Abstract
AbstractNational celebrations have been defined as manifestations of collective identities that glorify the nation and strengthen the national community. However, the magnitude and design of celebrations in autocratic states indicate a different ideational function that these symbolic events play in an autocratic political system. Autocratic elites have the administrative capacity to distort everyday routines and impose ideological principles of how people participate in state celebrations. How citizens engage in official celebratory practices in an authoritarian political context formulates a valuable contribution to the conceptualisation of national celebrations. Drawing on focus group discussions and ethnographic observations, I investigate how people negotiate meanings of celebratory and commemorative practices in the context of autocratic Belarus. I discuss how volatile the symbolic politics is when the invention of new symbolic traditions or the reinvention of old narratives does not appeal to all social groups and lacks authenticity.
Highlights
The symbolic production of WWII commemorations has been the recipient of one of the Belarusian government's most dedicated streams of public spending since the start of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's presidency over 25 years ago.1 Lukashenka regularly confirms financial support for the organisation of military parades
This article aimed at exploring how people engage in state celebratory practices in authoritarian Belarus
My observations drawn from discussions with Belarusian citizens indicate that people are conscious about the authoritarian political context within which they participate in celebrations, and they make a distinction between celebratory practices that take place in private and public domains
Summary
The symbolic production of WWII commemorations has been the recipient of one of the Belarusian government's most dedicated streams of public spending since the start of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's presidency over 25 years ago. Lukashenka regularly confirms financial support for the organisation of military parades. Focusing on state celebrations in Uzbekistan, Adams (2010) proposes to apply the concept of ‘mass spectacle’ to these events as a way to recognise their function as an ideological and mobilisation tool for legitimising a political regime These contributions emphasise that ruling elites design and make use of rituals to mobilise citizens and provide a visible affirmation of popular consent to the existing political order. How people engage in state celebrations and what they think about these events, the ceremonial style and official narratives are important for understanding the symbolic power of celebration practices in a society With this goal in mind, I conducted ethnographic observations during official ceremonies and commemorations organised by the Belarusian government and conducted six focus group discussions with Belarusian citizens. All-republic celebrations New Year Defender of the Fatherland Day International Women's Day Labour Day October Revolution Day
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