Belarusians

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Belarusians
Image:Famous Belarusians 1.jpg
Total population

9-10 million

Regions with significant populations
Image:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus: 8,159,073[1]
Image:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 807,970 [2]
Image:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 275,800[3]
Image:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan 111,926[4]
Image:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia 93,583[5]
Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada 50,000 - 70,000 [6]
Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 45,000 - 80,000 [7]
Image:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 48,700[8]
Image:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania 42,866[9]
Image:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 17,241[10]
Language(s)
Belarusian, Russian
Religion(s)
Predominantly Eastern Orthodox, with a Roman Catholic minority. Many consider themselves Atheists.
Related ethnic groups
Other Slavic peoples, especially East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Rusyns)

Belarusians or Belorussians (Belarusian: Беларусы, Biełarusy, previously also spelled Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorusians, also White Russians) are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus and form minorities in neighboring Poland (especially in the former Bialystok province), Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Noticeable numbers have immigrated to the United States, Brazil and Canada in the early 20th century. Since the breakup of the USSR several hundred thousand have immigrated to the European Union, United States, Canada and Russia. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Belarusian language. There are over 8 million people who associate themselves with the Belarusian ethnicity today.

The native language of the territory of Belarus is Belarusian; however the majority of Belarusians in Belarus are able to speak Russian and often use it as their day-to-day language (especially in Minsk and other large cities).

The prefix Bela- translates into "White" so these people were sometimes called White Russians (though not to be confused with the political group of White Russians that opposed the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War). This name was in use in the West for some time in history, together with White Ruthenes, White Ruthenians and similar forms. Using the term "White Russians" is misleading as it incorrectly suggests being a subgroup of Russians and some Belarusians take offense for it being applied. Belarusians trace their name back to the people of Rus and not to Russians, who are also descendants of the people of Rus.

Image:Rzeczpospolita2nar.png
Commonwealth of Polish Kingdom and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th century      Kingdom of Poland      Duchy of Prussia, Polish fief      Grand Duchy of Lithuania      Duchy of Courland, a joint fief      Livonia

The Belarusian people trace their distinct culture to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and earlier Kievan Rus and the Principality of Polatsk. Most Belarusians are descendants of the East Slav tribes Dregovichs, Krivichs and Radimichs. Early East Slavs also mixed with the local Balts, especially in the west and north-west of today's Belarus. In 13th-18th centuries Belarusians were mostly known under the name of Rusins (Ruthenians) or Litvins (Lithuanians), which refers to the state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Litva, Vialikaja Litva) of which the White Ruthenian lands were part of since the 13th-14th centuries and where Ruthenian language was widely used. On the grounds of the dominance of Ruthenian language (which later evolved into modern Belarusian language) some Belarusian historians believe the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to have been their national state when it existed. Another name that was originaly commonly used to describe those people was Ruthenians, by the name of the Ruthenian state which the White Russia area originaly belonged to.

After World War I Belarusians had their own statehood, with varying degrees of independence - first as the short-lived Belarusian National Republic under German occupation, then as the Byelorussian SSR from 1919 until 1991, which merged with other republics to become a constituent member of the Soviet Union in 1922). Belarus gained full independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[edit] External links

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ (1999 census)[1]
  2. ^ (2002 census) [2]
  3. ^ (2001 census)[3]
  4. ^ (1999 census)[4]
  5. ^ (2002 census)[5]
  6. ^ (est)[6]
  7. ^ (2002 census)[7]
  8. ^ (2002 census)[8]
  9. ^ (2001 census)[9]
  10. ^ (2000 census)[10]

[edit] See also

be-x-old:Беларусы bg:Беларуси cs:Bělorusové da:Hviderussere de:Weißrussen es:Bielorrusos eo:Belorusoj fr:Biélorusses ko:벨라루스인 hr:Bjelorusi it:Bielorussi ka:ბელორუსები la:Rutheni Albi lv:Baltkrievi lt:Baltarusiai mk:Белоруси nl:Wit-Russen ja:ベラルーシ人 pl:Białorusini pt:Bielorrussos ro:Belaruşii ru:Белорусы sk:Bielorusi sl:Belorusi cu:Бѣлорѹси sr:Белоруси sh:Belorusi fi:Valkovenäläiset sv:Vitryssar uk:Білоруси zh:白俄羅斯族

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