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The Name “White Russia”1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2018

Nicholas P. Vakar
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Extract

The term Belorussia is not well known outside the Slavic world. The area is more frequently referred to as "White Russia." Since 1917, however, use of the latter term has become a source of confusion. The Russians who fought against the Reds in the Civil War of 1918-20 were also called "White Russians." Although in Russian the term Belorussy, the ethnic group, and Belye Russkie, the political group, are easily distinguishable, there is no way of making the distinction clear in literal translation into English. Many people still cannot understand how an anti-Soviet group succeeded in organizing a republic within the Soviet Union, and why its members are called "white" after they have turned "red." In view of the general confusion, it is perhaps time to suggest that when referring to the ethnic group, the term Belorussian replace the term "White Russian" in our libraries, documents and literature.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , October 1949 , pp. 201 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1949

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Footnotes

1

The research basic to this paper was partially supported by a grant from the Russian Research Center of Harvard University.

References

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