Jump to content

White Ruthenia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rmhermen (talk | contribs) at 13:20, 6 July 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The term White Russia has two meanings. The first is the historical English language name for roughly the region now know as Belarus. Early it was applied to Novgorod but by the late 16th century had become a name for the area of present Belarus. The second meaning refers to the anti-communist and pro-Czarist faction prior to and in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution. This referred not to Belarus, but to their opposition to "Red Russia". This political terminology has become generic. Early 20th century opponents of the communist regime are often referred to as a "White".

The name "Belarus" does not actually derive from Russia, but from "Ruthenia" (the old Latin name of the region).