[1] The development of sociology in Belarus during the pre-1991 (Soviet) period is conveniently divided into two sub-periods: (1) the so-called “pre-modern sociology” and (2) sociology in 1960-1980. The history of the Soviet period of Belarusian sociology indicates that although there were no earlier (pre-Soviet) traditions of sociological studies in Belarus, it did not start from scratch after the breakup of the USSR in 1991.
[2] Sociology in Belarus came into being under the Soviet regime as part and parcel of Soviet sociology as early as the beginning of the 1920s. For political reasons it was not possible to introduce or even discuss any national features this sociology might have had. Indeed, Belarusian sociology was an integral part of Soviet sociology, and all the general characteristics of Soviet sociology applied.
[3] As sociology in Belarus was officially established “from above”, its development was determined by Soviet policy in the sphere of education and by Marxist policy toward the non-Russian periphery of the former Russian empire: the Center provided the necessary material resources and personnel for the periphery’s development. During the first period of its history, sociology in Belarus was practiced by scholars from other cities and regions of the Soviet state who came to Minsk to work for just a few years.
[4] In the 1920s sociology in Belarus was developing in two directions: (a) as a university discipline, and (b) as a branch of research. In 1921 Belarusian State University – the first institution of higher education of this kind – was opened in Belarus. Before 1921 there were no universities at all in Belarus and young individuals from this region usually had to move to other countries or cities to get a university degree. For this reason there were no home-bred cadres (including professors of sociology) in Belarus. That is why several professors from other Soviet regions (primarily from Petrograd) were officially invited to Minsk to help start this university. During this period a Department of Sociology and Primordial Culture was opened, headed by Professor Solomon Katsenbogen. As was common in those days, Katsenbogen was concurrently a high level official: as Professors and Doctors of Belarusian State University (2001) mentioned, while working in the Belarus Communist Party Central Executive Committee, he was also a university vice-rector and a dean of the faculty of social sciences. He came to Belarus from Russia, worked in Minsk for a while, and later, in the 1930s, moved back to Russia. When in Minsk, he published several books related to sociology: Philosophical and Sociological Foundations of Marxism (Minsk, 1925), Marxist Sociology (Minsk, 1925), and Marxism and Sociology (Minsk, 1925). Later Katsenbogen returned to the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic and worked there in several cities. However, according to the History of Sociology textbook (1997), professor Katsenbogen is considered to be among the first sociologists of Belarus.
[5] As for the research branch of science: in 1922 the Institute of Belarusian Culture (since 1929 – the Academy of Sciences) was established, where research focused on different social, economic, and cultural issues of Belarusian development. For example, ethnic development, the history of the Belarusian ethnos, the population’s religiosity, the vocational training of youth, especially working class youth, were among the primarily interests of Belarusian scholars employed at this institute.
[6] It is worth mentioning that during the first sub-period, sociology in Belarus was heavily influenced by Western theories. Thus, during the 1920s the methodological basis of sociology was either vulgar Marxist (“economic determinism”) or positivist and behaviorist in character, the same textbook noted (1997). It was also common not to distinguish between sociology and other social sciences. As a result, any work on a social topic based on empirical research was considered “sociological”. That is why purely statistical papers were also considered sociological. Also, Solomon Vasileysky’s book on research methods in different disciplines (1927) was considered as relevant for sociology as well. However, in general, applied studies were descriptive and far removed from any theory: surveys were conducted for practical needs, while theory was developed for ideological needs. That is why in the early 1930s, when the Soviet regime became hostile to sociology, all research came to an end, several scholars were arrested and/or sent to Siberian exile, and, for all practical purposes, sociology (as well as many other social sciences) was eliminated for a long time to come.
[7] To summarize: the first sub-period of the development of sociology in Belarus was rather short (about ten years). It was characterized by pluralism in theory and methodology, while empirical surveys were set up with no clear methodological basis. However, the new discipline was launched. Unfortunately, its further development was abruptly brought to an end in the 1930s and sociology disappeared from the surface of the social sciences for almost 30 years.
[8] The second sub-period of Belarusian sociology under the Soviet regime started in the mid-1960s, after the denunciation of Stalin’s personality cult. Followed by other Soviet republics, step by step, Belarus reestablished sociology both at the Academy of Sciences of Belarus and at Belarusian State University. Before the official recognition of sociology as a new area of specialization at the university and academy level, in 1965-1970 Institute of Social Research had been functioning in Minsk as a public organization where professors from different universities taught sociological courses for adults who needed this knowledge for professional reasons (government and Communist party officials, teachers, scholars, etc.). The institute was opened by special order of the Central Committee of the Communist party in Belarus (without such permission it was impossible to start any new public organization). It was headed by Professor Anatoly Molotchko who was a historian, but was appointed to serve as an organizer of education in the new field of sociology. The institute prepared the ground for the establishment of sociological branches (sektors, departments) at the level of state educational and scientific institutions.
[9] In 1968, Department of Applied Social Research was opened at the Institute of Philosophy and Law, headed by Professor Georgy Davidjuk. This scholar, a former Communist party official, contributed greatly to the revival of sociology in Belarus: he introduced this discipline into university curricula (1969), published the first applied sociology textbook in Belarus (1979), and did his best to open a new area of specialization (applied sociology) at the Belarusian State University (BSU) Faculty of History. The first Soviet sociological dictionary, the Dictionary of Applied Sociology, edited by Davidyuk, was published in 1984.
[10] In the 1970s, in accordance with Communist party directives, academic sociologists developed extensively such topics as social management, social planning, workers’ and peasants’ mentality, etc. The results of several empirical research projects were summarized in a book, Prospects for Social Development in Industrial Collectives (1970). Social planning had become a major issue in this period (Pisarenko, 1986).
[11] In 1978, a unit (sektor) on methodological problems of sociological research was formed at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Academy of Sciences headed by Evgenii Babosov.
[12] In the following 10 years this unit became a headquarters for research studies focused on collecting data and analyzing different aspects of the vital activities (job, culture, living conditions) of the major social groups of Soviet society (stages of sociological monitoring – 1980, 1985, 1990). During the 1980s many new sociological books devoted to culture and personality, social structure (workers, intelligentsia, and peasantry) were published (1980, 1987, 1988, 1990). Based on this research, in 1986, one of the first international sociological conferences in Minsk was organized, and the book Working Class: Indicators of Political, Work and Moral Activity (two volumes, Minsk, 1987) was published. In January 1989 the unit on methodological problems of sociological research was converted into the Center for Sociological Research.
[13] As sociological research grew, so did demand for fresh professional cadres. The first small group of students trained as sociologists graduated from Belarusian State University in 1974. Since then, sociologists began growing in quality and number in Belarus. Students receiving a university diploma as sociologists could find employment either in factories, offices, and other work places, as social researchers or at universities and other educational institutions, as social science teachers. However, the first Department of Sociology as such opened in BSU only in 1989 as part of the newly established Faculty of Philosophy and Economics, when sociology was officially approved as a branch of this faculty. The first head of the Department of Sociology and the first dean of this faculty was Professor Albert Yelsukov. By the time of the collapse of the USSR (1991), Belarusian State University was the only university in the country where young students could professionally study sociology and receive a diploma in the field. Post-graduate courses in sociology came into being at Belarusian State University at the very end of the Soviet period, and soon young scholars were able to defend their dissertations either at Belarusian State University or at the Institute of Sociology, instead of having to go to Moscow, Leningrad or Kiev as before.
[14] By the end of the Soviet period of development of Belarusian sociology, in 1990, the Institute of Sociology got its start as a branch of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The first Director of this Institute, academician Evgenii Babosov, contributed greatly both to the opening this institute and to making it as an important part of social research in Belarus. Thus, theoretical and methodological issues of sociology were always the focal point for the institute’s personnel; several international and republican conferences were organized, and several sociological books (on theory as well as empirical research) were published. Belarusian sociologists were members of the International Sociological Association (ISA)) and the Soviet Sociological Association (SSA) (actually, they organized a Belarusian branch of the SSA in 1976 that existed until 1991). Sociologists did research in such special fields as rural sociology (this field of study is popular in Belarus because until recently most Belarusians lived in the villages and scholars were well placed to study the traditional way of life, the traditional culture of the rural population), sociology of culture (including musical culture, cinema, leisure, as well as Slavic culture in general), industrial sociology (work motivation, employment, management), economic sociology (economic thinking and behavior, social mechanisms of economic processes), sociology of youth (youth structure, socialization, subculture, interests), political sociology (social policy, political socialization, political culture), etc.
[15] During the Soviet period, leading sociologists from Belarus participated in all ISA congresses and all-USSR conferences.
[16] Generally speaking, the second sub-period of the development of Belarusian sociology can be called Marxist: during this period the official macro-social theoretical level was still called “Historical Materialism”; sociology was allowed at the micro-level of surveys and later at the level of so-called special middle range theories.
[17] Formally, Soviet sociology, including its Belarusian branch, was called Marxist, as it had to abide by Marxist dogmas on the macro-level. However, in practice, a good deal of this sociology was under the influence of structural functionalism, while the rest was under the influence of other western paradigms. For example, important empirical research on the destruction of traditional rural culture, the rising number of the urban workers and the alienation of city people were conducted in accordance with western methodology and patterns. The official label (“Marxism”) was applied to what was in practice pluralism. This made possible a quick shift to a variety of theoretical paradigms in the further development of Belarusian sociology after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
[18] As to any oppositional activities in Belarus during the Soviet period, actually there were none within sociology, as it was always, like philosophy, under the strict control of the Communist party. For this reason, it was not as easy as, for example, in the Baltic republics, to rebuild sociology in Belarus when the republic gained its national independence in 1991.
[19] A new period of development of Belarusian sociology started in 1991. It can be characterized as an era of theoretical and methodological pluralism, with increasing interest in “pure” national topics (such as nation building, national ideology, ethnic composition, national identity, etc.), and the rise of a private sector in empirical research and sociological publications. For the first time, sociology in Belarus had become a national discipline, i.e. it focused primarily on the internal problems of Belarusian society as an independent state.
[20] However, after 1991 society as a whole experienced a period of post-Soviet transformation accompanied by a systemic socioeconomic crisis and this new experience was naturally reflected in the field of sociology.
[21] First, sociology, as other disciplines, moved step by step from state funding to private funding and competition for grants (in the sphere of research) and second, from state-funded to for-pay education (currently, almost two thirds of the students pay tuition).
[22] During the first transition years all the population was preoccupied with simple economic survival, and the majority of scholars suffered from the impact of economic crises, socioeconomic instability, and high inflation (one of the highest in the world during the first years of independence). In order to survive, scholars had to hold two or three jobs and be willing to teach any appropriate subjects in different types of educational institutions. As everywhere in the former Soviet Union, private education institutions mushroomed in Belarus. The rise of private education made it possible for scholars to look forward to salaries high enough for them to live above the poverty level. This made it possible for sociologists as well as other scholars to survive.
[23] However, there was almost no state money for research. For this reason the Academy of Sciences, including the Institute of Sociology, experienced hard times: scholars were looking for any research that would pay. As the political life in Belarus in the first part of the 1990s was rather dynamic, new political parties and the number of political leaders grew rapidly, and all of them needed some kind of sociological service (pre-election polls, calculation of potential election participation, new forms of political propaganda, etc.), sociologists came to be in demand. Therefore, they had to start learning new down-to-earth topics having to do with elections, political competition, PR technologies, etc. Simultaneously, market research got its start in Belarus, as the first government of the Republic of Belarus was oriented toward a market economy and the inclusion of Belarus in the world market. Many small groups of market-oriented and politically engaged sociologists emerged. They did research for any political parties and politicians that would hire them; in the absence of censorship or direct pressure “from above” to hew to any particular “official line,” sociologists were trying to avoid permanent association with one or another single political party.
[24] As a result, in the 1990s three major types of sociological organizations (institutional bases for sociology) existed in Belarus: (1) educational institutions, (2) research institutions, and (3) private firms.
[25] Among the educational institutions, in the 1990s, Belarusian State University was the only place where a new generation of scholars could earn a professional degree. There was still only one Department of Sociology serving the educational needs of the entire country. In 1996, with the help of TEMPUS project money, a new Department of Information and Communication was started at the same Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, and a new specialization, Sociology of Mass Communication, was added to the existing (since 1989) two areas of specializations, Theory, History and Methodology of Sociology and Sociology of Management. The Department of Sociology had several programs (MA and PhD), and individuals oriented toward a professional sociological career had to apply for these programs at Belarusian State University. Every year 20-35 Specialists (a Specialist degree is one step lower than an MA) graduate from Belarusian State University as sociologists and 20-30, as communicators. Teaching is still oriented more toward quantitative sociology; however, qualitative methods have also been taught in the last few years at Belarusian State University. Usually, graduates have a practical orientation and therefore are more interested in applied knowledge and practical sociological skills r than in the theory or history of sociology.
[26] Later, in the 1990s and in early 2000s, other departments with sociology in their names were opened at state-funded educational institutions (for example, at Arkady Kuleshov Mogilev State University); in some cases sociology was combined with political science (for example, at Alexandr Pushkin Brest State University) or even with several other social sciences, and integrated departments were started (thus, at Belarus National Technical University, a Department of Political Science, Sociology and Social Management opened). Such integrated departments are not the best environments for a high level of teaching in the field of sociology for all students, as, usually, sociology is taught by social science scholars who are not necessarily sociologists - less than half have a proper degree.
[27] According to present-day educational programs at universities and colleges, sociology has the status of a so-called “basic social discipline”: it means that all the students regardless of their specialization and faculty have this discipline as a requirement in their curricula (however, it is an introductory course for one semester, usually one-lecture-per-week course).
[28] In addition to the Department of Sociology, BSU has other research institutions and centers, including a Center for Sociological and Political Research run by Professor David Rotman. This Center specializes in the study of student issues and serves Belarusian State University practical needs; however, it is also involved in several international surveys in other fields (INTAS projects, New Barometer project, etc.), and their research is well known abroad; it is presented at international conferences, and finds its way into data bases and publications.
[29] As for private universities and colleges, sociology is usually one of the subjects within the complex of social disciplines at some combined departments. Therefore, there is a problem providing all such departments and schools with professional sociologists to teach this particular subject.
[30] Research institutions can be divided into two kinds: state-funded and private. Among state institutions the Institute of Sociology and to the Institute of Social and Political Studies (ISPI) must be singled out. The difference between them is defined by their titles and subordination: the first is subordinated to the Head of the National Academy of Science and the second, to the President of Belarus.
[31] The Institute of Sociology is still the leading academic sociological institution. So far its staff has participated in four State basic research programs and numerous empirical studies:
[32] Currently, Belarusian sociologists are working within the framework of different theoretical and methodological schools: sociology of conflicts and catastrophes (founded by Evgenii Babosov), sociology of work and economic sociology (founded by Galina Sokolova), sociology of science (founded by Gennadi Nesvetaylov).
[33] The Institute of Sociology is the largest center in the sphere of methodology of sociological research (Shavel, 2005a; Shavel, 2005b). There are three major departments at the Institute of sociology: (1) Economic Sociology and Demography; (2) Social Structure, Social Institutes and Processes; and (3) Sociology of Culture, Spiritual Life. The Institute conducts comparative research with some CIS countries, organizes scientific conferences and, for all practical purposes, leads sociological research in Belarus. Its leading scholars work on an analysis of socioeconomic processes in Belarus during post-Soviet transition: social reforms (Schavel, 2004), social mechanisms in the labor market (Sokolova, 2006), and resources for innovative economics (Babosov, 2003). Scholars from the regions (Brest, Gomel, Grodno, and Mogilev) are involved in joint projects with the Institute.
[34] TheInstitute of Social and Political Studies (ISPI) under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus was created by presidential order, in 1996-97. ISPI is the most official scientific centre in the field of social and political studies that provides the President’s Administration and other state organs with scientific analytical information. ISPI conducts socio-political studies ordered by the state bureaucracy for the purposes of different state programs. The main directions of its activity, as described in the Sociological Encyclopedia (2003) are: analysis of socio-political processes in Belarus; defining the prerequisites for socio-political stability and mobilizing informational resources for strengthening the political system of Belarus; studying the preservation of historical-cultural heritage and developing the patriotic basis of Belarusian statehood; defining the conditions for the unification of Belarus and Russia, for intensification of the processes of collaboration within the CIS and strengthening the national security of the Republic of Belarus.
[35] Important directions in ISPI scientific studies are social politics, problems and prospects of education, health care, social security of the old and the poor, and development of youth policy. ISPI conducts sociological monitoring of the socio-political situation in the country, oriented towards the study of the level of social and economic risks for different groups of population. ISPI also conducts surveys to measure the dynamics of public opinion regarding the socioeconomic and political development of the country. The research findings are often disseminated via national conferences, political workshops, roundtables, and radio and TV programs. Additionally, ISPI publishes its own products and distribute them to local government and other officials.
[36] ISPI has established connections and has signed agreements on scientific cooperation with Belarusian and foreign partners (for example, with the BSUBSU Department of Political Science and Department of Sociology), with the Institute of National Security of the Belarus Republic, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, the Russian private `Polity´ Foundation (run by Viacheslav Nikonov), the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, and similar institutes in Ukraine and Lithuania.
[37] Among the private institutions the best known are two: IISEPS, run by Oleg Manaev and NOVAK Axiometrical Research Laboratory, run by Andrej Vardomackij.
[38] The Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) used to be among the Belarusian non-state organizations conducting sociological surveys best known abroad. It was created in 1992 by a group of scholars, politicians, journalists and businessmen headed by sociologist Oleg Manaev. This institute existed until autumn 2005 (it was closed for political reasons) and then was re-registered in Vilnius (however, it lost the legal right to conduct research in Belarus without the special permission that is required of foreign organizations). The major aim of this Institute was to promote the values of democracy and market economy, contribute to the creation of civil society in Belarus through the study of socioeconomic and political processes, and the influence of public opinion on political processes. The main activities included studies in the fields of sociology, economics and political science; informational publishing; conferences and workshops; professional training; and socioeconomic and political consulting. IISEPS was funded mainly through grants of foreign and international funds and organisations (mainly from the US and the EU).
[39] IISEPS’s staff included a small number researchers and experts. However, they developed a number of projects on, for example, the role of mass media in the democratization of a society, the development of the Belarusian nation in transition from totalitarianism to democracy, the development of a new labor movement, leadership, market stereotypes in transitional society, improvement of non-governmental TV programming, the role of youth in the creation of a civil society, the development of informational-analytical infrastructure for private enterprise, etc. While conducting research activity, IISEPS’s staff also paid attention to methodology issues: thus, they improved the sample for pilot and national surveys (they did interviews in 50 different towns and cities and involved at least 1500 respondents in each survey), created new forms of interviews with public opinion leaders and experts; intensively used content-analysis of media; and documentary analysis of programs of political parties, NGOs, and governmental bodies.
[40] IISEPS always organized scientific conferences and regional workshops to present their findings to the public as this part of their funding obligations. Between August 1996 and 2004, IISEPS published a quarterly informational-analytical bulletin, “IISEPS News”, where the main research results and press releases were presented. This bulletin was distributed to the hundred most influential leaders of Belarus, editors of the biggest mass media, embassies and international representatives in Belarus.
[41] IISEPS collaborated with a number of international and foreign organisations and this helped this NGO survive for several years.
[42] NOVAK Axiometrical Research Laboratory is a private research enterprise specializing in market research, public opinion polls, and consulting. The firm was established in 1992 under the leadership of Dr. Andrej Vardomackij. The name of the enterprise – a combination of the words – NEW (in Russian – NOVY) and Axiometrics – reflects the primary scientific orientation of this firm – values and behavior study. The laboratory builds its financial basis on private orders. NOVAK serves different kinds of clients – from international business executives to local entrepreneurs. The firm uses both quantitative methods (national surveys and expert interviews) and qualitative (focus-groups, content analysis, special methods for ratings TV programs and newspaper publications). NOVAK conducts monthly monitoring (national omnibus survey) on marketing issues, mass media and public opinion.
[43] The firm handles the research cycle from the very beginning (questionnaire design, sampling model) to the final (tables, graphs and explanation of findings). The firm employs well-trained staff and has a network of interviewers. It is a successfully functioning organization.
[44] Some private sociological firms were started to serve the growing sociological, political, and marketing needs of Belarusian society in the early 1990s. Although they were not few in number, it was difficult to count them: sometimes they disappeared a few months after startup. It is worth mentioning that by now a good number of professionally working sociologists in the private market and public opinion-oriented firms are Belarusian State University graduates.
[45] Actually, as Belarusian sociology was subordinated to Moscow until 1991, it had always been more practically oriented rather than theory oriented. All the major theories were being developed at the Center, while the Soviet provinces, including Belarus, only collected data to confirm these theories. The practical orientation of Belarusian sociology has become even clearer after 1991, when almost all the social sciences squarely faced the new market demands and empirical research. This shift has several dimensions: development of special sociological theories, growth of applied surveys upon request, and loss of previous international connections.
[46] Sociological research after 1991 primarily stressed social problems inherent in Belarusian society: employment and unemployment, balance of economic and social spheres during the transition to the market, growth of social inequality, conflict between previous and present-day value orientations of different groups in society, and so on. Instead of placing these problems within any theoretical paradigm to replace the previously dominant (Marxist) paradigm, Belarusian sociologists have tried to analyze them at the level of middle-range, or special sociological theories. At the beginning, it was sufficient to perform research. This new approach fit the conditions of market transition quite well. In accordance with this approach, traditional sociological theories were revised, and new sociological theories were constructed.
[47] In the Belarusian context, special sociological theories are considered to be middle-range theories capable of explaining the functioning and development of social phenomena and social processes within the framework of social institutions and social systems. Each of these theories has its own research object, its own approach to the explanation and/or interpretation of social-economic or social-cultural relations and processes. In actual fact, leading sociologists in Belarus have constructed special theories in order to provide a theoretical framework for an analysis of empirical data (Sokolova, 1999; Babosov, 2006).
[48] The new post-Soviet reality made the old Soviet sociological theories and paradigms (such as the paradigm of the social structure of Soviet society, the theory of the convergence of nations into the new supra-national community, and so on) inapplicable. For this reason newly constructed special theories were much less abstract and more down-to-earth; they incorporated social and economic assumptions previously relevant only to Western sociological theories (concepts of social inequality, social anomy, possibility of economic crises and unemployment, etc.).
[49] Thus, within the framework of Economic Sociology, the growth of unemployment forced sociologists to study new trends in the labor market and to define social mechanisms suitable for state regulation of market activities. In today’s Belarus, any sociological theories for market activities have to assume strong state interference in the national economy (Sokolova, 2000; Babosov, 2004). Another special theory, Sociology of Labor, is focused on labor organizing, labor motivation, and the disparity in wage rates, on the one hand, and standard of living and quality of life, on the other (Sokolova, 2002; Yevelkin, 2004).
[50] As the Soviet stratification theory fell by the side, a new version of Social Stratification Theory under market conditions was postulated for Belarus. Its major points include the growth of social inequality and of the number of those below the official poverty line, the increasing gap between the top and the bottom of society, and quantitative changes between the different groups of intelligentsia. Society became sharply divided into strata based not only on income and standard of living, but also on level of education and place of living (Babosov, 2002).
[51] Of all the theories well developed during the Soviet period, only Rural Sociology survived in the 1990s. Actually, a study of post-Soviet Belarusian villages became relevant to help find ways for the government to thwart social and cultural degradation in the post-1991 countryside (Likhachev, 2005; Smirnova, 2005).
[52] One of the oldest sociological theories, Sociology of Youth, became even more relevant in contemporary Belarus than it was during the Soviet period. Major points of this theory include: changes in youth values, value conflicts between societal needs and youth demands, growth of youth consumerism, vocational adaptation, and the like. Sociologists focus on the political activity of youth in an attempt to discover trends, just as Soviet authors did in the 1970s (Danilov, 1997; Manayev, 1999).
[53] A totally new sphere of empirical research, Sociology of Politics, was born out of practical post-Soviet activities, in the first place, parliamentary, presidential, and local elections. Many sociologists performed traditional public opinion surveys and measured candidates’ political ranking, support for political parties, trust in institutions (Vardomatsky, 1995), while others focused on trust in particular social institutions (Novikova, 2001; Kotlyarov, 2004), local elites (Grishchenko, 2004), civil society (Manayev, 2000), mass behavior mechanisms (Rubanov, 2000), or political research methodology (Rotman, 1997; Yevelkin, 2002).
[54] Currently in Belarus the term commercialization means that sociologists run surveys and even theoretical studies solely in response to political orders or commercial orders. In accordance with this tendency, sociologists are, in a sense, ready for anything for pay. Therefore, they are financially biased – always select better paying clients. For this reason sociology neglects many important topics, while other topics are always in the center of attention (especially, elections). As many clients order pure market or marketing research, sociologists tend to restrict their analysis to simple methods: frequency distribution or significance analysis. In cases when the state orders some surveys, a clear political bias (similar to what existed in Soviet days) is also in evidence: findings are geared to the needs of the state bureaucracy or political leaders. More serious and complex analysis is rare: usually authors engage in it only for publication in the West.
[55] In general, like elsewhere, the quantitative approach prevails in Belarus (Yevelkin, 2002). However, for all special sociological theories qualitative and quantitative methods are typically combined for the purposes of statistical data analysis and official documents. In media research, traditional analysis is combined with content analysis. As for traditional public opinion polls, questionnaires are often combined with non-structural and semi-structural interviews.
[56] Naturally, cooperation is key for social scientists involved in truly professional research. The most experienced social scholars in Belarus have international contacts and do their best to stay well informed on professional issues in their fields. They belong to international professional associations and therefore are in a position to apply for foreign grants, request financial support, and participate in conferences abroad. They enjoy a good international reputation. These scholars understand the value of cooperating with colleagues from Western countries with a view to ensuring data compatibility, comparing their own findings and results, etc. However, the number of such scholars is low: around 5% of all sociologists are able do this on a regular basis (not counting official trips by heads of departments and institutions, who, for all practical purposes, are not involved in research).
[57] The main prerequisites for participation in international projects are as follows: good command of foreign languages, involvement in international networking, good professional reputation (publications abroad, participation in conferences abroad), and an open mind (openness to new ideas, acceptance of new methods, etc.). Also necessary, needless to say, is a good relationship with one’s department head or institute director since he is empowered to approve or reject participation (to allow trips abroad), even if all the money comes from outside (this looks like an out-of-date tradition, but it still exists).
[58] The EU enlargement has dual impact on the international research for Belarusian scholars: on the one hand, it brought more financial possibilities, on the other – the necessity to apply for visa to almost all the neighbor countries (Poland, Hungary, Slovak and Czech republics). It takes more time for simple scientific contacts between collaborators (and more money). A significant negative impact is “brain drain”: annually Belarus is loosing approximately 5 doctors of science, 30 PhD and 35 scholars without degree. Only a quarter of all scholars were invited and sponsored by foreign partners, two thirds participated in the conferences without support from abroad, 8% received working contracts, and the rest were invited by the non-government organizations. Although, according to Mikhail Artyukhin (2005), only a few social scholars emigrated, the negative impact makes this problem really sharp.
[59] Young researchers can participate in international projects only if their supervisors are personally involved in such research, or if their universities have exchange programs with non-Belarusian universities. The only other opportunity is for young scholars to be part of the TEMPUS project, where participation on a regular basis goes without saying. Otherwise there is no chance for young scholars to do so.
[60] Textbooks and teaching aids have been published for the main courses. Many of the lecture courses are available to students in electronic form. Political science students make wide use of American, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian and French textbooks.
[61] Contemporary sociological publications show that Belarusian scholars have a good grasp of the most critical issues of their society and post-communist region as a whole; yet major global themes traditional for sociology are of little interest to Belarusian scholars. Current publications reveal the following directions and fields:
[62] Overall, while sociological studies seem to be broad in scope, they involve primarily empirical research, while theoretical issues (such as post-Soviet transformation) are rarely analyzed. At the same time, scholars at educational institutions focus on publishing new textbooks (for basic sociological courses) and dictionaries. Both educational and academic centers stress post-Soviet transition theory with societal needs in mind.
[63] All the changes had contradictory effects on sociology: on the one hand, private sociological firms were established, and commercial research became predominant in the empirical field, on the other, the lack of state financing created difficulties for the further development of sociological education and basic theoretical research. Also, live international contacts became very difficult for Belarusian sociologists. As the standard of living in contemporary Belarus is still rather modest - the average salary is about $250 per month - it is unrealistic to require Belarusian sociologists to pay fees for membership in international sociological organizations, participation in international congresses, and the like. Only those who are in the private sector are in a position to do that; however, most of them have no interest at all in this kind of activity: such sociologists are a different kind of professional who does not participate in theoretical conferences, international congresses, etc.
[64] Hence, the political and professional isolation of Belarusian sociology is growing. Currently, special permission from the authorities is needed even for making contacts with colleagues from Russia (if the scholars are employed at state institutions) and access to special funds is required for any trip abroad. However, this does not mean that sociological development in Belarus has ended – on the contrary, Belarusian sociologists do their best to use the Internet, personal contacts and other possibilities for international communication, and to still contribute to the development of world sociology.
[65] One of the new features of sociological development is the growing number of sociologists. Many of them are members of the Belarusian Sociological Association (BSA). BSA was established in 1991 on the basis of the former branch of the SSA. Currently, almost two hundred sociologists participate in BSA activities. However, so far, BSA has not been a collective member of any international sociological body. That is why some Belarusian sociologists chose to join International Sociological Association (ISA), International Institute of Sociology (IIS), and other international sociological organizations as individual members.
[66] A new feature is the international cooperation of Belarusian sociologists: they participate in research jointly funded by two countries (for example, Belarus and Russia), and the results make possible comparative analysis of data. Also, they participate in some European surveys, and Belarusian developments can be analyzed on a European scale. Thus, Belarus is a participant in European Values Study (EVS), and scholars from Belarus have access to this database and contribute to analysis in this sphere (Titarenko, 2004). Also, some scholars participate in INTAS projects that make it possible to present on an international level Belarusian data on several important issues (Rotman e.a. 2003).
[67] Sociologists have low visibility in contemporary Belarus. Actually, only those from state-owned institutions are visible. The official social role prescribed for Belarusian sociology is to serve the government’s social policy, and the authorities expect empirical data either to confirm the correctness of their past political decisions or to provide an empirical basis for new ones. This message was clearly understood by some state and private firms: they are monitoring society for governmental needs, including elections. It is difficult for sociologists to play any independent public role; however, they can serve as advisers and PR people for political parties, NGOs, etc. On the other hand, some private firms once collected information for non-Belarusian organizations (as long as that was possible) in accordance with grant conditions or direct orders. Currently, the most important types of empirical research can be performed only if one holds a license; hence, non-Belarusian firms are not allowed to function in Belarus, and only a few of the local firms are in a position to obtain such a license (for example, only a handful of firms performed exit polls during the presidential elections in March 2006). Thus, ECOOM firm showed their exit poll results on TV during election day, and pre-election data were published in the media by the Institute of Sociology, ISPI, and the BSU Center for Sociological and Political Research, while private firms were not allowed to participate in such activities in 2006.
[68] The media had limited influence on the political process, as the opposition media were weak. Increasingly in the 2000s, social and political discussions were the province of Russian (or other non-Belarusian) media.
[69] Going back to the 1990s, it is worth mentioning that in Belarus, as in other post-Soviet states, the problem of the new elite had been broadly discussed among the politicians, sociologists, and the public. The two major actors were (1) the middle-range or even low-range nomenclature elite (primarily from the oblast regions), and (2) the political opposition, represented by some former dissidents (dissidents in a cultural rather than a political sense, i.e., the proponents of Belarusian as the only state language) and the new leaders of numerous political parties. Lively discussions took place around each presidential candidate in 1994, 2001, and 2006. However, in the mid-1990s, when the new elite had its chance to act openly and enjoyed social support, its leaders proved to be unsuccessful as managers and consequently squandered their influence. After some of them emigrated, the new nomenclature elite became dominant.
[70] In the early 1990s, debates on inter-ethnic relations were also widespread. The major issue was methodological: whether or not to include all ethnic groups in the concept, people of Belarus, or to use the ethnic concept Belarusian people instead. After 1996, all debates on ethnic issues came to an end, and the civic concept became predominant.
[71] Actually a purely academic debate among sociologists failed to take place. That does not mean there was nothing to discuss. Rather, that means there was little public interest in these issues, and no appropriate empirical data for the professionals to confirm or disprove possible views and positions on the subject.
[72] In the mid-2000s an academic debate on methodology of sociological research started again (Shavel, 2005b), as the new generation of sociologists did not want to follow the classical and post-classical (modern) traditions, rejected Marxist methodology, and preferred eclectic (or latent positivist) approach to either the processes of collecting data or explanation. On the other hand, among the old generation of sociologists, a Soviet-style approach to connect and even converge sociology and ideology, interpret sociological method as integration of science and ideology, was revived (Levko, 2005), however, en masse Belarusian sociologists rejected this approach.
[73] Before 1991, there were no sociological journals in Belarus at all. In the 1990s, sociologists published in some integrated academic and university journals for social scientists (Vesti Akademii nauk [Annals of the Academy of Sciences], Vestnik BGU. Ser. 3 [BSU Bulletin. Series 3], the Vestnik Ekonomicheskogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Economic University]), or in the popular magazines. In 1997 the first specialized journal, Sotsiologiya [Sociology], was founded at the Belarusian State University. It is published quarterly and brings together sociologists from the whole country. Additionally, some universities have their own publications in the field of sociology (annual, bi-annual) to serve educational needs.
[74] Since 1991, there have been many substantial changes in the system of higher education in Belarus, including sociological education. Naturally, these reforms included the publishing of new textbooks for students in general sociology and special sociological fields (Sokolova, 2000, Sokolova, 2002, Ukrainets, 2001, Babosov, 2001, Babosov, 2002; Yelsukov, 2005). Also, some classical and present-day sociological texts were translated and published to serve as readings (Sokolova and Titarenko, 2006).
[75] The situation with databases is not easy. There is no Belarusian sociological database combining all data and available to scholars. As private interests prevail, each sociological institute has its own database serving its own needs. In 1994, the IISEPS organized a Centre of Documentation where more than 50 thousands materials and documents were collected and systematised. In 1995 the Centre gained the status of the first non-governmental research archive in Belarus. However, as IISEPS was shut down, this Centre is no longer accessible to the Belarusian public.
[76] This is probably the major organizational issue for contemporary sociology in Belarus – its isolation due to the language barrier and its low involvement in sociological activities on a global level. First of all, only a few sociologists are members of International Sociological Association (ISA) or other international sociological organizations. For this reason, world sociology usually acquires information on Belarus from non-Belarusian scholars. Second, most middle-aged sociologists in Belarus have no command of foreign languages and find it difficult to participate in world congresses, meetings, etc. What is more, they are not active even in Russia or Ukraine conferences, as they do not enjoy adequate financial support.
[77] However, some publications in non-Belarusian books and journals can shed light on sociology in Belarus and Belarusian society itself (Sokolova, 1999, Titarenko, 2001, Titarenko, 2002, Grishchenko, 2005). Some young Belarusian sociologists who have emigrated for one or another reason, are publishing abroad quite extensively (Korosteleva e.a. 2002, Selitski, 2005), although they often combine sociological analysis with political descriptions of contemporary Belarus.
[78] The professional community of sociologists in Belarus fits the contemporary needs of Belarusian society and manages somehow to cope with the challenges of globalization. However, this community is not very visible on the surface of world sociology and needs much more financial aid to continue its institutionalization (establishing more professional journals, opening a faculty of sociology, providing sociologists more public exposure, and the like). The situation is therefore rather ambiguous: on the surface everything seems fine, and sociology continues its development step by step; but below the surface, sociology is still underdeveloped and cannot be substantially improved without new blood, new concepts and practical reorganization.
[79] The path of future development for Belarusian sociology is not clear. There are at least three possible scenarios. First, it can become more influenced by Russian sociology, if the political convergence of Belarus and Russia continues. In such a case, all the features of sociology in Russia will apply to Belarus.
[80] Second, it can experience more Western influence if political relations between the above-mentioned two countries turn less close. In this case Western paradigms may gain support among local scholars, Western-style curricula will be introduced, as well as textbooks, databases, etc. Sociology might incorporate Western standards, rules, ethos, etc.
[81] Third, Belarusian sociology may remain in its current in-between state, characterized by a relatively poor level of financing for research, teaching, developing new sociological firms, etc.
[82] International cooperation will probably deepen under the first or second scenarios, although even these scenarios cannot make Belarusian sociologists the best or even considered among the best. In any case, the more cooperation, the better the future of Belarusian sociologists: they can learn more about current methodology and paradigms, publish in Western journals, participate in joint projects and hence raise their professional level to global standards.
