Discriminating the Belarusian language in Belarus after 1995

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The unconstitutional referendum of 1995 made Russian equal toBelarusian in its legal and administrative status in post-Soviet Belarus. As a result, the brief period of official monolingualism (also known as neo-Belarusianization) ended. The subsequent installation of dictatorship in Belarus took place in lockstep with the curbing of remaining public uses of Belarusian in favor of Russian. The final blow came in the wake of the 2020 mass protest and pro-democracy movement, sparked by the blatantly falsified presidential election this year. Brutal repressions followed, once again in synch with state-led actions aimed against organizations and publishers specializing in the support for and development of Belarusian language and culture. At present, the regime tends to openly see the Belarusian language as an indicator of ‘extremism', meaning democratic and liberal values.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCetinjski filološki dani IV
Subtitle of host publicationzbornik radova s međunarodnoga naučnog simpozijuma održanog na Cetinju 6–8. septembra 2023
EditorsNovica Vujović
Place of PublicationCetinje & Lawrence, KS
PublisherFakultet za crnogorski jezik i književnost / Department of Slavic, German & Eurasian Studies, University of Kansas
Pages365-436
Volume4
ISBN (Print)9789940400934
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jul 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

  • Belarus
  • Authoritarianism
  • Language policy
  • Russification
  • Belarusian language

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