UDC 94(476) The Editorial Board: A. A. Kovalenya (head), G. Ya. Golenchenko, A. I. Grusha, V. V. Danilovich (deputy head), M. G. Zhilinsky, L. Ya. Zemlyakov, G. K. Kisilev, G. V. Korzenko, M. P. Kostyuk, A. M. Litvin, N. V. Smekhovich V. V. Yanovskaya, S. A. Nichiporovich, A. I. Stashkevich, S. P. Samuel, Ya. I. Treshchenok Translator’s note: this text was translated from Russian into English. All proper names are translated from Russian into English, but place names of Belarus are transliterated in brackets from Belarusian into English with taking into account the diacritical marks. All personal names in the text are translated from Russian into English, and Belarusian personal names are transliterated in brackets from Belarusian into English with taking into account the transliteration system by means of letter combinations. The transliteration rules from Belarusian into English are provided in the state standard GOST 7.79-2000 (ISO 9-95). The book describes the history of Belarus starting from the ancient times till present days, the place, role, contribution and achievements of the Belarusian nation within the European civilization based on the most updated conceptual and methodological approaches to history as well as the public national ideology of the Republic of Belarus. The book aims at a wide audience and all those people interested in the Belarusian history. ISBN 978-985-08-2272-7 © Design by the Publishing House “Belaruskaya navuka”, 2018 Contents PREFACE 3 ORIGINS OF THE BELARUSIAN NATION 5 Primitive Society 6 Baltic Tribes and Slavs 13 Settling of the Slavic tribal communities in territory of Belarus 17 The Belarusian nationality 19 Origins of the name ‘Belaya Rus’ (Bielaja Ruś) 20 BELARUSIAN LANDS IN THE 11TH – 13TH CENTURIES 23 Kievan Rus in history of the Belarusian lands 24 Polotsk (Polack) Principality 26 Turov (Turaŭ) Principality 29 Areas and principalities of Belarusian Neman (Nieman) and Sozh (Sož) river regions 33 Social Institutes 34 Formation of landowners’ units 38 Economic Development 38 Sources of national culture formation 45 Pagan religion 52 Christianisation 56 PART OF THE GREAT DUCHY OF LITHUANIA AND RZECZPOSPOLITA (2ND HALF OF THE 13TH – 18TH CENTURIES) 59 Belarusian lands in the Great Duchy of Lithuania 60 Struggle against Mongol-Tatars and attacks by the Cri mean Tatars 66 Struggle against crusaders Gryunvald (Grunwald) battle 67 GDL Authorities 70 Lyublin Union of 1569 71 Military confrontation with Moscow state 76 Great Northern war 80 Partitions of Rzeczpospolita 82 Class Structure of Society 84 Agriculture Agrarian reforms 86 404 CONTENTS City settlements The Magdeburg right of Belarusian towns and cities 89 Craft manufacturing Votchina manufactures 92 Trade 93 Culture in the 2nd half of the 13th – 16th centuries 95 Culture in the 17th – 18th centuries 100 Language of the Belarusian people 105 Education system formation 107 Science 109 Spiritual and religious life 115 PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE 125 Change in social structure 126 Political Situation at the End of the18th – the 1st third of the 19th century 128 The War of 1812 130 The revolt of 1830 – 1831 and change in policy of the imperial government 132 The revolt of 1863 – 1864 134 Natives of Belarus in Russian-Turkish War of 1877 – 1878 136 Public movements and political parties 139 Revolution of 1905 – 1907 142 Public life in political reaction context 145 The First World war (WWI) events in the territory of Belarus in 1914 – 1916 146 February revolution of 1917 and the situation in the Russian-German front in Belarus 151 The agriculture in the 1st half of the 19th century 153 Industry and trade in the 1st half of the 19th century 155 Serf emancipation Agricultural production growth 157 Formation of the capitalist structure of economy and society 159 Culture development 166 Education system 169 Scientific research 173 Situation with faiths 179 BELARUS DURING THE SOVIET PERIOD 183 Idea of Belarusian statehood at the beginning of the 20th Century 184 October revolution of 1917 and the First World war end 187 Proclamation of the BPR 190 Creation of SSRB 192 405 CONTENTS Formation of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic 193 The Polish-Soviet War of 1919 – 1920 195 The second SSRB declaration 198 The western region of Belarus annexed by Poland (1921 – 1939) 199 The Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 – 1926 209 Constitutionalisation of the Belarusian statehood 211 Political system of the Soviet Belarus in the 1920-ies The Belarusisation policy 215 Political system of the BSSR in the 1930 – 1980-ies 217 Belarus in the Second World war (WWII) and the Great Patriotic war 222 Foreign policy activities in the BSSR till 1991 245 On the historical way to the Republic of Belarus 248 When preparing the manuscript the materials from Social and economic transformations “Беларусь: Народ. Государство. Время”, within the interwar period 250 Minsk, “Belarusian Navuka”, 2009, where used Economy and people’s financial position in the 1940 – 1980-ies 257 Photoss by BelTA, Chernobyl (Čarnobyĺ) disaster and Belarus 264 archives of the Publishing house “Belaruskaya Navuka”, Culture of the Soviet Belarus 268 Institute of history of NAS of Belarus, Education system development 273 publishing house “KAVALER» where used Science in the BSSR 275 Religions in the Soviet Belarus 286 THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS 297 Public Policy Changes in the late 20th – early 21th centuries 298 Presidency institute 301 Foreign policy 304 Economic and social situation in the first half of the 90-ies in the 20th century 325 Economic reforms 328 Social and economic achievements 332 The Belarusian model of social policy 338 The population 342 Overcoming consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident 344 Health system 347 Culture 350 Physical training Sports Tourism 360 National education system 364 Science 370 Faiths 387 CONCLUSION 398 406 Origins of the Belarusian Nation Origins of the Belarusian Nation Primitive society. The Belarusian nation has a long and an- cient history going far into millenia. In the primitive society of Be- larus three periods are identified, including the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, which received this naming due to raw materials used for production of basic work tools. Scientists identify the ancient Stone Age – a paleolith (lower, middle and late), the middle period is called mesolithic, and the new period – the neolithic age. The anthropogenic period (‘anthropos’-man + ‘genos’-birth), the shortest one in the geological history of the Earth, is char- acterised by frequent cold conditions and changes of the climate and repeated continental glaciations. Glaciers from the Scandina- vian peninsula came to the territory of Belarus 5 times and co- vered whole or part of its area. The glacial ages turned periodically to interglacial epochs, and within these periods soils were formed, the territory was covered with pine and small-leaved forests, and within warming periods there were even broad-leaved woods gro- wing in the area. Valid data on initial settling of the territory in the south-east Belarus refer only to the middle paleolith, or Mouste- Mammoth’s bones (traces of an alleged dwelling) at Berdyzhskaya (Biardyžskaja) late paleolithic settlement. Chechersk (Čačersk) district 6 ORIGINS of THE BELARUSIAN NATIon Mammoth’s head. Yurovichi (Juravičy) late paleolith settlement. Kalinkovichi (Kalinkavičy) district rian epoch (100–40 thousand years ago). The most archaic silicon products were found near villages Svetilovichi (Sviacilavičy) of Vetka district, Podluzhye (Padlužža) of Chechersk (Čačersk) district, Obi- dovichi (Abidovičy) of Bykhov (Bychaŭ) district. Neanderthal people (a type of paleoanthopes) were already able to make fire and to build dwellings, they were involved in hunting and gathering. The new stage of the development of Belarus by people refers to the late paleolith (40/35 – 10 thousand years ago) and is related to appearance of people of modern anthropological type – Cro-Mag- noon people, who settled practically the whole territory of Eurasia. The most ancient settlements are found near the villages Yurovichi (Juravičy) of Kalinkovichi (Kalinkavičy) district (26,5 thousand years ago) and Berdyzh (Bierdyž) (Podluzhye) (Padlužža) of Chechersk (Čačersk) district (23,5 thousand years ago). The first inhabitants of Belarus were able to make various silicon and bone tools, build long-term dwellings from large bones of mammoths. At this period the tribal community was formed and strengthened, various forms of primitive art, religious ideas came to existence. About 15 thousand years ago the territory of Belarus became free from Poozerye (Paazer’je) glacier. In the period of late paleo- lith (14 – 10 thousand years ago) we can observe the constant settling of the territory of Belarus by various tribes of reindeer hunters. During the period of Belling warming (12,7–12,3 thousand years ago) the territory of Western Belarus was occupied by the 7 ORIGINS of THE BELARUSIAN NATIon tribes of reindeer hunters genetically connected with the Hamburg culture holders. In the period of Alleroid warming (11,8–10,8 thou- sand years ago) Lyngby culture tribes, moving from the west to the east, passed the whole territory of Belarus and stopped on Valdai Hills. About 10,8–10,3 thousand years ago in the west of Belarus the settlements belonging to Valkushan culture became widespread, and then practically within the whole territory in pools of the Neman (Nieman) and the Pripyat (Prypiać) – settlements of Swide- rian culture (over 200 settlements are known) developed. In the southeast in Podneprovye (the Dnieper river area) and Posozhye (the Sozh river area) the Grenier culture population was formed. About 10,3 thousand years ago the modern geological epoch – postglacial period, or holocene, started and is still going on. During the mesolith epoch (8,3–5 thousand years BC) climate warming and forest development of the territory resulted in reindeer moving Settlement to the north, and it demanded from the settlers new considerable of the territory changes in their lifestyle, households social structure.