White Russia, alternatively known as White Rus' or White Ruthenia, is an
archaism for the eastern part of present-day Belarus, including the
cities of Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev. Name
In English, as well as in most other languages, White Russia loses an
important distinction between historical Rus', and modern Russia. It seems to
suggest that this term describes territory in the present-day Russian
Federation, whereas it is a demonym deriving from the more ancient toponym
Rus or Ruthenia. Because of that, usage of "White Russia" is a sensitive issue
in Belarus, and could be seen as inappropriate. Unlike it, the term White
Ruthenia does not suffer from such ambiguity.
Ruthenia is the latinized version of Rus’, a region in Eastern Europe
inhabited by Slavs and the cradle of Kievan Rus’, a 9th to 12th-century state
that existed in the territories of modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and
Eastern Poland. In English, the use of the term "White
Russia" to refer to all of Belarus is obsolete. Many other languages, however,
continue to use a literal translation of "White Russia" to refer to Belarus.
Belarus translates to White Russia in many modern languages. But in the modern
Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian languages there is a
distinction between the modern country of Russia and the suffix "-rus":
Belarusian: Белая Русь, Беларусь, but Расія/Rasija;
Polish: Białoruś, but Rosja; Russian: Белая Русь, Беларусь or
Белоруссия but Россия/Rossiya; Ukrainian: Білорусь Bilorus, but Росія
Rosia; Estonian: Valgevene);
In the German language, the usual name for the state of Belarus even today is
Weißrussland. In official use, the name Belarus is often preferred. However,
even the German Chancellor Angela Merkel used the term Weißrussland in her speech
to the European Council Summit in March 2007. Likewise, Belarus is normally
translated as "White Russia" into a number of other languages, including
Dutch, Greek, Chinese, Turkish, and the Scandinavian, Baltic, and Uralic
language families. History
Many other variants of this name appeared in ancient maps: for instance,
Russia Alba, Russija Alba, Wit Rusland, Weiss Reussen, White Russia,
Hviterussland, Hvíta Rússland, Weiss Russland, Ruthenia Alba, Ruthénie
Blanche and Weiss Ruthenien, assigned to various territories, often quite distant
from that of present Belarus. For example, at one time the term was
applied to Novgorod. A 16th century chronicler Guagnini wrote
in his famous book Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio, that Rus' was divided in
three parts. The first part, under the rule of the Moscovite Grand Duke, was
called White Russia. The second one, under the rule of Polish king, was
called Black Russia. And the rest was Red Russia. He also said Moscow was the
center of White Russia and Russian metropolitanate, and that Grand Duke of
Moscow was called the White Czar, especially by his subjects.
Only by the late 16th century did it become a name for the area of the
present Belarus. The origins of the name, which is attested from the 14th
century, are unclear Vasmer's dictionary mentions the dichotomy of "white" land
and "taxed" land in Domostroi and speculates that "white" Russia may have
referred to the parts of Russia that were not subject to Tatar rule. Another
speculation in Vasmer is that the color of the clothes of the White Russians may
have contributed to the name. Trubachev calls both theories "complete
fantasies". Some other Slavic people have been
distinguished by colour. There have been, for example, White, Red and Black
Croats.. Black Croats resided beyond the River Don; White Serbs in today's east
Germany. There is also a region historically known as Black Ruthenia, it
covers northwestern lands of modern-day Belarus: Hrodna, Slonim, Navahrudak,
Vaukavysk and partly Minsk region. Yet another theory is that the name may
have had its origins in the efforts made by Russia's tsars to distinguish
themselves from their predecessors in Rome and Byzantium. The Rerum
Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein explains that the
Muscovite rulers wore white robes to distinguish themselves from the purple
of the Roman rulers and the red of the Byzantines. The Russian Tsar was thus
called the "White Tsar": Sunt qui principem Moscovuiae Album Regem
nuncupant. Ego quidem causam diligenter quaerebam, cur Regis Albi nomine
appellaretur, or Weisse Reyssen oder weissen Khünig nennen etliche unnd
wöllen damit ain underscheid der Reyssen machen.
The Tsar himself was often called the "Great White Tsar", while he included
among his official titles the style: "The Sovereign of all Rus': the Great,
the Little, and the White". This appellation, together with the solemn
wording "White Tsardom", was in use till the very end of the Russian Empire.
Ultimately, this colour was transferred onto the name of the
counter-revolutionary White Army that fought against the Red Army.
References Bibliography
External links The 21 Names of Belarus
Why is the Russia White?