Belarus — books & literature

The story of Belarus

Belarus traces its roots to the Principality of Polotsk, one of the earliest East Slavic states, first recorded in chronicles in the 9th century. From the 13th century its lands became the core territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later joined with Poland in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569), a union that shaped centuries of Belarusian language, law, and culture. Late-18th-century partitions of the Commonwealth absorbed Belarusian lands into the Russian Empire. A short-lived Belarusian People's Republic was declared in 1918, but the territory instead became the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, a founding member of the USSR in 1922. World War II devastated the country , roughly a quarter of its population perished , and in 1986 it absorbed most of the fallout from the nearby Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Belarus declared independence on 25 August 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, and has remained closely tied to Russia ever since. Today it is a landlocked Eastern European nation known for vast forests, lakes, and a literary tradition that survived generations of language suppression.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 862

   The Principality of Polotsk, one of the earliest East Slavic states, appears in the chronicles.

2. 1067

   The Battle of the Nemiga River brings the first chronicle mention of Minsk.

3. circa 1250-1569

   Belarusian lands form the heartland of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

4. 1569

   The Union of Lublin creates the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, joining Lithuanian and Polish crowns.

5. 1795

   The Third Partition of Poland-Lithuania absorbs Belarusian territory into the Russian Empire.

6. 1918

   The short-lived Belarusian People's Republic is declared.

7. 1922

   The Byelorussian SSR becomes a founding republic of the Soviet Union.

8. 1941-1944

   Nazi occupation during World War II devastates the country and its cities.

9. 1986

   The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in neighbouring Ukraine contaminates a large share of Belarusian territory.

10. 1991

    Belarus declares independence from the Soviet Union on 25 August.

Top 10 things to know about Belarus

1. Belarus is a landlocked country bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.
2. Belarusian and Russian are both official languages.
3. Forests cover roughly two-fifths of the country, among the highest shares in Europe.
4. Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Białowieża Forest) is one of the last and largest primeval forests in Europe, shared with Poland.
5. The European bison, Europe's largest land mammal, was saved from extinction partly through breeding in Belarusian forests.
6. A large share of the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster landed on Belarusian soil.
7. Minsk, the capital, was almost entirely rebuilt after World War II in a distinctive Soviet neoclassical style.
8. The country has thousands of lakes and rivers, earning it the nickname "the blue-eyed country".
9. Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian writer, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015.
10. The Belarusian ruble is the national currency, redenominated in 2016 after earlier periods of high inflation.

Famous people from Belarus

Say it in Belarus's language

Did you know?

• ★Belovezhskaya Pushcha, straddling the Belarus-Poland border, shelters wild European bison in one of the continent's last primeval forests.
• ★A large portion of the radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fell on Belarus, even though the power plant itself is in Ukraine.
• ★Minsk was so heavily destroyed in World War II that its historic centre was almost entirely rebuilt from scratch in the postwar decades.

Belarus culture

• Kupalle, a midsummer festival with bonfires and flower-wreath rituals, is one of the most celebrated folk holidays.
• The vyshyvanka, an embroidered shirt with traditional geometric patterns, remains a symbol of Belarusian identity.
• Draniki, grated potato pancakes usually served with sour cream, are considered the national dish.
• The Slutsk sash, a richly woven silk belt historically worn by nobility, is a recognised emblem of Belarusian craftsmanship.

Why read Belarus's books

Belarusian literature grew up under repeated pressure on its own language, from imperial restrictions to Soviet-era policy , which is part of why writers like Yanka Kupala and Svetlana Alexievich, who kept telling stories in and about Belarus, matter so much to the shelves below.