The Union State: Cultural Unity, Diversity and Shared Historical Memory

This article presents a brief comparative analyses of the socio-political structure and economic development models in Russia and Belarus at the present stage; provides an overview of the main historical epochs within which the Russian and Belarusian “statehood” was formed. The term “statehood” refers, first of all, to an internal ability of the ethno-national community (which at different times took different forms of national unions — Kievan Rus, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Moscow, Rzeczpospolita, the Russian Empire, USSR) for long-term independent development. The article concluded that it is necessary to develop a single historical and cultural standard of the Union State by the professional community of historians of the two countries.