The Journal of Belarusian Studies: Eastern Belarus in 1917, Congressional Record, Skaryna’s astrology
The Ostrogorski Centre in cooperation with the Anglo-Belarusian Society is pleased to present the newest issue of the Journal of Belarusian Studies.
Established in 1965, the Journal is oldest periodical on Belarusian Studies in the English language.
Between Local and National: the Case of Eastern Belarus in 1917
The 2017 issue of the Journal begins with an article authored by Lizaveta Kasmach. Her recently completed PhD, written at the University of Alberta in Canada, deals with the Belarusian nation-building in the context of the First World War and Revolution. Her article here analyses the challenges of national mobilisation of Belarusians in eastern Belarus in 1917. At that time the February Revolution in Russia opened up new opportunities for national activists to engage in politics.
Lizaveta highlights two key obstacles which prevented activists from succeeding: the legacy of decades of Russifi cation and the local (rather than national) identity of the Belarusian population. During that period, people were avoiding clear-cut national identities and instead identifying themselves with a certain region or settlement. In accordance with people’s strategies for survival, they did not imagine themselves as members of a separate Belarusian nation.
Belarus in the Congressional Record 1873–1994
Tatsiana Kulakevich from Rutgers University analyses Belarus in Congressional Record between 1873 and 1994. The author highlights the importance of diaspora activities in the United States, which helped to place Belarus on the world map in the minds of the American political elite. From a voiceless territory under Russian influence Belarus became a separate country suffering from Communism and deserving the right to national independence.
Doctor Francis Skaryna and the Heavens: Astrology in the Life of a Sixteenth-Century Book-Printer
Uladzimir Kananovich writes about Francis Skaryna, one of the first East European book printers, who laid the groundwork for the development of the Belarusian language. Although the profi le of Skaryna has been analysed in the literature, his interest in astrology has not been properly explored. Francis Skaryna was also a medical practitioner with a keen interest in astrological prognostication.
The appearance of the symbol of a sun charged with a crescent moon in his most famous engravings may be attributed to Regiomontanus’s influence on Skaryna as well. The article of Uladzimir Kananovich resulted from his presentation at the second annual conference of Belarusian Studies which took place in London in March 2017. The conference was organised by the Ostrogorski Centre in cooperation with University College London and the Belarusian Francis Skaryna Library and Museum.
Speakers from Belarus, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, the United States and other countries presented and discussed Belarus-related research. The conference panels covered Francis Skaryna’s work and legacy, problems of Belarusian national identity, the foreign policy of Belarus and comparative politics, social and political movements, and Belarusian language and literature.
The main conference was followed by the Annual Lecture on Belarusian Studies, delivered last year by Dr Ales Susha, deputy director of the National Library of Belarus and chairman of the International Association of Belarusian Language and Culture Specialists. The annual lecture, as well as podcasts of all conference panels, can be found online on Soundcloud.
Reviews
Siarhei Bohdan from Berlin discusses a book on Soviet Belarusisation, trying to distill myths from reality. Aliaksiej Lastoūski from Minsk reviews a book published in Polish on how Belarus is viewed in the European context from the philosophical point of view. Roman Urbanowicz from Budapest looks at a book on informal cross-border trade and gender issues.
This issue of the Journal of Belarusian Studies also includes the annual report of the Anglo-Belarusian Society prepared by its chairman and former British ambassador to Belarus Brian Bennett.
The journal accepts submissions on a rolling basis and welcomes contributions from younger and established academics on all aspects of Belarusian studies.
Tanks and Tetris: the patterns of Belarusian gaming addiction
Source: worldoftanks.ru
In January 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that gaming disorder would for the first time appear as a dangerous mental health condition in the 11th International Classification of Diseases.
Many countries, including China, Japan, and the United Kingdom have already implemented restrictive measures to combat a growing gaming addiction.
Belarus, on the other hand, still experiences euphoria from the global success of World of Tanks, a multiplayer online game created by Belarusian developers. While researchers maintain that gaming addiction rapidly spreads among young Belarusians, no restrictive measures have appeared so far. The cult of the national IT industry, as well as a powerful gaming lobby, prevent a national debate on the alarming health issue.
Belarusians’ gaming preferences
In January 2014, the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus conducted a survey about the gaming age and preferences of Belarusians. According to the survey, 15.6% of adult Belarusians play offline computer games, 15.4% choose online computer games, and 1.4% prefer PlayStation. Hence, each third adult Belarusian uses products of the gaming industry. 10.4% of those surveyed acknowledged that their children also played computer games. This indicates even higher national engagement in the gaming industry, and that it will further grow with the next generation.
At present, young and middle-aged Belarusians constitute the most active group of gamers. However, as respondents’ age increases, their engagement with online computer games decreases. Family life and work commitments leave less time for gaming activities. Moreover, gamers aged 50 or above tend to favour offline computer games. This can be partly explained by income differences. Older Belarusians, including pensioners, generally have lower incomes and cannot afford to pay for mobile internet connection.
Why Belarusian ladies choose Sims over World of Tanks
In ratings of Belarusians’ favourite computer games, easy mini-games such as Angry Birds and Tetris take the lead. World of Tanks holds second position, revealing some patriotism, while two shooter games, Counter-Strike and Dota 2, occupy third place. Apart from these, Belarusian respondents actively play the war strategy game Warcraft, lifestyle simulation Sims, action-adventure GTA, and the racing game Need for Speed.
Source: modthesims.info
The survey uncovered a remarkable gender-based segmentation of Belarusian gaming preferences. While men prefer games involving war activities, women tend to favour mini-games and simulations. Mini-games do not require strong engagement and provide female gamers with a sense of gratitude over small results.
Simulation games compensate women for the lack of fashion items, proper living conditions, and social fulfillment. According to a number of social surveys, more than 50% of Belarusian females lack the finance to expand their wardrobes, and fewer than 20% enjoy their living conditions. Simulation games such as Sims allow women to change accessories, clothes, hairstyles, gadgets, and furniture as much as they like. The gaming industry perfectly exploits the unfulfilled demands of female audiences by creating a separate fairy-tale reality.
Time to raise the alert?
Several Belarusian researchers have investigated students and their gaming activities. In 2013 a survey of Brest State University students discovered that 72% of male students and 33% of female students suffered from gaming addiction, If you consider you need some help beating this or another addiction, these guys can help. Another survey of students of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics indicated that each third student experienced some form of gaming addiction, and each seventh student required therapy. The researchers warn that gaming addiction progresses quite quickly as new generations acquire easier access to gadgets.
Source: zviazda.by
At present, Belarusian medics do not possess a proper methodology of gaming addiction treatment. Despite the growth of gaming addiction among Belarusians, neither medical communities nor government officials have called for additional research or restrictive legislative measures. Yet researchers include aggressive marketing among the major reasons of the growing gaming addiction in Belarus. Another problem is parental ignorance. Some parents facilitate gaming activities from fears of the bad influence of the street, others view gaming as an easy way of preoccupying a naughty child.
Consequently, Belarusian legislators and medical communities have to work in two directions: to prohibit the aggressive marketing of computer games and to raise awareness among parents. Obviously, banning gaming adverts might cause resistance from the powerful Belarusian gaming industry, hence medics have to become the decisive voice in a prospective national debate.
Is it right to play for the Nazis in a battle of tanks?
Apart from health concerns, gaming addiction also raises ethical questions. First, children and teenagers get exposed to a large portion of violence, which inevitably harms their fragile psyche. Second, a range of computer games depicts historic events in a contradictory manner. Thus, Russia has recently banned the distribution of computer games that present Soviet soldiers in a bad light.
As for World of Tanks, gamers possess an option to play for Nazi Germany. While the majority of gamers drive Panzers and Tigers without any prejudices, certain voices have already questioned the moral standards of those Belarusian gamers choosing to be a part of the virtual Wehrmacht. At the same time, Wargaming – the developer of World of Tanks – hardly counts as the only company in the global gaming industry to exploit history. A sense of personal affiliation to particular historical events brings additional excitement and urges gamers to invest more efforts and finance.
Although gaming addiction has spread quickly among young Belarusians, counter-measures to combat the problem will not appear in the near feature. To put it bluntly, the Belarusian government benefits very much from a powerful gaming industry. Though Wargaming pays its corporate taxes in Nicosia instead of Minsk, tank battles distract a large portion of Belarusian society from active changes in real life and absorb social tensions. While men fulfil their warrior instinct by planning virtual military campaigns, women cure their social frustration by changing wardrobes and furniture in a simulation.
Meanwhile, a range of countries has taken a different approach towards the growing gaming industry. In China, internet giant Tencent has limited the playing hours for the most popular online games. South Korea has legally banned access for children under 16 from online games between midnight and 6am (the so-called “shutdown law”). In the UK and the European Union, special regulatory bodies strictly classify video games according to the level of violence. Hence, the global trend of limiting gaming activity contradicts Belarus’s more ignorant approach.
