Where does the name "White Rus'" come from? Belaya Rus – White Rus – Ruthenie Blanche – Hvite Russland

The expanses of Russian civilization, formed during the existence of Kievan Rus, were unusually vast. Rus' was one of the largest state entities in medieval Europe. Bishop Matthew of Krakow, in his letter dated 1153 to the famous French preacher Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote: “Russia is great, like another earthly world, and the Russian people are like constellations in countless numbers.”

The enormous size of the territory, as well as the specifics of historical development, led to the division of the Russian land into several geographical and ethnographic parts; one of these parts was White Rus', whose name is now the Republic of Belarus.

The origin of the name “Belaya Rus” has not been fully clarified: some historians associate it with a physical attribute - color (we are usually talking about the color of clothing or hair of local residents), other researchers believe that the epithet “white” is in this case a synonym for the words “great”, “independent” and “free”, the third group of historians is inclined to see in the word “white” an indication of one of the cardinal directions.

In order to understand the etymology of the name “White Rus'”, it is necessary to trace the history of the origin of this term and its spread across Russian lands.

18th century historian V.N. Tatishchev wrote that the term “White Rus'” was mentioned in the chronicles of the 12th century in relation to the Rostov-Suzdal land, and then began to spread to the Smolensk principality 1 . The scientist calls the Vladimir (Rostov) princes “Belarusian”.

Another great Russian historian N.M. Karamzin, contrary to the opinion of V.N. Tatishchev, did not find the name “Belaya Rus” (“White Russia”) anywhere until the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505). However, N.M. Karamzin also considered the northeastern Russian lands, namely the Grand Duchy of Moscow, to be part of White Rus'. The historian cites a letter that the Grand Duke of Moscow sent to Rome before his marriage to Sophia Paleologus in 1472. This letter was signed as follows: “Sixtus, High Hierarch of Rome, John, Grand Duke of White Rus', bows and asks to believe his ambassadors.” 2 .

In addition, N.M. Karamzin notes that “counting in his title all the special possessions of the Moscow state, John called it White Russia, that is, great or ancient, according to the meaning of this word in eastern languages.” 3 .

Abroad, Belaya Rus (White Russia) was also called the northeastern Russian lands. Thus, on the world map compiled in 1459 by the Venetian monk Fra Mauro, Novgorod-Moscow Rus' is called White Russia (Rossia Biancha). At the same time, the territory located in the Dnieper region is called Red Russia (Rossia Rossa), and the northwestern part of Russian lands is called Black Russia (Rossia Negra).

On the map of central Europe published by the German scientist Nicholas of Cusa in the 15th century, the name “White Rus'” refers exclusively to the Muscovite state: the possessions of the Moscow princes are called Cusa Russia Alba sive Moscovia (White Rus' or Muscovy) 4 .

The Italian nobleman Alexander Guagnini, who served in the second half of the 16th century as the military commandant of Vitebsk, in his work “Description of Muscovy” classifies the Muscovite state and the adjacent Russian lands as White Rus'. Guagnini, in particular, writes: “I intend, dear reader, to describe Muscovy and its borders, by which it is enclosed; I believe that first of all I should tell you where it gets its name from. This is a certain region in the center of White (as they say) Russia, lying in the northeast, from which the name Muscovy and all other regions of Russia that lie around (although called by completely different names) receive.” The author further notes: “Muscovy, locally called Moscow, the vast city, capital and metropolis of all White Russia, subject to the Grand Duke of the Muscovites, together with the region or principality, received its name from the local river flowing here, called Moscow.” 5 .

Thus, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Muscovite state, as well as some other northeastern Russian territories, were called White Russia in both domestic and foreign sources. It is important to note that the name "White Rus'" meant the same thing as "Great Rus'", these terms were interchangeable.

So, in 1413 master Livonian Order writes to the Grand Master in Prussia that Vitovt conspired against them with Pskov, Novgorod and Great Russia(mit den grossen Reussen). At the same time, the Grand Master, reporting this agreement to the Czech king, writes that Vitovt entered into an alliance with Pskov, Veliky Novgorod and with the entire Russian language (der ganzen Russchen Zunge) and that he would have to fight with White Russia (mit den Weissen Russen). Consequently, what the Livonian master calls Great Russia is White Rus' for the Prussian master. Both names designate the northeastern Russian lands 6 .

Simeon of Suzdal, in his narrative about the Council of Florence, written in the mid-15th century, puts into the mouth of the Byzantine king a request to wait for the Russian embassy, ​​“as the eastern parts of the earth are Rustii and greater is Orthodoxy and the highest Christianity of the White Rus, in them there is a great sovereign, my brother Vasily Vasilievich." At the same time, talking about the arrival of the Russian hierarchs, the same author writes: “... and there were many people, a hundred with Metropolitan Isidore, more than anyone else, that land is glorious and the Fryazovs call it Great Rus'.” 7 .

The Italian traveler Ambrose Contarini in his treatise “Journey to Persia” (1474-1477) says: “So, on September 26, 1476, we, singing the prayer “We praise God to you” and offering thanks to God, who saved us from many troubles and dangers , entered the city of Moscow, belonging to Grand Duke John, ruler of Great White Rus'" 8 .

As you can see, the terms “White Rus'” and “Great Rus'” were identical. At the same time, most researchers believe that the name “Great Rus'” (as well as “Little Rus'”) arose earlier than the name “White Rus'”.

The division of Rus' into Great and Little Russia dates back to the turn of the 13th-14th centuries, when until then the united Russian metropolitanate began to be divided into two due to political events.

In 1300, Metropolitan Maxim moved, after the Tatar raid, his residence from devastated Kyiv to Vladimir on the Klyazma. According to the famous historian of the Russian Church E.E. Golubinsky, earlier “Kyiv occupied such a, so to speak, neutral position that as long as the capital of the metropolitans remained in its old place, they could be metropolitans of both principalities or all of Rus'. But when Maxim moved his capital from Kyiv to the capital city of the great reign of Vladimir, the great principality of Galich turned out to be, in ecclesiastical terms, no longer equal in rights with the first part of the metropolis, but only, as it were, some kind of appendage to it. It was completely natural that the Grand Dukes of Galich would not like such an ecclesiastical role for their country and that they would make efforts to acquire their own special metropolitan.” 9 .

In 1305, the Galician prince Yuri I was able to achieve a special metropolitanate for his regions. The new metropolis began to be officially called Galicia, while the metropolitan in Vladimir retained the title of “Kyiv and All Rus'”. However, the Galician metropolis, which initially consisted of five dioceses, also began to be called the “Metropolis of Little Rus'”, in contrast to the “Metropolis of Great Rus'”, which retained larger number dioceses.

From Greek sources it is clear that “Great Russia” in the minds of the Greeks was once all of huge Rus' as a single whole. When a smaller part emerged from this whole (the Galician Metropolis with several dioceses), this part received the name “Small”, and the remaining, most part, retained the name “Great”.

Despite the fact that in 1347 the church council in Constantinople under Patriarch Isidore recognized that the division of Rus' into two metropolises was illegal, the names “Little Rus'” and “Great Rus'”, given by the Greeks, took root on Russian soil and began to be used to designate , respectively, southern and northern Russian lands. And over time, the epithet “White” began to be used in relation to Great Rus'.

20th century historian A.V. Solovyov gives a list of dioceses of the divided Russian Church, dating from the first half of the 14th century: “These dioceses are subordinate to Kyiv (metropolis) of Russia: Veliky Novgorod, Chernigov, Suzdal, Rostov, Great Vladimir, Pereyaslavl Russian, Veliky Belgorod near Kyiv, St. Yuri on the Rosi River, Polotsk, Ryazan, Tver, Sarai; and in Little Russia: Galich, Volodymer, Przemysl, Lutsk, Turov, Kholm, Smolensk.” It is obvious that the first 12 dioceses made up Great Rus' 10 .

As we can see, the northern part of Belarus (Polotchina) was part of Great Rus' (which, as we found out, was also called “White”), and the southern part (Turov lands) formed Little Rus'.

This is confirmed by data from historical sources that have reached us. Thus, the Polish chronicler Jan Czarnkowski attributed Polotsk to White Rus': in a record dated 1382, he notes that Lithuanian prince Jagiello, by order of Keistut, was imprisoned with his mother in White Rus' (in guodam Castro Albae Russiae Polozk dicto) 11 . And a century later, in the second half of the 15th century, another Polish historian Jan Dlugosz notes that the Berezina River flows from the swamps and deserts of Great Rus' near the city of Polotsk (ex paludibus et desertis Russiae Maioris prope oppidum Poloczko) 12 .

However, the term “Great (White) Rus'”, which arose in the 14th century, in the 15-16th centuries was assigned specifically to the lands of Moscow Rus'. At the same time, the scope of this term was to some extent unstable, and White (Great) Russia sometimes called the territories of northern Rus' that were not part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and subsequently the Russian Kingdom.

At the end of the 16th and 17th centuries, the name “Belaya Rus” shifted to western regions Russian civilization, that is, on the territory of today's Republic of Belarus, as well as the western and central regions of present-day Ukraine, while the lands of Moscow Rus' (Russian Kingdom) that had expanded by the 17th century began to be called exclusively Great Russia. Thus, during the period under review, the term “Belaya Rus” changes its previous meaning and acquires a new geographical localization.

Many researchers associate the movement of the name “Belaya Rus” to Western Russian regions with the system adopted in the East for designating the cardinal directions using colors, where the West is identified with the color white.

One way or another, in many domestic and foreign sources of the 17th century we find the terms “White Rus'” and “Belarusians” applied specifically to Western Russian lands.

In the “questioning speeches” of prisoners in the Patriarchal Palace Prikaz for 1623-24. There are such entries: “N got married in Mogilev, the Belarusian priest crowned him,” “they took him to Kyiv, he lived with the Belorusets,” “his homeland is in White Rus' in Khvastov” 13 .

Extremely interesting data about the geographical division of the Russian land is given by the ambassador of the German Emperor, Baron Mayerberg, who visited Moscow in 1661. In his “Travel to Muscovy” he writes: “The name of Russia extends far, because it includes the entire space from the Sarmatian mountains (Carpathians - K.A.) and the Tira (Tuga) river, called the Dniester by the inhabitants, through both Volhynia to the Borysthenes (Dnieper ) and to the Polotsk plains, adjacent to Lesser Poland, ancient Lithuania and Livonia, even to the Gulf of Finland, and the entire country from the Karelians, Lapons and Northern Ocean, the entire length of the borders of Scythia, even to the Nogai, Volga and Perekop Tatars. And by the name Great Russia (Magna Russia) Muscovites mean the space that lies within the boundaries of Livonia, the White Sea, the Tatars and the Dnieper, and is usually known as “Muscovites”. By Little Russia we mean the regions: Braslav, Podolsk, Galician, Sanotsk, Peremyshl, Lvov, Belz with Kholmsk, Volyn and Kiev, lying between the Scythian deserts, the Dnieper, Pripyat and Veprem rivers, Little Poland and the Carpathian Mountains. And under Belaya - located between Pripyat, Dnieper and Dvina, with the cities of Novgorod, Minsk, Mstislavl, Smolensk, Vitebsk and Polotsk and their districts. All this once belonged by right to the Russians, but, due to military accidents, they lost to the happiness and courage of the Poles and Lithuanians." 14 .

As you can see, Baron Mayerberg quite accurately described the boundaries of the Great Russian, Little Russian and Belarusian lands, while pointing out their historical and ethnocultural commonality.

In the 17th century, Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich first called himself “Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Great and Little and White Rus', Autocrat.” This title is present in a charter dated 1654, when Moscow regiments, during the fighting, captured most of the Russian (Belarusian) lands that belonged to Poland.

Thus, the name "Belaya Rus" was assigned to today's Belarusian lands in the 17th century. Until this time, the lands of Belarus, which were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were mainly called simply Russia. For example, the famous pioneer printer of the 16th century, a native of Polotsk, George (Francis) Skorina, defined the lands of his homeland with the term “Rus” (“my brothers Rus”), and called the translation of the Holy Scripture into the language of his fellow countrymen “The Russian Bible.”

In some foreign sources we find the name “ Black Rus'”, which applies to the lands of what is now western Belarus (in particular, to the upper Ponemon). There are many hypotheses regarding the origin of this term, but it seems obvious that it was used as a contrast to the name “White Rus'” and, accordingly, appeared in Western Russian lands also in the 17th century.

Some scientists believe that the name “Black Rus'” meant dependent territory: black color is considered by supporters of this concept as a symbol of dependence, and white as a symbol of independence. We cannot agree with this point of view, since during the period when these terms appeared in the west of Rus', the entire territory of today’s Belarus (both the western and eastern parts) was equally dependent on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Also erroneous is the position according to which the name “Black Rus'” is associated with the fact that the upper Ponemonie region was supposedly characterized by paganism, and the Dnieper region by Christianity. Historical facts indicate that during the period under review the entire population of Western Rus' was Christian.

The point of view of the famous specialist on the history of White Rus' E.F. seems worthy of attention. Karsky, who associated the name “Black Rus'” with the black caftans of the inhabitants of the indicated area 15 .

One way or another, the term “Black Rus'” was very unstable, its geographical localization was determined extremely arbitrarily, and ultimately Black Rus' was absorbed into White Russia.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the formation of the Belarusian, Great Russian and Little Russian nationalities took place as relatively original ethnocultural formations, constituting a triune Russian people with a common identity, culture and historical heritage. In this regard, the term “White Rus'” acquires not only geographical, but also some ethnographic content.

After the so-called “partitions of Poland” at the end of the 18th century, almost all Western Russian lands were returned to the fold of Russian statehood. In 1796, the Belarusian province was formed as part of the Russian Empire with its center in Vitebsk. However, this administrative-territorial entity did not last long, and in connection with the work carried out by Alexander I administrative reform The Belarusian province was divided into Vitebsk and Mogilev.

The holy intelligentsia likes to repeat the myth of Bolshevik origin that in 1840, in connection with the defeat of the 1831 uprising, Nicholas I banned the use of the name “Belarus” and renamed the Belarusian land as the North-Western Territory. It is unclear, however, for what reason local Russophobic nationalists associate the name of White Rus' with the Polish rebellion, but, one way or another, the statement about the ban on the name “Belarus” is a deliberate lie.

It is known that on July 18, 1840, Nicholas I personally wrote on one of the reports where the Belarusian and Lithuanian provinces were mentioned that henceforth they should be named separately: Vitebsk, Vilna, Grodno, etc. It is unclear what the Sovereign Emperor was guided by (most likely, considerations of the most rational administrative division of the Empire), but there was definitely no talk of banning the name “Belarus”; this name was used both during the reign of Nicholas I and subsequent Russian emperors. For example, in 1855, the printing house of the Third Department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery published the book “ Historical information O most remarkable places in Belarus with the addition of other information related to it.”

The name “Belarus” was also used by representatives of the Western Russian historical school to designate their homeland (M.O. Koyalovich, E.F. Karsky, A.P. Sapunov and many others), who considered White Rus' as an original part of the Russian ethnocultural territory. Savvy intellectuals cannot help but know about these facts, and therefore their statement about the ban on the name “Belarus” in the Russian Empire seems to us malicious.

As for the term “Northwestern Territory,” it had a purely administrative meaning and was applied to multinational provinces located on the outskirts of the Russian Empire.

Of course, during the period under review, there were no prohibitions on the use of the ethnonym “Belarusians”; moreover, figures of Western Russianism actively contributed to the national awakening of Belarusians and awareness of themselves as an original component of the state-forming Russian people.

It is noteworthy that the Belarusian separatists were unable to follow the path of their Ukrainian colleagues, who, seeking to eradicate any reminders of Russian unity, renamed Little Russia and Little Russians (historical names) to Ukraine and Ukrainians. The holy intelligentsia was forced to borrow the ethnonym “Belarusians” from the all-Russian triad of Great Russians-Little Russians-Belarusians, which undoubtedly speaks of the “historical poverty” of local nationalism.

However, in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, separatists still made attempts to rename Belarusians “Litvins” and, accordingly, justify the continuity of Belarus in relation to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But, as the modern Belarusian scientist V.V. rightly notes. Shimov, “the problem of the Litvinian myth was that at that time it was a “lordly” ideology, i.e. the regional ideology of local Polish landowners, whose identity was expressed according to the formula “Lithuanian family, Polish nation.” Considering that the image of the “Polish lord” embodied an oppressive social principle that was alien to the Belarusian “peasant,” the prospects for the Belarusian peasantry to assimilate “Litvinian” mythology were, to say the least, doubtful. In addition, Lithuanian ethnic nationalism actively used and adapted “Litvinian” mythology to its needs. The “Litvinian” myth, inextricably linked with the local tradition of Catholicism, was quite organic for both Poles and Lithuanians; for Belarusians, despite their centuries-long presence as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the “Litvinian” idea remained alien” 16 .

The Bolsheviks also did not support experiments in the construction of the “Litvinian myth”, and the Soviet republic on the lands of White Rus' was officially named Belarus (in literary Russian) and Belarus (in Belarusian).

However, in the late 80s - early 90s, the idea of ​​“Litvinism” again took possession of the minds of the Russophobic part of the intelligentsia, which was irritated by the all-Russian root in the words “Belarus”, “Belarus” and “Belarusians”.

So, the study allows us to draw the following main conclusions:

– The names “Great Rus'” and “White Rus'” were initially identical, and in the 15-16 centuries they were assigned to the lands of the eastern part of Rus', which were in the sphere of influence of the Moscow principality;

– In the 17th century, the name “White Rus'” moved to the western regions of the Russian land, which were then under the rule of Poland, and eastern Rus' began to be called exclusively Great Russia;

– In the 16th-17th centuries occurs formation of three original parts of the Russian people: Belarusians, Great Russians and Little Russians, due to which the term “White Rus'” acquires ethnocultural meaning, the ethnonym “Belarusians” (“Belarusians”) appears;

– After the annexation of Western Russian lands to the Russian Empire, the name “Belaya Rus” is transformed into the term “Belarus,” which is actively used to designate the territory of compact residence of Belarusians, and subsequently the name “Belarus/Belarus” and the ethnonym “Belarusians” are officially recognized by the Soviet authorities.

1. Tatishchev V.N. Russian history (vol. 1, part 2). Moscow, 1769. P. 519.

2. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State (vol. 6, chapter 2). Moscow, 2009. P. 471.

3. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State (vol. 6, chapter 7). Moscow, 2009. P. 538.

4. Shiryaev E. E. Belarus: White Rus', Black Rus' and Lithuania in maps. Minsk, 1991. P. 21.

5. Alexander Guagnini. Description of Muscovy. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus5/Gwagnini/frametext1.htm

6. Solovyov A.V. Great, Little and White Rus' // From the history of Russian culture (vol. 2). No. 1. Moscow, 2002. P. 489.

7. Journey of Simeon of Suzdal to Italy // Tales of the Russian people, collected by N. Sakharov (vol. 2, book 8). St. Petersburg, 1849. pp. 84-85.

8. Ambrose Contarini. Journey to Persia (Part 2) http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus10/Kontarini/frametext2.htm

9. Golubinsky E. History of the Russian Church (vol. 2, part 1). Moscow, 1900. P. 96.

10. Solovyov A.V. Great, Little and White Rus' // From the history of Russian culture (vol. 2). No. 1. Moscow, 2002. P. 487.

11. Lamansky V.I. White Rus' // Living Antiquity (issue III) St. Petersburg, 1891. P. 245.

12. Lamansky V.I. White Rus' // Living Antiquity (issue III) St. Petersburg, 1891. P. 249.

13. Potebnya A.A. Etymological notes // Living Antiquity (issue III) St. Petersburg, 1891. P. 118.

14. “Travel to Muscovy by Baron Mayerberg,” Russian translation in “Readings at the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University” (book 4). Moscow, 1873. P. 119.

15. Karsky E.F. Belarusians (vol. 1). Warsaw, 1903. P. 118.

Alternative names for the country are the Republic of Belarus. Until 1991, the country was known as the Republic of Belarus, which was part of the USSR. Sometimes Belarus is also called White Russia. This name was popular mainly until 1918.

Origin of the country's name

The name Belarus probably comes from the medieval geographical designation of the area as "White Rus'". Historians and linguists debate its etymology, but the name may be used as a name of folk origin, especially common in northern territories countries.

Some historical sources also mention Red and Black Rus' in addition to White Rus'. Such markings were probably used at the time when Kievan Rus arose. Historical sources mention that during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries geographical name the country was designated "Belarus". But later the name got specific political meaning.

Although Belarusians are the dominant ethnic group in the country, the country includes people of different nationalities such as Lithuanians, Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Jews and Tatars. The richness and mixture of cultures reflects the complexity of ethnic interactions that have occurred in the country for hundreds of years.

Nationalization of the country

Around the end of the ninth and beginning of the tenth centuries, the kingdom of Kievan Rus begins to take shape. Among others, he has two provinces - the Principality of Polotsk and the Principality of Turov.

These two principalities occupied the territory of present-day Belarus. For several centuries, Belarusian territories were strongly influenced by Byzantine culture, including Orthodox Christianity, stone architecture and literary trends. After the Mongol takeover of Kievan Rus in the mid-thirteenth century, the two Belarusian principalities were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

A century later, an alliance with the Kingdom of Poland was formed. This new administrative and political situation brought strong Western European influences to the territory of Belarus, including the introduction of the Catholic religion. In the fourteenth century, large numbers of Jews settled in these lands.

The Polish-Lithuanian union created a strong political, economic and military force in Eastern Europe. In 1569 the Great principality of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland united into a multinational federal state, it was one of the richest and most powerful in all of Europe at that time, it was called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The state occupied a powerful position in Europe for two centuries.

After the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, 1793 and 1795 between Russia, Prussia and Austria, the Belarusian territories became part of Russian Empire. Great poverty reigned throughout Belarus when it came under Russian rule, especially among Jews, leading to mass emigration of people in the nineteenth century.

The second half of the nineteenth century was a time of rapid development of capitalism in Belarus.

Starting from the late 1880s, Marxist ideas spread in Belarus; a revolution occurred in 1905-1907, which led to the organization of the Belarusian national liberation movement. The nationalist newspaper Nasha Niva (Our Land) was first published at this time.

The most significant event in this process of national awakening was April 1917, when the congress of Belarusian national parties took place. Its delegates approved the autonomy of Belarus. However, after the October socialist revolution In Petrograd, the Bolsheviks seized power in Belarus.

In December 1917, they dissolved the All-Belarusian Congress in Minsk. Despite the actions of the Soviet occupation, the All-Belarusian Congress and representatives political parties declared Belarus Belarusian People's Republic March 25, 1918.

Ten months later, the Bolsheviks proclaimed the country the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The new nation-state was officially incorporated into the Soviet Union (USSR) and remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

On July 27, 1991, the Supreme Council of the BSSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty. In August 1991, the Supreme Council of the BSSR abolished Communist Party Belarus and renamed the country the Republic of Belarus.

In December 1991, as a result of the collapse of the USSR, the Republic of Belarus became one of the founders of the Commonwealth Independent States(CIS).

In March 1994, a new constitution was adopted in Belarus, a presidency appeared and a 260-seat parliament was created. On July 10, 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was elected the first President of the Republic of Belarus. In 1997, the Treaty on the Union of Belarus and Russia was signed.

National identity of Belarus

National identity is symbolically connected with two significant moments in the history of Belarus. The national holiday is officially celebrated on July 3, in honor of the day when Soviet troops entered in 1944, then the city was liberated from Nazi troops.

Some Belarusians celebrate March 25 as an unofficial Independence Day. The date marks the anniversary short period the time when Belarus broke away from Bolshevik Party rule in March 1918, only to fall back under its rule in December 1918.

Ethnic relations

For centuries, Belarusian lands have been home to different ethnic groups who have different religions. Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholic Christians and Protestants have lived together in Belarus for centuries without serious confrontation.

Belarusians, Poles, Russians, Jews, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Gypsies lived in peace and harmony. Although the twentieth century brought many problems, and peaceful coexistence was shaken. is in many ways a country of tolerant cultures.

Currently, the population in the country is predominantly Belarusian, but Russians, Poles, Ukrainians and Jews also live in the country. All ethnic groups have equal status and there is no evidence of hatred or ethnically biased crimes.

We are all familiar with the toponym “Rus”, but not everyone knows that it was divided by color. On the territory of the ancient Russian state there were as many as three “colored” Russias: White, Black and Chervonnaya.

Belaya Rus

Between 1255 and 1260, an anonymous geographical treatise was compiled in Ireland, in which Alba Russia (“White Rus'”) was first mentioned. By it, scientists usually understand the possessions of Mr. Veliky Novgorod. This certificate is recognized as the first color designation that was applied to Rus'.

Later, European geographers mentioned White Rus' more often, and what is important is that until the 17th century they called North-Eastern Rus' that way. However, already in the 16th century, the name Belaya Rus gradually transferred to Western Russian (the territory of modern Belarus) lands.

The discrepancy in names among geographers is not accidental: white has many meanings. Some scientists assumed that it meant independence (Russian kings in the Persian chronicles were called “White Princes” or “Ak-Padishahs”), others saw features in it appearance local population ( blonde hair, white clothes), the third is the preservation of the Orthodox faith.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin believed that the name Belaya Rus means “great” or “ancient”.

The active spread of printing and the appearance in Europe of many geographical treatises gave rise to large number localizations of White Rus', the main of which were Muscovite Rus' and the lands of the upper Dnieper and Ponemania regions as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In Muscovy itself, the term White Rus' was rarely used. Its first use occurred in May 1654: then, at the very beginning of the Russian-Polish war of 1654 - 1667, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in a deed of gift to boyar Buturlin, called himself “Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke of All Great and Lesser and White Russia, Autocrat.” This was done in connection with the impending annexation of the Belarusian and Little Russian lands. From now on, for North-Eastern Rus' the designation “White” is replaced everywhere by “Great”, and the territories of modern Belarus receive an official name.

Black Rus'

Linguists have found that white, black and red are the three most important colors in the languages ​​of the peoples of the Earth. Words for them appear earlier than others. Black is usually used as a contrast to white.

So, if the geographer called Muscovite Rus' “White”, then the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were called “Black Russia” - simply as a contrast.

In a narrow sense, Black Russia was the name given to the territory in the upper reaches of the Neman (in modern Belarus). This region remained pagan for a very long time, and Christian geographers called it Black Russia, that is, pagan.

Red Rus'

Chervonny means "red". The name Chervonnaya Rus was assigned to the territories of western Ukraine and southeastern Poland, on which the Russian Voivodeship was subsequently founded.

Its origin is unclear. This is probably connected with the Cherven cities, for which, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, Vladimir the Red Sun successfully fought. Then the Cherven cities - Lutsk, Kholm, Przemysl and others - went to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but the name “Chervonnaya Rus” was preserved and mentioned in later sources, starting from the 15th century. Whether we were talking about direct succession, or whether rich and powerful cities were called “red”, red, that is, beautiful, is not known for certain.

Who besides Rus'?

In addition to Rus', there was at least one more ethnonym on the map of Central and Eastern Europe, which also had “white, black and red names.” We are talking about Croats. Red Croats were the name given to the direct ancestors of modern Croats - a South Slavic tribe that lived in the Balkans since early Middle Ages. At the same time, the White Croats, known from the same Tale of Bygone Years and the treatise of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus “On the Administration of the Empire,” are an East Slavic tribe. Their settlements were located on the southern slopes of the Carpathians and were partly part of Chervonnaya Rus. The Black Croats are considered the most mysterious. They lived in the north of the Czech Republic and already belonged to the branch of the Western Slavs. Actually, only their eastern group was called black Croats. Together with the Westerners, they formed a large tribe of Czech Croats.

Finally, another tribe with a color marker that has left its mark on the ethnic history of Europe is the White Serbs. Their settlement area was in northern Bohemia and they are considered the ancestors of modern Lusatian Serbs - residents of Germany and Poland.

Cardinal directions and their color markers

Among some linguists there is an opinion that among the Slavs (in particular, Croats and Serbs), the cardinal directions each had their own color: white - west, black - north, red (red) - south. As we saw above, this is indeed confirmed in the sources. However, there is an opinion that in eastern languages ​​the scheme of colors and cardinal directions coincides almost completely.

Ivan Bilibin

It is impossible to say who is right here, and from what language this comparison of cardinal directions with certain colors came from. However, it is likely that this is a coincidence: the same linguists have proven that in human languages words for white, black, red and blue colors appear earlier than for others.

The ternary division of Rus' into White, Black and Red was intended to convey ethnicity and region (less often religion). At the same time, another reason for the confusion was that there was a geopolitical binary. In the 15th – 18th centuries, the territories of Rus' were divided between two states – Muscovite Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which greatly confused historians. The connection between the concepts of White Rus' and Great Rus'/ Great Russia was relatively stable, only Lithuanian lands were called Black Russia, and the term Little Rus'/Little Russia correlated with both Black Russia and Red Russia.

Belarus - Belarus - the official name of our country since 1993. The term “White Rus'” does not suffer at all from the use of its etymology in the name of the country Belarus.

My publication is not about problems of national self-identification or disagreements over political/linguistic disputes. I’m interested in finding out: why is Rus' White? Where does the toponym “Belaya Rus” get its name from?

White Rus' included the cities and lands of the Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev regions. As you can see, Belarus includes the historical territories of White Rus', the lands of the White Dews. The literal translation of White Roses in Belarusian is White Dew. Other variants of this name on ancient maps: Wit Rusland, Weiss Reussen, Hvite Russland, Hvítá Russland, Weiss Russland, Ruthenia Alba, Ruthenie Blanche and Weiss Ruthenien (Weißruthenien).

Ruthenia is the Latinized version of Rus' - regions of Central and Eastern Europe inhabited by Slavs - a 9th - 12th century state that existed in the territory of modern Belarus, Ukraine, Western Russia and Eastern Poland.

Vasmer's dictionary mentions the dichotomy of the “white land” and suggests that “White Rus'” is a part of Rus' that was not subject to Tatar rule. Also from Vasmer’s speculations, there is a theory that the color of the clothes of the White Dews (as well as the color of their hair) may have contributed to the name “Belaya Rus”.

Trubachev calls both theories “complete fantasy.”

The name has its origins in four directions, from the Old Slavonic use of flowers for the cardinal points of the compass.

In Slavic cultures, white is an indicator of the north.

The totem - God Svetovid - has four faces: his northern face was white; the western face is red; the southern face is black and the eastern face is green. Thus, if there is White Rus', then there is Black, Red, Green Rus'. Chervonnaya Rus is located to the west of Belaya Rus.

Rus / P o θ I N i ə / geographical exonym for the cross-border region in Central and Eastern Europe. It differs significantly and even has mutually exclusive directions, depending on the historical period.

The phrase "colored" Rus' first appears in Western European sources in the 13th and 14th centuries, with reference to Red Rus'.

The term is explained ethnographically from the Old Slavic use of colors for four coordinates. Ancient God Svetovid has four faces. The northern face of the totem was white (hence White Rus'), the western face was red (hence Chervona Rus), the southern face was black (hence Chorna Rus) and the eastern face was green (hence Green Wedge).

There were other Slavic people, among whom a difference was made by color. For example, white, red and black Croatian. White Croats and White Croatia lived in the lands of modern southeastern Poland and Western Ukraine. The Red Croats and Red Croatia were located in modern Croatia, modern Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, southern Dalmatia, most of Albania, as well as Old Serbia. Raska and Metohija, the Black Croats, lived outside the Don River.

White Serbs - in modern eastern Germany.

The color coding of the Altai-Turkish peoples is different from the Slavic ones. They have: black - north, blue - east, red - south, white - west, yellow (or gold) - center.

The 16th century chronicler Guagnini wrote in his famous book Sarmatians (Sarmatiae Europeae Descriptio) that Rus' was divided into three parts. White Rus' came under the rule of the Muscovite (Moscow Grand Duke). Under the rule of the Polish king - Black Rus'. And the rest is Red Rus'. The Grand Duke of Moscow was named the White Tsar.

The name White Rus' was adopted by the kings of Muscovy to distinguish themselves from their predecessors in Rome and Byzantium (on the grounds that Russia is the “Third Rome”). Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein explains that Muscovites (Moscow rulers) wore white clothes to distinguish themselves from purple Roman rulers, and the red color of the Byzantines.

The Russian Tsar was thus the “White Tsar”: Sunt Qui principem Moscovuiae Alba Regem nuncupant. Ego quidem causam diligenter quaerebam, CUR Regis Albi Nomine appellaretur or Weisse Reyssen Oder Weissen Khünig nennen etliche unnd damit Ain underscheid der Reyssen MACHEN (from Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii).

The title is included among the official titles of the Moscow Tsar - “Sovereign of All Rus': Great, Little and White”. This name, together with the solemn expression, was in use until the very end of the Russian Empire.

Ultimately, this color was later used by the counter-revolutionary White Army fighting against the Red Army. And the assignment to various territories, often located quite far from real Belarus, is all a historical change. For example, at one time this term was applied to Novgorod.

To the question Where did the name Belarus come from? given by the author Yatyana the best answer is There are several versions of the origin of the name of Belarus.
Firstly, according to the cardinal points, different regions were called Chervona Rus, Black Rus, and White Rus.
These are modern territories of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, which I can’t tell you exactly what they were called.
Secondly, the Tatars practically did not reach the territory of modern Belarus during the invasions, so it was called White in the sense of free.
And thirdly, the Belarusians wore light linen clothes and were mostly fair-haired, so there is such a version that they could therefore call this territory White Russia.
and also in Russian. -German Dictionary ed. Karla Leina Belarus translated Weißrußland (Weissrusland, Weiss is white). The translation of Weißrußland seemed to me too mechanical, formal, or something. ..and why, actually, White Rus'? (in 1654, after the annexation of Ukraine, the title “Tsar of All Great and Little and White Rus'” appeared).
Perhaps there was the legendary deity Belbog, perhaps the Chinese symbolism of flowers - white means Western, perhaps some taxes were not paid - then such peasants were called “white”, in contrast to those subject to tax - “black”.
There is a version that part of the Slavic lands was controlled by the “white” Vikings (Norwegians), and part by the “black” Vikings (Danes).
Or maybe on the territory of present-day Belarus they built huts with chimneys and, unlike the “black” ones (without chimneys), they were called white?
Source: 🙂 my homeland, my blood :)

Reply from Flush[active]
White Rus'. It's logical =)

Reply from Sweep[active]
Because in ancient times tribes with predominantly blond or light brown hair lived there, it turned out like this - White Rus'!

Reply from Pre-Soviet[guru]
A long time ago...There were several Russias. Little Russia (Ukraine), White Russia (Belarus), Great Russia (Velikorossiya), Red Russia (now Golden Ring). Black Ros (formerly Montenegro). And every century there are fewer and fewer of us. Maybe it's time to remember that we are all RUSSIA! That we are Russians, or more correctly in this case, Rossichs (and not Russians, as they call us on the screens).

Reply from Nikita K.[guru]
from a camel...

Reply from Artyom[active]
The name Belarus comes from the words White Rus'.

Reply from Kudec[guru]
In ancient times, the territory of Belarus was called BLACK Russia, I don’t remember why, but that’s for sure.

Reply from Masha[guru]
and they also say that in Rus', when people wove linen from flax, they were gray and they were spread out in the fields so that they would fade. And when A. Nevsky was passing through Rus', he said so: White Rus'

Reply from Yerzh[newbie]
The historical "RVSSIA ALBA (White Rus')" was located directly behind Lake Peipus, that is, where modern Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, Velikiye Luki are located (Cartographer: Olaf Magnus. Year of publication: 1539, Venice).
After joining in 1772-1795. eastern lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Russia, provinces were created in certain accordance with the ideas of Catherine II “the Great” about the historical regions here. Those who departed after the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. the lands up to the Dvina and Dnieper were precisely presented to her as Belarusian; the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces formed on them were called Belarusian and united into the Belarusian governor-general together with Smolensk. The Grodno and Vilna regions that arose later were named Lithuanian. But there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the Minsk province... it turned out that it belonged neither here nor there. Only during the national liberation uprising of the Litvins (modern Belarusians) against the power of the Russian Empire in 1830-31. it was temporarily included in the jurisdiction of the Belarusian governor-general.
Where did the division of Rus' into the colors white, black and red come from?
- According to the traditional ideas of the Mongols of the Golden Horde (XIII-XV centuries), each of the cardinal directions had its own specific color symbol: white - West, blue - East, red - South, black - North. According to the cardinal directions, they had names for their parts of the Horde, where Muscovy was called the Western Horde - the “White Horde”, i.e. there was no need to invent anything: the term “White” was assigned to Muscovy during the three centuries of its stay in the Horde . In correspondence with the Mongols, Ivan III called himself the prince of the “White Horde”, in correspondence with Europe - the prince of “White Rus'”. With the strengthening of its importance, Muscovy “distributes” colors to its neighbors exactly according to the national norms of the Horde - according to the colors of the cardinal directions! At the instigation of Moscow, the Rus appeared: White, Red and Black - meaning (in Tatar) geographically west, north, south and equivalent to the similar names Ord. Eastern “Blue Rus'” did not arise in this series simply because there was no Rus' east of Moscow...

Reply from Oleg[newbie]
...After joining in 1772-1795. eastern lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Russia, provinces were created in certain accordance with the ideas of Catherine II “the Great” about the historical regions here. Those who departed after the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. the lands up to the Dvina and the Dnieper were precisely presented to her as Belarusian; the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces formed on them were called Belarusian and united into the Belarusian governor-general together with Smolensk. The Grodno and Vilna regions that arose later were named Lithuanian. But there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the Minsk province... it turned out that it belonged neither here nor there. Only during the national liberation uprising of the Litvins (modern Belarusians) against the power of the Russian Empire in 1830-31. it was temporarily included in the jurisdiction of the Belarusian Governor-General...
That is, according to by and large The Republic of Belarus owes its modern name to the distorted geographical ideas of Catherine II and her entourage. The real Alba Rutheinia was located in the south of the Izhora, and the north of the Chud and Votic lands.