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class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Early history</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Early_history-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Early history subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Early_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Kievan_Rus'" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Kievan_Rus'"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Kievan Rus'</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Kievan_Rus'-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Grand Duchy of Lithuania</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Russian_Empire" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Russian_Empire"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Russian Empire</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Russian_Empire-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-20th_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#20th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>20th century</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-20th_century-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle 20th century subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-20th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-BNR_and_LBSSR" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#BNR_and_LBSSR"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>BNR and LBSSR</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-BNR_and_LBSSR-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Republic_of_Central_Lithuania" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Republic_of_Central_Lithuania"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Republic of Central Lithuania</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Republic_of_Central_Lithuania-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Belarusian_Soviet_Republic_and_West_Belarus" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Belarusian_Soviet_Republic_and_West_Belarus"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.3</span> <span>Belarusian Soviet Republic and West Belarus</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Belarusian_Soviet_Republic_and_West_Belarus-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Belarus_in_World_War_II" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Belarus_in_World_War_II"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.4</span> <span>Belarus in World War II</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Belarus_in_World_War_II-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Post-war_BSSR" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Post-war_BSSR"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.5</span> <span>Post-war BSSR</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Post-war_BSSR-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Perestroika_and_Glasnost" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Perestroika_and_Glasnost"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.6</span> <span>Perestroika and Glasnost</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Perestroika_and_Glasnost-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Republic_of_Belarus" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Republic_of_Belarus"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Republic of Belarus</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Republic_of_Belarus-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Republic of Belarus subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Republic_of_Belarus-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Priority_over_Soviet_Union_laws_and_negotiations_on_a_new_Treaty" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Priority_over_Soviet_Union_laws_and_negotiations_on_a_new_Treaty"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new Treaty</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Priority_over_Soviet_Union_laws_and_negotiations_on_a_new_Treaty-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Soviet_coup_attempt,_the_Transition_Period_and_the_end_of_the_Soviet_Union" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Soviet_coup_attempt,_the_Transition_Period_and_the_end_of_the_Soviet_Union"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2</span> <span>Soviet coup attempt, the Transition Period and the end of the Soviet Union</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Soviet_coup_attempt,_the_Transition_Period_and_the_end_of_the_Soviet_Union-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Independent_country_and_the_Commonwealth" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Independent_country_and_the_Commonwealth"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3</span> <span>Independent country and the Commonwealth</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Independent_country_and_the_Commonwealth-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lukashenko_era" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lukashenko_era"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.4</span> <span>Lukashenko era</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lukashenko_era-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bibliography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Bibliography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Bibliography</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Bibliography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Belarus</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 42 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-42" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">42 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3" title="تاريخ بيلاروس – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="تاريخ بيلاروس" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%96" title="Гісторыя Беларусі – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Гісторыя Беларусі" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%96" title="Гісторыя Беларусі – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Гісторыя Беларусі" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historija_Bjelorusije" title="Historija Bjelorusije – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Historija Bjelorusije" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bosanski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist%C3%B2ria_de_Belar%C3%BAs" title="Història de Belarús – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Història de Belarús" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%9Bjiny_B%C4%9Bloruska" title="Dějiny Běloruska – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Dějiny Běloruska" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanes_Belarws" title="Hanes Belarws – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Hanes Belarws" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hvideruslands_historie" title="Hvideruslands historie – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Hvideruslands historie" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_von_Belarus" title="Geschichte von Belarus – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Geschichte von Belarus" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valgevene_ajalugu" title="Valgevene ajalugu – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Valgevene ajalugu" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_Bielorrusia" title="Historia de Bielorrusia – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Historia de Bielorrusia" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle mw-list-item" title="good article badge"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_de_la_Bi%C3%A9lorussie" title="Histoire de la Biélorussie – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Histoire de la Biélorussie" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_Belar%C3%BAs" title="Historia de Belarús – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Historia de Belarús" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B2%A8%EB%9D%BC%EB%A3%A8%EC%8A%A4%EC%9D%98_%EC%97%AD%EC%82%AC" title="벨라루스의 역사 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="벨라루스의 역사" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B2%D5%A5%D5%AC%D5%A1%D5%BC%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%BD%D5%AB_%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6" title="Բելառուսի պատմություն – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Բելառուսի պատմություն" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povijest_Bjelorusije" title="Povijest Bjelorusije – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Povijest Bjelorusije" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-io mw-list-item"><a href="https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historio_di_Bielorusia" title="Historio di Bielorusia – Ido" lang="io" hreflang="io" data-title="Historio di Bielorusia" data-language-autonym="Ido" data-language-local-name="Ido" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ido</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it badge-Q70893996 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storia_della_Bielorussia" title="Storia della Bielorussia – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Storia della Bielorussia" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%91%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%90" title="ბელარუსის ისტორია – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="ბელარუსის ისტორია" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_ya_Belarus" title="Historia ya Belarus – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Historia ya Belarus" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltkrievijas_v%C4%93sture" title="Baltkrievijas vēsture – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Baltkrievijas vēsture" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltarusijos_istorija" title="Baltarusijos istorija – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Baltarusijos istorija" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feh%C3%A9roroszorsz%C3%A1g_t%C3%B6rt%C3%A9nelme" title="Fehéroroszország történelme – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Fehéroroszország történelme" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Историја на Белорусија – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Историја на Белорусија" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschiedenis_van_Wit-Rusland" title="Geschiedenis van Wit-Rusland – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Geschiedenis van Wit-Rusland" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus%E2%80%99_historie" title="Belarus’ historie – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Belarus’ historie" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF_%D8%A8%DB%90%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE" title="د بېلاروس تاریخ – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="د بېلاروس تاریخ" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پښتو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Bia%C5%82orusi" title="Historia Białorusi – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Historia Białorusi" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt badge-Q70893996 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist%C3%B3ria_da_Bielorr%C3%BAssia" title="História da Bielorrússia – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="História da Bielorrússia" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istoria_Belarusului" title="Istoria Belarusului – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Istoria Belarusului" data-language-autonym="Română" 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a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile vcard"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><div class="sidebar-pretitle" style="margin: -0.2em 0; font-size:69%; font-weight:normal;">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:History_of_Belarus" title="Category:History of Belarus">a series</a> on the</div></th> </tr><tr> <th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style=""><a class="mw-selflink selflink">History of <span class="fn org label">Belarus</span></a></th> </tr><tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0.4em; border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Magni_ducatus_Lithuaniae_et_regionum_adiacentium_exacta_descrip._-_ac..._Nicolai_Christophori_Radziwil_-_btv1b53202731s_(1_of_2).jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Map of Belarus, from 1711"><img alt="Map of Belarus, from 1711" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Magni_ducatus_Lithuaniae_et_regionum_adiacentium_exacta_descrip._-_ac..._Nicolai_Christophori_Radziwil_-_btv1b53202731s_%281_of_2%29.jpg/250px-Magni_ducatus_Lithuaniae_et_regionum_adiacentium_exacta_descrip._-_ac..._Nicolai_Christophori_Radziwil_-_btv1b53202731s_%281_of_2%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="240" height="196" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Magni_ducatus_Lithuaniae_et_regionum_adiacentium_exacta_descrip._-_ac..._Nicolai_Christophori_Radziwil_-_btv1b53202731s_%281_of_2%29.jpg/500px-Magni_ducatus_Lithuaniae_et_regionum_adiacentium_exacta_descrip._-_ac..._Nicolai_Christophori_Radziwil_-_btv1b53202731s_%281_of_2%29.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="6458" data-file-height="5266" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:lavender"> Prehistory</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Neuri" title="Neuri">Neuri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_Slavs" title="Early Slavs">Early Slavs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Krivichs" title="Krivichs">Krivichs</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:lavender"> Middle ages</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Principality of Polotsk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Turov" title="Principality of Turov">Principality of Turov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Golden_Horde" title="Golden Horde">Golden Horde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:lavender"> <a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland_in_the_Early_Modern_era_(1569%E2%80%931795)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)">Early Modern</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569%E2%80%931648)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)">Early elective monarchy</a> (1569–1648)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1648%E2%80%931764)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)">Deluge and decline</a> (1648–1764)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1764%E2%80%9395)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95)">Three partitions</a> (1764–95)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></div></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:lavender"> Modern</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <ul><li><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_history_in_the_Russian_Empire" title="Belarusian history in the Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a> (1795–1917)</div></li> <li><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_People%27s_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian People's Republic">Belarusian People's Republic</a><br />(from 1918)</div></li> <li><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a><br />(1919–91)</div></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="West Belarus">West Belarus</a> (1919–39)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Belarus">Republic of Belarus</a> (from 1991)</li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below" style="border-top:#aaa 1px solid; border-bottom:#aaa 1px solid;"> <span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Flag_of_Belarus.svg/20px-Flag_of_Belarus.svg.png" decoding="async" width="17" height="9" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Flag_of_Belarus.svg/40px-Flag_of_Belarus.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Belarus" title="Portal:Belarus">Belarus portal</a></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:History_of_Belarus" title="Template:History of Belarus"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:History_of_Belarus" title="Template talk:History of Belarus"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:History_of_Belarus" title="Special:EditPage/Template:History of Belarus"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The lands of <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> during the <a href="/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> became part of <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a> and were split between different regional <a href="/wiki/Principality" title="Principality">principalities</a>, including <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Polotsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Turov" title="Principality of Turov">Turov</a>, <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Vitebsk" title="Principality of Vitebsk">Vitebsk</a>, and others. Following the <a href="/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Kievan_Rus%27" title="Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'">Mongol invasions</a> of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>, which later was merged into the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> in the 16th century. </p><p>Following the <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of Poland</a> in the 18th century, Belarusian territories became part of the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a>. In the aftermath of the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Revolution" title="Russian Revolution">Russian Revolution</a>, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Civil_War" title="Russian Civil War">Russian Civil War</a>, ultimately ending with the consolidation of the <a href="/wiki/Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a>, which became a <a href="/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Republics of the Soviet Union">constituent republic</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> when it was founded in 1922. </p><p>The republic was devastated as a result of the <a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Byelorussia_during_World_War_II" title="German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II">German occupation</a> during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, and its territory was expanded after <a href="/wiki/Western_Belorussia" title="Western Belorussia">Western Belorussia</a> was annexed by the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> as a result of the war. Belarus became an independent state in 1991 following the <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Prehistoric_era">Prehistoric era</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Prehistoric era"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Archaeological discoveries show what is now Belarus had human inhabitants during the <a href="/wiki/Paleolithic" title="Paleolithic">Paleolithic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Neolithic" title="Neolithic">Neolithic</a> ages.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Early_history">Early history</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Early history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png/250px-Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="307" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png/500px-Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png 1.5x" data-file-width="2166" data-file-height="2659" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Principality of Polotsk</a> within <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a> in the 11th century</figcaption></figure> <p>The history of <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> begins with the migration and expansion of the <a href="/wiki/Slavs" title="Slavs">Slavic peoples</a> through <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Europe" title="Eastern Europe">Eastern Europe</a> between the 6th and 8th centuries. <a href="/wiki/East_Slavs" title="East Slavs">East Slavs</a> settled on the territory of present-day <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a>, <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>, assimilating local <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Baltic</a> (<a href="/wiki/Yotvingians" title="Yotvingians">Yotvingians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dnieper_Balts" title="Dnieper Balts">Dnieper Balts</a>), <a href="/wiki/Finnic_peoples" title="Finnic peoples">Finns</a> (in Russia) and <a href="/wiki/Steppe" title="Steppe">steppe</a> nomads (in Ukraine) already living there, their early ethnic integrations contributed to the gradual differentiation of the East Slavs. These East Slavs, <a href="/wiki/Paganism" title="Paganism">pagan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Animism" title="Animism">animistic</a>, <a href="/wiki/Agrarianism" title="Agrarianism">agrarian</a> people, had an economy which included trade in agricultural produce, <a href="/wiki/Wild_game" class="mw-redirect" title="Wild game">game</a>, <a href="/wiki/Fur" title="Fur">furs</a>, <a href="/wiki/Honey" title="Honey">honey</a>, <a href="/wiki/Beeswax" title="Beeswax">beeswax</a> and <a href="/wiki/Amber" title="Amber">amber</a>. </p><p>The modern <a href="/wiki/Belarusians" title="Belarusians">Belarusian ethnos</a> was probably formed on the basis of the three Slavic tribes—<a href="/wiki/Kryvian" class="mw-redirect" title="Kryvian">Kryvians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Drehovian" class="mw-redirect" title="Drehovian">Drehovians</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Radzimian" class="mw-redirect" title="Radzimian">Radzimians</a>—as well as several <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Baltic tribes</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIoffeSilitski2018137_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEIoffeSilitski2018137-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ancient_Rus.PNG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ancient_Rus.PNG/250px-Ancient_Rus.PNG" decoding="async" width="220" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ancient_Rus.PNG/330px-Ancient_Rus.PNG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ancient_Rus.PNG/500px-Ancient_Rus.PNG 2x" data-file-width="1400" data-file-height="1382" /></a><figcaption>Map of <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a>, 11th century</figcaption></figure> <p>The common cultural bond of <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Christianity" class="mw-redirect" title="Eastern Orthodox Christianity">Eastern Orthodox Christianity</a> and written <a href="/wiki/Church_Slavonic" title="Church Slavonic">Church Slavonic</a> (a literary and liturgical <a href="/wiki/Slavic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Slavic language">Slavic language</a> developed by 8th-century missionaries <a href="/wiki/Saints_Cyril_and_Methodius" class="mw-redirect" title="Saints Cyril and Methodius">Saints Cyril and Methodius</a>) fostered the emergence of a new geopolitical entity, <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a> — a loose-knit multi-ethnic network of principalities,<sup id="cite_ref-channon_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-channon-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> established along pre-existing trade routes, with major centers in <a href="/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod" title="Veliky Novgorod">Novgorod</a> (now in Russia), <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a> (now in Belarus) and <a href="/wiki/Kyiv" title="Kyiv">Kiev</a> (now in Ukraine). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Kievan_Rus'"><span id="Kievan_Rus.27"></span>Kievan Rus'</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Kievan Rus'"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg/250px-Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="262" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg/330px-Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg/500px-Anton_Losenko._Vladimir_and_Rogneda.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1007" data-file-height="1200" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev" class="mw-redirect" title="Vladimir I of Kiev">Vladimir I</a> and princess <a href="/wiki/Rogneda_of_Polotsk" title="Rogneda of Polotsk">Rogneda of Polotsk</a> (painting of 1770)</figcaption></figure> <p>Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Principality of Polotsk</a> (now in northern Belarus) emerged as the dominant center of power in the territory of Belarus, while the <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Turov_and_Pinsk" class="mw-redirect" title="Principality of Turov and Pinsk">Principality of Turov</a> south of it was a lesser power. </p><p>The Principality of Polotsk repeatedly asserted its sovereignty in relation to the other centers of Rus', becoming a political capital, the <a href="/wiki/Episcopal_see" title="Episcopal see">episcopal see</a> of a bishopric and the controller of <a href="/wiki/Vassal" title="Vassal">vassal</a> territories among <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Balts</a> in the west. The city's <a href="/wiki/Saint_Sophia_Cathedral_in_Polotsk" class="mw-redirect" title="Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk">Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom</a> (1044–66), though completely rebuilt over the years, remains a symbol of this independent-mindedness, rivaling churches of the same name in Novgorod and Kiev, referring to the original <a href="/wiki/Hagia_Sophia" title="Hagia Sophia">Hagia Sophia</a> in <a href="/wiki/Constantinople" title="Constantinople">Constantinople</a> (and hence to claims of imperial prestige, authority and sovereignty). Cultural achievements of the Polotsk period include the work of the nun <a href="/wiki/Euphrosyne_of_Polotsk" title="Euphrosyne of Polotsk">Euphrosyne of Polotsk</a> (1120–1173), who built monasteries, transcribed books, promoted literacy and sponsored art (including local artisan <a href="/wiki/Lazar_Bohsha" title="Lazar Bohsha">Lazar Bohsha</a>'s famous "<a href="/wiki/Cross_of_Saint_Euphrosyne" title="Cross of Saint Euphrosyne">Cross of Euphrosyne</a>", a national symbol and treasure stolen during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>), and the prolific, original Church Slavonic sermons and writings of Bishop <a href="/wiki/Kirill_of_Turov" title="Kirill of Turov">Kirill of Turov</a> (1130–1182). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Grand Duchy of Lithuania"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Kingdom of Lithuania</a> and <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/History_of_Belarus" title="Special:EditPage/History of Belarus">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2024</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Gdlbelarus1400.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Gdlbelarus1400.JPG/220px-Gdlbelarus1400.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="270" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Gdlbelarus1400.JPG/330px-Gdlbelarus1400.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Gdlbelarus1400.JPG/440px-Gdlbelarus1400.JPG 2x" data-file-width="576" data-file-height="707" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> in the 15th century. The territory of modern-day Belarus was fully within its borders.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg/220px-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="273" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg/330px-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg/440px-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_Rus_and_Samogitia_1434.jpg 2x" data-file-width="767" data-file-height="952" /></a><figcaption>Position of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Eastern Europe until 1434</figcaption></figure> <p>In the 13th century, the fragile unity of Kievan Rus' disintegrated due to nomadic incursions from <a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>, which climaxed with the <a href="/wiki/Mongol" class="mw-redirect" title="Mongol">Mongol</a> <a href="/wiki/Siege_of_Kiev_(1240)" title="Siege of Kiev (1240)">sacking of Kiev</a> in 1240, leaving a geopolitical vacuum in the region. The East Slavs had splintered into a number of independent and competing principalities. Due to military conquest and dynastic marriages, the western principalities of Rus' in modern Belarus were acquired by the expanding <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>, beginning with the rule of <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Lithuanian King</a> <a href="/wiki/Mindaugas" title="Mindaugas">Mindaugas</a> (1240–1263). From the 13th to 15th century, the principalities were either conquered or willingly joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. </p><p>The Lithuanians' smaller numbers in this medieval state gave the Ruthenians (later Belarusians and Ukrainians) an important role in the everyday cultural life of the state.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Owing to the prevalence of East Slavs and the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox" class="mw-redirect" title="Eastern Orthodox">Eastern Orthodox</a> faith among the population in eastern and southern regions of the state, the <a href="/wiki/Ruthenian_language" title="Ruthenian language">Ruthenian language</a> was a widely used colloquial language. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/East_Slavic_languages" title="East Slavic languages">East Slavic</a> variety of the language (<i>rus'ka mova</i>, <i>Old Belarusian</i> or <i>West Russian Chancellery language</i>), gradually influenced by Polish, was the language of administration in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from at least <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" class="mw-redirect" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a>' reign until the late 17th century when it was replaced by <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" title="Polish language">Polish</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>This period of political breakdown and reorganization also saw the rise of written local vernaculars in place of the literary and liturgical <a href="/wiki/Church_Slavonic" title="Church Slavonic">Church Slavonic</a> language, a further stage in the evolving differentiation between the <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian</a>, <a href="/wiki/Russian_language" title="Russian language">Russian</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_language" title="Ukrainian language">Ukrainian</a> languages. </p><p>Several Lithuanian monarchs — the last being <a href="/wiki/%C5%A0vitrigaila" title="Švitrigaila">Švitrigaila</a> in 1432–36 — relied on the Eastern Orthodox Ruthenian majority, while most monarchs and <a href="/wiki/Magnate_(Poland)" class="mw-redirect" title="Magnate (Poland)">magnates</a> increasingly came to reflect the opinions of the Roman Catholics. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG/250px-%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG" decoding="async" width="170" height="232" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG/330px-%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG/500px-%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B010.JPG 2x" data-file-width="3056" data-file-height="4176" /></a><figcaption>Church of the Saviour's Transfiguration in <a href="/wiki/Zaslawye" title="Zaslawye">Zaslawye</a> (1577)</figcaption></figure> <p>Construction of Orthodox churches in some parts of present-day Belarus had been initially prohibited, as was the case in <a href="/wiki/Vitebsk" title="Vitebsk">Vitebsk</a> in 1480. On the other hand, further unification of the mostly Orthodox Grand Duchy with mostly Catholic Poland led to liberalization and a partial solving of the religious problem. In 1511, King and <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duke" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duke">Grand Duke</a> <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_I_the_Old" title="Sigismund I the Old">Sigismund I the Old</a> granted the Orthodox clergy an autonomy previously enjoyed only by Catholic clergy. The privilege was enhanced in 1531, when the Orthodox church was no longer responsible to the Catholic bishop and instead the <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_bishop" title="Metropolitan bishop">metropolitan</a> was responsible only to the <i><a href="/wiki/Synod#Orthodox_usage" title="Synod">sobor</a></i> of eight Orthodox bishops, the Grand Duke and the <a href="/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarch_of_Constantinople" title="Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople">Patriarch of Constantinople</a>. The privilege also extended the jurisdiction of the Orthodox hierarchy over all Orthodox people.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In such circumstances, a vibrant Ruthenian culture flourished, mostly in the major cities of present-day Belarus.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Despite the legal usage of the Ruthenian language, which was used as a chancellery language in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, literature was mostly non-existent, apart from several chronicles. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth"><span id="Polish.E2.80.93Lithuanian_Commonwealth"></span>Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444" /><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/History_of_Belarus" title="Special:EditPage/History of Belarus">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2024</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Unia_Lubelska.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Unia_Lubelska.JPG/220px-Unia_Lubelska.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Unia_Lubelska.JPG/330px-Unia_Lubelska.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Unia_Lubelska.JPG/440px-Unia_Lubelska.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1474" data-file-height="846" /></a><figcaption><i><a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin_(painting)" title="Union of Lublin (painting)">Union of Lublin</a></i> of 1569, oil on canvas by <a href="/wiki/Jan_Matejko" title="Jan Matejko">Jan Matejko</a>, 1869, 298×512 cm, National Museum in <a href="/wiki/Warsaw" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> in 1569 led to the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> to become an influential player in European politics and the largest multinational state in Europe. While present-day <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Podlaskie" class="mw-redirect" title="Podlaskie">Podlaskie</a> became subjects of the <a href="/wiki/Crown_of_the_Polish_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Crown of the Polish Kingdom">Polish Crown</a>, present-day Belarusian territories were still regarded as part of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>. The new polity was dominated by densely populated Poland, which had 134 representatives in the <a href="/wiki/Sejm" title="Sejm">Sejm</a> as compared to 46 representatives from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained significant autonomy, and was governed by a separate code of laws called the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Statutes" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Statutes">Lithuanian Statutes</a>, which codified both civil and property rights. Of the territory of present-day Belarus, <a href="/wiki/Mogilev" title="Mogilev">Mogilev</a> was the largest urban centre, followed by Vitebsk, <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pinsk" title="Pinsk">Pinsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Slutsk" title="Slutsk">Slutsk</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Brest,_Belarus" title="Brest, Belarus">Brest</a>, whose population exceeded 10,000. In addition, <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilna (Vilnius)</a>, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also had a significant Ruthenian population.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Rzeczpospolita2nar.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Rzeczpospolita2nar.png/250px-Rzeczpospolita2nar.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="156" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Rzeczpospolita2nar.png/330px-Rzeczpospolita2nar.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Rzeczpospolita2nar.png/500px-Rzeczpospolita2nar.png 2x" data-file-width="3507" data-file-height="2480" /></a><figcaption>Outline of the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> with its major subdivisions after the 1618 <a href="/wiki/Truce_of_Deulino" title="Truce of Deulino">Truce of Deulino</a>, superimposed on present-day national borders. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r981673959">.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}</style><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:salmon; color:black;-webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact;"> </span> <a href="/wiki/Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland" title="Crown of the Kingdom of Poland">Crown of the Kingdom of Poland</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959" /><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:hotpink; color:black;-webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact;"> </span> <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959" /><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:dimgrey; color:white;-webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact;"> </span> <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Livonia" title="Duchy of Livonia">Duchy of Livonia</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959" /><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:lightgrey; color:black;-webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact;"> </span> <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Prussia" title="Duchy of Prussia">Duchy of Prussia</a>, Polish <a href="/wiki/Fief" title="Fief">fief</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959" /><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:mediumorchid; color:black;-webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact;"> </span> <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Courland_and_Semigallia" title="Duchy of Courland and Semigallia">Duchy of Courland and Semigallia</a>, Commonwealth fief</div> </figcaption></figure> <p>With time, the ethnic pattern did not evolve much. Throughout their existence as a separate culture, Ruthenians formed in most cases the rural population, with power held by the local <i><a href="/wiki/Szlachta" title="Szlachta">szlachta</a></i> and <a href="/wiki/Boyar" title="Boyar">boyars</a>, often of Lithuanian, Polish or Russian descent. By this time, a significant Jewish presence had also formed in this region of <a href="/wiki/German_Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="German Jews">German Jews</a> fleeing persecution from the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Crusades" title="Northern Crusades">Northern and Baltic Crusaders</a>. Since the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Horodlo" class="mw-redirect" title="Union of Horodlo">Union of Horodlo</a> of 1413, the local nobility was assimilated into the <a href="/wiki/Polish_heraldry" title="Polish heraldry">traditional clan system</a> by means of the formal <a href="/wiki/Heraldic_adoption" title="Heraldic adoption">procedure of adoption</a> by the <i>szlachta</i> (Polish <a href="/wiki/Gentry" title="Gentry">gentry</a>).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Eventually, it formed a significant part of the <i>szlachta</i>. Initially<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers"><span title="The time period mentioned near this tag is ambiguous. (June 2024)">when?</span></a></i>]</sup> mostly Ruthenian and Orthodox,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> with time most of them became <a href="/wiki/Polonization" title="Polonization">polonized</a>. This was especially true for major <a href="/wiki/Magnate" title="Magnate">magnate</a> families (<a href="/wiki/Sapieha" title="Sapieha">Sapieha</a> and <a href="/wiki/Radziwi%C5%82%C5%82" class="mw-redirect" title="Radziwiłł">Radziwiłł</a> clans being the most notable), whose personal fortunes and properties often surpassed those of the royal families and were huge enough to be called a state within a state. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nowogrodek.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Nowogrodek.jpg/250px-Nowogrodek.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Nowogrodek.jpg/330px-Nowogrodek.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Nowogrodek.jpg/500px-Nowogrodek.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="542" /></a><figcaption>View of <a href="/wiki/Novogrudok" title="Novogrudok">Novogrudok</a>, by <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_Orda" title="Napoleon Orda">Napoleon Orda</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Also, with time religious conflicts started to arise. The gentry with time started to adopt <a href="/wiki/Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a> while the common people by large remained faithful to <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy" title="Eastern Orthodoxy">Eastern Orthodoxy</a>. Initially the <a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Compact" class="mw-redirect" title="Warsaw Compact">Warsaw Compact</a> of 1573 codified the preexisting <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_religion" title="Freedom of religion">freedom of worship</a>. However, the rule of an ultra-Catholic King <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_III_Vasa" title="Sigismund III Vasa">Sigismund III Vasa</a> was marked by numerous attempts to spread Catholicism, mostly through his support for <a href="/wiki/Counterreformation" class="mw-redirect" title="Counterreformation">counterreformation</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Jesuits" title="Jesuits">Jesuits</a>. Possibly to avoid such conflicts, in 1595 the Orthodox hierarchs of Kiev signed the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Brest" title="Union of Brest">Union of Brest</a>, breaking their links with the <a href="/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarch_of_Constantinople" title="Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople">Patriarch of Constantinople</a> and placing themselves under the <a href="/wiki/Pope" title="Pope">Pope</a>. Although the union was generally supported by most local Orthodox bishops and the king himself, it was opposed by some prominent nobles and, more importantly, by the nascent <a href="/wiki/Cossacks" title="Cossacks">Cossack</a> movement. This led to a series of conflicts and rebellions against the local authorities. The first of such happened in 1595, when the Cossack insurgents under <a href="/wiki/Severyn_Nalyvaiko" title="Severyn Nalyvaiko">Severyn Nalyvaiko</a> took the towns of <a href="/wiki/Slutsk" title="Slutsk">Slutsk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mogilev" title="Mogilev">Mogilev</a> and executed Polish magistrates there. Other such clashes took place in Mogilev (1606–10), Vitebsk (1623), and <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a> (1623, 1633).<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This left the population of the Grand Duchy divided between <a href="/wiki/Greek_Catholic" class="mw-redirect" title="Greek Catholic">Greek Catholic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church" title="Greek Orthodox Church">Greek Orthodox</a> parts. At the same time, after the <a href="/wiki/Schism_(religion)" class="mw-redirect" title="Schism (religion)">schism</a> in the Orthodox Church (<a href="/wiki/Raskol" class="mw-redirect" title="Raskol">Raskol</a>), some <a href="/wiki/Old_Believers" title="Old Believers">Old Believers</a> migrated west, seeking refuge in the Rzeczpospolita, which <a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Compact" class="mw-redirect" title="Warsaw Compact">allowed them</a> to freely practice their faith.<sup id="cite_ref-promemoria_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-promemoria-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>From 1569, the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> suffered a series of <a href="/wiki/Crimean%E2%80%93Nogai_slave_raids_in_Eastern_Europe" title="Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe">Tatar raids</a>, the goal of which was to loot, pillage and capture slaves into <a href="/wiki/Jasyr" class="mw-redirect" title="Jasyr">jasyr</a>. The borderland area to the south-east was in a state of semi-permanent warfare until the 18th century. Some researchers estimate that altogether more than 3 million people, predominantly <a href="/wiki/Ukrainians" title="Ukrainians">Ukrainians</a> but also <a href="/wiki/Russians" title="Russians">Russians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Belarusians" title="Belarusians">Belarusians</a> and <a href="/wiki/Polish_people" title="Polish people">Poles</a>, were captured and enslaved during the time of the <a href="/wiki/Crimean_Khanate" title="Crimean Khanate">Crimean Khanate</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_occupation_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(union_state_of_the_Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland_and_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania)_during_The_Deluge_and_Chmielnicki%27s_Uprising.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/The_occupation_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_%28union_state_of_the_Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland_and_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania%29_during_The_Deluge_and_Chmielnicki%27s_Uprising.png/330px-thumbnail.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="235" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/The_occupation_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_%28union_state_of_the_Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland_and_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania%29_during_The_Deluge_and_Chmielnicki%27s_Uprising.png/500px-thumbnail.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/The_occupation_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_%28union_state_of_the_Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland_and_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania%29_during_The_Deluge_and_Chmielnicki%27s_Uprising.png/960px-thumbnail.png 2x" data-file-width="2000" data-file-height="1568" /></a><figcaption>Foreign occupation of the Commonwealth during <a href="/wiki/The_Deluge_(Polish_history)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Deluge (Polish history)">The Deluge</a> and <a href="/wiki/Khmelnytsky_Uprising" title="Khmelnytsky Uprising">Khmelnytsky Uprising</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Despite these conflicts, the literary tradition of Belarus evolved. Until the 17th century, the <a href="/wiki/Ruthenian_language" title="Ruthenian language">Ruthenian language</a>, the predecessor of modern <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian</a>, was used in the Grand Duchy as a chancery language, that is, the language used for official documents. Afterwards, it was replaced with the <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" title="Polish language">Polish language</a>, commonly spoken by the upper classes. Both Polish and Ruthenian cultures gained a major cultural centre with the foundation of the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Vilnius" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Vilnius">Academy of Vilna</a>. At the same time, the Belarusian lands entered a path of economic growth, with the formation of numerous towns that served as centres of trade on the east–west routes.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Eventually, by 1795, Poland was <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">partitioned by its neighbors</a>. Thus, a new period in Belarusian history began, with all its lands annexed by the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Russian_Empire">Russian Empire</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Russian Empire"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Russification_of_Belarus" title="Russification of Belarus">Russification of Belarus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_history_in_the_Russian_Empire" title="Belarusian history in the Russian Empire">Belarusian history in the Russian Empire</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Battle_polotsk.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Battle_polotsk.jpg/250px-Battle_polotsk.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Battle_polotsk.jpg/330px-Battle_polotsk.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Battle_polotsk.jpg/500px-Battle_polotsk.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="438" /></a><figcaption><i><a href="/wiki/Second_battle_of_Polotsk" class="mw-redirect" title="Second battle of Polotsk">Second battle of Polotsk</a></i> (1812), as depicted by <a href="/wiki/Peter_von_Hess" title="Peter von Hess">Peter von Hess</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Po%C5%82acak,_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA,_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_(S._Prokudin-Gorsky,_1912).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg/220px-Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="206" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg/330px-Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg/440px-Po%C5%82acak%2C_D%C5%BAvina._%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B0%D0%BA%2C_%D0%94%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0_%28S._Prokudin-Gorsky%2C_1912%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3390" data-file-height="3178" /></a><figcaption>View of <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a> in 1912</figcaption></figure> <p>Under Russian administration, the territory of Belarus was divided into the <a href="/wiki/Governorates_of_the_Russian_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Governorates of the Russian Empire">governorates</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Guberniya" class="mw-redirect" title="Guberniya">guberniyas</a></i>) of <a href="/wiki/Minsk_Governorate" title="Minsk Governorate">Minsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vitebsk_Governorate" title="Vitebsk Governorate">Vitebsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mogilev_Governorate" title="Mogilev Governorate">Mogilev</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Grodno_Governorate" title="Grodno Governorate">Grodno</a>. Belarusians were active in the <a href="/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare" title="Guerrilla warfare">guerrilla</a> movement against <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon</a>'s occupation.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> With Napoleon's defeat, Belarus again became a part of <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Imperial Russia</a> and its <i>guberniyas</i> constituted part of the <a href="/wiki/Northwestern_Krai" title="Northwestern Krai">Northwestern Krai</a>. The independence seeking <a href="/wiki/November_Uprising" title="November Uprising">1830</a> and <a href="/wiki/January_Uprising" title="January Uprising">1863</a> uprisings of the gentry were subdued by the government forces.<sup id="cite_ref-zytko-1_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-zytko-1-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Although under <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_I_of_Russia" title="Nicholas I of Russia">Nicholas I</a> and <a href="/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Russia" title="Alexander III of Russia">Alexander III</a> the national cultures were repressed due to the policies of de-Polonization<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Russification_of_Belarus" title="Russification of Belarus">Russification</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-zytko-1_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-zytko-1-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which included the return to Orthodoxy, the 19th century signifies the rise of the modern Belarusian nation and self-confidence. A number of authors started publishing in the Belarusian language, including <a href="/wiki/Jan_Czeczot" title="Jan Czeczot">Jan Czeczot</a>, <a href="/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Syrokomla" title="Władysław Syrokomla">Władysław Syrokomla</a> and <a href="/wiki/Konstanty_Kalinowski" title="Konstanty Kalinowski">Konstanty Kalinowski</a>. In 1862-1863 Kalinowski published first newspaper in modern Belarusian language, <i><a href="/wiki/Mu%C5%BCyckaja_prauda" class="mw-redirect" title="Mużyckaja prauda">Mużyckaja prauda</a></i> (<i>Peasants' Truth</i>), in a Latin script.<sup id="cite_ref-horosko_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-horosko-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the second half of the 19th century, the <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_economy" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian economy">Belarusian economy</a>, like that of the entire Europe, was experiencing significant growth due to the spread of the <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> to <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Europe" title="Eastern Europe">Eastern Europe</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> particularly after the <a href="/wiki/Emancipation_of_the_serfs" class="mw-redirect" title="Emancipation of the serfs">emancipation of the serfs</a> in 1861 and the construction of railways in the late 19th century (with <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vitebsk" title="Vitebsk">Vitebsk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pinsk" title="Pinsk">Pinsk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gomel" title="Gomel">Gomel</a> becoming significant industrial centres.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="20th_century">20th century</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: 20th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="BNR_and_LBSSR">BNR and LBSSR</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: BNR and LBSSR"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:BNR_(Ruthienie_Blanche)_Map_1918.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg/280px-BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg" decoding="async" width="280" height="192" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg/420px-BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg/560px-BNR_%28Ruthienie_Blanche%29_Map_1918.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4400" data-file-height="3015" /></a><figcaption>The territory claimed by the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a>, 1918</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Belarus_(1918,_1991%E2%80%931995).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="110" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/330px-Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/440px-Flag_of_Belarus_%281918%2C_1991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="256" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Belarus#White-red-white_flag" title="Flag of Belarus">flag</a> of the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a> in 1918 and of the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Belarus">Republic of Belarus</a> in 1991-1995</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_(1991%E2%80%931995).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/170px-Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="170" height="211" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/255px-Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg/340px-Coat_of_arms_of_Belarus_%281991%E2%80%931995%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="621" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Pahonia" class="mw-redirect" title="Pahonia">Pahonia</a>, the <a href="/wiki/National_emblem_of_Belarus#Pahonia" title="National emblem of Belarus">Coat of Arms</a> of the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a> in 1918 and of the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Belarus">Republic of Belarus</a> in 1991-1995</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a></div> <p>On 21 February 1918, Minsk was captured by German troops. <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> was the short period when <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_culture" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian culture">Belarusian culture</a> started to flourish. German administration allowed schools with <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian language</a>, previously banned in Russia; a number of <a href="/wiki/Education_in_Belarus" title="Education in Belarus">Belarusian schools</a> were created until 1919 when they were banned again by the Polish military administration.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2018)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> At the end of World War I, when Belarus was still <a href="/wiki/Military_occupation" title="Military occupation">occupied</a> by Germans, according to the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk_(Russia%E2%80%93Central_Powers)" class="mw-redirect" title="Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)">Treaty of Brest-Litovsk</a>, the short-lived <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a> was pronounced on 25 March 1918, as part of the German <a href="/wiki/Mitteleuropa" title="Mitteleuropa">Mitteleuropa</a> plan. </p><p>In December 1918, Mitteleuropa was obsolete as the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> withdrew from the <a href="/wiki/Ober-Ost" class="mw-redirect" title="Ober-Ost">Ober-Ost</a> territory, and for the next few years in the newly created <a href="/wiki/Power_vacuum" title="Power vacuum">power vacuum</a> the territories of Belarus would witness the struggle of various national and foreign factions. On 3 December 1918 the Germans withdrew from Minsk. On 10 December 1918 Soviet troops occupied Minsk. The <a href="/wiki/Rada_of_the_Belarusian_Democratic_Republic" title="Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic">Rada (Council) of the People's Republic of Belarus</a> went into <a href="/wiki/Government-in-exile" title="Government-in-exile">exile</a>, first to <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>, then to <a href="/wiki/Berlin" title="Berlin">Berlin</a> and finally to <a href="/wiki/Prague" title="Prague">Prague</a>. On 2 January 1919, the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Socialist_Republic_of_Byelorussia" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia">Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia</a> was declared. On 17 February 1919 it was disbanded. Part of it was included into <a href="/wiki/Russian_SFSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Russian SFSR">Russian SFSR</a>, and part was joined to the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_SSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian SSR">Lithuanian SSR</a> to form the LBSSR, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a>, informally known as <i>Litbel</i>, whose capital was Vilnius. While Belarus National Republic faced off with Litbel, foreign powers were preparing to reclaim what they saw as their territories: Polish forces were moving from the West, and Russians from the East. When Vilnius was captured by Polish forces on 17 April 1919, the capital of the Soviet puppet state Litbel was moved to Minsk. On 17 July 1919 Lenin dissolved Litbel because of the pressure of Polish forces advancing from the West. Polish troops <a href="/wiki/Operation_Minsk" title="Operation Minsk">captured Minsk</a> on 8 August 1919. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Republic_of_Central_Lithuania">Republic of Central Lithuania</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Republic of Central Lithuania"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Central_Lithuania" title="Republic of Central Lithuania">Republic of Central Lithuania</a> was a short-lived political entity within a territory now split between modern Lithuania and Belarus. It was the last attempt to restore Lithuania in the historical confederacy state (it was also supposed to create Lithuania Upper and Lithuania Lower). The republic was created in 1920 following <a href="/wiki/%C5%BBeligowski%27s_Mutiny" title="Żeligowski's Mutiny">the staged rebellion</a> of soldiers of the <a href="/wiki/1st_Lithuanian%E2%80%93Belarusian_Division" title="1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division">1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Polish_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish Army">Polish Army</a> under <a href="/wiki/Lucjan_%C5%BBeligowski" title="Lucjan Żeligowski">Lucjan Żeligowski</a>. Centered on the historical capital of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vilna" class="mw-redirect" title="Vilna">Vilna</a> (<a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian</a>: <i lang="lt">Vilnius</i>, <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" title="Polish language">Polish</a>: <i lang="pl">Wilno</i>), for 18 months the entity served as a <a href="/wiki/Buffer_state" title="Buffer state">buffer state</a> between <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a>, upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area.<sup id="cite_ref-von_Rauch_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-von_Rauch-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> After a variety of delays, <a href="/wiki/1922_Republic_of_Central_Lithuania_general_election" title="1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election">a disputed election</a> took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Żeligowski later in his memoir which was published in London in 1943 condemned the annexation of Republic by Poland, as well as the policy of closing Belarusian schools and general disregard of Marshal <a href="/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a>'s confederation plans by Polish ally.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Belarusian_Soviet_Republic_and_West_Belarus">Belarusian Soviet Republic and West Belarus</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Belarusian Soviet Republic and West Belarus"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Soviet_repression_in_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet repression in Belarus">Soviet repression in Belarus</a></div> <p>Some time in 1918 or 1919, <a href="/wiki/Sergiusz_Piasecki" title="Sergiusz Piasecki">Sergiusz Piasecki</a> returned to Belarus, joining Belarusian anti-Soviet units, the "Green Oak" (in Polish, <i>Zielony Dąb</i>), led by <a href="/wiki/Ataman" title="Ataman">Ataman</a> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Wiaczes%C5%82aw_Adamowicz&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Wiaczesław Adamowicz (page does not exist)">Wiaczesław Adamowicz</a> (<a href="/wiki/Pseudonym" title="Pseudonym">pseudonym</a>: J. Dziergacz). When on 8 August 1919, the <a href="/wiki/Polish_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish Army">Polish Army</a> captured <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a>, Adamowicz decided to work with them. Thus Belarusian units were created, and Piasecki was transferred to a <a href="/wiki/Warsaw" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> school of <a href="/wiki/Infantry" title="Infantry">infantry</a> <a href="/wiki/Cadet" title="Cadet">cadets</a>. In the summer of 1920, during the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Polish–Soviet War">Polish–Soviet War</a>, Piasecki fought in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Radzymin_(1920)" title="Battle of Radzymin (1920)">Battle of Radzymin</a>. </p><p>The frontiers between Poland, which had established an independent government after World War I, and the former Russian Empire were not recognized by the <a href="/wiki/League_of_Nations" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a>. Poland's <a href="/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a>, who envisioned the formation of an <a href="/wiki/Intermarium" title="Intermarium">Intermarium</a> federation as a Central and East European bloc that would be a bulwark against Germany to the west and Russia to the east, carried out a <a href="/wiki/Kiev_offensive_(1920)" title="Kiev offensive (1920)">Kiev offensive</a> into Ukraine in 1920. This met with a Red Army counter-offensive that drove into Polish territory almost to <a href="/wiki/Warsaw" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, Minsk itself was re-captured by the Soviet Red Army on 11 July 1920 and a new <a href="/wiki/Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a> was declared on 31 July 1920. Piłsudski, however, halted the Soviet advance at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_(1920)" title="Battle of Warsaw (1920)">Battle of Warsaw</a> and resumed his eastward offensive. Finally the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Riga" title="Treaty of Riga">Treaty of Riga</a>, ending the Polish–Soviet War, divided Belarus between Poland and Soviet Russia. Over the next two years, the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="People's Republic of Belarus">People's Republic of Belarus</a> prepared a <a href="/wiki/Slutsk_Defence_Action" class="mw-redirect" title="Slutsk Defence Action">national uprising</a>, ceasing the preparations only when the <a href="/wiki/League_of_Nations" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a> recognized the Soviet Union's western borders on 15 March 1923. The Soviets terrorised Western Belarus, the most radical case being <a href="/wiki/Soviet_raid_on_Sto%C5%82pce" title="Soviet raid on Stołpce">Soviet raid on Stołpce</a>. Poland created <a href="/wiki/Border_Protection_Corps" title="Border Protection Corps">Border Protection Corps</a> in 1924. </p><p>The Polish part of Belarus was subject to <a href="/wiki/Polonization" title="Polonization">Polonization</a> policies (especially in the 1930s), while the Soviet Belarus was one of the original republics which formed the <a href="/wiki/USSR" class="mw-redirect" title="USSR">USSR</a>. For several years, the national culture and language enjoyed a significant boost of revival in the Soviet Belarus<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>. A <a href="/wiki/Polish_Autonomous_District" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish Autonomous District">Polish Autonomous District</a> was also formed. This was however soon ended during the <a href="/wiki/Great_Purge" title="Great Purge">Great Purge</a>, when almost all prominent Belarusian national <a href="/wiki/Intelligentsia" title="Intelligentsia">intelligentsia</a> were executed, many of them buried in <a href="/wiki/Kurapaty" title="Kurapaty">Kurapaty</a>. Thousands were deported to Asia. As the result of <a href="/wiki/Polish_operation_of_the_NKVD" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish operation of the NKVD">Polish operation of the NKVD</a> tens of thousands people of many nationalities were killed. Belarusian <a href="/wiki/Orthography" title="Orthography">orthography</a> was <a href="/wiki/Narkamauka" class="mw-redirect" title="Narkamauka">Russified</a> in 1933 and use of Belarusian language was discouraged as exhibiting anti-soviet attitude.<sup id="cite_ref-Janowicz_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Janowicz-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/West_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="West Belarus">West Belarus</a>, up to 30,000 families of Polish <a href="/wiki/Veteran" title="Veteran">veterans</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Osadnik" title="Osadnik">osadniks</a></i>) were settled in the lands formerly belonging to the Russian <a href="/wiki/Tsar" title="Tsar">tsar</a> family and Russian aristocracy.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Belarusian representation in <a href="/wiki/Polish_parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish parliament">Polish parliament</a> was reduced as a result of the 1930 elections. Since the early 1930s, the Polish government introduced a set of policies designed to Polonize all minorities (Belarusians, Ukrainians, Jews, etc.)<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>. The usage of Belarusian language was discouraged and the Belarusian schools were facing severe financial problems. In spring of 1939, there already was neither single Belarusian official organisation in Poland nor a single exclusively Belarusian school (with only 44 schools teaching Belarusian language left).<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Belarus_in_World_War_II">Belarus in World War II</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Belarus in World War II"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Byelorussia_during_World_War_II" title="German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II">German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II</a> and <a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Belarus" title="The Holocaust in Belarus">The Holocaust in Belarus</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006,_Minsk,_Juden.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg/250px-Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg/330px-Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg/500px-Bundesarchiv_N_1576_Bild-006%2C_Minsk%2C_Juden.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="511" /></a><figcaption>Jews in the <a href="/wiki/Minsk_Ghetto" title="Minsk Ghetto">Minsk Ghetto</a>, 1941</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52,_Russland,_bei_Minsk,_tote_Zivilisten.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg/250px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="146" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg/330px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg/500px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1970-043-52%2C_Russland%2C_bei_Minsk%2C_tote_Zivilisten.jpg 2x" data-file-width="799" data-file-height="530" /></a><figcaption>Mass murder of Soviet civilians near <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a>, 1943</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A,_Minsk,_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg/250px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="322" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg/330px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg/500px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-137-1010-37A%2C_Minsk%2C_deutsche_Truppen_vor_modernen_Geb%C3%A4uden.jpg 2x" data-file-width="547" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Wehrmacht" title="Wehrmacht">German troops</a> in <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a> during their <a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Byelorussia_during_World_War_II" title="German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II">occupation</a> of the city, August 1941</figcaption></figure> <p>When the Soviet Union <a href="/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland" title="Invasion of Poland">invaded Poland</a> on September 17, 1939, following the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a>'s secret protocol, Western Byelorussia, which was part of Poland, is included in the BSSR. Similarly to the times of German occupation during World War I, Belarusian language and Soviet culture enjoyed relative prosperity in this short period. Already in October 1940, over 75% of schools used the Belarusian language, also in the regions where no Belarus people lived, e.g. around <a href="/wiki/%C5%81om%C5%BCa" title="Łomża">Łomża</a>, what was Ruthenization.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Western Belarus was sovietised, tens of thousands were imprisoned in <a href="/wiki/Gulag" title="Gulag">Gulag</a> camps, exiled and many were executed as "<a href="/wiki/Enemies_of_the_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Enemies of the people">enemies of the people</a>". The victims were mostly Polish and Jewish.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After twenty months of Soviet rule, <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> and its <a href="/wiki/Axis_Powers" class="mw-redirect" title="Axis Powers">Axis</a> allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Soviet authorities immediately evacuated about 20% of the population of Belarus, <a href="/wiki/NKVD_prisoner_massacres" title="NKVD prisoner massacres">killed thousands of prisoners</a> and destroyed all the food supplies.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The country suffered particularly heavily during the fighting and the German occupation. Minsk was captured by the Germans on 28 June 1941. Following bloody encirclement battles, all of the present-day Belarus territory was occupied by the Germans by the end of August 1941. </p><p>During World War II, the <a href="/wiki/Nazism" title="Nazism">Nazis</a> attempted to establish a puppet Belarusian government, <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_Central_Rada" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian Central Rada">Belarusian Central Rada</a>, with the symbolics similar to BNR. In reality, however, the Germans imposed a brutal <a href="/wiki/Racism" title="Racism">racist</a> regime, burning down some 9,000 Belarusian villages, deporting some 380,000 people for slave labour, and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. Local police took part in many of those crimes. Almost the whole, previously very numerous, Jewish populations of Belarus that did not evacuate were killed. One of the first uprisings of a Jewish <a href="/wiki/Ghetto" title="Ghetto">ghetto</a> against the Nazis occurred in 1942 in Belarus, in the small town of <a href="/wiki/Lakhva" title="Lakhva">Lakhva</a>. </p><p>Since the early days of the occupation, a powerful and increasingly well-coordinated <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_resistance_movement" title="Belarusian resistance movement">Belarusian resistance movement</a> emerged. Hiding in the woods and swamps, the partisans inflicted heavy damage to German supply lines and communications, disrupting railway tracks, bridges, telegraph wires, attacking supply depots, fuel dumps and transports and ambushing German soldiers. Not all anti-German partisans were pro-Soviet.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the largest<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> partisan sabotage action of the entire Second World War, the so-called <a href="/wiki/Asipovichy" title="Asipovichy">Asipovichy</a> diversion of 30 July 1943 four German trains with supplies and <a href="/wiki/Tiger_I" title="Tiger I">Tiger tanks</a> were destroyed. To fight partisan activity, the Germans had to withdraw considerable forces behind their front line. On 22 June 1944 the huge Soviet offensive <a href="/wiki/Operation_Bagration" title="Operation Bagration">Operation Bagration</a> was launched, Minsk was re-captured on 3 July 1944, and all of Belarus was regained by the end of August. Hundred thousand of Poles were expelled after 1944. As part of the Nazis' effort to combat the enormous <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_resistance_during_World_War_II" title="Belarusian resistance during World War II">Belarusian resistance during World War II</a>, special units of local <a href="/wiki/Collaborationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Collaborationist">collaborationists</a> were trained by the <a href="/wiki/SS" class="mw-redirect" title="SS">SS</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Otto_Skorzeny" title="Otto Skorzeny">Otto Skorzeny</a> to infiltrate the Soviet rear. In 1944 thirty Belarusians (known as <a href="/wiki/%C4%8Corny_Kot" class="mw-redirect" title="Čorny Kot">Čorny Kot</a> (<i>Black Cat</i>) and personally led by <a href="/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Vitu%C5%A1ka" title="Michał Vituška">Michał Vituška</a>) were <a href="/wiki/Airdrop" title="Airdrop">airdropped</a> by the <a href="/wiki/Luftwaffe" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> behind the lines of the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a>, which had already liberated Belarus during <a href="/wiki/Operation_Bagration" title="Operation Bagration">Operation Bagration</a>. They experienced some initial success due to disorganization in the rear of the Red Army, and some other German-trained Belarusian nationalist units also slipped through the <a href="/wiki/Bia%C5%82owie%C5%BCa_Forest" title="Białowieża Forest">Białowieża Forest</a> in 1945. The <a href="/wiki/NKVD" title="NKVD">NKVD</a>, however, had already infiltrated these units. Vituška himself was hunted down, captured and executed, although he continued to live on in Belarusian nationalist <a href="/wiki/Hagiography" title="Hagiography">hagiography</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In total, Belarus lost a quarter of its pre-war population in World War II including practically all its intellectual elite. About 9,200 villages and 1.2 million houses were destroyed. The major towns of <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Vitsebsk" class="mw-redirect" title="Vitsebsk">Vitsebsk</a> lost over 80% of their buildings and city infrastructure. For the defence against the Germans, and the tenacity during the German occupation, the capital Minsk was awarded the title <i><a href="/wiki/Hero_City_(Soviet_Union)" title="Hero City (Soviet Union)">Hero City</a></i> after the war. The fortress of <a href="/wiki/Brest,_Belarus" title="Brest, Belarus">Brest</a> was awarded the title <i><a href="/wiki/Hero-Fortress" class="mw-redirect" title="Hero-Fortress">Hero-Fortress</a></i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Post-war_BSSR">Post-war BSSR</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Post-war BSSR"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>After the end of War in 1945, Belarus became one of the founding members of the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations Organisation</a>. Joining Belarus was the Soviet Union itself and another republic <a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic">Ukraine</a>. In exchange for Belarus and Ukraine joining the UN, the United States had the right to seek two more votes, a right that has never been exercised.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_(Partisans_and_Sword).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg/220px-The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="157" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg/330px-The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg/440px-The_Soviet_Union_1969_CPA_3721_stamp_%28Partisans_and_Sword%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="964" data-file-height="687" /></a><figcaption><i>50 years of Soviet Belarus</i> — a Soviet <a href="/wiki/Postage_stamp" title="Postage stamp">postage stamp</a> of 1969</figcaption></figure> <p>More than 200,000 ethnic Poles left or were expelled to Poland in <a href="/wiki/Polish_population_transfers_(1944%E2%80%9346)#From_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish population transfers (1944–46)">late 1940s</a> and <a href="/wiki/Repatriation_of_Poles_(1955%E2%80%9359)" class="mw-redirect" title="Repatriation of Poles (1955–59)">late 1950s</a>, some killed by the <a href="/wiki/NKVD" title="NKVD">NKVD</a> or deported to Siberia.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2016)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> <sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Armia_Krajowa" class="mw-redirect" title="Armia Krajowa">Armia Krajowa</a> and post-AK resistance was the strongest in the <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vawkavysk" title="Vawkavysk">Vawkavysk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lida" title="Lida">Lida</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shchuchyn" title="Shchuchyn">Shchuchyn</a> regions.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Belarusian economy was completely devastated by the events of the war. Most of the industry, including whole production plants were removed either to Russia or Germany. Industrial production of Belarus in 1945 amounted for less than 20% of its pre-war size. Most of the factories evacuated to Russia, with several spectacular exceptions, were not returned to Belarus after 1945. During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded the BSSR's economy, with control always exerted exclusively from Moscow. During this time, Belarus became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR. Huge industrial objects like the <a href="/wiki/BelAZ" title="BelAZ">BelAZ</a>, <a href="/wiki/Minsk_Automobile_Plant" title="Minsk Automobile Plant">MAZ</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Minsk_Tractor_Plant" class="mw-redirect" title="Minsk Tractor Plant">Minsk Tractor Plant</a> were built in the country. The increase in jobs resulted in a huge immigrant population of Russians in Belarus. Russian became the official language of administration and the peasant class, which traditionally was the base for Belarusian nation, ceased to exist.<sup id="cite_ref-Janowicz_18-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Janowicz-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Perestroika_and_Glasnost">Perestroika and Glasnost</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Perestroika and Glasnost"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1982%E2%80%931991)" title="History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)">History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Perestroika" title="Perestroika">Perestroika</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">Glasnost</a></div> <p>On 26 April 1986, the <a href="/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster" title="Chernobyl disaster">Chernobyl disaster</a> occurred at the <a href="/wiki/Chernobyl_Nuclear_Power_Plant" title="Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant">Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant</a> in <a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic">Ukraine</a> situated close to the border with Belarus. It is regarded as the worst <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_accident" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear accident">nuclear accident</a> in the history of <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_power" title="Nuclear power">nuclear power</a>. It produced a plume of <a href="/wiki/Radioactivity" class="mw-redirect" title="Radioactivity">radioactive</a> debris that drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. Large areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of roughly 200,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. The <a href="/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster_effects" class="mw-redirect" title="Chernobyl disaster effects">effects of the Chernobyl accident in Belarus</a> were dramatic: about 50,000 km<sup>2</sup> (or about a quarter of the territory of Belarus) formerly populated by 2.2 million people (or a fifth of the Belarusian population) now require permanent radioactive monitoring (after receiving doses over 37 <a href="/wiki/Becquerel" title="Becquerel">kBq</a>/m<sup>2</sup> of <a href="/wiki/Caesium" title="Caesium">caesium</a>-137). 135,000 persons were permanently resettled and many more were resettled temporarily. After 10 years since the accident, the occurrences of <a href="/wiki/Thyroid_cancer" title="Thyroid cancer">thyroid cancer</a> among children increased fifteenfold (the sharp rise started in about four years after the accident).<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Republic_of_Belarus">Republic of Belarus</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Republic of Belarus"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Belarus" title="Politics of Belarus">Politics of Belarus</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Priority_over_Soviet_Union_laws_and_negotiations_on_a_new_Treaty">Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new Treaty</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new Treaty"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Parade_of_sovereignties" title="Parade of sovereignties">Parade of sovereignties</a>, <a href="/wiki/War_of_Laws" title="War of Laws">War of Laws</a>, and <a href="/wiki/New_Union_Treaty" title="New Union Treaty">New Union Treaty</a></div> <p>On 27 July 1990, Belarus declared its national sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the Soviet Union. Around that time, <a href="/wiki/Stanislav_Shushkevich" title="Stanislav Shushkevich">Stanislav Shushkevich</a> became the chairman of the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet" title="Supreme Soviet">Supreme Soviet</a> of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Soviet_coup_attempt,_the_Transition_Period_and_the_end_of_the_Soviet_Union"><span id="Soviet_coup_attempt.2C_the_Transition_Period_and_the_end_of_the_Soviet_Union"></span>Soviet coup attempt, the Transition Period and the end of the Soviet Union</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Soviet coup attempt, the Transition Period and the end of the Soviet Union"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_attempt" title="1991 Soviet coup attempt">1991 Soviet coup attempt</a>; <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">Dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>; <a href="/wiki/Transition_period_and_cessation_of_the_existence_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union">Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union</a>; and <a href="/wiki/Succession,_continuity_and_legacy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union">Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union</a></div> <p>On 25 August 1991, after the failure of the <a href="/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt" class="mw-redirect" title="1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt">August Coup</a> in Moscow, Belarus declared full independence from the USSR by granting the declaration of state sovereignty a constitutional status that it did not have before.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Independent_country_and_the_Commonwealth">Independent country and the Commonwealth</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Independent country and the Commonwealth"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Belovezha_Accords" title="Belovezha Accords">Belovezha Accords</a>, <a href="/wiki/Alma-Ata_Protocol" title="Alma-Ata Protocol">Alma-Ata Protocol</a>, <a href="/wiki/Common_Economic_Space_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States">Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mobility_rights_arrangements_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States">Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Military_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Military of the Commonwealth of Independent States">Military of the Commonwealth of Independent States</a></div> <p>On 8 December 1991, Shushkevich met with <a href="/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin" title="Boris Yeltsin">Boris Yeltsin</a> of Russia and <a href="/wiki/Leonid_Kravchuk" title="Leonid Kravchuk">Leonid Kravchuk</a> of Ukraine, in <a href="/wiki/Belavezhskaya_Pushcha" class="mw-redirect" title="Belavezhskaya Pushcha">Belavezhskaya Pushcha</a>, to formally declare the <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a> and the formation of the <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="Commonwealth of Independent States">Commonwealth of Independent States</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Post-Soviet_countries" class="mw-redirect" title="Post-Soviet countries">Post-Soviet countries</a> have signed a <a href="/wiki/Succession,_continuity_and_legacy_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union">series of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union</a> multilaterally and bilaterally. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Lukashenko_era">Lukashenko era</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Lukashenko era"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png/220px-Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="160" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png/330px-Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png/440px-Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png 2x" data-file-width="739" data-file-height="536" /></a><figcaption>Signatures on the Budapest Memorandum for security assurances to Belarus in exchange for national denuclearization</figcaption></figure> <p>A new <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_Belarus" title="Constitution of Belarus">Belarusian constitution</a> enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Lukashenko" title="Alexander Lukashenko">Alexander Lukashenko</a> was <a href="/wiki/1994_Belarusian_presidential_election" title="1994 Belarusian presidential election">elected president of Belarus</a>. Having assumed the rights and responsibilities of the Soviet Union on the territory of Byelarus,<sup id="cite_ref-lisbon_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lisbon-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> in December 1994 Lukashenko signed the <a href="/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum" title="Budapest Memorandum">Budapest Memorandum</a> along with <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>, the United Kingdom and the United States acting as guarantors and thereby denuclearized the nation.<sup id="cite_ref-treaty50069_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-treaty50069-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-mfaby13_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mfaby13-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-yost15_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-yost15-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-potter95_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-potter95-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/1996_Belarusian_referendum" title="1996 Belarusian referendum">1996 referendum</a> resulted in amendments to the constitution that removed key powers from the parliament. </p><p>In 1999 opposition leaders <a href="/wiki/Yury_Zacharanka" title="Yury Zacharanka">Yury Zacharanka</a> and <a href="/wiki/Viktar_Hanchar" title="Viktar Hanchar">Viktar Hanchar</a> <a href="/wiki/Forced_disappearance" class="mw-redirect" title="Forced disappearance">disappeared</a> and were presumably killed. In 2001, <a href="/wiki/2001_Belarusian_presidential_election" title="2001 Belarusian presidential election">Lukashenko was re-elected as president</a> in elections described as undemocratic by Western observers. At the same time, the west began criticizing him as <a href="/wiki/Authoritarianism" title="Authoritarianism">authoritarian</a>. In 2006, Lukashenko was <a href="/wiki/2006_Belarusian_presidential_election" title="2006 Belarusian presidential election">once again re-elected</a> in presidential elections again criticized as flawed by most <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> countries. </p><p>In 2010, Lukashenko was <a href="/wiki/2010_Belarusian_presidential_election" title="2010 Belarusian presidential election">re-elected once again</a> in presidential elections which were again described as falsified by most EU countries and organizations such as the <a href="/wiki/OSCE" class="mw-redirect" title="OSCE">OSCE</a>. A peaceful protest against the electoral flaws turned into a riot when demonstrators tried to storm a government building. The police used batons to quell the riot. Seven presidential candidates and hundreds of rioters were arrested by <a href="/wiki/State_Security_Committee_of_the_Republic_of_Belarus" title="State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus">KGB</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-bbc100s_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bbc100s-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_(30_July_2020)_-_42.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg/250px-Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg/330px-Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg/500px-Rally_in_support_of_Tsikhanouskaya_in_Minsk_%2830_July_2020%29_-_42.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5472" data-file-height="3648" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/2020%E2%80%9321_Belarusian_protests" class="mw-redirect" title="2020–21 Belarusian protests">2020–21 Belarusian protests</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Lukashenko's disputed victory in the country's <a href="/wiki/2020_Belarusian_presidential_election" title="2020 Belarusian presidential election">2020 presidential election</a> led to widespread allegations of <a href="/wiki/Vote_rigging" class="mw-redirect" title="Vote rigging">vote rigging</a>, which strongly amplified <a href="/wiki/2020%E2%80%932021_Belarusian_protests" title="2020–2021 Belarusian protests">anti-government protests</a>, the largest during his rule.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Protesters have faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="United Nations Human Rights Office">United Nations Human Rights Office</a> on 1 September cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Several <a href="/wiki/List_of_deaths_related_to_the_2020_Belarusian_protests" title="List of deaths related to the 2020 Belarusian protests">protesters were killed</a>. Following the contested election, Lukashenko is not recognized by the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United States as the legitimate president of Belarus.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-axios_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-axios-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 23 May 2021, <a href="/wiki/Ryanair_Flight_4978" title="Ryanair Flight 4978">Ryanair Flight 4978</a> was diverted by the <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_government" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian government">Belarusian government</a> to <a href="/wiki/Minsk_National_Airport" title="Minsk National Airport">Minsk National Airport</a>, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel <a href="/wiki/Nexta" title="Nexta">Nexta</a> <a href="/wiki/Roman_Protasevich" title="Roman Protasevich">Roman Protasevich</a> and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In summer of the same year, Belarusian authorities organized the <a href="/wiki/2021%E2%80%932022_Belarus%E2%80%93European_Union_border_crisis" class="mw-redirect" title="2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis">2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis</a> consisting of an influx of tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, to <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a>, <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a> via those countries' borders with Belarus.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Belarus allowed its territory to be used by the Russian army in the <a href="/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" class="mw-redirect" title="2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine">2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine</a> to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine.<sup id="cite_ref-belanw_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-belanw-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_Belarus" title="Outline of Belarus">Outline of Belarus</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Belarus">"History of Belarus | Events, People, Dates, & Facts | Britannica"</a>. <i>www.britannica.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 June</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.britannica.com&rft.atitle=History+of+Belarus+%7C+Events%2C+People%2C+Dates%2C+%26+Facts+%7C+Britannica&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2Fhistory-of-Belarus&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEIoffeSilitski2018137-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIoffeSilitski2018137_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFIoffeSilitski2018">Ioffe & Silitski 2018</a>, p. 137.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-channon-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-channon_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">John Channon & Robert Hudson, <i>Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia</i> (Penguin, 1995), p.16.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Björn Wiemer. "Dialect and language contacts on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 15th century until 1939". <i>Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History</i>. Edited by Kurt Braunmüller and Gisell Ferraresi. John Benjamins Publishing. 2003. pp. 110–111.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20060404105829/http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/061/61149.htm">Литовско–русское государство</a> (<i>Litovsko–russkoye gosydarstvo</i>) in <i><a href="/wiki/Brockhaus_and_Efron_Encyclopedic_Dictionary" title="Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary">Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary</a></i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"> <span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20050218174817/http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/001/134.htm">Братства</a>" (<i>Bratstva</i>) in <i><a href="/wiki/Brockhaus_and_Efron_Encyclopedic_Dictionary" title="Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary">Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary</a></i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://belarus.by/ru/belarus/history/4/5/">Внутриполитические результаты Люблинской унии</a> (<i>Vnutripolitičeskie rezul'tati Lyublinskoy unii</i>), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://belarus.by/">Belarus.by portal</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://belarus.by/ru/belarus/history/4/6/">Церковная уния 1596 г.</a> (<i>Tserkovnaya uniya 1596 g.</i>) in "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://belarus.by/">belarus.by portal</a>"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-promemoria-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-promemoria_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Polish)</span> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Jerzy_Czajewski&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jerzy Czajewski (page does not exist)">Jerzy Czajewski</a>, <i>Zbiegostwo ludności Rosji w granice Rzeczypospolitej</i> (Russian population exodus into the Rzeczpospolita), Promemoria journal, October 2004 nr. (5/15), ISSN 1509-9091, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.promemoria.org.pl/arch/2004_15/2004_15.html">Table of Contents online</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060312232518/http://www.promemoria.org.pl/arch/2004_15/2004_15.html">Archived</a> 12 March 2006 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFS." class="citation news cs1 cs1-prop-unfit">S., John. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123854/https://www.johnlearn.com/p/history-of-belarus-was-formed-probably-on-the-basis-of-the-three-slavic-tribes">"History of Belarus was formed probably on the basis of the three Slavic tribes"</a>. <i>John Learn</i>. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">8 February</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=John+Learn&rft.atitle=History+of+Belarus+was+formed+probably+on+the+basis+of+the+three+Slavic+tribes&rft.aulast=S.&rft.aufirst=John&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnlearn.com%2Fp%2Fhistory-of-belarus-was-formed-probably-on-the-basis-of-the-three-slavic-tribes&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-zytko-1-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-zytko-1_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-zytko-1_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Żytko, Anatol (1999) <i>Russian policy towards the Belarussian gentry in 1861–1914</i>, Minsk, p. 551.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pravoslavie.ru/arhiv/050513111111">Воссоединение униатов и исторические судьбы Белорусского народа</a> (<i>Vossoyedineniye uniatov i istoričeskiye sud'bi Belorusskogo naroda</i>), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pravoslavie.ru/">Pravoslavie portal</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-horosko-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-horosko_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFHorosko1965" class="citation journal cs1">Horosko, Leo (16 December 1965). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.schoeningh.de/view/journals/bela/1/1/article-p30_5.xml">"Kastus Kalinouski: Leader of the National Uprising in Byelorussia 1863-64"</a>. <i>Journal of Belarusian Studies</i>. <b>1</b> (1): <span class="nowrap">30–</span>35. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.30965%2F20526512-00101005">10.30965/20526512-00101005</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0075-4161">0075-4161</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 June</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Belarusian+Studies&rft.atitle=Kastus+Kalinouski%3A+Leader+of+the+National+Uprising+in+Byelorussia+1863-64&rft.volume=1&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E30-%3C%2Fspan%3E35&rft.date=1965-12-16&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.30965%2F20526512-00101005&rft.issn=0075-4161&rft.aulast=Horosko&rft.aufirst=Leo&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.schoeningh.de%2Fview%2Fjournals%2Fbela%2F1%2F1%2Farticle-p30_5.xml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Russian)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rw.by/index.php/.106....0.0.0.html">История строительства дорог 1850–1900 гг.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090104041533/http://www.rw.by/index.php/.106....0.0.0.html">Archived</a> 4 January 2009 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Byelorussian_Railways&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Byelorussian Railways (page does not exist)">Byelorussian Railways</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Экономика Белорусии в Эпоху Империализма 1900-1917. Под редакцией Г. Ковалевского и др. Минск 1963, стр.86-88 and 413</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-von_Rauch-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-von_Rauch_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFRauch1974" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Georg_von_Rauch" title="Georg von Rauch">Rauch, Georg von</a> (1974). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=emBIdi4LPz8C&pg=PA101">"The Early Stages of Independence"</a>. In Gerald Onn (ed.). <i>The Baltic States: Years of Independence – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917–40</i>. C. Hurst & Co. pp. <span class="nowrap">100–</span>102. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-903983-00-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-903983-00-1"><bdi>0-903983-00-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Early+Stages+of+Independence&rft.btitle=The+Baltic+States%3A+Years+of+Independence+%E2%80%93+Estonia%2C+Latvia%2C+Lithuania%2C+1917%E2%80%9340&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E100-%3C%2Fspan%3E102&rft.pub=C.+Hurst+%26+Co&rft.date=1974&rft.isbn=0-903983-00-1&rft.aulast=Rauch&rft.aufirst=Georg+von&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DemBIdi4LPz8C%26pg%3DPA101&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFŻeligowski,_Lucjan1943" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Żeligowski, Lucjan (1943). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://history-belarus.by/images/img-figures/zeligowski/Zeligowski_Zapomnianae-prawdy.pdf"><i>Zapomniane prawdy</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> (in Polish). F. Mildner & Sons. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://history-belarus.by/images/img-figures/zeligowski/Zeligowski_Zapomnianae-prawdy.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 9 October 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Zapomniane+prawdy&rft.pub=F.+Mildner+%26+Sons&rft.date=1943&rft.au=%C5%BBeligowski%2C+Lucjan&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fhistory-belarus.by%2Fimages%2Fimg-figures%2Fzeligowski%2FZeligowski_Zapomnianae-prawdy.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Janowicz-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Janowicz_18-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Janowicz_18-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Sokrat_Janowicz" title="Sokrat Janowicz">Janowicz, Sokrat</a> (1999). <i>Forming of the Belarussian nation</i>. RYTM. pp. 247–248.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Polish)</span> Stobniak-Smogorzewska, Janina (2003) <i>Kresowe osadnictwo wojskowe 1920–1945</i> (<i>Military colonization of Kresy 1920–1945</i>), Warsaw, RYTM, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-7399-006-2" title="Special:BookSources/83-7399-006-2">83-7399-006-2</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Polish)</span> Ogonowski, Jerzy (2000) <i>Uprawnienia językowe mniejszości narodowych w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1939</i> (<i>The Language Rights of National Minorities in the Second Republic of Poland, 1918–1939</i>, Polish with an English summary), Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, Warsaw, pp. 164–165</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ruchniewicz, <i>Stosunki...</i>, p254</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/2605.html">[1]</a><a href="/wiki/Jan_T._Gross" title="Jan T. Gross">Jan T. Gross</a><span>, Revolution from Abroad</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Franziska Exeler, "What Did You Do during the War?" <i>Kritika: Explorations in Russian & Eurasian History</i> (Fall 2016) 17#4 pp 805-835 examines behaviour World War II in Belarus under the Germans, using oral history, letters of complaint, memoirs and secret police and party reports.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Polish)</span> Mironowicz, Eugeniusz (1999) <i>Białoruś</i>, Trio, Warsaw, p. 136. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-85660-82-8" title="Special:BookSources/83-85660-82-8">83-85660-82-8</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Strużyńska, <i>Anti-Soviet conspiracy...</i>, pp859–860.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFAlexander_Perry_Biddiscombe2006" class="citation book cs1">Alexander Perry Biddiscombe (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EeYhAQAAIAAJ&q=V.+I.+Rodko"><i>The SS Hunter Battalions: The Hidden History of the Nazi Resistance Movement 1944-45</i></a>. Tempus. p. 66/67. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0752439383" title="Special:BookSources/0752439383"><bdi>0752439383</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+SS+Hunter+Battalions%3A+The+Hidden+History+of+the+Nazi+Resistance+Movement+1944-45&rft.pages=66%2F67&rft.pub=Tempus&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=0752439383&rft.au=Alexander+Perry+Biddiscombe&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DEeYhAQAAIAAJ%26q%3DV.%2BI.%2BRodko&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwii/17604.htm">"United Nations"</a>. U.S. Department of State<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 September</span> 2014</span>. <q>Voting procedures and the veto power of permanent members of the Security Council were finalized at the <a href="/wiki/Yalta_Conference" title="Yalta Conference">Yalta Conference</a> in 1945 when Roosevelt and Stalin agreed that the veto would not prevent discussions by the Security Council. Roosevelt agreed to General Assembly membership for Ukraine and Byelorussia while reserving the right, which was never exercised, to seek two more votes for the United States.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=United+Nations&rft.pub=U.S.+Department+of+State&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2F2001-2009.state.gov%2Fr%2Fpa%2Fho%2Ftime%2Fwwii%2F17604.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Andrew Savchenko, Belarus: A Perpetual Borderland, page 135, BRILL, 2009, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789004174481" title="Special:BookSources/9789004174481">9789004174481</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de/debating-20th-century-history/belarus/strangers-at-home-memorialisation-of-the-armia-krajowa-in-belarus/">Strangers at Home: Memorialisation of the Armia Krajowa in Belarus, Iryna Kashtalian, Imre Kertész Kolleg's Cultures of History Forum</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-30">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070715164257/http://expo2000.bsu.by/main.idc?id=500&id2=500">Последствия аварии на Чернобыльской АЭС</a>. expo2000.bsu.by</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-31">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus_independence_day_that_wasnt/24307926.html">Belarus And The Independence Day That Wasn't</a> - by Tom Balmforth, <a href="/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe" class="mw-redirect" title="Radio Free Europe">Radio Free Europe</a>, 25 August 2011</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lisbon-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-lisbon_32-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080112175900/http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf">"Protocol To The Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics On The Reduction And Limitation Of Strategic Offensive Arms"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. US Department of State. 23 May 1992. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 12 January 2008.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Protocol+To+The+Treaty+Between+The+United+States+Of+America+And+The+Union+Of+Soviet+Socialist+Republics+On+The+Reduction+And+Limitation+Of+Strategic+Offensive+Arms&rft.date=1992-05-23&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.state.gov%2Fdocuments%2Forganization%2F27389.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-treaty50069-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-treaty50069_33-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280338ba9">"Registration Number - 50069; Title - Memorandum of Security Assurances in connection with Accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons"</a>. treaties.un.org. 3 September 2012.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Registration+Number+-+50069%3B+Title+-+Memorandum+of+Security+Assurances+in+connection+with+Accession+of+the+Republic+of+Belarus+to+the+Treaty+on+Non-Proliferation+of+Nuclear+Weapons&rft.date=2012-09-03&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftreaties.un.org%2FPages%2FshowDetails.aspx%3Fobjid%3D0800000280338ba9&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-mfaby13-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-mfaby13_34-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mfa.gov.by/en/press/news_mfa/b8176c7c5ce33383.html">"On the Participation of Belarus Delegation in the Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference within the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons"</a>. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 24 April 2013. <q>In particular, it was pointed out that Belarus considers the NPT as a fundamental legally binding international instrument in the framework of the existing architecture of international security. The Belarusian party is in favor of further strengthening the Treaty and balanced implementation of all its provisions. It was emphasized that the Budapest memorandum of 1994 has a particular importance for our country. This document contains trilateral security assurances provided in connection with the Belarusian accession to the NPT and voluntary refusal of Belarus from the right to possess with nuclear weapons. Budapest Memorandum registered in the UN as an international treaty.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=On+the+Participation+of+Belarus+Delegation+in+the+Session+of+the+Preparatory+Committee+for+the+Review+Conference+within+the+Treaty+on+the+Non-proliferation+of+Nuclear+Weapons&rft.date=2013-04-24&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mfa.gov.by%2Fen%2Fpress%2Fnews_mfa%2Fb8176c7c5ce33383.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-yost15-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-yost15_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFYost2015" class="citation journal cs1">Yost, David (May 2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf">"The Budapest memorandum and Russia's Itervention in Ukraine"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>International Affairs</i>. <b>91</b> (3): <span class="nowrap">505–</span>538. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1468-2346.12279">10.1111/1468-2346.12279</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 9 October 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=International+Affairs&rft.atitle=The+Budapest+memorandum+and+Russia%27s+Itervention+in+Ukraine&rft.volume=91&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E505-%3C%2Fspan%3E538&rft.date=2015-05&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1111%2F1468-2346.12279&rft.aulast=Yost&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcalhoun.nps.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10945%2F57105%2FYost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-potter95-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-potter95_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPotter1995" class="citation journal cs1">Potter, William C. (April 1995). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf">"The Politics of Nuclear Renunanciation: The Cases of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Occasional Papers</i> (22). The Henry L. Stimson Center. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 9 October 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Occasional+Papers&rft.atitle=The+Politics+of+Nuclear+Renunanciation%3A+The+Cases+of+Belarus%2C+Kazakhstan+and+Ukraine&rft.issue=22&rft.date=1995-04&rft.aulast=Potter&rft.aufirst=William+C.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fstimson.org%2Fwp-content%2Ffiles%2Ffile-attachments%2FOccasional%2520Paper%2520No.%252022%2520April%25201995.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-bbc100s-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-bbc100s_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12037486">"<span class="cs1-kern-left"></span>'Hundreds of protesters arrested' in Belarus"</a>. BBC. 20 December 2010.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=%27Hundreds+of+protesters+arrested%27+in+Belarus&rft.date=2010-12-20&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-europe-12037486&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53637365">"Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under fire"</a>. <i>BBC News</i>. 11 September 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BBC+News&rft.atitle=Belarus+President+Alexander+Lukashenko+under+fire&rft.date=2020-09-11&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld-europe-53637365&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E">"UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Office_of_the_United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Human_Rights" title="Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights">Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights</a></i>. 1 September 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 September</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Office+of+the+United+Nations+High+Commissioner+for+Human+Rights&rft.atitle=UN+human+rights+experts%3A+Belarus+must+stop+torturing+protesters+and+prevent+enforced+disappearances&rft.date=2020-09-01&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohchr.org%2FEN%2FNewsEvents%2FPages%2FDisplayNews.aspx%3FNewsID%3D26199%26LangID%3DE&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/84346/el-pais-interview-hrvp-borrell-%E2%80%9Clukashenko-maduro-we-do-not-recognize-him-he-must-deal-him%E2%80%9D_en">"El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. eeas.europa.eu. 24 August 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=El+Pais+interview+with+HR%2FVP+Borrell%3A+%22Lukashenko+is+like+Maduro.+We+do+not+recognize+him+but+we+must+deal+with+him%22&rft.pub=eeas.europa.eu&rft.date=2020-08-24&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Feeas.europa.eu%2Fheadquarters%2Fheadquarters-homepage%2F84346%2Fel-pais-interview-hrvp-borrell-%25E2%2580%259Clukashenko-maduro-we-do-not-recognize-him-he-must-deal-him%25E2%2580%259D_en&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-axios-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-axios_41-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Dave Lawler, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.axios.com/us-lukashenko-president-belarus-353ed235-98f7-446f-919a-6a6cdab81975.html">U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus</a>, <i>Axios</i> (24 September 2020).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240">"Belarus opposition says government forced Ryanair plane to land to arrest journalist"</a>. <i>Deutsche Welle</i>. 23 May 2021. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210523122730/https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240">Archived</a> from the original on 23 May 2021<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 May</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Deutsche+Welle&rft.atitle=Belarus+opposition+says+government+forced+Ryanair+plane+to+land+to+arrest+journalist&rft.date=2021-05-23&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dw.com%2Fen%2Fbelarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist%2Fa-57635240&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFWhitmore2021" class="citation web cs1">Whitmore, Brian (30 June 2021). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/">"Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Council" title="Atlantic Council">Atlantic Council</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210805193633/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/">Archived</a> from the original on 5 August 2021<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">5 August</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Atlantic+Council&rft.atitle=Belarus+dictator+weaponizes+illegal+migrants+against+EU&rft.date=2021-06-30&rft.aulast=Whitmore&rft.aufirst=Brian&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlanticcouncil.org%2Fblogs%2Fukrainealert%2Fbelarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-belanw-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-belanw_44-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-lukashenko-faces-revolt-officers-against-ukraine-war-1723224">"Putin Ally Lukashenko Faces Revolt From Officers Against Ukraine War"</a>. Newsweek Digital LLC. 10 July 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Putin+Ally+Lukashenko+Faces+Revolt+From+Officers+Against+Ukraine+War&rft.date=2022-07-10&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fputin-ally-lukashenko-faces-revolt-officers-against-ukraine-war-1723224&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Bibliography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Thomas M. Bohn, Weißrussland oder Belarus? Die Weiße Ruß in Historiographie und Kartographie. Harassowitz, Wiesbaden 2025, ISBN 978-3-447-12380-8.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFIoffeSilitski2018" class="citation book cs1">Ioffe, Grigory; Silitski, Vitali (15 August 2018). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=X51iDwAAQBAJ"><i>Historical Dictionary of Belarus</i></a>. Rowman & Littlefield. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5381-1706-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-5381-1706-4"><bdi>978-1-5381-1706-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Historical+Dictionary+of+Belarus&rft.pub=Rowman+%26+Littlefield&rft.date=2018-08-15&rft.isbn=978-1-5381-1706-4&rft.aulast=Ioffe&rft.aufirst=Grigory&rft.au=Silitski%2C+Vitali&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DX51iDwAAQBAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Belarus" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Belarus&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409" /> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/40px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/60px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></a></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:History_of_Belarus" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:History of Belarus"><span style="font-style:italic; font-weight:bold;">History of Belarus</span></a>.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120704083750/http://www.radabnr.org/indexen.html">Belarus National Republic</a> — the Belarusian Government in exile</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.probelarus.ru">Stary Hetman</a> — forums and library (in Belarusian and Russian) on Belarusian history</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/belarus/">Belarus</a>, by <a href="/wiki/CIA_World_Factbook" class="mw-redirect" title="CIA World Factbook">CIA World Factbook</a>, 2000</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5371.htm">Belarus</a>, by <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State" title="United States Department of State">United States Department of State</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20001205074100/http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-diasp.htm#diaspora">Belarusian diaspora</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.litvania.tk/">History of Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090201075425/http://www.litvania.tk/">Archived</a> 1 February 2009 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lyczkowski.net/en/handbooks/miensk-voivodship-officials/preface.html">Miensk Voivodeship Officials of 16th-18th centuries</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/blr94pres.html">Belarus 1994 Presidential Election</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081013031512/http://www.binghamton.edu/cdp/era/elections/blr94pres.html">Archived</a> 13 October 2008 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/history">Belarus history</a> on the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belarus.by/en">Official Website of the Republic of Belarus</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belhistory.eu">Belarusian Historical Review. Independent Academic Journal dedicated to history of Belarus (Belarusian and English versions)</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ax-MG3I7s4">History of Belarus in five minutes</a>. YouTube</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output 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href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Belarus_topics" title="Template:Belarus topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Belarus_topics" title="Template talk:Belarus topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Belarus_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Belarus topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Belarus_articles698" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> <a href="/wiki/List_of_Belarus-related_topics" title="List of Belarus-related topics">articles</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Neuri" title="Neuri">Neuri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Androphagi" title="Androphagi">Androphagi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Principality of Polotsk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Turov" title="Principality of Turov">Principality of Turov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_history_in_the_Russian_Empire" title="Belarusian history in the Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Russification_of_Belarus" title="Russification of Belarus">Russification</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_Democratic_Republic" title="Belarusian Democratic Republic">Belarusian Democratic Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_Belorussia" title="Western Belorussia">Western Belorussia</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_annexation_of_Western_Belorussia" title="Soviet annexation of Western Belorussia">Annexation of Western Belarus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sovietization_of_Western_Byelorussia_(1939-1941)" title="Sovietization of Western Byelorussia (1939-1941)">Sovietization of Western Byelorussia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Republic_of_Belarus">Republic of Belarus</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Belarus" title="Geography of Belarus">Geography</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_cities_and_largest_towns_in_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="List of cities and largest towns in Belarus">Cities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_extreme_points_of_Belarus" title="List of extreme points of Belarus">Extreme points</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Belarus" title="Geology of Belarus">Geology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Protected_areas_of_Belarus" title="Protected areas of Belarus">Protected areas</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/World_Network_of_Biosphere_Reserves_in_Europe_and_North_America#Belarus" title="World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Europe and North America">Biosphere Reserves</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_Belarus" title="List of national parks of Belarus">National parks</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Belarus" title="List of rivers of Belarus">Rivers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swamps_of_Belarus" title="Swamps of Belarus">Swamps</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Belarus" title="Politics of Belarus">Politics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Regions_of_Belarus" title="Regions of Belarus">Administrative divisions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Censorship_in_Belarus" title="Censorship in Belarus">Censorship</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_Belarus" title="Constitution of Belarus">Constitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_Belarus" title="Elections in Belarus">Elections</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Central_Election_Commission_of_Belarus" title="Central Election Commission of Belarus">Central Election Commission</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Belarus" title="Foreign relations of Belarus">Foreign relations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_Belarus" title="Government of Belarus">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_Belarus" title="Human rights in Belarus">Human rights</a> (<a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Belarus" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT rights in Belarus">LGBT</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Belarus" title="Law enforcement in Belarus">Law enforcement</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/State_Security_Committee_of_the_Republic_of_Belarus" title="State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus">State Security Committee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_Internal_Affairs_(Belarus)" title="Ministry of Internal Affairs (Belarus)">Ministry of Internal Affairs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internal_Troops_of_Belarus" title="Internal Troops of Belarus">Internal Troops</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Militsiya_(Belarus)" title="Militsiya (Belarus)">Militsiya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Presidential_Security_Service_(Belarus)" title="Presidential Security Service (Belarus)">Presidential Security Service</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_Belarus" title="Armed Forces of Belarus">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Assembly_of_the_Republic_of_Belarus" title="National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus">Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Belarus" title="List of political parties in Belarus">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/President_of_Belarus" title="President of Belarus">President</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Belarus" title="Prime Minister of Belarus">Prime Minister</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Belarus" title="List of prime ministers of Belarus">List</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_State" title="Union State">Union State of Russia and Belarus</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Belarus" title="Economy of Belarus">Economy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_Belarus" title="Agriculture in Belarus">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Belarus" title="List of banks in Belarus">Banking</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/National_Bank_of_the_Republic_of_Belarus" title="National Bank of the Republic of Belarus">Central bank</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_ruble" title="Belarusian ruble">Ruble <span style="font-size: 85%;">(currency)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Belarus" title="Telecommunications in Belarus">Telecommunications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energy_in_Belarus" title="Energy in Belarus">Energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Industry_of_Belarus" title="Industry of Belarus">Industry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_and_organizations_sanctioned_in_relation_to_human_rights_violations_in_Belarus" title="List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus">International sanctions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_Currency_and_Stock_Exchange" title="Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange">Stock exchange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_Belarus" title="Transport in Belarus">Transport</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Society_of_Belarus" title="Category:Society of Belarus">Society</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_Belarus" title="Demographics of Belarus">Demographics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusians" title="Belarusians">Belarusians</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rus%27_people" title="Rus' people">Rus' people</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ruthenians" title="Ruthenians">Ruthenians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gente_Ruthenus,_natione_Polonus" title="Gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus">Gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Belarus" title="Education in Belarus">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Healthcare_in_Belarus" title="Healthcare in Belarus">Healthcare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Belarus" title="Religion in Belarus">Religion</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Belarus" title="Culture of Belarus">Culture</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Orders,_decorations,_and_medals_of_Belarus" title="Orders, decorations, and medals of Belarus">Awards and decorations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_name" title="Belarusian name">Belarusian names</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_cuisine" title="Belarusian cuisine">Cuisine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_folk_dance" title="Belarusian folk dance">Folk dance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Languages_of_Belarus" title="Languages of Belarus">Languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_literature" title="Belarusian literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Music_of_Belarus" title="Music of Belarus">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cinema_of_Belarus" title="Cinema of Belarus">Cinema</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mass_media_in_Belarus" title="Mass media in Belarus">Media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_symbols_of_Belarus" title="National symbols of Belarus">National symbols</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Belarus" title="Public holidays in Belarus">Public holidays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Belarus" title="List of World Heritage Sites in Belarus">World Heritage Sites</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;"><div><div style="margin-bottom:-0.4em;"><ul><li><span class="nobold"><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_Belarus" title="Outline of Belarus">Outline</a></span></li><li><span class="nobold"><a href="/wiki/List_of_Belarus-related_topics" title="List of Belarus-related topics">Index</a></span></li><li><span class="nobold"><a href="/wiki/Bibliography_of_Belarusian_history" title="Bibliography of Belarusian history">Bibliography</a></span></li></ul></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Belarus" title="Category:Belarus">Category</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portal:Belarus" title="Portal:Belarus">Portal</a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="History_of_Europe117" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:History_of_Europe" title="Template:History of Europe"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:History_of_Europe" title="Template talk:History of Europe"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:History_of_Europe" title="Special:EditPage/Template:History of Europe"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="History_of_Europe117" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Europe" title="History of Europe">History of Europe</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Prehistoric_Europe" title="Prehistoric Europe">Prehistory</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Paleolithic_Europe" title="Paleolithic Europe">Paleolithic Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neolithic_Europe" title="Neolithic Europe">Neolithic Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bronze_Age_Europe" title="Bronze Age Europe">Bronze Age Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iron_Age_Europe" title="Iron Age Europe">Iron Age Europe</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Classical_antiquity" title="Classical antiquity">Classical antiquity</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Classical_Greece" title="Classical Greece">Classical Greece</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roman_Republic" title="Roman Republic">Roman Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hellenistic_period" title="Hellenistic period">Hellenistic period</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_Christianity" title="Early Christianity">Early Christianity</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_late_antiquity" title="Christianity in late antiquity">Christianity in late antiquity</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century" title="Crisis of the Third Century">Crisis of the Third Century</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire" title="Fall of the Western Roman Empire">Fall of the Western Roman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Late_antiquity" title="Late antiquity">Late antiquity</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Early_Middle_Ages" title="Early Middle Ages">Early Middle Ages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Migration_Period" title="Migration Period">Migration Period</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_the_Middle_Ages" title="Christianity in the Middle Ages">Christianity in the Middle Ages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christianization" title="Christianization">Christianization</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Francia" title="Francia">Francia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England" title="History of Anglo-Saxon England">Anglo-Saxon England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Byzantine_Empire" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papal_States" title="Papal States">Papal States</a></li> <li>Bulgarian Empire <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Bulgarian_Empire" title="First Bulgarian Empire">First</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Bulgarian_Empire" title="Second Bulgarian Empire">Second</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritime_republics" title="Maritime republics">Maritime republics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Venice" title="Republic of Venice">Venice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Genoa" title="Republic of Genoa">Genoa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Pisa" title="Republic of Pisa">Pisa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Amalfi" title="Duchy of Amalfi">Amalfi</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Viking_Age" title="Viking Age">Viking Age</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crown_of_Aragon" title="Crown of Aragon">Crown of Aragon</a> (<a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aragon" title="Kingdom of Aragon">Aragon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Catalonia" title="Principality of Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Valencia" title="Kingdom of Valencia">Valencia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Majorca" title="Kingdom of Majorca">Majorca</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/High_Middle_Ages" title="High Middle Ages">High Middle Ages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Florence" title="Republic of Florence">Republic of Florence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feudalism" title="Feudalism">Feudalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crusades" title="Crusades">Crusades</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Europe" title="Mongol invasion of Europe">Mongol invasion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serbian_Empire" title="Serbian Empire">Serbian Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages" title="Late Middle Ages">Late Middle Ages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Black_Death" title="Black Death">Black Death</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War" title="Hundred Years' War">Hundred Years' War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kalmar_Union" title="Kalmar Union">Kalmar Union</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Modern_period" class="mw-redirect" title="Modern period">Modern period</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_modern_Europe" title="Early modern Europe">Early modern</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_the_modern_era" title="Christianity in the modern era">Christianity in the modern era</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Reformation" title="Reformation">Reformation</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Age_of_Discovery" title="Age of Discovery">Age of Discovery</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baroque" title="Baroque">Baroque</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Tuscany" title="Grand Duchy of Tuscany">Grand Duchy of Tuscany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War" title="Thirty Years' War">Thirty Years' War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Absolute_monarchy" title="Absolute monarchy">Absolute monarchy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ottoman_Empire" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portuguese_Empire" title="Portuguese Empire">Portuguese Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_Empire" title="Spanish Empire">Spanish Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_modern_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Early modern France">Early modern France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cossack_Hetmanate" title="Cossack Hetmanate">Cossack Hetmanate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swedish_Empire" title="Swedish Empire">Swedish Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dutch_Republic" title="Dutch Republic">Dutch Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habsburg_monarchy" title="Habsburg monarchy">Habsburg monarchy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment" title="Age of Enlightenment">Age of Enlightenment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Divergence" title="Great Divergence">Great Divergence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_Revolution" title="French Revolution">French Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars" title="Napoleonic Wars">Napoleonic Wars</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rise_of_nationalism_in_Europe" title="Rise of nationalism in Europe">Nationalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Revolutions_of_1848" title="Revolutions of 1848">Revolutions of 1848</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_Revolution" title="Russian Revolution">Russian Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interwar_period" title="Interwar period">Interwar period</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_integration" title="European integration">European integration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_debt_crisis" class="mw-redirect" title="European debt crisis">European debt crisis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Europe" title="COVID-19 pandemic in Europe">COVID-19 pandemic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" title="Russian invasion of Ukraine">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">See also</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Art_of_Europe" title="Art of Europe">Art of Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bibliography_of_European_history" title="Bibliography of European history">Bibliography of European history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Genetic_history_of_Europe" title="Genetic history of Europe">Genetic history of Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Christianity" title="History of Christianity">History of Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Mediterranean_region" title="History of the Mediterranean region">History of the Mediterranean region</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union" title="History of the European Union">History of the European Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Western_civilization" title="History of Western civilization">History of Western civilization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritime_history_of_Europe" title="Maritime history of Europe">Maritime history of Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_Europe" title="Military history of Europe">Military history of Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crusading_movement" title="Crusading movement">Crusading movement</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="History_of_current_European_countries159" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:European_history_by_country" title="Template:European history by country"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:European_history_by_country" title="Template talk:European history by country"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:European_history_by_country" title="Special:EditPage/Template:European history by country"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="History_of_current_European_countries159" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Europe" title="History of Europe">History of current European countries</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sovereign states</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Albania" title="History of Albania">Albania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Andorra" title="History of Andorra">Andorra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Armenia" title="History of Armenia">Armenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Austria" title="History of Austria">Austria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Azerbaijan" title="History of Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Belarus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Belgium" title="History of Belgium">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="History of Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Bulgaria" title="History of Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Croatia" title="History of Croatia">Croatia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Cyprus" title="History of Cyprus">Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Czech_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="History of the Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Denmark" title="History of Denmark">Denmark</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Estonia" title="History of Estonia">Estonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Finland" title="History of Finland">Finland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_France" title="History of France">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Georgia_(country)" title="History of Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany" title="History of Germany">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Greece" title="History of Greece">Greece</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Hungary" title="History of Hungary">Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Iceland" title="History of Iceland">Iceland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland" title="History of the Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a></li> <li class="mw-empty-elt"></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Italy" title="History of Italy">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Kazakhstan" title="History of Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Latvia" title="History of Latvia">Latvia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Liechtenstein" title="History of Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuania" title="History of Lithuania">Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Luxembourg" title="History of Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Malta" title="History of Malta">Malta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Moldova" title="History of Moldova">Moldova</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Monaco" title="History of Monaco">Monaco</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Montenegro" title="History of Montenegro">Montenegro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Netherlands" title="History of the Netherlands">Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_North_Macedonia" title="History of North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Norway" title="History of Norway">Norway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland" title="History of Poland">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Portugal" title="History of Portugal">Portugal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Romania" title="History of Romania">Romania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Russia" title="History of Russia">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_San_Marino" title="History of San Marino">San Marino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Serbia" title="History of Serbia">Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Slovakia" title="History of Slovakia">Slovakia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Slovenia" title="History of Slovenia">Slovenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Spain" title="History of Spain">Spain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Sweden" title="History of 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