Ethnocultural Emancipation of the Belarusians on the Border of the Epochs and Cultures (Second Half of the XIX – Beginning of the XX Century)

The article deals with the analysis of the sociocultural changes in the Belarusian society in the second half of the XIX – beginning of the XX century, when Belarus stood at the crossroads of the different civilizations and cultures. The author pays special attention to the processes of the widening of literacy among the Belarusians, formation of the intellectual elites and premises of the ethnocultural emancipation of the Belarusians in the conditions when the society had just taken first steps from the traditional culture towards modernity. The special features that distinguish the development of the mentioned processes on the territory of Belarus were emphasized.