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Belarus is very Russified. Majority of the population speaks Russian as their main language.
That's true. Basically we speak Russian. Some enthusiasts try to revive Belarusian and speak it all the time, but they are a small minority.
Elderly people, especially in the provinces, speak some sort of Belarussian-Russian mixture language called "trasyanka"
Belarus is a pretty nice country actually. More peaceful and richer than the likes of Ukraine (even before the war).
Well yes Belarus is actually better than its reputation suggests, I can assure you. It's quite safe and comfortable to live in. Not so rich but not too poor either. Just average.
That's true. Basically we speak Russian. Some enthusiasts try to revive Belarusian and speak it all the time, but they are a small minority.
Elderly people, especially in the provinces, speak some sort of Belarussian-Russian mixture language called "trasyanka"
Some people even wrote Belarusian in a Latin-based manuscript.
Marmel, I read on Wikipedia that the western part of Belarus is less "Russified". Grodno (Hrodna) has more Polish influence.
Well, I don't travel there often but as far as I can judge, the city of Grodno speaks mostly Russian just like other cities in Belarus.
In the countryside, yes it may differ a bit. I guess their local pidgin language (trasyanka) is like a mixture of Russian, Belarusian and Polish.
I'd rather live in a prosperous "dictatorship" (Pinochet's Chili in the 80's, Franco's Spain in the '60's) than in a miserable "democracy" (Allende's Chile in the early '70's, Spain in the '30s). Just sayin'
It used to be a distinct before Russian Empire subjugation aimed at deportation & Russification of the ruling and educated class. The peasant herd maintained an authentic peasant culture for a while, but Soviet rule wiped out even that. I sense certain hostility of Belarus people toward their ancestral language/culture. They like being assimilated into Russian culture, and dont want any "nationalist" bothering them with national revival. Much like Irish fell in love with English culture of the oppressors, except that Belarus people have way less defined national identity and pride. If Russia will decide to occupy Belarus tomorrow I doubt they will fire a shot, they just dont give a dime.
Marmel, I read on Wikipedia that the western part of Belarus is less "Russified". Grodno (Hrodna) has more Polish influence.
To make the long story short, from the 16th century on (if I remember correctly, ) from the "Times of Troubles," Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was trying to chew off the territories of Russian Empire and turn itself into something more significant than what it was and ever will be.
That, of course, didn't work out, but it left Polish influence in certain areas of Belorussia and Ukraine and bitter taste in Poles with the wet dreams of becoming a "power that matter" one day again.
Oh, it were not only for those damn Russians))))
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