Belarusian intellectuals’ lack of consensus over Belarusian history prevents them from forming a national ideology that might replace the dominant Russophilia, says Lithuanian commentator Stasys Katauskas. This identity crisis stems from a weak nation-building process in the late nineteenth century, leaving a gap in national consciousness that could be filled by the Soviet identity. Hopes for democracy in Belarus will remain unfulfilled until a clear and qualitatively different ideology acceptable to the whole of society arises, says Katauskas.
