Burial Ceremony of the Participants of 1863–1864 Uprising and a Narrative of Vilnius as Belarusian Mecca
The article discusses a narrative that presents Vilnius as the Belarusian Mecca, and a manifestation of that narrative during the november 22, 2019, reburial of members of 1863–1864 uprising. The narrative presents the city as an place of pilgrimage and worship where the Belarusian nation is constantly reborn. The ceremony of the reburial, as well as the preceding discussions, received great attention in Belarus. They become a direct representation of aforementioned narrative mobilizing the fractured nation. It is imperative to understand the strategic value of this narrative not only for Belarusian society, but for the Lithuanian state as well, because of its depiction of the Lithuanian state as an instrument of Lithuanian soft power.
Key Words: Vilnius, 1863-1864 Uprising, narrative, Belarus, Lithuania
