The Language Divide In Belarus: Russian Vs. Belarusian

Belarus is a multilingual, multiethnic state, with people speaking Belarusian, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, and a number of local dialects. While Belarusian is one of the country's two official languages, alongside Russian, the latter is dominant in everyday life. This is due, in part, to the Russification policies enacted by the Soviet Union and continued by the country's current president, Alexander Lukashenko.

The Russification of Belarus

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Russification was conceptualized as cultural assimilation, aiming to consolidate the three principal East Slavic groups (Great Russians, Little Russians or Ukrainians, and White Russians or Belarusians) under the imperial Russian identity. The term "Russian language" typically referred to the Great Russian dialect, promoted as the primary literary and administrative standard. However, this period also witnessed the official recognition and publication of Belarusian literature.

Russification efforts intensified after the November Uprising (1830-1831), with a shift from Polish to Russian in higher educational institutions. These policies were designed to instill loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church and the autocratic regime, merging Belarusian identity into the broader Russian context while diminishing the prominence of Belarusian cultural and linguistic characteristics.

By the end of the 19th century, the Russian authorities had significantly enhanced the infrastructure in the Belarusian region, focusing on industry, transportation, and agriculture. This was part of their strategy to fully incorporate Belarus into the empire, in contrast to the previous Polish view of Belarus as a backward province. The active introduction of the Russian language in education and administration provided Belarusians with enhanced access to education and broader cultural engagement.

In the 1920s, a period of Belarusization took place in the Byelorussian SSR, with the use of the Belarusian language expanding in socio-political and cultural life. However, this phase eventually gave way to renewed emphasis on Russification, aligning with Soviet policies favoring Russian linguistic dominance across the USSR. Stalin believed that as a unified global socialist economy developed, a common language would emerge alongside national languages.

The Belarusian language has been marginalized in terms of usage, with Russian dominant in everyday communication, education, state media, and government affairs. Despite its limited use, Belarusian has a rich literary tradition and cultural presence, with efforts to revive and promote the language through various media.

In recent years, under the presidency of Alexander Lukashenko, there has been a focus on aligning Belarusian identity more closely with Russian language and cultural norms. While there were initial efforts to promote Belarusian in education, media, and government after independence, these began to wane after the 1995 referendum that made Russian a co-official language.

The status of Belarusian as an endangered language

Belarusian is an East Slavic language and one of the two official languages in Belarus, alongside Russian. However, it is currently considered an endangered tongue. This status is the result of various historical, cultural, and political factors that have led to the decline of the Belarusian language in the country.

Historical Factors

Belarus has historically been a multilingual and multiethnic state, with people speaking various languages, including Belarusian, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, and local dialects. When Belarus became part of the Soviet Union in 1918, its ethnic language and culture came under attack, with Belarusian intellectuals and cultural elites being purged, and books and dictionaries burned. During the Soviet era, Russian became the dominant language in Belarus, and this dominance continued even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Cultural and Political Factors

The cultural and political landscape in Belarus has also played a significant role in the endangerment of the Belarusian language. After the Second World War, Russian became increasingly dominant in public life, with its speakers seen as educated and more loyal to Moscow. This perception contributed to the widespread use of Russian, even after Belarus declared independence from the Soviet Union.

The pro-Russian authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has also contributed to the decline of the Belarusian language. While Belarusian was initially tolerated by the authorities after independence, Lukashenko's policies and statements have often ridiculed and sidelined the language. In a 2006 statement, Lukashenko said that "nothing great can be expressed" in Belarusian, and that "there are only two great languages in the world—Russian and English." This attitude has influenced the perception and usage of Belarusian, with many Belarusians associating it with rural, uneducated populations.

Current Status and Efforts for Revival

Despite the endangered status of Belarusian, there are efforts to revive and protect the language. After the 2020 protests against Lukashenko's regime, the language became a symbol of resistance and unity among pro-democracy opponents. Underground movements and secret meetings are being organized to teach and promote the use of Belarusian. Additionally, the language is still taught in schools, and books are produced in Belarusian. However, the government continues to target and suppress its use in various ways, including the closure of Belarusian-language bookstores and the arrest of individuals associated with Belarusian-language publications.

According to a 2019 census, about 60% of the population recognizes Belarusian as the country's native language, but only about a quarter use it in their everyday lives. The UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger considers Belarusian to be vulnerable due to the continued widespread use of Russian.

The suppression of Belarusian under Lukashenko's rule

The suppression of the Belarusian language under Lukashenko's rule has been described as a cultural genocide. Since his rise to power in 1994, Lukashenko has overseen a period of Russification in Belarus, with Russian becoming the dominant language in the country. This has been to the detriment of Belarusian, which is now considered an endangered language.

Lukashenko's suppression of Belarusian can be traced back to the early years of his presidency. In 1995, he held a referendum on the status of the Russian language, which resulted in Russian receiving equal status with Belarusian and becoming the second state language of the country. This marked a shift away from the brief period after Belarus gained independence in 1991, when Belarusian experienced a renaissance and became the main language in schools and other institutions.

The effects of Lukashenko's policies can be seen in the daily lives of Belarusians. According to a 2019 census, about 60% of the population recognize Belarusian as the country's native language, but just over a quarter use it in their everyday lives. Enrolment in Belarusian-language schools is negligible—less than 4%—and the language is largely absent from the country's education system, media, and government affairs.

Lukashenko's regime has also targeted individuals and organizations that promote the Belarusian language. There have been reports of discrimination against Belarusian speakers, with authorities making only minor concessions to demands for a wider usage of the language. Organizations such as the Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society, which promotes the use of Belarusian, have been attacked by Belarus-based Russian neo-Nazi groups.

The revival of the Belarusian language

The Belarusian language is making a comeback, particularly among the country's youth, who are seeking to distinguish themselves from Russian speakers and assert their national identity. This revival is occurring both in Belarus and among the growing diaspora of young Belarusian migrants and refugees.

In Belarus, the language is a symbol of resistance against the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and is often labelled "Europe's last dictator". Lukashenko has been accused of performing a soft Russification of the population, with Russian being the dominant language in public life and the media. However, there are signs that the Belarusian language is gaining ground, particularly since the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, which were the biggest challenge to his rule.

During the protests, the phrase "Dałučajsia!" or "unite with us!" became a chant of the movement. The Belarusian language became a symbol of the protests, and young people began to see a democratic Belarus as possible if they could revive the nation's identity. This has led to a growing interest in learning the language, with underground language classes and independent publishing houses springing up across the country.

The Belarusian language is one of the two official languages of Belarus, alongside Russian. However, it has often been treated as a poor cousin of Russian and stigmatised as a language of the marginalised political opposition. Lukashenko himself has contributed to this stigma, declaring in 2006 that "nothing great can be expressed" in Belarusian and that there are only two great languages in the world: Russian and English.

Despite this, the Belarusian language has a rich history. It is an East Slavic language, most closely related to Ukrainian, and descended from a language known as Ruthenian, which was spoken from the 13th to 18th centuries. Belarusian has a unique alphabet, a variant of the Cyrillic script, which was first used for the Old Church Slavonic language.

Today, the revival of the Belarusian language is led by small civil society organisations, which find they can promote a distinctly Belarusian identity without incurring the wrath of the authorities. This easing of curbs has been referred to as "soft Belarusianisation" by observers of the regime. However, the language still faces many challenges, with no Belarusian-language universities in the country and a decline in the number of Belarusian-language classes in schools.

In the diaspora, the language is also gaining traction, with leaders of the government-in-exile working to harmonise the curriculum at the many schools that have sprung up to provide Belarusian lessons overseas. The leader of the government-in-exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has increasingly made public statements in Belarusian rather than Russian, and her colleagues are trying to standardise the teaching of the language across the informal schools in the diaspora.

While the future of the Belarusian language remains uncertain, its revival is an important step towards asserting the country's national identity and distinguishing Belarus from its larger neighbour, Russia.

The historical context of Belarusian

The historical context of the Belarusian language is complex and marked by centuries of political upheaval and competing influences from neighbouring countries.

Belarusian, an East Slavic language, shares many grammatical and lexical features with other Slavic languages, particularly Ukrainian and Russian. It is descended from Ruthenian, a language spoken from the 13th to 18th centuries, which in turn descended from Old East Slavic, spoken from the 10th to 13th centuries.

Historically, the territory of modern-day Belarus was inhabited by people speaking a variety of languages, including Belarusian, Russian, Polish, German, and Yiddish. The region underwent numerous partitions and changed hands repeatedly, influencing the development of the Belarusian language.

In the 19th century, the Belarusian language was predominantly spoken by the peasantry and smaller town dwellers, while the minor nobility spoke Russian or Polish. During this period, the Russian Imperial authorities and the Polish and Polonised nobility competed for ideological control over the educational system, resulting in the introduction and re-introduction of Polish and Russian languages. This struggle had a detrimental effect on the overall state of education in the region.

After the Second World War, Russian became dominant in public life in Belarus, as speakers of Russian were seen as educated and more loyal to Moscow. This marked a significant shift, and by the end of the 19th century, urban areas in Belarus predominantly used either Polish or Russian, contributing to the perception of Belarusian as a "rural" and "uneducated" language.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus gained independence, and the Belarusian language experienced a brief renaissance. It became the official language of the country, and by 1994-1995, over 75% of middle schools had Belarusian as their main teaching language. However, this abrupt transition proved challenging for many, and it provided an opportunity for the newly elected President Alexander Lukashenko to promote the Russian language.

In May 1995, Lukashenko held a referendum on the status of the Russian language, resulting in Russian being granted equal status with Belarusian as an official language. This marked a turning point in the status and usage of Belarusian. Today, enrolment in Belarusian-language schools is negligible, with less than 4% of the population speaking Belarusian in their daily lives. It is now officially recognised as an endangered tongue.

Despite the marginalisation of the Belarusian language, there have been recent efforts to revive its usage. Since the 2020 protests against the Lukashenko regime, the language has become a symbol of resistance and democratic ideals. Secret underground classes have emerged to teach Belarusian, and more people are choosing to speak their mother tongue, both in everyday life and on social media. While the future of the Belarusian language remains uncertain, these efforts demonstrate a strong desire to preserve and promote its usage in the face of political and cultural challenges.

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