DISINFO: The Belarusian history is limited to the history of the Russian world and the USSR
SUMMARY
[In terms of history], the Belarusians appear in an even worse situation than the Ukrainians, who can appeal to the history of some groups such as the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The history of Belarus, in the understanding of its citizens, is the history of the local Orthodox population, the Russian world and the Soviet Union.
RESPONSE
This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and imperialism – it promotes the Russian “imperialist” idea that Belarus does not have any other history besides the history of the “Russian World” and the USSR.
The claim that the Belarusians believe that their history is limited to the history of the “Russian World” and the USSR is untrue. The Belarusian historiography counts the beginning of the Belarusian statehood from the Duchy of Polotsk (X century) and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For several hundred years, Belarus was an integral part of the I Rzeczpospolita (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). Only at the end of the XVIII century, the territory of Belarus came under Russian control.
The official historiography of the Russian Empire and the USSR tried to justify the Russian control over Belarus and Ukraine with a message that the “true history” of these countries started only after they “were returned to Russia” at the end of the XVIII century.
Claiming the undisputed history of the “Russian world” is far-fetched. The "Russian world" is a nationalist geopolitical concept giving ground to Russian expansionism in the post-Soviet sphere.
Read other examples of the Russian “imperialist” claims: Poland and Ukraine have a “slave syndrome” towards Russia, trying to harm their former Master; Belarus will either become part of Russia or the West’s poor colony and Myth about Ukraine as a separate nation was created in the USSR.