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| Etymology | |
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The name "Belarus" corresponds literally with the term "White Ruthenia" (White Rus'). There are several claims to where the origin of the name "White Rus' " came from.[20] An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had mostly been populated by early Christianized Slavs, as opposed to Black Ruthenia, which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts.[21] An alternate explanation for the name comments on the white clothing worn by the local Slavic population.[20][22] A third theory suggests that the old Ruthenian lands that were not conquered by the Tatars (i.e., Polatsk, Vitsiebsk and Mahilyow) had been referred to as "white". Other sources claim that before 1267, the land not conquered by the Mongols was considered "White Rus' ".[20] In 2008, historian Ales Bely defended his PhD thesis, Localization of the Choronym of White Rus' in the European Written and Map Sources of the 13th to mid-18th Centuries[23], which demonstrated that White Rus' originally referred to the area of the Novgorod Republic conquered by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1478; in terms of present-day geography, this translates to Eastern Belarus and areas acquired via the westward expansion of Muscovy during the Livonian War in the 17th century.
The names "Ruthenia" and "Rus' " are often conflated with Russia, their modern derivative, and thus White Ruthenia is often referred to as "White Russia". This misinterpretation has been supported by the Moscovite regents after the fall of Kievan Rus'. The Moskovite dukes, starting with Ivan IV, considered themselves to be the rightful successors of the Ruthenian grand duke dynasty, and their use of the name "Russia" as referring to all former Ruthenian (i.e., east Slavic) lands became a political weapon and a casus belli for claiming the west Ruthenian territories from Lithuania and Poland.[24] The name first appeared in German and Latin medieval literature; the chronicles of Jan of Czarnków mentions the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila and his mother at "Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto" in 1381.[25] The Latin term "Alba Russia" was used again by Pope Pius VI to establish a Jesuit society in 1783. His official Papal bull exclaimed "Approbo Societatem Jesu in Alba Russia degentem, approbo, approbo."[26] Historically, this territory was referred to in English as "White Ruthenia". The first known use of "White Russia" to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th century by Englishman Sir Jerome Horsey, who was known for his close contacts with the Russian Royal Court.[27] During the 17th century, Russian tsars used "White Rus"" to describe the lands captured from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[28]
Belarus was formally named "Belorussia" (Russian: Белоруссия; the latter part similar, but spelled and stressed differently from Россия, "Russia") in the days of the Russian Empire, and the Russian tsar was usually styled "Tsar of All the Russias", as "Russia" or the "Russian Empire" was formed by all the Russias – the Great, Little, and White. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the term White Russia caused some confusion as it was also the name of the military force that opposed the red Bolsheviks.[29] During the period of the Belorussian SSR, the term "Byelorussia" was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus under Polish control, "Byelorussia" became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno during the interwar period.[30]
The term "Belorussia" (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was only used officially until 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic decreed by law that the new independent republic should be called "Belarus" (Беларусь) in Russian in order to reflect the correct Belarusian language forms. The use of Byelorussian SSR and any abbreviations thereof were allowed from 1991 to 1993.[31] Conservative forces in the newly independent Belarus did not support the name change and opposed its inclusion in the 1991 draft of the Constitution of Belarus.[32]
Accordingly, the name "Belorussia" was replaced by "Belarus" in English[33] and to some extent in Russian (although the traditional name still persists in that language as well); likewise, the adjective "Belorussian" or "Byelorussian" was replaced by "Belarusian" in English (though Russian has not developed a new adjective). "Belarusian" is closer to the original Russian term of "bielaruski".[33] Belarusian intelligentsia in the Stalin era attempted to change the name from "Belorussia" to a form of "Krivia" because of the supposed connection with Russia.[34] Some nationalists also object to the name for the same reason.[35][36] However, several popular newspapers published locally still retain the old name of the country in Russian in their names, for example Komsomolskaya Pravda v Byelorussii, which is the localized publication of a popular Russian tabloid. Also, those who wish for Belarus to be reunited with Russia continue to use "Belorussia".[36] Officially, the full name of the country is "Republic of Belarus" (Рэспубліка Беларусь, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus" listen (help·info)).[31][37]
[edit] Tags:Russian,By,Russia,Poland,Lithuania,Grand Duchy Of Lithuania,Russian Empire,White Ruthenia,Ruthenian,Black Ruthenia,Tatars,Novgorod Republic,Muscovy,Livonian War,White Russia,Casus Belli,German,Latin,Medieval Literature,Jan Of Czarnków,Jogaila,Papal Bull,Jerome Horsey,Tsars,Rus,Great,Little,White,Bolshevik Revolution,Slavic,Kievan Rus',Kiev,Novgorod, | |
| Prior to First World War | |
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Both Homo erectus and Neanderthal remains have been found in the region. From 5,000 to 2,000 BCE, Bandkerimik cultures predominated. In addition, remains for the Dnieper-Donets culture were found in Belarus and parts of Ukraine.[38] Cimmerians and other pastoralists roamed through the area by 1,000 BCE, and by 500 BCE, Slavs had taken up residence in the area, which was circumscribed by the Scythians who roamed its outskirts. Various Asiatic barbarian by the Huns and Avars swept through c. 400–600 CE, but were unable to dislodge the Slavic presence.[39]
Stamp with the Cross of St. Euphrasyne from 1992
The region that is now Belarus was first settled by Slavic tribes in the 6th century. They gradually came into contact with the Varangians, bands of Scandinavian warriors and traders.[40] Though defeated and briefly exiled by the local population, the Varangians were later asked to return[40] and helped to form a polity—commonly referred to as the Kievan Rus'—in exchange for tribute. The state of Kievan Rus' originated in 862 in the vicinity of either Kiev[41] or the present-day city of Novgorod.[41]
Upon the death of Kievan Rus' ruler Yaroslav I the Wise, the state split into independent principalities.[42] These Ruthenian principalities were badly affected by a Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and many were later incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[43] Of the principalities held by the Duchy, nine were settled by ancestors of the Belarusian people.[44] During this time the Duchy was involved in several military campaigns, including fighting on the side of Poland against the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410; the joint victory allowed the Duchy to control the northwestern borderlands of Eastern Europe.[45]
Position of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Eastern Europe until 1434.
Map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Belarus was in its structure.
On 2 February 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were joined in a personal union through a marriage of their rulers.[46] This union set in motion the developments that eventually resulted in the formation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created in 1569. The Russians, led by Ivan III of Moscow, began military conquests in 1486 in an attempt to reunite the lands of Kievan Rus', specifically the territories of Belarus and Ukraine.[47]
The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the partitioning of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria.[48] During this time the territories of Belarus were acquired by the Russian Empire under the reign of Catherine II[49] and held until their occupation by German Empire during World War I.[50]
[edit] Tags:Eastern Europe,Ukraine,Polish–lithuanian Commonwealth,Homo Erectus,Neanderthal,Cimmerians,Scythians,Huns,Avars,Varangians,Scandinavian,Polity,Yaroslav I The Wise,Mongol Invasion, | |
| Since initial independence | |
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During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Belarus first declared independence under German occupation on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic. The Belarusian People's Republic was formed under German occupation, and it was one of the first attempts to westernize Belarus.[51][52] Immediately afterwards, the Polish–Soviet War ignited, and Belarus found itself torn between resurgent Poland and Soviet Russia. A part of Belarus under Russian rule emerged as the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919. Soon thereafter it merged to form the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The contested lands were divided between Poland and the Soviet Union after the war ended in 1921, and the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922.[51][53] The western part of modern Belarus remained part of Poland.[54][55][55]
In the 1920s, agricultural reforms that culminated in the Belarusian phase of Soviet collectivization was set in motion. In the 1930s, the implementation of the Soviet five-year plans for the national economy led to rapid industrialization.
The Brest Fortress to the War Memorial
Soviet partisan fighters behind German front lines in Belarus in 1943
In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Poland, marking the beginning of World War II. Much of northeastern Poland, which had been part of the country since the Peace of Riga two decades earlier, was annexed to the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, and now constitutes West Belarus.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The Soviet-controlled Belarusian People Council officially took control of the territories, whose populations were predominantly ethnic Belarusians, on 28 October 1939 in Białystok.[14]
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The Brest Fortress, which had been annexed in 1939, was subjected to one of the most destructive onslaughts and its notable defense in 1941 was memorialized as an act of heroism in countering German aggression. Statistically, BSSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II and remained in Nazi hands until 1944. During that time, Germany destroyed 209 out of 290 cities in the republic, 85% of the republic's industry, and more than one million buildings.[15] Casualties were estimated to be between two and three million (about a quarter to one-third of the total population), while the Jewish population of Belarus was devastated during the Holocaust and never recovered.[15][56] The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971.[56]
After the war, Belarus was among the 51 founding countries of the United Nations Charter and as such it was allowed an additional vote at the UN, on top of the Soviet Union's vote. Vigorous postwar reconstruction promptly followed the end of the war and Belorussian SSR became a major center of manufacturing in western USSR, creating jobs and attracting ethnic Russians.[57] The borders of Belorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn and became known as the Curzon Line.[58]
Map of the Belorussian SSR, 1940
Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Belorussian SSR from Western influences.[56] This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Belorussian SSR government. The official use of the Belarusian language and other cultural aspects were limited by Moscow. After Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev continued his predecessor's cultural hegemony program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian, the faster we shall build communism."[56]
In 1986, the Belorussian SSR was significantly exposed to nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in neighboring Ukrainian SSR.[59]
In June 1988, archaeologist and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF Zyanon Paznyak discovered mass graves of victims executed in 1937–41 at Kurapaty, near Minsk.[59] Some nationalists contend that this discovery is proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people, causing Belarusian nationalists to seek independence.[60]
In March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian SSR took place. Though the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front took only 10% of the seats, the populace was content with the selection of the delegates.[61] Belarus declared itself sovereign on 27 July 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991.[61] Stanislav Shushkevich, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on Tags:Independence,Minsk,Ukrainian Ssr, | |
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