Dr. Vitali Byl

Title of current research project: "Race and Freedom: Africans in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on the eve of Modernity"

Early modern proto-globalization significantly facilitated the movement of people across continents, including human trafficking for forced labor, and forged new power structures in which social and racial differences were often interwoven. This interplay shaped the modern concept of race and propagated racist ideologies beyond the principal regions of interaction. The project will explore interracial encounters and their outcomes in pre-modern Europe, with a particular focus on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—a society that functioned as a hinterland of the Atlantic economy while also engaging with the Eurasian steppe and the Middle East.

The study aims to investigate how Polish-Lithuanian society navigated the influx of Western racial ideas and the racialized concept of freedom, as well as its practical implementation towards both newcomers and locals of African descent. It analyzes the degree to which the society’s experiences of (un)freedom and diversity, along with foreign ideas about race and slavery, influenced its internal discourse, worldview, and practices towards Africans both domestically and abroad. The project underscores how a landlocked agrarian society like Poland-Lithuania was woven into the global economy through forced labor, long-distance migration, human trafficking, and the exchange of ideas.

2016–2018                 
PhD student in IRTG 1540 "Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region," University of Greifswald, Germany

PhD project "Witchcraft in the cultural borderland: witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–18th centuries" (defended 19.04.2021)

2007–2012                   
Belarusian State University, History Department (Minsk, Belarus)

Speciality: history

Received degree: Specialist (recognized as equal to MA in Germany)

Academic Monograph

• Forthcoming. Enchanted borderlands. Witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–18th centuries.

Academic Papers

• 2021. "The other witch: ethnic minorities and witchcraft accusations in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania." In New Europe College Yearbook. Pontica Magna Program 2018–2019, edited by Irina Vainovski-Mihai, 67–94. Bucharest: New Europe College.
• 2018. "'U toj ža čas nastalі takіja strachі...' Іŭdzejska-chryscіjanskіja adnosіny ŭ kantėksce čaraŭnіckіch pracėsaŭ u VKL." ['At the same time, such fears have come ...' The Jewish-Christian relations in the context of witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania]. In Belaruskі hіstaryčny časopіs 9: 15–21.
• 2016. "Metamarfozy vobraza Symona Budnaga ŭ belaruskіm hіstaryčnym naratyve." [Metamorphosis of Symon Budny’s image in Belarusian historical narrative]. In Mіkalaj Radzіvіl Čorny (1515–1565 gg.): palіtyk, dyplamat, mecėnat: zbornіk navukovych prac, edited by Z. L. Jackevіč, 187–195. Njasvіž: NGKMZ "Njasvіž."
• 2015. "'Mała Warszawka': pol'skі nacyjanal'ny ruch u Njasvіžy." ['Small Warsaw': Polish national movement in Niasvizh]. In Acta Anniversaria, vol. 1, edited by Ju. M. Bochan et al., 45–52. Njasvіž: NGKMZ "Njasvіž."
• 2014. "Abudžėnne zaštatnaha horada: zaradžėnne nacyjanal'nych ruchaŭ u Njasvіžy ŭ kancy XІX – pačatku XX st." [Awakening of a provincial town: the emergence of the national movements in Niasvizh in the late 19th – early 20th centuries]. In Pryvatnaŭlasnіckіja harady Vjalіkaga Knjastva Lіtoŭskaha: lës praz stahoddzі: zbornіk matėryjalaŭ mіžnarodnaj navukova-praktyčnaj kanferėncyі (Njasvіž, 23–24 krasavіka 2014 g.). Uklad.: Z.L. Jackevіč, edited by S. M. Klіmaŭ and A. U. Blіnec, 215–224. Mіnsk: A.M. Januškevіč.
• 2014. "Osobennosti obraza poslednich nesvižskich Radzivillov v pamjati detej ich rabotnikov." [Features of the image of the last Radziwills of Niasvizh line in the memory of their laborers' children]. In Historia mówiona w świetle nauk humanistycznych i społecznych, edited by Stanisława Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska, Joanna Szadura, and Mirosław Szumiło, 197–209. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.
• 2012. "Pazіcyja pravaslaŭnaj carkvy Rėčy Paspalіtaj adnosna paljavannja na vjadz'marak." [The position of the Orthodox Church of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth towards witch-hunt]. In Sbornik rabot 69-oj Naučnoj konferencii studentov i aspirantov Belorusskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta 14–17 maja 2012 g., Minsk. V 3 častjach. Čast' ІІ. Minsk.
• 2012. "Transfarmacyja kancėpcyі vjadz'marskaga šabašu ŭ svjadomascі nasel'nіctva Vjalіkaga knjastva Lіtoŭskaga." [The transformation of the witch Sabbath concept in the minds of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania]. In Evropa-2011: global'noe i lokal'noe: sbornik naučnych trudov, edited by G. Ja. Minenkov et al. Vil'njus: EGU.
• 2011. "Jurydyčny bok vedaŭskіch pracėsaŭ u Vjalіkіm Knjastve Lіtoŭskіm u XVI–XVIII stst." [The legal side of witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–18th centuries]. In Rėcha mіnuŭščyny: zbornіk navukovych artykulaŭ, edited by A. S. Gorny et al. Hrodna: HrDU іmja Ja. Kupaly.
• 2011. "Asablіvascі vedaŭskіch pracėsaŭ na zemljach VKL u XVI–XVIII stst." [The features of witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–18th centuries]. In Evropa-2010: global'noe i lokal'noe: sbornik naučnych trudov, edited by G. Ja. Minenkov et al. Vil'njus: EHU.

Academic Translations

• Dzmіtryj Skvarčėŭskі, Vіtal' Byl'. "Zapіsy z bernardzіnskaga archіva 1764 g. jak ėtnagrafіčnaja krynіca." [The records of 1764 from the Bernardine archive as an ethnographic source]. In Belaruskі fal'klor: matėryjaly і dasledavannі. Zbornіk navukovych prac. Issue 8, edited by T. Valodzіna: 212–225. Mіnsk: Belaruskaja navuka 2021. [Translation from old Polish into Belarusian, introduction and comments].
• Byl', Vіtal'. "Francužanka pry pruskіm dvary. Uspamіny knjahіnі Radzіvіl z rodu Kastėljan, 1843–1873 hh." [French at the Prussian court. Memoirs of Princess Radziwill née Castellane, 1843–1873]. In Acta Anniversaria, vol. 2, edited by Z. L. Jackevіč and Ju.M. Bochan, 208–236. Njasvіž, 2016. [translation from French into Belarusian, introduction and commentaries].

Academic Reviews

• 2018. "Review of Contesting Orthodoxy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft (Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic), eds. Louise Nyholm Kallestrup and Raisa M. Toivo." In Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 45(3).

Main Popular Non-Fiction Works

• 2017. Njasvіž. Palacava-parkavy ansambl'. [Niasvizh. Palace and park ensemble]. Mіnsk: A. A. Aljakseeŭ.

Main Popular Articles

• Быль В.А. "Нясвіжскі след Скарлет Ёхансан" [Niasvizh traces of Scarlett Johansson]. Наша Ніва. Open access
• Быль В.А. "Нясвіжскі рубеж Слуцкага паўстання" [Niasvizh front of Sluck Uprising]. Беларускі мультымэдыйны партал Open access
• Быль В.А. "Лэйзер з Нясвіжа: яўрэй Яго Вялікасці" [Lejzer from Niasvizh: His Majesty's Jew]. Краязнаўчая газета 28 (2015).
• Byl, Vitali. "Lot nad gniazdem radziwiłłowskiego orła." [One Flew Over the Radziwills Eagle's Nest]. Goniec Litewski 1 (2012): 18–19.
• Быль В.А. "Вядзьмарскія працэсы ў ВКЛ" [Witch trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania]. Наша Ніва 27 (2009). Open access

Documentaries

• Screenwriter: episodes for Край|BY project (2014, directed by Ihar Chyshchenia).
• Капыль – ціхі райцэнтр, які памятае вікінгаў [Kapyl - peaceful town that remembers Vikings]. 
• Тлустая кропка ў татарскіх наездах – Клецк! [Kleck - a full stop for Tatar raids]. 

Consultant

• Until the Last Step: Stories of Holocaust Resistance and Heroism in Belarus directed by Boris Maftsir, Israel, 2016.
• Нясвіжскі палац [Niasvizh palace] directed by Ihar Chyshchenia, Belarusfilm, 2015.