Anton Trafimovich • 10 Reasons to Visit Belarus
It’s really hard to say why Belarus is so unknown. Keep in mind that this country is really
big. It’s ranked 13th in terms of area size within the European continent. Belarus is as big
as Great Britain or Romania. It’s bigger than all of the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia
combined! Moreover, Belarus is located in the very geographical center of Europe (well,
to be more accurate, we better say that one of about a dozen geographical “centers” of
Europe is found in Belarus.) Unlike our neighboring countries Poland, Lithuania and Latvia,
Belarus did not embark in European integration during the mid ‘90s because of political
isolation. That’s probably why everyone forgot about it.
WHERE IS BELARUS FROM?
Officially, the country named Belarus proclaimed its
independence on March 25, 1918. However, it would
be a half truth to say that it’s only a one century
old state. The first pre-Belarusian states mentioned
in the Chronicles in 862 AD were Polack Duchy and
Turaŭ principalities in 980 AD. Both were separated
from Kievan Rus, a medieval state considered the
first Eastern Slavic nation and forebear to present
day Russia.
When Kievan Rus eventually disintegrated and
was invaded by the Mongols, mixed populations of
Slavic and Baltic tribes united around the town of
Navahrudak in the west of modern-day Belarus. This
region was called Lithuania (the core of the future
Grand Duchy of Lithuania) and had borders between
the modern cities of Minsk and Slonim in Belarus,
and Vilnius in Lithuania. By the 15th century, this
area included the territories of modern Lithuania,
Belarus, parts of Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova,
Poland and Russia, and had borders extending
from the Baltic sea in the north to the Black sea at
its southern borders. During this period, it would
become the biggest state within Europe and was
known as the Great Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and
Samogitia. The Great Duchy was a poly-ethnic state
though the Ruthenian (pre-Belarusian) language was
designated the official language since the majority of
the population were of Slavic ancestry. But once the
union between the Great Duchy and the Kingdom
of Poland was signed, the nobles started switching
to Catholicism and adopting Polish culture, while
traditional culture and the language was preserved by
the common folk. By the 16th century - the so-called
Golden century - the Great Duchy was at its peak.
It was during this period when the Bible was translated
into Ruthenian language and became the first book
printed in an Eastern Slavic state and the fourth
Bible in the world translated into a local language.
In 1795, being a part of I Rzeczpospolita (in reference
to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), the
Great Duchy was occupied by the Russian Empire