Editing Belarus (section)

==Etymology==
{{see also|Etymology of Belarus}}
The name ''Belarus'' is closely related with the term ''Belaya Rus<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', i.e., ''[[White Rus']]''.{{sfn|Minahan|1998|p=35}} There are several claims to the origin of the name ''White Rus<nowiki>'</nowiki>''.<ref name="Zaprudnik 1993 2">{{Harvnb|Zaprudnik|1993|p=2}}</ref> An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old [[Ruthenia]]n lands within the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] that had been populated mostly by [[Slavs]] who had been Christianized early, as opposed to [[Black Ruthenia]], which was predominantly inhabited by pagan [[Balts]].<ref>Аб паходжанні назваў Белая і Чорная Русь (Eng. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), Язэп Юхо (Joseph Juho), 1956.</ref> An alternative explanation for the name comments on the white clothing the local Slavic population wears.<ref name="Zaprudnik 1993 2"/> A third theory suggests that the old Rus' lands that were not conquered by the [[Tatars]] (i.e., Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev) had been referred to as ''White Rus<nowiki>'</nowiki>''.<ref name="Zaprudnik 1993 2"/> A fourth theory suggests that the color white was associated with the west, and Belarus was the western part of [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] in the 9th to 13th centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://belarus-travel.com/theconcept-of-whiterussia/|title=Why Is Belarus called White Russia &#124; Belarus Travel|date=5 April 2016|access-date=12 April 2021|archive-date=31 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531113644/https://belarus-travel.com/theconcept-of-whiterussia/}}</ref>

[[File:Stemp Efrasinia Polackaja.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Stamp with the [[Cross of Saint Euphrosyne|Cross of St. Euphrosyne]] by [[Lazar Bohsha]] from 1992]]

The name ''Rus<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' is often conflated with its Latin forms {{lang|la|Russia}} and {{lang|la|Ruthenia}}, thus Belarus is often referred to as ''White Russia'' or ''White Ruthenia''. The name first appeared in [[Middle High German literature|German]] and [[Medieval Latin literature|Latin]] [[medieval literature]]; the chronicles of [[Jan of Czarnków]] mention the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand duke [[Jogaila]] and his mother at "{{lang|la|Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto}}" in 1381.<ref name="vauchez">{{Harvnb|Vauchez|Dobson|Lapidge|2001|p=163}}</ref> The first known use of ''White Russia'' to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th century by Englishman Sir [[Jerome Horsey]], who was known for his close contacts with the Russian royal court.<ref name="alies">{{cite book |last=Bely |first=Alies |title=The chronicle of the White Russia: an essay on the history of one geographical name |publisher=Encyclopedix |year=2000 |location=Minsk, Belarus |isbn=985-6599-12-1 }}</ref> During the 17th century, the Russian [[tsar]]s used the term to describe the lands added from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.<ref>{{Harvnb|Plokhy|2001|p=327}}</ref>

The term ''Belorussia'' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Белору́ссия}}, the latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from {{lang|ru|Росси́я|italic=no}}, ''Russia'') first rose in 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 Russia|Great]], [[Little Russia|Little]], and [[White Ruthenia|White]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAItI5C_JPUC&q=Belorussia+Russian+Empire&pg=PA116 |title=Where Nation-States Come From: Institutional Change in the Age of Nationalism |author=Philip G. Roeder |year=2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13467-3 }}</ref> This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, they were variants of the Russian people.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUydX_3rG0AC&q=Belorussia+name&pg=PA385 |title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-983799-1 |last1=Fishman |first1=Joshua |last2=Garcia |first2=Ofelia |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

After the [[Bolshevik Revolution]] in 1917, the term ''White Russia'' caused some confusion, as it was also the name of the military force that opposed the red Bolsheviks.<ref>{{Harvnb|Richmond|1995|p=260}}</ref> During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term ''Byelorussia'' was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus under Polish control, ''Byelorussia'' became commonly used in the regions of [[Białystok]] and [[Grodno]] during the interwar period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ioffe |first=Grigory |title=Understanding Belarus and How Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2008 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00B6wxgftH8C&q=west+belarus&pg=PA150 |isbn=978-0-7425-5558-7 }}</ref>

The term ''Byelorussia'' (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was used officially only until 1991. Officially, the full name of the country is ''Republic of Belarus'' ({{lang|be|Рэспубліка Беларусь}}, {{lang|ru|Республика Беларусь}}, {{lang|be-Latn|Respublika Belarus}}).<ref name="bynamelaw">{{cite web |url=http://pravo.kulichki.com/zak/year1991/doc47159.htm |title=Law of the Republic of Belarus – About the name of the Republic of Belarus |access-date=6 October 2007 |date=19 September 1991 |publisher=Pravo – Law of the Republic of Belarus |language=ru }}</ref><ref name=Factbook>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Belarus|access-date=22 December 2007 |year=2007}}</ref> In Russia, the usage of ''Belorussia'' is still very common.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://people.onliner.by/2014/02/26/bel-17|title= "Беларусь" vs "Белоруссия": ставим точку в вопросе|date=26 February 2014|language=ru|work=Onliner|last1= Боровой|first1= Артур}}</ref>

In Lithuanian, besides {{lang|lt|Baltarusija}} (White Russia), Belarus is also called {{lang|lt|Gudija}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Gudija" ar "Baltarusija"? |url=http://www.vlkk.lt/konsultacijos/4292-gudija-baltarusija |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130162211/http://www.vlkk.lt/konsultacijos/4292-gudija-baltarusija |archive-date=30 November 2020 |access-date=22 November 2020 |work=State Commission of the Lithuanian Language |language=lt }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://telegraf.by/arhiv/lithuania_refuses_to_call_belarus_as_belarusia/|title=Lithuania Refuses to Call Belarus as "Belarusia"|date=16 April 2010|work=Telegraf.by}}</ref> The etymology of the word {{lang|lt|Gudija}} is not clear. By one hypothesis the word derives from the [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian name]] {{lang|prg|Gudwa}}, which, in turn, is related to the form ''Żudwa'', which is a distorted version of ''Sudwa, Sudovia. Sudovia'', in its turn, is one of the names of the [[Yotvingians]]. Another hypothesis connects the word with the [[Oium|Gothic Kingdom]] that occupied parts of the territory of modern Belarus and Ukraine in the 4th and 5th centuries. The self-naming of Goths was ''Gutans'' and ''Gytos'', which are close to Gudija. Yet another hypothesis is based on the idea that {{lang|lt|Gudija}} in Lithuanian means "the other" and may have been used historically by Lithuanians to refer to any people who did not speak Lithuanian.<ref name="Gudas">{{cite conference |last1=Dziarnovič |first1=Aleh |title=Gudas as a Historical Name of Belarusians in the Lithuanian Language: 'Goths' or 'Barbarians'? |book-title=Belarus and its Neighbors: Historical Perceptions and Political Constructs. International Conference Papers |date=2013 |publisher=Uczelnia Łazarskiego |location=Warsaw |pages=56–68 |url=http://pawet.net/library/history/bel_history/dziarnovich/51/Gudas_as_a_Historical_Name_of_Belarusians_in_the_Lithuanian_Language:_%E2%80%98Goths%E2%80%99_or_%E2%80%98Barbarians%E2%80%99.html |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501230935/http://pawet.net/library/history/bel_history/dziarnovich/51/Gudas_as_a_Historical_Name_of_Belarusians_in_the_Lithuanian_Language:_%E2%80%98Goths%E2%80%99_or_%E2%80%98Barbarians%E2%80%99.html }}</ref>