On September 6–7, 2022, the International Scientific Conference «The Peasantry in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire (1569–1917)» was held at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The conference was organized by the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the «Historical Memory» Foundation.

Of great interest were the reports announced at the plenary session, which were aimed at comprehending the conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of the peasant question in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. Representatives of the scientific circles of Belarus and Russia presented their vision of reforms in the field of agriculture in Belarus in the 16th -18th centuries; the influence of the ideas of the Physiocrats on the implementation of these reforms; revealed the place of the peasantry of the Commonwealth in the mythology and ideology of Polish «Sarmatism»; highlighted the topical problems of studying the peasantry of Belarus in the second half of the 18th century; showed the historiographic image and source realities of studying the Krichev uprising of 1743–1744. At the plenary session, the conceptual statements were made about the features and consequences of the abolition of the serfdom in Belarus and the role of the peasant factor in the history of the Russian Empire.

In the course of the further work of the conference, a comprehensive and fruitful discussion was conducted within the framework of the following thematic areas: «Peasants, landlords and imperial power in the first half of the 19th century», «Reforms and rebellion: the peasant question in the era of Alexander II», «The shadow side of the peasant everyday life (the second half of the 19th – early 20th century)», «From mass education to mass politics: the peasantry on the threshold of a new world».

During the conference, the presentations of the latest publications were held, which reflect some important aspects of the history of the peasantry. The documentary publication «Journals of the Committee of the Western Provinces» (St. Petersburg, 2017–2021) was presented by its compilers, employees of the Russian State Historical Archive D. N. Shilov, B. N. Milovidov. There was also a presentation of the book by the director of the «Historical Memory» Foundation A. R. Dyukov «Letters from under the gallows of Konstantin Kalinovsky, forged and real» (Moscow, 2022).

During the scientific forum, an exchange of views took place on a number of topical issues in the field of the history of the peasantry. The presented reports are planned to be published in the collection of conference materials.