The article addresses poetic monologues in the works of the Belarusian poet Anatoly Sys, one of the founders and creative leader of the legendary literary group “Tutejšyja” (‘Locals’) (1986-1989). The poet turned to poetic monologue at different periods of his work, being especially active in the second half of the 1980s, during Gorbachev’s perestroika and the new wave of Belarusian national revival. Exhibiting outstanding acting abilities, Anatolʹ Sys recited his poetic monologues at parties and illegal rallies, hiding national revival and anti-Communist ideas relevant for his time behind the guise of famous historical figures – Apanas Filipovič, Zmicier Žylunovič, Alesʹ Harun, Karusʹ Kahaniec and others. In addition to their journalistic sharpness, A. Sys’s best poetic monologues are of a high artistic quality with a universal philosophical content, which has allowed them to pass beyond time and become a part of the golden fund of 20th-century Belarusian poetry (Monologue of a “Local”, Monologue of Apanas Filipovič, Monologue of an Unfrocked Priest, Monologue of an Apostate, Monologue of Karusʹ Kahaniec).

This article describes the results of the pilot stage of qualitative fi eld research on Russian social memory in the second half of the 1980s. The aim of the research was to reveal what is the image of perestroika preserved in today’s social memory of those Russians who remember the events of those years. The main objective of the pilot stage was the identifi cation of the lexicon of terms and the set of concepts used to verbalize the memories of the perestroika period, as well as the caesuras and temporal characteristics related to the memory of this time. The results are outlined in the main topics, terms and concepts that pop up in conversations with respondents.