Vilnius Belarusian Museum

In 1921, long after Ivan Luckievič's death, his collection was transformed by Belarusian scientific society into a public museum, which was named “Ivan Luckievič Belarusian museum” (full title “Vilnius Belarusian historic-ethnographic museum named after Ivan Lutskievich”. The museum was located in ”Holy Trinity”, in a small space of 4 or 5 chambers. The museum was managed by Ivan's younger brother Anton Luckievič and engineer Liavon Dubeikauski.

Main idea of Ivan Luckievič was collecting of materials, which would foster studies of material and intangible culture of Belarusians, – first of all, their folk history with a stress on the period of Grand Duchy of Lithuania — wrote Anton Luckievič.[2] In 1937 he answered an inquiry on museum's collecting: Regional and ethnic [materias] from Belarusian territory within borders of GDL.[3]

First known inventory list of the museum was made in 1922. It is divided into sections ”Folklore” (106 items), ”Hand drawings, in files” (797 drawings), “Armour” (126 items), “Tiles, bricks etc” (435 items).[4]

The inventory of 1933 describes ”prehistoric section” of 200 items from Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. There is also described sigillographic collection of 103 stamps, collection of rings, religious objects (old crosses, icons, clothes), painting and drawings, wooden sculpture. The ethnographic section contained textiles, clothes, musical instruments, clay and glass vessels. The section of daily life presented old clothes.

In inquiry of a ministry in 1937 Anton Luckievich lists the full collection of museum including 4228 items, exhibited 1511 and stored 2711. In ethnographic section: 86 exhibits, in visual arts 161 exhibit, in sculpture section 65 exhibits, in crafts 154, in numismatics 2492, archeology 184, and in library 10555 volumes.[5]

The museum's ex libris

After occupation of Vilnius in 1939, members of the Museum's committee were arrested (Anton Luckievič, Ul. Samoila, A. Nekanda-Trepka). Although formally museum was not shut down, but did not function from October 1939 till 15 July 1940. Museum was included into Academy of Science of Lithuanian SSR.

In October 1940 the museums reopened. The position of director was first proposed to an ethnographer Maryian Petsiukevich. The director became Ianka Shutovich, who remained in this position during the Nazi occupation.

After return of Soviet regime, the collections were split among several other museums. Ianka Shutovich writes: “I recall last period of my work in the museum. 19 November 1944 arrived a delegation with proposal to relocate the museum to Minsk, with better salaries and building. Next day had to be gathered a council for discussion of this proposal, but 20 November I lost both director's position and allowance to stay in Vilnius.” Shutovich was arrested and sent to camps for 15 years.[6]

In few days after Shutovich was arrested, the position of director took Juozas Pertulis and was formed the liquidation committee of Enlightenment department representative M. Meškanskaitė, representative of Cental Committee (of Communist party in Lithuania) historian Albinas Daukša-Paškevičius and director of the museum of Academy of Science of Lithuania K. Mekas. The committee finished its work in June 1945. The committee shared collections of the museum between other institutions of Lithuania and Belarus: items, which contained text in Belarusian language were given to Belarus; those which were connected with history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were transferred to Lithuanian museums. Some of items were given to central museums in Moscow.

In 2001 Siaržuk Vituška initiated the restoration of the museum. In Lithuania was registered NGO “Ivan Lutskievitch Belarusian Museum”, which declared its goals as historical research and public presentation of historical knowledge. The declaration, signed by Halina Voitsik, Siaržuk and Liudevika Vituška, Siarhei Dubaviets, Tatiana Poklad): “We interpret our activities as a continuation of Vilnius museum tradition, therefore we underline, that we not just create but also revive Vilnius Belarusian Museum.”[7]

In 2021 this organisation received from Vilnius government a house in Vilniaus str 20. The director of Belarusian Museum is Liudvika Kardzis (Vituška).

New activities opened with the first exhibition in the new building (4 August 2021) “Why freedom is a woman”, which presented works of Belarusian feminine artists Zoia Koush, Zhana Gladko, Sviatlana Petushkova, Aliesia Zhytkuevitch and also creativity of the exhibition's visitors.

The second exhibition (5 December 2012) was celebrating 115 years of “Nasha Niva”, the newspaper found by Ivan Luckievič, and to 100 years of the museum. The exhibition “Lutskievich museum through big data and media” presented statistic data on museum interwar activities based on visitors' book of the museum and Vilnius press of its time (curated by Paulina Vituščanka, data visualisation by Ihar Janouski).[8] At the same time took place a scientific mini-conference “The Vilnius museum 100 years ago”.

During the first year of public work of the revived museum were organised exhibitions of paintings, photographs and book graphics, presentations of books of Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, Volha Hapeyeva, Jury Dzikavitski, concerts of Zmitar Bartosik, Zmitar Vajciukievich, Andrej Hadanovich, poetry festivals, workshops, theatre plays. Started to function a public library and circles for kids. The museums published guides “Folklore Vilnius”[9] and “Vilnius printing houses' stories”[10] (in Belarusian and Lithuanian languages).

From 15 October till 12 December 2021 in Belarusian National Art Museum ran an exhibition dedicated to 100 years from foundation of Ivan Luckievič Belarusian museum in Vilnius. The exhibition presented the artefacts, which former belonged to the Vilnius museum and later were moved to Belarus.[11]

• Archival page of the revived museums (scanned books and archival documents)
• Facebook account of the revived museum
• Instagram of the revived museum