Belarusization () was a policy of protection and advancement of the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

and recruitment and promotion of Belarusian nationalists within the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the Belarusian SSR (BSSR) and the Belarusian Communist Party, conducted by the government of the BSSR in the 1920s. Together with the 1920s policy of Ukrainization in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, as well as other similar policies in other parts of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, it constituted the Soviet policy of korenization, an attempt by the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

to win favor with non-Russian ethnic groups by temporarily reversing the effects of centuries of Russification within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and promoting national cultures and languages in Soviet national republics. The implementation of korenization effectively stopped by the second half of 1930s, to which the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

contributed by elimination the national elites. Eventually it was reversed and replaced with the Soviet government's promotion of Russian language as the "language of interethnic communication".

Plan for Belarusization

The official policy of Belarusization was instituted in 1924 by the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR by creation of a special commission headed by A. I. Khatskevich. The special commission recommended the following measures: * Transition of the Belarusian Republic's institutions and Belarusian units of the Red Army to the

* Promotion of Belarusian nationalists to leadership positions within the

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

and

labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

* Organization of educational institutions in the Belarusian language, development of Belarusian literature and more. The transition of Belarusian republic's institutions to the Belarusian language was planned to take place over a period of one to three years.

Results of Belarusization

* By 1927, 80% of the BSSR's civil servants were fluent in the Belarusian language. * By 1928, 80% of schools in the BSSR were transitioned to Belarusian as the language of instruction.

End of Belarusization

However, with the rise of

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

in the 1930s, which repressed the national elites in all parts of the

, and the concurrent return of the policies of Russification, Belarusization was quickly reversed, along with Ukrainization and all the other programs of korenization within the Soviet Union.

References

* Нарысы гісторыі Беларусі. Ч. 2. — Мн., 1995. С. 119-123 * Запруднік Я. Беларусь на гістарычных скрыжаваннях. Минск, 1996. С. 93-94 1920s in Belarus Belarusian language Language policy Slavicization 1990s in Belarus Language policy in Russia {{slavic-lang-stub

Plan for Belarusization

Results of Belarusization

End of Belarusization

See also

References