The nameBelarus (orByelorussia, as it was called earlier) can be literally translated asWhite Ruthenia.[1]
Max Vasmer's dictionary suggests that the name may have come from the white clothing worn by the local Slavic population.[2][3] Modern researchers find this dubious. Another theory suggests that the old Rus' lands that were not conquered by theTatars (i.e., Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev) had been referred to as "White Rus'".[2]
Rus' is generally considered to be a borrowing fromFinnicRuotsi ("Sweden").[4][5] There are two theories behind the origin ofRus'/Ruotsi, which are not mutually exclusive. It is either derived more directly fromOENrōþer (OWNróðr[4]), which referred to rowing, thefleet levy, etc., or it is derived from this term throughRōþin, an older name for the Swedish coastal regionRoslagen.[4][5][6]
The nameRus' is often conflated with its Latin formsRussia andRuthenia, thus Belarus is often referred to asWhite Russia orWhite Ruthenia. The name first appeared inGerman andLatinmedieval literature; the chronicles ofJan of Czarnków mention the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand dukeJogaila and his mother at "Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto" in 1381.[7] Before the Mongol invasions, the name White Rus' was used for the Duchy ofRostov-Suzdal (defining it as "free, great, enlightened," and Christianised), but later the name shifted to the Duchies ofVitebsk andPolotsk, until Polish geographer Jan of Stobnica expanded the meaning of the term to mean all the Rus' lands under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[8] In some languages the country is often still referred to by a literal translation of "White Russia", includingDutch andAfrikaans (bothWit-Rusland), andGerman (Weißrussland).[9][10] However, here too a gradual shift towardsBelarus may be observed in some countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.[11][12][13][14]
The Latin term "Alba Russia" was used again byPope Pius VI in 1783 to recognize theSociety of Jesus there, exclaiming "Approbo Societatem Jesu in Alba Russia degentem, approbo, approbo."[15] The first known use ofWhite Russia to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th century by Englishman SirJerome Horsey, who was known for his close contacts with the Russian Royal Court.[16] During the 17th century, the Russiantsars used "White Rus" to describe the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[17]
The termBelorussia (Russian:Белору́ссия, the latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я,Russia) first rose in the days of theRussian Empire, and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", asRussia or theRussian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—theGreat,Little, andWhite.[18] This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, they were variants of the Russian people.[19]
After theBolshevik Revolution in 1917, the term "White Russia" caused some confusion, as the name of the military force that opposed the red Bolsheviks was called "White Russians" or "the Whites".[20] During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the termByelorussia was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus under Polish control,Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions ofBiałystok andGrodno during the interwar period.[21]
The termByelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was only used officially until 1991, when theSupreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR decreed by law that the new independent republic should be calledRepublic of Belarus (Республика Беларусь spelled in Russian), and that its abridged form should be "Belarus". The law decreed that all the forms of the new term should be transliterated into other languages from theirBelarusian language forms. The use of Byelorussian SSR and any abbreviations thereof were allowed from 1991 to 1993.[22] Conservative forces in the newly independent Belarus did not support the name change and opposed its inclusion in the 1991 draft of theConstitution of Belarus.[23]
Accordingly, the nameByelorussia was replaced byBelarus in English.[24] Likewise, the adjectiveBelorussian orByelorussian was replaced byBelarusan,[25] which sounds like population's historical name ofRuthene, since independence and til 1995, when neo-soviet regime of Lukashenko restoredsoviet coat of arms,soviet flag and pushed for moreRussia-likeBelarusian adjective. Belarusian intelligentsia in theStalin era attempted to change the name fromByelorussia to a form ofKrivia because of the supposed connection with Russia.[26] Some nationalists object to the name for the same reason.[27][28] Several local newspapers kept the old name of the country in Russian in their names, for exampleKomsomolskaya Pravda v Byelorussii, which is the localized publication of a popular Russian newspaper. Also, those who wish for Belarus to be annexed by Russia continue to useBelorussia.[28] Officially, the full name of the country is "Republic of Belarus" (Рэспубліка Беларусь,Республика Беларусь,Respublika Belaruslistenⓘ).[22][29] In Russia, the usage of “Belorussia” still is very common.[30] On 16 March 2018, the Embassy of Belarus in Beijing requested to useBáilúosī (白罗斯;白羅斯) forChinese language, althoughBáiélúosī (白俄罗斯;白俄羅斯) is still common, which is in connection to the term "Belorussia".[31][32][33][34] In Lithuanian, besides the name “Baltarusija” (White Russia), Belarus is also being called “Gudija”.[35][36]