FROM THE HISTORY OF BELARUS

 

Belaya Rus. The term «Belaya Rus» was for the first time used in the 12^th century. Up to the 15^th century it was also common in north-east Rus. Lands which are the Republic's territory today were originally called «Belaya Rus» in the 14^th century and the name stuck to these lands.

The origin of the name, however, has so far never been precise. Some researchers put it down to the white colour of local peasants' everyday linen clothes and to their fair hair. Others associate it with the direct meaning of the word «belyi» which stands for «clean, non-occupied, free, and independent». They presume that old Rus's lands which had not been captured neither by the Mongols and Tatars nor by Lithuania were called «Belaya Rus» in those early days. Still others maintain that «Belaya Rus» was the land inhabited by Christians unlike «Chernya (black) Rus» where pagans lived. There are also other versions of the name's origin.

The history of Belarus goes back to antiquity. In the Middle Ages the territory of present day Belarus was populated by Eastern Slavic tribes. The ancestors of the Belarusians were the Krivichi, Radimichi and Dregovichi. They lived in the basins of the Dnieper and the Zapadnaya Dvina rivers where they hunted, fished and farmed.

In the 6^th - 8^th centuries they lived through the disintegration of the tribal society and the emergence of feudalism. The development of arable farming led to the collapse of the kinship communities based on territorial and economic relations. The tribes began to develop external relations. There was a need in a united state, and it appeared at the beginning of the 9^th century. It was Kievskaya Rus -the home of three fraternal peoples - the Russians, the Ukrainians and the Belarusians. Feudal wars and foreign invasions plundered these lands.

In the second half of the 13^th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania annexed Belarus. In 1569 Rzecz Pospolita was formed with the aim to struggle against the Principality of Moscow. Later, at the end of the 17^th century the Belarusian people were placed in bondage to the Polish feudal lords who exploited them cruelly. It was also invaded by the troops of the Swedish King Charles XII. In 1708 the Russian troops under the command of Peter the Great routed the Swedish troops which were crossing Belarus to join Charles's army. It was a prologue to the famous battle of Poltava which stopped the Swedish intervention. At the end of the 18^th century Belarus was annexed by Russia.

In 1812 Belarus was invaded by Napoleon. A few months later the French were defeated and driven westwards. To commemorate that event and to celebrate the centenary of the war with Napoleon the citizens of Vitebsk erected a monument which stands on the Uspenski hill.

On January 1, 1919 the Revolutionary Workers and Peasants' Government of Byelorussia proclaimed the formation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1922 it became a member of the former USSR. This act had a decisive impact on the development of its economy and culture.

In 1939 Western Belarus, occupied since 1921 by Poland, joined Byelorussia. By the end of the thirties a great number of large and small plants and factories were built throughout the republic. Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Grodno, Vitebsk, Brest, Bobruisk, Orsha and other cities grew into important industrial centres. A lot of collective and state farms were organized, the national arts and literature, science and education developed rapidly. But the peaceful labour of the people was interrupted by a new war.

In 1941 the Germans ran into heavy resistance of the Belarusian people. Belarus is known as the partisan republic as already in summer 1941 more than 100 partisan groups were formed (the first of them were organized by our national heroes V.Korzh, F. Pavlovsky and M.Shmyryov).

World War II brought to the country innumerable losses. More than 2 million people or nearly every forth of the entire population of the country died in the war. Numerous Belarusian villages and towns were burned to ashes. But Belarus has restored its cities and rebuilt its economy.

Belarus proclaimed its sovereignty on July 27, 1991. And since then the Republic of Belarus has taken its place in Eastern Europe as a new independent state.

 

2. Work in pairs. Find out from your partners:

- what they know about the origin of name ‘Belaija Rus’;

- who inhabited Belarus in the Middle Ages;

- what they know about the ancestors of the Belarusians;

- what events took place on the territory of Belarus in the first half of the 20 th centry;

- when Belarus became an independent state.

 

3. What do you know about Belarus?

 

1) write down some associations coming to your mind when you hear the word ’Belarus’;

2) compare your ideas with a partner.

 

4. Read the text and check your ideas.