Editing Belarusians (section)

=== In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ===
[[File:21. Litvin.jpg|thumb|Litvin man in the 18th century]]
As a result of Lithuanian expansion, the lands of Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This fact accelerated the Slavicization of the Baltic population. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, a distinct [[Ruthenian language]] was formed.{{Sfn|Shved|Grzybowski|2020|p=57-58}} It is called  "Old Belarusian language" by Belausian researchers and "Old Ukrainian" by the Ukrainian ones. The rulers and the elite of the Grand Duchy adopted elements of Ruthenian culture, primarily Ruthenian language, which became the main language of writing. Belarusians began to emerge as a nationality during the 13th and 14th centuries in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] mostly on the lands of the upper basins of [[Neman River]], [[Dnieper River]], and the [[Daugava River|Western Dvina River]].<ref>Беларусы : у 10 т. / Рэдкал.: В. К. Бандарчык [і інш.]. — Мінск : Беларус. навука, 1994–2007. — Т. 4 : Вытокі і этнічнае развіццё... С. 36, 49.</ref> The Belarusian people trace their distinct culture to the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], earlier [[Kievan Rus']] and the [[Principality of Polotsk]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Belarus - Culture, Traditions, Arts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Belarus/Cultural-life |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715090912/https://www.britannica.com/place/Belarus/Cultural-life |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Litvin]] was a term used to describe all residents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, primarily those belonging to the [[Lithuanian nobility|noble state]], without distinction of ethnicity or religion. At the same time, the term Ruthenian (''Rusyn'') was in use, referring primarily to all persons professing Orthodoxy; later since the end of the 16th century it took on a broader meaning, and also referred to all the persons of Eastern Slavic origin, regardless of their religion. At the same time, there was a geographical division within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between [[Lithuania proper]] and Rus'. However, it did not correspond to an ethnic or confessional division, as Lithuania proper included a large part of central and western Belarus with cities such as [[Polotsk]], [[Vitebsk]], [[Orsha]], [[Minsk]], [[Barysaw]] and [[Slutsk]], while the remaining lands inhabited by Slavs were called Rus.{{Sfn|Shved|Grzybowski|2020|p=57}} From the 17th century onward, the name [[White Ruthenia]] ({{langx|be|Белая Русь|Biełaja Ruś}}) spread, which initially referred to the territory of today's Eastern Belarus ([[Polotsk]], [[Vitebsk]]). The term "Belarusians", "Belarusian faith" and "Belarusian speech" also appeared at that time.{{Sfn|Shved|Grzybowski|2020|p=57}}<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last1=Fishman |first1=Joshua |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUydX_3rG0AC |title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts (Volume 2) |last2=Garcia |first2=Ofelia |date=2011-04-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-983799-1 |pages=385 |language=en}}</ref> As stated by historian [[Andrej Kotljarchuk]], the first person who called himself "Belarusian" was Calvinist writer [[Salomon Rysinski]] (Solomo Pantherus Leucorussus). According to his words, he was born "in richly endowed with forests and animals Ruthenia near the border to frigid Muscovy" and doctorated at the [[University of Altdorf]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Orthodoxy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Protestants of Belarus |url=https://belreform.org/eng/katlarchuk_prat_i_pravasl_eng.php |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=www.belreform.org |language=en |archive-date= |archive-url= |url-status= }}</ref>
[[File:Lićviny. Ліцьвіны (1907).jpg|thumb|Belarusians in the 19th century]]
From the 1630s, Old Belarusian (Ruthenian) started to be replaced by the [[Polish language]], as a result of the [[Polish people|Polish]] high culture acquiring increasing prestige in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1697, Ruthenian was removed as one of the Grand Duchy's official languages.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |title=The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe |year=2009 |pages=153, 156, 180}}</ref> By the 17th century, Muscovites began encouraging the use of the word Belarusian and viewed the Belarusians as Russians and their language as a [[Russian dialects|Russian dialect]].<ref name=":32" /> This was done to legitimize Russian attempts of conquering the eastern lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under the pretense of unifying all Russian lands.<ref name=":32" /> During three [[Partitions of Poland|partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] (1772, 1793 and 1795) most of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were annexed by the [[Russian Empire]].
[[File:Historical borders of Belarusians.png|thumb|
Ethnic territory of Belarusians<br />
{{Legend|#000000|Modern state boundaries}}
{{Legend|#F0C500|According to the linguistic map by [[Yefim Karsky]] (1903)}}
{{Legend|#F00000|According to [[Mitrofan Dovnar-Zapolsky]] (1919)}}
The major discrepancy between Karsky and Dovnar-Zapolsky is due to Karsky's identification of transitional Ukrainian-Belarusian dialects
]]