Belarusian history from Lithuania to a hardcore ally of Russia
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Belarus is located in Eastern Europe and is a branch of the Eastern Slavs, with the same roots as the Russians and Ukrainians, and the common origin of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century. However, the Belarusian nation was formed after Kievan Rus' in the 12th century** under the onslaught of external pressure.
The Mongol Empire's Western Expedition and Its Impact on the Rus' States In the 12th century, Kievan Rus' was a number of principalities, and there were frequent wars between them, just like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China.
By the 13th century, the Mongol Empire had launched a westward conquest, and most of the Rus' principalities were brought under its sphere of influence.
Although most of Belarus did not escape the conquest of the Mongol cavalry, there are two small Rus' principalities in today's Belarus - Turv and Polotsk, which were spared from the rule of the Golden Horde due to the geographical constraints of forests, swamps and lakes, and the floods that prevented the Mongol armies from conquering them.
After the independence of two small states, Lithuania rose rapidly and successfully conquered the nearby small states of Rus', including present-day Belarus. At that time, the princes of Ruthenia were also willing to accept Lithuanian rule.
Ruthenia is a collective term for Belarusians or Ukrainians by Poles and Lithuanians, and in the eyes of Russians, Belarusians are Russians. The onslaught of the Mongol Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland led to the division of the Rus' people.
Among the Rus, who were not ruled by the Golden Horde, but by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Belarusians later became independent. Belarusians were under Lithuanian rule, and their language and religion were not interfered with.
Their language, an archaic language close to Church Slavic, was the official language of the Grand Duchy. In addition, their faith has not changed and remains Orthodox.
Therefore, in this sense, Belarusians are pure Rus'. They call themselves "Belarus". Despite the fact that "Russia" is the conventional name, "Belarus" also follows this convention.
If one day we change the official name of Russia to "Rus", then Belarus will naturally change to "Belarus" as well.
The partnership between Belarusians and Lithuanians has a long history. Since the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance in 1386, the Belarusians have joined the Polish-Lithuanian anti-Lithuanian campaign against the Teutonic Knights.
In 1410, a coalition of Poles, Lithuanians, and Ruthenians defeated the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald, shaking Europe. In addition, the Belarusians, also known as the Ruthenians, fought together with the Polish-Lithuanian Federation against enemies such as the Russians, Tatars, as well as the Turks.
Before the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation in the 18th century, the country was actually a state consisting of three parts: Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia. While there is no outside pressure for change, that doesn't mean Belarusians won't make changes on their own.
As early as the 16th century, a part of the Ruthenian aristocracy began to adopt the Polish language, and believed in Catholicism and even Calvinism.
In 1596, a group of clergy and Orthodox Christians met in Brest-Litovsk and founded the "Orthodox Catholic Church". The church retained the Byzantine rituals, but at the same time recognized the authority of the Holy See and remained essentially Catholic.
However, after the annexation of Belarus to Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Catholic Church was forced to belong to the Orthodox Church, and it was not restored until the 21st century.
In 1569 AD, Poland and Lithuania formed the Lublin Union in order to keep each other warm. This alliance was a victory for Poland, which became the dominant state of the Union and included southern Lithuania in its territory.
However, Belarus remained part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the end of the 16th century, the border between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania roughly corresponded to the border between present-day Belarus and Ukraine.
And the border between Belarus and Russia today, which was also determined at that time, is roughly equivalent to the border between Lithuania and Russia at that time.
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If Poland had not died out, perhaps there would not have been an independent Belarus today. However, the wheels of history have not stood still. In 1792, 1793, and 1795, Poland was divided three times, and Belarus was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the process.
This state of affairs continued until 1914. However, the outbreak of the October Revolution in 1917 gave Belarus new hope. The chaotic situation led to an intricate clash of forces, and it was at this time that the first Belarusian parliament was formed.
The following year, the parliament proclaimed itself a national republic and for the first time proposed the name "Belarus". However, the independence of Belarus was not recognized by either party.
Even more distressingly, post-independence Poland even advocated the restoration of its pre-partition borders in 1772. That is, they want Belarusians to return to their "homeland" - Poland.
This is a thought-provoking piece of history that tells us that national independence is not all smooth sailing, but requires countless challenges and struggles.
In 1920, Poland launched the Soviet-Polish War in order to achieve a certain goal. Finally, in 1921, the Treaty of Riga was signed, which determined the borders and divided Belarus between Poland and the Soviet Union (the Soviet Union was formed in 1922).
However, as a result, Belarus was divided into two parts, and even though in 1922, Belarus joined the Soviet Union as one of its four founding members, but its territory was still partially reduced.
After the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922, Belarus joined the USSR and the Belarusian language was re-used. However, due to the long history of the Belarusian language, many Belarusians need to learn the language in school.
The process of becoming an official language is not easy and requires a certain amount of effort.
In 1939, the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact triggered the territorial division of Poland. However, for Belarusians, this is not a tragedy, but a historical reunion.
Although after 1945 the Bialystok region was returned to Poland, after the outbreak of the Soviet-German war in 1941, Belarus remained the front line, suffering severe war devastation and being reduced to ruins.
In 1942, the German occupation authorities divided large tracts of Belarus into several parts, one of which belonged directly to Germany, while the other two belonged to the German "Imperial Territories" of Austland and Ukraine, which were essentially two controlled territories.
After 1945, Germany was defeated and surrendered, the state border of Belarus was redrawn, and in 1919 the "Curzon Line" was reactivated, demarcating the border between Belarus and Poland.
Although Poland was initially opposed to this, after receiving territorial compensation from Germany, accepted this reality. Belarus returned to the bosom of the Soviet Union. Theoretically, Belarus has independence from the USSR and is one of the founding members of the United Nations, as well as a member of several international organizations.
However, the reality is that Belarus is in dire need of recovery after the war and is extremely dependent on Russia. At the same time, Russia's political and cultural control over Belarus is quite tight, for example, until the 80s of the 20th century, there were no schools where Belarusian language was used to teach.
The independence of Belarus after the collapse of the Soviet Union was more the result of a change in the situation than an overdependence on Russia. Although Belarusians want reforms, they do not want a break with Russia.
This different attitude from Ukraine has made Belarus the closest to Russia of all the former Soviet states. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus chose to maintain good relations with Russia and is committed to improving Ukraine's relations with Russia.
Uncle Lukashenko, as a leading figure in Belarus, has maintained strong political convictions and distinctive personal characteristics since he became the first ** in 1994.
His tough policies and close ties to Russia have made him known"Belarusian daddy", became Russia's staunchest ally. Under his leadership, Belarus successfully survived the economic crisis and achieved steady economic growth.
Belarus has always had a solid industrial and agricultural base, leading the heavy industry and agriculture and animal husbandry, ranking fourth among the CIS countries after Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Now, Belarus has definitely risen in the rankings.
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