The Russification of Belarus (Belarusian: Русіфікацыя Беларусі, romanized: Rusifikatsyya Bielarusi; Russian: Русификация Беларуси, romanized: Rusifikatsiya Belarusi) denotes a historical process where the integration of Russian language and culture increasingly influenced Belarusian society, especially during the 20th century.^[1]

This period witnessed a notable rise in the use of the Russian language in education, administration, and public life, often paralleling and sometimes overshadowing the Belarusian cultural and linguistic elements. Russification is one of the major reasons of low rate of adoption of the Belarusian language by Belarusians.^[2]

Evolution of Russification Policies in Belarus

Russian Empire

According to the terminology of the 18th and 19th centuries, Russification meant the strengthening of the local culture of all three branches of the Pan-Russian people, with Russian language considered the main literary standard, while Belarusian language was regarded as its dialect, in which literature was also published.^[3][4]

The active introduction of Russian language in education and administration, part of the Empire's modernization efforts, provided Belarusians with enhanced access to education and broader cultural engagement.^[5] This period also saw the growth of a distinct Belarusian national consciousness, influenced by the socio-economic changes and cultural exchanges within the Empire.^[6]

Study of the Belarusian Language in the Russian Empire

Interest in studying the language of the local population began to emerge in the academic community in the late 19th century. Izmail Sreznevsky and Alexander Potebnja considered Belarusian dialects to be part of the South Russian vernacular.^[7] Most researchers were quite skeptical at the time about the prospects of socializing the Belarusian language. As noted by the famous ethnographer and collector of Belarusian folklore, Pyotr Bessonov: "The Belarusian oral folk speech will never become a literary, written, and book language".^[8]

The first scholar to thoroughly approach the study of Belarusian dialects was Yefim Karsky, considered the founder of Belarusian linguistics. Based on his many years of research, he published a three-volume work "The Belarusians" in 1903-1922, with the first volume containing his "Ethnographic Map of the Belarusian Tribe. Belarusian Dialects".^[9]

Soviet Era

In Belarus, the initial phase of Russification was undertaken by the authorities of the Russian Empire, which was later followed by a period of cultural promotion and national development under the Soviet policy of belarusization.^[10] This phase, however, eventually gave way to a renewed emphasis on Russification under subsequent Soviet policies.^{[11][12][13][2]}

Candidate of Philological Sciences Igor Klimov writes:

The Bolshevik state, in its unique historical experiment of creating a new society and a new human being, viewed language as an object of special manipulation aimed at achieving certain non-linguistic goals. A key aspect of these manipulations, starting from 1930, was to reinforce Russian influence in the literary language norms of other ethnicities of the USSR. This enhanced cultural homogeneity among the peoples of the Soviet empire, subdued their separatist aspirations, and facilitated their cultural and linguistic assimilation. From the 1930s, the Belarusian language became a victim of this policy, its further development being influenced not by internal necessity or actual usage, but by the internal dynamics of the Soviet state.^[14]

Presidency of Alexander Lukashenko

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has renewed the policy since coming to power in 1994,^{[15][16][17][18][19]} although with signs of a "soft Belarusization" (Belarusian: мяккая беларусізацыя, romanized: miakkaja biełarusizacyja) after 2014.^[20][21][22]

In Minsk city for the 1994-1995 academic year, 58% of students in the first classes of elementary school were taught in the Belarusian language. After the beginning of Lukashenko's presidency in 1994, the number of these classes decreased. In 1999, only 5.3% of students in the first classes of elementary school were taught in the Belarusian language in Minsk.^[23]

In the academic year 2016-2017 near 128,000 students were taught in Belarusian language (13.3% of total).^[24] The vast majority of Belarusian-language schools located in rural areas that are gradually closed through the exodus of its population to the cities. Each year, there is a closure of about 100 small schools in Belarus, most of which use Belarusian language in teaching. There is a trend of transfer the students of these schools to Russian-language schools. Thus, there is a loss of students studying in Belarusian.^[25]

As for the cities, there are only seven Belarusian-language schools, six of which are in Minsk (in 2019). In other words, the capital city, regional and district centers of the Republic of Belarus has seven Belarusian-language schools in total:

1. Gymnasium № 4 (Kuntsaushchyna street, 18 – Minsk, Frunzyenski District)
2. Gymnasium № 9 (Siadykh street, 10 – Minsk, Pyershamayski District)
3. Gymnasium № 14 (Vasnyatsova street, 10 – Minsk, Zavodski District)
4. Gymnasium № 23 (Nezalezhnastsi Avenue, 45 – Minsk, Savyetski District)
5. Gymnasium № 28 (Rakasouski Avenue, 93 – Minsk, Leninsky District)
6. Secondary school № 60 (Karl Libkneht street, 82 – Minsk, Maskowski District)
7. Secondary school № 4 (Savetskaya street, 78 – Ivanava city)

Current State of Belarusian Language Instruction

In the context of the Russification of Belarus, an important aspect to consider is the preparation of educators in a bilingual environment.^[27] The incorporation of bilingual teaching methods and the integration of the Belarusian language into the educational system are crucial for preserving national identity.^[28] Furthermore, this approach contributes to a diverse educational landscape, where the Belarusian language gains a strengthened presence alongside Russian, enhancing the overall educational quality. ^[29]

Components of Russification

The Russification of Belarus comprises several components:

• Russification of education
  • Domination of the Russian language within education in Belarus^[16]
• Repressions of Belarusian elites standing on the positions of national independence and building a Belarusian state on the basis of Belarusian national attributes
• Codification of the Belarusian language to bring it closer to Russian^[2]
  • Narkamaŭka
• Declaring Russian as the second official language, creating conditions for crowding out the Belarusian language^[2]
• Destruction or modification of national architecture^[30][31]
  • List of architectural monuments of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, destroyed by the authorities of the Russian Empire (in Belarusian)
  • List of historical and architectural monuments of Belarus, destroyed by the Moscow Patriarchate (in Belarusian)
• Renaming of settlements, streets and other geographical objects in honor of Russian figures or according to Russian tradition^[32][33]
• The dominance of Russian television and Russian products in the media space of Belarus^[16]
• Lack of conditions for the use of the Belarusian language in business and documents workflow^[16]
• Religious suppression and forced conversion
  • Synod of Polotsk