The Distant and Recent Past of Belarus

Who was that first person who called himself a Belarusian? Though his name is lost in the mist¹ of centuries, but the first inhabitants are believed to live on the territory of Belarus around 100 thousand years ago. The ancestors of Belarusians were eastern Slavonic tribes²: the Krivichi, Dregovichi and Radimichi. Later, in the 9th century AD on their lands Polotsk, Turov and other principalities were formed and they became a part of Kievan Rus, a powerful feudal ['fju:dl] state at that time. In the 14th century Lithuanian princes, who later united with Polish magnates, took pos­session of Western Rus, including Belarus. They ruled over these lands until the 16th century. It was at that time when the creation of the Belarusian nationality, language and culture was completed. Official documents and literary records of the time prove it.

But where does the name Belarus come from? At the end of the 14th century Western Rus was referred to as Belaya Rus. It's difficult at present to explain how this name came about. Some researchers say that the name Belaya Rus was associated with the white colour of the clothes that the local people wore and their fair hair. Others believe that the word "bely" was used to denote free and independent from the Tatar Hordes.

Belarusians have been destined³ to live at the crossroads of Europe's major routes. The land of Belarus has seen through its history all kinds of enemies from far and near: the Goths marched through it to the much desired Black Sea leaving behind ruins and death. In the 13th century the German Order of Knights of the Sword⁴ drove through Belarus and the

Swedish feudal lords set out to grab their share. At the end of the 18th century Polish domination in Belarus ended and in 1772 the eastern part of Belarus passed to Russia and was uni­ted in a single centralized state.

Historians estimate that from the eleventh century the towns of Belarus were burnt to ashes at least three times every hundred years as a result of invasions.

The Belarusian Polesye legends that were passed from ge­neration to generation say that in those years whole castles, cathedrals and towns disappeared under the ground, in lakes or swamps⁵ to avoid surrender to the enemy.

During the retreat⁶ from Moscow in 1812 many hundreds of Napoleon's soldiers perished at the town of Borisov. Bitter bat­tles were fought on Belarusian land during the First World War (1914-1918), the Civil War (1918-1922) and the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).

From the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, Belarusians rose up in defence of their country. The occupation of every inch of Belarusian land cost fascist invaders great losses. A nation-wide partisan war developed behind the front lines. In essence, anyone who could hold a weapon fought against the invaders.

Victory was achieved at a high cost. Cities, towns and vil­lages lay in ruins. 209 out of 270 cities and towns were destroyed and burnt as well as 9200 villages. But the heaviest losses were of people. Each third Belarusian was killed, burnt alive or removed to labour camps in Germany.

And again within a short period of time Belarus rose from ashes like the phoenix⁷ bird.

At present, Belarus is a sovereign, independent state with its own government, constitution, coat of arms, flag and national anthem.

Belarusian people value peace and want to be on good-neigh­bourly terms with all other nations. They pay tribute to their ancestors and believe that the country with such a unique his­tory and rich cultural heritage will have a happy future.

¹mist - мгла; ²tribe - племя; ³be destined - быть предопределённым; ⁴Order of Knights of the Sword – Орден меченосцев; ⁵swamp - болото; ⁶retreat - отступление; ⁷phoenix - феникс