Worked as a builder in Svetlahorsk, then served in the army. From 1990 to January 1996 - Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus of the 12th convocation, coordinator of the opposition Belarusian Popular Front, secretary of the Commission on International Affairs of the and economic relations of the Supreme Soviet. One of the authors of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus. He was a member of the Constitutional Commission. In the period 1991-1995 - the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, the head of the Minsk city organization of the Belarusian Popular Front. Head of the Chair of the Belarusian history of the Middle Ages and early modern history at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences. Doctor in History, professor.