Summary

Author describes Minsk, the capital of Belarus, imagined and presented in the three-part novel by Sergiusz Piasecki, the so-called Minsk trilogy. The city remained the borderland center of part of the historical area called the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, inhabited by representatives of many ethnic groups – primarily Belarusians, Poles, Jews and Russians as well. The publications on the shape of the borderland metropolis cited in the work indicate a great change in the architecture and urban outlook of Minsk in the 20th century. Following the traces pointing to the former urban layout, toponymy, appearance and atmosphere of the city is crucial to understanding how profound social and political changes we are dealing with. The subjectivity of society, nation/nations is manifested, among others, through relationships with the historical configuration of the inhabited territory, its names and its key objects. The subjectivity of Minsk, destroyed by the Soviet system, was and still is of great importance for understanding the power of destruction of the totalitarian system. Piasecki warned against this in his colorful novels. Therefore, reflection on the shape of the city based on a fragments of Piasecki’s work holds a great importance in the process of searching answers to questions about the prospect of national and cultural revival of contemporary Belarus.