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120-634: During the Soviet era, Belarusians were referred to as Byelorussians or Belorussians (from Byelorussia , derived from Russian "Белоруссия"). Before, they were typically known as White Russians or White Ruthenians (from White Russia or White Ruthenia, based on "Белая Русь"). Upon Belarusian independence in 1991, they became known as Belarusians (from Belarus , derived from "Беларусь"), sometimes spelled as Belarusans , Belarussians or Belorusians . The term White Rus' ( Белая Русь , Bielaja Ruś ), also known as White Ruthenia or White Russia (as

240-681: A Cro-Magnon population that arrived in Europe about 45,000 years ago; Neolithic farmers who migrated from Asia Minor during the Neolithic Revolution 9,000 years ago; and Yamnaya steppe pastoralists who expanded into Europe from the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the context of Indo-European migrations 5,000 years ago. In the Neolithic most of present-day Belarus was inhabited by Finno-Ugrians. Indo-European population appeared in

360-622: A military conflict , with Poland winning. Facing Denikin and Kolchak, Soviet Russia could not spare men for the western front. A stalemate with localised skirmishes developed between Poland and Lithuania. The Polish Sejm had also declared that the territories of Belarus were an inalienable part of the Polish Commonwealth. As the Sejm was voting for annexation, Józef Piłsudski offered the Belarusians federal ties instead; however,

480-596: A slippery slope scenario in his style guide that, "if we do end by casting aside the AD/BC convention, almost certainly some will argue that we ought to cast aside as well the conventional numbering system [that is, the method of numbering years] itself, given its Christian basis." Some Christians are offended by the removal of the reference to Jesus, including the Southern Baptist Convention . The abbreviation BCE, just as with BC, always follows

600-541: A year zero . In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius. The term "Common Era" is traced back in English to its appearance as " Vulgar Era" to distinguish years of the Anno Domini era, which was in popular use, from dates of the regnal year (the year of the reign of a sovereign) typically used in national law. (The word 'vulgar' originally meant 'of

720-567: A Belarusian Central Council. However, the national parties in Belarus were unable to secure mass support, and the nationalist movement was confined to a small, divided and ineffective intelligentsia . Towards the autumn, political stability continued to shake, and countering the rising nationalist tendencies, were the soviets led by Bolsheviks when the October Revolution hit Russia; that same day, on 25 October (7 November) 1917,

840-524: A German-centered hegemony of buffer states , called Mitteleuropa . On the eve of Germany's occupation of Minsk, some members of the disbanded Belarusian National Council emerged from hiding and formed a provisional government, hoping to achieve German recognition. However, the Germans did not recognise it as another assembly in Vilna was created under their auspices. The Minsk and Vilna organisations issued

960-630: A different course of events, and eventually the accession of Joseph Stalin saw a new policy adopted: Socialism in One Country . In accordance with which, expansionist and irredentist claims were removed from Soviet ideology, which instead would focus on making regions economically viable. Thus in March 1924, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee , Russia returned most of territories that made up

1080-537: A joint proclamation on 25 March establishing the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) with German approval. The new government also sought material aid from Germany. The more radical nationalists who disapproved of collaboration with the Germans went to the communists and fled to Russia. The communists who did not escape to the east during the German occupation were driven underground. In

1200-555: A large part of central and western Belarus with cities such as Polotsk , Vitebsk , Orsha , Minsk , Barysaw and Slutsk , while the remaining lands inhabited by Slavs were called Rus. From the 17th century onward, the name White Ruthenia ( Belarusian : Белая Русь , romanized :  Biełaja Ruś ) spread, which initially referred to the territory of today's Eastern Belarus ( Polotsk , Vitebsk ). The term "Belarusians", "Belarusian faith" and "Belarusian speech" also appeared at that time. As stated by historian Andrej Kotljarchuk ,

1320-626: A matter of convenience. There is so much interaction between people of different faiths and cultures – different civilizations, if you like – that some shared way of reckoning time is a necessity. And so the Christian Era has become the Common Era. Adena K. Berkowitz, in her application to argue before the United States Supreme Court , opted to use BCE and CE because, "Given the multicultural society that we live in,

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1440-715: A period of 138 years in which the traditional BC/AD dating notation was used. BCE/CE is used by the College Board in its history tests, and by the Norton Anthology of English Literature . Others have taken a different approach. The US-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism . The 2006 style guide for the Episcopal Diocese Maryland Church News says that BCE and CE should be used. In June 2006, in

1560-510: A process that for eastern and central Belarus ended around the 12th century. Belarusian lands in the 8th-9th centuries were inhabited by 3 tribal unions: the Krivichs , Dregoviches and Radimichs . Of these, the Krivichs played the most important role; Polotsk , founded by them, was the most important cultural and political center during this period. The principalities formed at that time on

1680-690: A result, the Soviets were not only forced to abandon their World Revolution targets, but Western Belarus too. However early autumn rains halted the Polish advance, which exhausted itself by October. A cease-fire agreed on 12 October, came into effect on 18 October. As the negotiations between the Polish Republic and the Russian Bolshevik government took place in Riga , the Soviet side saw

1800-480: Is a direct reference to Jesus as Lord . Proponents of the Common Era notation assert that the use of BCE/CE shows sensitivity to those who use the same year numbering system as the one that originated with and is currently used by Christians , but who are not themselves Christian. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has argued: [T]he Christian calendar no longer belongs exclusively to Christians. People of all faiths have taken to using it simply as

1920-485: Is in particularly common use in Nepal in order to disambiguate dates from the local calendar, Bikram or Vikram Sambat. Disambiguation is needed because the era of the local calendar is quite close to the Common Era. In 2002, an advisory panel for the religious education syllabus for England and Wales recommended introducing BCE/CE dates to schools, and by 2018 some local education authorities were using them. In 2018,

2040-693: The Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) was proclaimed under German occupation; however, as German troops left, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was established in its place by the Bolsheviks in December, and it was later merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919 to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia , which ceased to exist as a result of

2160-655: The Gregorian calendar without the AD prefix. As early as 1825, the abbreviation VE (for Vulgar Era) was in use among Jews to denote years in the Western calendar. As of 2005 , Common Era notation has also been in use for Hebrew lessons for more than a century. Jews have also used the term Current Era . Some academics in the fields of theology , education , archaeology and history have adopted CE and BCE notation despite some disagreement. A study conducted in 2014 found that

2280-522: The Incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius labeled the column of the table in which he introduced the new era as " Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi " (Of the year of our Lord Jesus Christ]. This way of numbering years became more widespread in Europe with its use by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced the practice of dating years before what he supposed was the year of birth of Jesus, without

2400-801: The Lake Naroch offensive in late spring 1916, and General Alexei Evert 's inconclusive thrust around the city of Baranovichi in the summer of that year, during the Brusilov offensive further south, in western Ukraine. The abdication of Nicholas II in light of the February Revolution in Russia in February 1917, activated a rather dormant political life in Belarus. As central authority waned, different political and ethnic groups strived for greater self-determination and even secession from

2520-555: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany , occupied eastern Poland after the 1939 invasion of Poland . The former Polish territories referred to as West Belarus were incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, with an exception of the city of Vilnius and its surroundings that were transferred to Lithuania . The annexation was internationally recognized after the end of World War II. In the summer of 1941, Belarus

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2640-723: The National Trust said it would continue to use BC/AD as its house style. English Heritage explains its era policy thus: "It might seem strange to use a Christian calendar system when referring to British prehistory, but the BC/AD labels are widely used and understood." Some parts of the BBC use BCE/CE, but some presenters have said they will not. As of October 2019, the BBC News style guide has entries for AD and BC, but not for CE or BCE. The style guide for The Guardian says, under

2760-642: The Partitions of Poland more than a century earlier. During the war, the Great Retreat in the Western Front in August–September 1915 ended with the lands of Grodno Governorate and most of Vilna Governorate being occupied by Germany. The resulting front, passing at 100 kilometres to the west of Minsk, remained static towards the end of the conflict, despite Russian attempts to break it at

2880-523: The People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia, Georgy Chicherin , sent a note to Lithuania with a proposal for a peace treaty . It was a de facto recognition of the Lithuanian state. Similar negotiations with Estonia and Latvia , gave way for a peace treaty with the former on 2 February 1920 and a cease-fire agreement with the latter a day earlier. Lenin feared that a Polish offensive

3000-614: The Podlaskie Voivodeship ), the Russian Federation and Lithuania. At the beginning of the 20th century, Belarusians constituted a minority in the regions around the city of Smolensk in Russia. Significant numbers of Belarusians emigrated to the United States, Brazil and Canada in the early 20th century. During Soviet times (1917–1991), many Belarusians were deported or migrated to various regions of

3120-601: The Polish high culture acquiring increasing prestige in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1697, Ruthenian was removed as one of the Grand Duchy's official languages. By the 17th century, Muscovites began encouraging the use of the word Belarusian and viewed the Belarusians as Russians and their language as a Russian dialect . This was done to legitimize Russian attempts of conquering the eastern lands of

3240-533: The Polotsk  [ ru ] and Mogilev Governorates . However, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia banned the use of the word Belarus in 1839, replacing it with the designation Northwestern Krai . Due to the ban, various different names were used for naming the inhabitants of those territories. It was part of the Pale of Settlement , which was the region where Jews were allowed permanent residency. During World War I and

3360-647: The Second Polish Republic after the withdrawal of German forces. However, the conflict with Poland did not break out and the Soviet High Command's 12 January directive was to cease advance on the Neman - Bug rivers. However, the region to the east of those lines was historically mixed among a population of Belarusians, Poles and Lithuanians, with a sizeable Jewish minority. The local communities of each respective group wanted to be part of

3480-549: The Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB). This was conferred by the First Congress of deputies, composed of workers, soldiers and Red Army soldiers, which met on 2–3 February 1919, to adopt a new socialist constitution. The Red Army continued its westward advance, capturing the city of Grodno on New Year's Day 1919, Pinsk on 21 January, and Baranovichi on 6 February 1919, thereby enlarging

3600-796: The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR renamed the Soviet republic to the Republic of Belarus, with the short form "Belarus". Conservative forces in the newly independent Belarus did not support the name change and opposed its inclusion in the 1991 draft of the Constitution of Belarus . Prior to the First World War , the territories of modern-day Belarus were part of the Russian Empire , which it gained from

3720-538: The Treaty of Riga putting an end of hostilities in Europe, and Belarus in particular. Six years of war had left the land neglected and looted, and the endless change of occupying regimes, each worse than the previous, left their mark on the Belarusian people, who were now divided. Almost half ( Western Belarus ) now belonged to Poland. Eastern Belarus (Gomel, Vitebsk and parts of Smolensk guberniyas) were administered by

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3840-442: The creating of well-defined national territorial units . This time, parts of RSFSR's Gomel Governorate were added, including the cities of Gomel and Rechytsa . This increased the area to 126,300 square kilometres and the 1926 Soviet census that was held at the same time reported a population of 4,982,623. Of the latter 83% was rural, and Belarusians made up 80.6% (though only 39.2% of urban, yet 89% of rural). On 11 April 1927,

3960-614: The date of birth of Jesus . Since the year numbers are the same, BCE and CE dates should be equally offensive to other religions as BC and AD. Roman Catholic priest and writer on interfaith issues Raimon Panikkar argued that the BCE/CE usage is the less inclusive option since they are still using the Christian calendar numbers and forcing it on other nations. In 1993, the English-language expert Kenneth G. Wilson speculated

4080-551: The flag (with the hammer and sickle removed), anthem , and coat of arms would be those of the BSSR . The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly stated that the referendum violated international standards. Members of the opposition claimed that the organization of the referendum involved several serious violations of legislation, including a violation of the constitution. Belarusians, like most Europeans, largely descend from three distinct lineages: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , descended from

4200-660: The 17th century, the Russian tsars used the term to describe the lands added from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . However, during the Russian Civil War , the term White Russian became associated with the White movement . Belarusians are an East Slavic ethnic group, who constitute the majority of Belarus' population. Belarusian minority populations live in countries neighboring Belarus: Ukraine, Poland (especially in

4320-561: The 1920s–1930s, over 250,000 Belarusians were deported as kulaks or kulak family members to regions outside the Belarusian Soviet Republic. The scale of Soviet terror in Belarus was higher than in Russia or Ukraine which resulted in a much stronger extent of Russification in the republic. A Polish Autonomous District was founded in 1932 and disbanded in 1935. In September 1939, the Soviet Union, following

4440-596: The BCE/CE notation is not growing at the expense of BC and AD notation in the scholarly literature, and that both notations are used in a relatively stable fashion. In 2011, media reports suggested that the BC/AD notation in Australian school textbooks would be replaced by BCE/CE notation. The change drew opposition from some politicians and church leaders. Weeks after the story broke, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority denied

4560-653: The Bronze Age. In the Iron Age , the south of present-day Belarus was inhabited by tribes belonging to the Milograd culture (7th–3rd century BC) and later Zarubintsy culture . Some considered them to be Balts. Since the beginning of common era , these lands were penetrated by the Slavs, a process that intensified during the migration period (4th century). A peculiar symbiosis of Baltic and Slavic cultures took place in

4680-904: The Central Committee of the Belarusian Communist Party). The SSRB sought to join further territories, as the Red Army crossed into Poland, but the decisive Polish victory at the Battle of Warsaw in August ended these ambitions. Once again, the Red Army found itself on the defensive in Belorussia. The Poles were able to successfully break the Russian lines at the Battle of the Niemen River in September 1920. As

4800-463: The Christian Era, it was sometimes qualified, e.g., "common era of the Incarnation", "common era of the Nativity", or "common era of the birth of Christ". An adapted translation of Common Era into Latin as Era Vulgaris was adopted in the 20th century by some followers of Aleister Crowley , and thus the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" may sometimes be seen as a replacement for AD. Although Jews have their own Hebrew calendar , they often use

4920-409: The Common Era ( BCE ) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar ), the world's most widely used calendar era . Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: "2024 CE" and "AD 2024" each describe

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5040-445: The Council reorganised the Western Oblast as a Western Commune . After Germany was defeated in the First World War, it announced its evacuation from the occupied territories. The Germans began to depart in November 1918; however, there was no nationalist organisation in Belarus that was capable of assuming political authority, unlike in Ukraine. On 13 November, Moscow annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . Two days later, it transformed

5160-436: The Defence region into a Western army . It began an initial advance westward on 17 November. The Belarusian National Republic barely resisted, evacuating Minsk on 3 December. The Soviets maintained a distance of about 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) between the two armies, and took Minsk on 10 December. As the Red Army re-occupied Belarus, the soviets in the country were dominated by Russian and Jewish parties sympathetic to

5280-412: The Germans and some or all their inhabitants killed (out of 9,200 settlements that were burned or otherwise destroyed in Belarus during World War II ). More than 600 villages like Khatyn were totally annihilated. Altogether, over 2,000,000 people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation , almost a quarter of the region's population. After World War II, the Byelorussian SSR

5400-426: The Gregorian Calendar as BCE and CE without compromising their own beliefs about the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth." In History Today , Michael Ostling wrote: "BC/AD Dating: In the year of whose Lord? The continuing use of AD and BC is not only factually wrong but also offensive to many who are not Christians." Critics note the fact that there is no difference in the epoch of the two systems—chosen to be close to

5520-421: The Lithuanian and Byelorussian republics into the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( Litbel ) on 28 February 1919. Its capital was proclaimed as Vilna , with five governorates: Vilna , Grodno , Kovno , Suwalki and Minsk . The Vitebsk and Mogilev governorates were transferred to the Russian SFSR, and were soon joined by the Gomel Governorate , which was created on 26 April. The two parties of

5640-405: The Minsk Bolsheviks commanded the pro-Soviet troops to disbanded it. Following this, they proclaimed the rule of soviets dominated by the Bolsheviks. The first Soviet government in Belarus was established at the end of December by communist organs in Minsk with the support of Russian troops of the Western Front. However, its authority only extended to the regions occupied by pro-communist forces and

5760-458: The Minsk Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took over the administration of the city. The Bolshevik All-Russian Council of Soviets declared the creation of the Western Oblast , which unified the Vilna, Vitebsk , Mogilev and Minsk governorates that were not occupied by the German army, to administer the Belarusian lands in the frontal zone. On 26 November (6 December), the Executive Committee of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies for

5880-449: The Polish occupation authorities disregarded the social radicalism of the masses and nationalist sentiments among parts of the Belarusian intelligentsia, with the Poles ordering for the lands confiscated by the communists to be returned to the landowners, and Polish being introduced as an official language. The stalemate and the occasional, though fruitless, negotiations gave Russia a much needed pause to concentrate on other regions. During

6000-418: The Polish occupation during the Polish–Soviet War . Following a peace treaty with Lithuania, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia was re-founded on 31 July 1920 and later became known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The BSSR became one of the four founding members of the Soviet Union in December 1922, together with the republics of Russia , Transcaucasia , and Ukraine . Byelorussia

6120-420: The Polish side. Eventually a compromising armistice line was agreed, which would see the Belarusian city of Slutsk handed over to the Bolsheviks. News of Belarus' upcoming permanent division angered the population, and using the town's Polish occupation, the local population began self-organising into a militia and associating itself with the Belarusian Democratic Republic . On 24 November the Polish units left

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6240-421: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under the pretense of unifying all Russian lands. During three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772, 1793 and 1795) most of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were annexed by the Russian Empire . Following the destruction of Poland–Lithuania with the Third Partition in 1795, Empress Catherine of Russia created the Belarusian Governorate from

6360-561: The RSFSR. The rest was the SSRB, a republic with 52,400 square kilometres and a population of a mere 1.544 million people. An interesting paradox arose in the status of SSRB within the future Bolshevik state. On one hand its small geographic, population and almost negligent economic indicators did not warrant it much political weight on Soviet affairs. In fact the leader of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (Bolshevik), Alexander Chervyakov would represent Byelorussian communists at seven party congresses in Moscow, but not once be elected into

6480-399: The SSRB. The western winter offensive was not limited to Byelorussia; Soviet forces similarly moved to the north into Lithuania , as the newly created Soviet republic had hoped to include Lithuania. On 16 December, the Lithuanian Socialist Soviet Republic (LSSR) was proclaimed in Vilnius . The Lithuanian operation and continuing conquest of Byelorussia were threatened by the rise of

6600-644: The Soviet Union , which was ended by the Belovezh Accords in 1991. The modern Republic of Belarus exists since then. Belarusian cuisine shares the same roots as the cuisines of other Eastern and Northern European countries. Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic State atheism (de facto) Belarusian Orthodox Church (autonomy granted by the Moscow Patriarchate ) (majority) The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( BSSR or Byelorussian SSR ; Belarusian : Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка ; Russian : Белорусская Советская Социалистическая Республика ), also known as Byelorussia ,

6720-401: The Soviet policy of liquidation of illiteracy ( likbez ). Economically the republic remained largely self-centred, and most of the effort was put into restoring and repairing the war-damaged industry (if in 1923 there was only 226 different fabrics and factories, then by 1926 the number climbed to 246. However, the employed manpower jumped from 14 thousand to 21.3 thousand workers). The majority

6840-406: The Treaty of Riga as only a temporary setback to the process, and a future advance would require a prepared bridgehead. This justified giving the SSRB the status of a full union republic within the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR that was signed on 30 December 1922. SSR Byelorussia became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922 and became known as BSSR. However the politics in Moscow took

6960-447: The Tsars, and in 1925 made up almost 44% of the urban population and began to be aided by affirmative action programmes. In 1924 the government created a committee – Belkomzet – to allocate land to Jewish families, in 1926 a total of 32,700 hectares were given for 6,860 Jewish families. Jews would continue to play a major role in Byelorussian politics, society and economy right up to the Second World War ; in fact, between 1928 and 1930,

7080-410: The USSR, including Siberia , Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Since the 1991 breakup of the USSR , several hundred thousand Belarusians have emigrated to the Baltic states , the United States, Canada, Russia, and EU countries . The two official languages of Belarus are Belarusian and Russian . Russian was made co-official with Belarusian after the 1995 Belarusian referendum , which also established that

7200-428: The United States, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision to use BCE and CE in the state's new Program of Studies, leaving education of students about these concepts a matter of local discretion. The use of CE in Jewish scholarship was historically motivated by the desire to avoid the implicit "Our Lord" in the abbreviation AD . Although other aspects of dating systems are based in Christian origins, AD

7320-458: The Vitebsk and Mogilev Governorates, as well as parts of Smolensk. The passing of land that largely survived the destruction of war not only doubled the SSRB's area to 110,600 square kilometres, but also raised the population to 4.2 million people. According to its entry in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia , in 1925 SSRB was a largely rural country. Out of the 4,342,800 people that inhabited it, only 14.5% lived in urban areas. Administratively it

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7440-441: The Western Oblast and Moses Kalmanovich  [ ru ] as the chair of the Obliskomzap . Countering this, the Belarusian Central Council reorganised itself as the Belarusian National Council ( Rada ), and started working on establishing governmental institutions, and discarded the Obliskomzap as a military formation, rather than governmental. As a result, on 7 (20) December, when the first All-Belarusian Congress convened,

7560-434: The Western Oblast was merged with the Western front's executive committee, creating a single Obliskomzap . During the autumn of 1917 and winter of 1918, the Western Oblast was headed by Aleksandr Myasnikyan as the head of the Western Oblast's Military Revolutionary Committee , who passed this duty on to Kārlis Landers . Myasnikyan took over as chair of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party 's (RSDRP(b)) committee for

7680-418: The area, but it was not a fully peaceful process, as evidenced by numerous fires in Balts' settlements in the 7th-8th centuries. According to Russian archaeologist Valentin Sedov  [ ru ] , it was intensive contacts with the Balts that contributed to the distinctiveness of the Belarusian tribes from the other Eastern Slavs . The Baltic population gradually became Slavic , undergoing assimilation,

7800-452: The armistice as only a temporary setback in its western advance. Seeing the failure of overcoming the Polish nationalist rhetoric with Communist propaganda, the Soviet government chose a different tactic, by appealing to the minorities of the Polish state, creating a fifth column element out of Belarusians and Ukrainians . During the negotiations, RSFSR offered all of BSSR to Poland in return for concessions in Ukraine, which were rejected by

7920-441: The capital first to Dvinsk (28 April), then to Minsk (28 April), then to Bobruysk (19 May). As the Litbel lost territory, its powers were quickly stripped by Moscow. For example, on 1 June, Vtsik 's decree put all of Litbel's armed forces under the command of the Red Army. On 17 July, the Defence Soviet was liquidated, and its function was passed to Minsk's Milrevcom . When on 8 August Polish forces captured Minsk , that same day

8040-432: The capital was evacuated to Smolensk . On 28 August, Lithuanian forces took Zarasai (the last Lithuanian town held by Litbel) and the same day Bobruysk fell to the Poles. By late summer of 1919, the Polish advance was also exhausted. The defeat of the Red Army allowed the outbreak of another historic disagreement over territory between Poland and Lithuania; their competition to control the city of Vilna soon erupted into

8160-452: The census of 1920, many chose to be label themselves as Russians . ). To appeal to the Belarusians of Western Belarus and also to prevent the nationalist element of the exiled Belarusian Democratic Republic from having any influence on the population (i.e. to avoid another Slutsk uprising), a policy of Korenizatsiya was widely implemented. Belarusian language, folklore and culture was put at front of everything else. This went on par with

8280-437: The city of Slonim (2 March) and crossed the Neman, whilst Lithuanian advances forced the Soviets out of Panevėžys . A final Soviet counter-offensive retook Panevėžys and Grodno in early April, but the Western Army was too thinly spread to fight both the Polish and Lithuanian troops, and the German units assisting them. The Polish offensive quickly gained momentum, and Vilna offensive in April 1919, forced Litbel to evacuate

8400-419: The communists. Encouraged by their success, in Smolensk on 30–31 December 1918, the Sixth Western Oblast Party conference met and announced its split from the Russian Communist Party, proclaiming itself as the first congress of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (KP(b)B). The next day, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was proclaimed in Smolensk, terminating the Western Commune, and on 7 January, it

8520-437: The current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression can be traced back to 1615, when it first appears in a book by Johannes Kepler as the Latin : annus aerae nostrae vulgaris ( year of our common era ), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since

8640-719: The days of the Russian Empire , and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", as Russia or the Russian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—the Great , Little , and White . This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, that they were variants of the Russian people. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,

8760-519: The early 20th century. The phrase "common era", in lower case , also appeared in the 19th century in a "generic" sense, not necessarily to refer to the Christian Era, but to any system of dates in common use throughout a civilization. Thus, "the common era of the Jews", "the common era of the Mahometans", "common era of the world", "the common era of the foundation of Rome". When it did refer to

8880-428: The entry for CE/BCE: "some people prefer CE (common era, current era, or Christian era) and BCE (before common era, etc.) to AD and BC, which, however, remain our style". In the United States, the use of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks was reported in 2005 to be growing. Some publications have transitioned to using it exclusively. For example, the 2007 World Almanac was the first edition to switch to BCE/CE, ending

9000-634: The establishment of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1920, the term Byelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was only used officially. In 1936, with the proclamation of the 1936 Soviet Constitution , the republic was renamed to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In English, it was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . On 19 September 1991

9120-556: The fall of Russian Empire , a short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic was declared in March 1918. Thereafter, modern Belarus' territory was split between the Second Polish Republic and Soviet Russia during the Peace of Riga in 1921. The latter created the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic , which was reunited with Western Belarus during World War 2 and lasted until the dissolution of

9240-453: The first of which was but eight days", and also refers to the common era as a synonym for vulgar era with "the fact that our Lord was born on the 4th year before the vulgar era, called Anno Domini, thus making (for example) the 42d year from his birth to correspond with the 38th of the common era". The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) in at least one article reports all three terms (Christian, Vulgar, Common Era) being commonly understood by

9360-458: The first person who called himself "Belarusian" was Calvinist writer Salomon Rysinski (Solomo Pantherus Leucorussus). According to his words, he was born "in richly endowed with forests and animals Ruthenia near the border to frigid Muscovy" and doctorated at the University of Altdorf . From the 1630s, Old Belarusian (Ruthenian) started to be replaced by the Polish language , as a result of

9480-765: The first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia , Yakov Gamarnik , was a Jew. Yet, the titular nation of the SSRB were the Belarusians , which made up 82% of the rural population, but less than half of the urban one (40.1%). The Belarusian national sentiment was a lot weaker than that of neighbouring Ukraine, this was greatly exploited by the Bolshevik-Polish power struggle in the Polish–Soviet War . (In fact to avoid being annexed to Poland, at

9600-458: The front moved west, and more Belarusian lands were adjoined to the new republic, the first administrative decrees were issued. The entity was divided into seven uyezds : Bobruysk , Borisov , Igumen , Minsk, Mozyr and Slutsk . (Vitebsk, Gomel and Mogilev remained part of the RSFSR.) This time the leaders were Aleksandr Chervyakov (head of Minsk's milrevcom) and Wilhelm Knorin (as chairmen of

9720-649: The increasingly ineffective Russian Provisional Government . The momentum picked up after the incompetent actions of the 10th Army during the ill-fated Kerensky offensive during the summer. Representatives of Belarusian regions and of different (mostly left-wing) newly established political powers, including the Belarusian Socialist Assembly , the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Bund , formed

9840-551: The lands of the upper basins of Neman River , Dnieper River , and the Western Dvina River . The Belarusian people trace their distinct culture to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , earlier Kievan Rus' and the Principality of Polotsk . Litvin was a term used to describe all residents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, primarily those belonging to the noble state , without distinction of ethnicity or religion. At

9960-428: The late 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications on the grounds that BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They have been promoted as more sensitive to non-Christians by not referring to Jesus , the central figure of Christianity , especially via the religious terms " Christ " and Dominus ("Lord") used by the other abbreviations. Nevertheless, its epoch remains

10080-688: The latter half of 1919, the Red Army successfully defeated Denikin in the south, taking over the Don, North Caucasus and eastern Ukraine, and pushed Kolchak from the Volga, beyond the Ural mountains into Siberia . In the autumn of 1919, Nikolai Yudenich 's advance on Petrograd was checked, whilst in the far north the Evgeny Miller 's army was pushed into the Arctic. On the diplomatic front, on 11 September 1919,

10200-517: The major cities, where the local soviets followed Bolshevik leadership. The Russo-German front in Belarus remained static since 1915 and formal negotiations began only on 19 November (2 December N.S.), when the Soviet delegation traveled to the German-occupied city of Brest-Litovsk . A cease-fire was quickly agreed and proper peace negotiations began in December. However, the German party soon went back on its word and took full advantage of

10320-576: The militias. On 14 February, the first clash between regular armies took place and a front emerged. The operations in Lithuania brought the front close to East Prussia , and the German units that had withdrawn there began to assist the Lithuanian forces to defeat the Soviets; they repelled the Red offensive against Kaunas in February 1919. Eager to win support, the Bolshevik government decided to merge

10440-642: The national policies. The republic initially had four official languages: Belarusian , Russian, Yiddish , and Polish , despite the fact that the Russians and the Poles made up only around 2% of the total population (most of the latter lived next to the state border in the Minsk and Borisov districts). The most important minority was the Jewish population of Belarus , which had a long history of targeted oppression under

10560-491: The neutrality of Lithuania (though the peace treaty was still being negotiated), on 6 June the exiled government of Litbel was disbanded. Within a few days, the 3rd Cavalry Corps under command of Hayk Bzhishkyan broke the Polish front, causing a collapse and a retreat. On 11 July Minsk was re-taken, and on 31 July 1920 once again the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belorussia was re-established in Minsk. As

10680-727: The one in Ukraine, which benefitted the communists. The communist underground were directed by the party's Northwestern Regional Committee in Smolensk, which aimed for an alliance with the peasantry. On 11 September 1918, the Revolutionary Military Council ordered the creation of the Western Defence region in the Western Oblast out of Curtain forces which were stationed there. Simultaneously

10800-544: The ordinary people', with no derogatory associations. ) The first use of the Latin term anno aerae nostrae vulgaris may be that in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler . Kepler uses it again, as ab Anno vulgaris aerae , in a 1616 table of ephemerides , and again, as ab anno vulgaris aerae , in 1617. A 1635 English edition of that book has the title page in English that may be the earliest-found use of Vulgar Era in English. A 1701 book edited by John Le Clerc includes

10920-490: The party's Central Committee . Moreover, the weak national sentiment of the Belarusian people would easily have allowed SSRB to be disbanded and annexed to the RSFSR, unlike for example Ukraine. On the other hand, the region's strategic role decided its fate, as a full Union republic within the negotiations upon forming the future state. For one Leon Trotsky and his supporters within the Soviet leadership still supported its World Revolution concept, and as said above, viewed

11040-482: The peak of Soviet repressions in Belarus . According to incomplete calculations, about 600,000 people fell victim to Soviet repressions in Belarus between 1917 and 1953. Other estimates put the number at higher than 1.4 million persons., of which 250,000 were sentenced by judicial or executed by extrajudicial bodies ( dvoikas , troikas , special commissions of the OGPU , NKVD , MGB ). Excluding those sentenced in

11160-496: The phrase "Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra,   6". The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives 1716 as the date of first use of the term "vulgar era" (which it defines as Christian era). The first published use of "Christian Era" may be the Latin phrase annus aerae christianae on the title page of a 1584 theology book, De Eucharistica controuersia . In 1649, the Latin phrase annus æræ Christianæ appeared in

11280-500: The phrase "before the common era" may be that in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms, in a translation of a book originally written in German. The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era and common era synonymously. In 1835, in his book Living Oracles , Alexander Campbell , wrote: "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini; the fourth year of Jesus Christ,

11400-628: The republic adopted its new Constitution , bringing its laws in tie with those of the USSR and changing the name from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The head of government (chairman of the Soviet of People's Commissars) was by now then newly appointed Nikolay Goloded , whilst Vilhelm Knorin remained the first secretary of the Communist Party. The 1930s marked

11520-427: The republics were also combined. The republic was headed by Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas and the combined party was headed by nationalist Zmicier Zhylunovich . However, the Belarusian nationalists disapproved that the republic was being expanded, and Zhylunovich resigned shortly after, followed by other nationalists. In March 1919, Polish units opened an offensive: forces under General Stanisław Szeptycki captured

11640-598: The respective states that were establishing themselves. In the Kresy ("borderland") areas of Lithuania, Belarus and western Ukraine, self-organized militias, the Samoobrona Litwy i Białorusi numbering approximately 2,000 soldiers under General Wejtko, began to fight against the local communist and advancing Bolshevik forces. Each side was trying to secure the territories for its own government. The newly formed Polish Army began sending its organised units to reinforce

11760-595: The rumours and stated that the BC/AD notation would remain, with CE and BCE as an optional suggested learning activity. In 2013, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Canadian Museum of History) in Gatineau (opposite Ottawa ), which had previously switched to BCE/CE, decided to change back to BC/AD in material intended for the public while retaining BCE/CE in academic content. The notation

11880-475: The same as that used for the Anno Domini era. The idea of numbering years beginning from the date that he believed to be the date of birth of Jesus , was conceived around the year 525 by the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus . He did this to replace the then dominant Era of Martyrs system, because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. He numbered years from an initial reference date (" epoch "), an event he referred to as

12000-499: The same time, the term Ruthenian ( Rusyn ) was in use, referring primarily to all persons professing Orthodoxy; later since the end of the 16th century it took on a broader meaning, and also referred to all the persons of Eastern Slavic origin, regardless of their religion. At the same time, there was a geographical division within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between Lithuania proper and Rus'. However, it did not correspond to an ethnic or confessional division, as Lithuania proper included

12120-693: The situation, and the Bolsheviks' demand of a treaty "without annexations or indemnities" was unacceptable to the Central Powers , and on 18 February, hostilities resumed. The German Operation Faustschlag was of immediate success, and within 11 days, they were able to make a serious advance eastward, taking over Ukraine, the Baltic region, and occupying eastern Belarus. This forced the Obliskomzap to evacuate to Smolensk . The Smolensk Governorate

12240-452: The spring of 1918, the Germans disapproved of the socialist inclinations of the nationalists in the Belarusian government and forced a change in leadership of the puppet government; however, the Germans were also displeased with him and removed him. As a result, the Germans permitted the government less jurisdiction compared to the one in Ukraine. An increase in repression by the Germans also led to an agrarian revolt, although not as violent as

12360-498: The term Belaya Rus' , i.e., White Rus' . There are several claims to the origin of the name White Rus'. An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by early Christianized Slavs , as opposed to Black Ruthenia , which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts. The latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я ( Russia ), first rose in

12480-541: The term Rus' is often conflated with its Latin forms Russia and Ruthenia ), was first used in the Middle Ages to refer to the area of Polotsk . The name Rus' itself is derived from the Rus' people which gave the name to the territories of Kievan Rus' . The chronicles of Jan of Czarnków mention the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila and his mother at " Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto " in 1381. During

12600-469: The term "White Russia" caused some confusion as it became the name of the so-called White military force that opposed the Red Bolsheviks. During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term Byelorussia was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus , under Polish control until World War II, Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno . Upon

12720-544: The territory of Belarus were part of Kievan Rus' . The process of the beginning of the East Slavic linguistic community and the separation of Belarusian dialects slowly took place. As a result of Lithuanian expansion, the lands of Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This fact accelerated the Slavicization of the Baltic population. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, a distinct Ruthenian language

12840-417: The title of an English almanac. A 1652 ephemeris may be the first instance found so far of the English use of "Christian Era". The English phrase "Common Era" appears at least as early as 1708, and in a 1715 book on astronomy it is used interchangeably with "Christian Era" and "Vulgar Era". A 1759 history book uses common æra in a generic sense, to refer to "the common era of the Jews". The first use of

12960-649: The town, and for nearly a month the Slutsk partisans resisted Soviet attempts to re-gain control of the area. Eventually the Red Army had to mobilise two divisions to overcome the resistance, when the last units of Slutsk militia crossed the Moroch River and interned by the Polish border guards. In February 1921, the delegations of the Second Polish Republic and the Russian SFSR finally signed

13080-497: The traditional Jewish designations – B.C.E. and C.E. – cast a wider net of inclusion." In the World History Encyclopedia , Joshua J. Mark wrote "Non-Christian scholars, especially, embraced [CE and BCE] because they could now communicate more easily with the Christian community. Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist scholars could retain their [own] calendar but refer to events using

13200-594: Was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and afterwards as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR from 1922 to 1991, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia . It was also known as the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic . Following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, which ended Russia's involvement in World War I ,

13320-485: Was food industry followed by metal and wood working combines. A lot more was centred in local and private sector, as allowed by the New Economic Policy of the USSR, in 1925 these number 38.5 thousand who employed almost 50 thousand people. Most being textile workshops and lumber yards and blacksmiths. On 6 December 1926, the SSRB was once again enlarged, in order to make the republic prosperous and continue

13440-456: Was formed. It is called "Old Belarusian language" by Belausian researchers and "Old Ukrainian" by the Ukrainian ones. The rulers and the elite of the Grand Duchy adopted elements of Ruthenian culture, primarily Ruthenian language, which became the main language of writing. Belarusians began to emerge as a nationality during the 13th and 14th centuries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania mostly on

13560-861: Was given a seat in the United Nations General Assembly together with the Soviet Union and Ukrainian SSR, becoming one of the founding members of the UN. This was part of a deal with the United States to ensure a degree of balance in the General Assembly , which, the USSR opined, was unbalanced in favor of the Western Bloc. A Byelorussian, G.G. Chernushchenko, served as President of the United Nations Security Council from January–February 1975. Common Era Common Era ( CE ) and Before

13680-445: Was incoming, and offered to accept the current frontline as a permanent border between Poland and Russia, which would include nearly all of Belarus going to Poland. However, Piłsudski had greater ambitions, and he also made an agreement with Symon Petliura in Ukraine to exchange Galicia in return for a promise to force out communists in right-bank Ukraine. In April 1920, Poland initiated its major offensive on Kiev, which although

13800-511: Was initially successful, ended in a Polish defeat. The Soviet Red Army was much more organised than it was a year earlier, and though Polish troops managed to make several gains in Ukraine, notably the capture of Kiev , in Byelorussia, both of its offensives towards Zhlobin and Orsha were thrown back in May. In June, the RSFSR was finally ready to open its major Western advance. To preserve

13920-569: Was moved to Minsk. Aleksandr Myasnikyan emerged as head of the All-Byelorussian Central Executive Committee and Zmicier Zhylunovich as head of the provisional government. The new Soviet republic initially consisted of seven districts: Baranovichi , Vitebsk , Gomel , Grodno , Mogilev and Smolensk . On 30 January, the republic announced its separation from the Russian SFSR and renaming as

14040-722: Was occupied by Nazi Germany. A large part of the territory of Belarus became the General District Belarus within the Reichskommissariat Ostland . Nazi Germany imposed a brutal regime, deporting some 380,000 people for slave labour , and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. 800,000 Belarusian Jews (about 90 percent of the Jewish population) were killed during the Holocaust . At least 5,295 Belarusian settlements were destroyed by

14160-609: Was one of several Soviet republics occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II . Towards the final years of the Soviet Union's existence, the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty in 1990. On 25 August 1991, the Byelorussian SSR declared independence, and on 19 September it was renamed the Republic of Belarus . The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991. The term Byelorussia (Russian: Белору́ссия ), derives from

14280-468: Was passed to the Western Oblast. At the end of February, the Germans entered Minsk, which the Soviet authorities had already cleared a few days prior. Faced with the German demands, the Bolsheviks accepted their terms at the final Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , which was signed on 3 March 1918. For the German Empire, Operation Faustschlag achieved one of their strategic plans for World War I, to create

14400-402: Was split into ten okrugs : Bobruysk , Borisov , Vitebsk , Kalinin , Minsk , Mogilev , Mozyr , Orsha , Polotsk and Slutsk ; all of which contained a total of 100 raions and 1,229 selsoviets . Only 25 towns and cities and an additional 49 urban settlements. Trotsky's plan for the SSRB to act as a future magnet for the minorities in the Second Polish Republic is clearly evidenced in

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