Editing Belarus (section)

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Belarus}}
[[File:Zweisprachiges Schild Weißrussisch Russisch.JPG|thumb|Bilingual Belarusian–Russian sign in Belarusian town [[Rakaw]] in 2014]]
Belarus's two official languages are Russian and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/belarusian.shtml|title=Languages across Europe.|website=BBC |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> According to data published by the [[National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus]], the [[2009 Belarusian census|2009 census]] recorded that 53% of the population described Belarusian as their "mother tongue" compared to 41% who described Russian in that way. In addition, 70% described Russian and 23% described Belarusian as the "language normally spoken at home".<ref name="2009-census-languages">{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/en/perepis-naseleniya/perepis-naseleniya-2009-goda/main-demographic-and-social-characteristics-of-population-of-the-republic-of-belarus/population-classified-by-knowledge-of-the-belarusian-and-russian-languages-by-region-and-minsk-city|title=Population classified by knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages by region and Minsk City|website=Belstat.gov.by|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803170716/http://www.belstat.gov.by/en/perepis-naseleniya/perepis-naseleniya-2009-goda/main-demographic-and-social-characteristics-of-population-of-the-republic-of-belarus/population-classified-by-knowledge-of-the-belarusian-and-russian-languages-by-region-and-minsk-city/}}</ref> Minorities also speak [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Eastern Yiddish]].<ref>Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, TX: SIL International. Online version: [http://www.ethnologue.com/ Ethnologue.com].</ref> Following the election of [[Alexander Lukashenko]], most schools in major cities began to teach in Russian rather than Belarusian.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bekus |first1=Nelly |title=Struggle over identity: the official and the alternative "Belarusianness" |date=2010 |publisher=CEU press |location=Budapest |isbn=978-963-9776-68-5 |pages=151–155 |url=https://books.openedition.org/ceup/616 |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref> The annual circulation of Belarusian-language literature also significantly decreased from 1990 to 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Belarusian language in the period of socio-political crisis: signs of linguistic discrimination |url=https://penbelarus.org/en/2022/09/26/belaruskaya-mova-u-peryyad-gramadska-palitychnaga-kryzisu-prayavy-mounaj-dyskryminaczyi.html |website=Penbelarus.org |date=26 September 2022 |access-date=28 January 2024}}</ref>