreign Affairs Journal, 2013.Timothy Snyder, The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999, Yale University Press, 2002.Miroslav Hroch, Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe. A Comparative Analysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Columbia University Press, 2000.****This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.