Culture of Belarus
Encyclopedia
The culture of Belarus
is the product of a millennium of development under the impact of a number of diverse factors. These include the physical environment; the ethnographic background of Belarusians (the merger of Slavic newcomers with Baltic natives); the paganism of the early settlers and their hosts; Byzantine Christianity as a link to the Orthodox religion and its literary tradition; the country's lack of natural borders; the flow of rivers toward both the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea; and the variety of religions in the region (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam).
An early Western influence on Belarusian culture was Magdeburg Law—charters that granted municipal self-rule and were based on the laws of German cities. These charters were granted in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by grand dukes and kings to a number of cities, including Brest, Hrodna, Slutsk, and Minsk. The tradition of self-government not only facilitated contacts with Western Europe but also nurtured self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and a sense of civic responsibility.
In 1517-19 Frantsishak Skaryna (ca. 1490-1552) translated the Bible into the vernacular (Old Belarusian). Under the communist regime, Skaryna's work was vastly undervalued, but in independent Belarus he became an inspiration for the emerging national consciousness as much for his advocacy of the Belarusian language as for his humanistic ideas.
From the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, when the ideas of humanism, the Renaissance, and the Reformation were alive in Western Europe, these ideas were debated in Belarus as well because of trade relations there and because of the enrollment of noblemen's and burghers' sons in Western universities. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation also contributed greatly to the flourishing of polemical writings as well as to the spread of printing houses and schools.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Poland and Russia were making deep political and cultural inroads in Belarus by assimilating the nobility into their respective cultures, the rulers succeeded in associating "Belarusian" culture primarily with peasant ways, folklore, ethnic dress, and ethnic customs, with an overlay of Christianity. This was the point of departure for some national activists who attempted to attain statehood for their nation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The development of Belarusian literature, spreading the idea of nationhood for the Belarusians, was epitomized by the literary works of Yanka Kupala (1882-1942) and Yakub Kolas (1882- 1956). The works of these poets, along with several other outstanding writers, became the classics of modern Belarusian literature by writing widely on rural themes (the countryside was where the writers heard the Belarusian language) and by modernizing the Belarusian literary language, which had been little used since the sixteenth century. Postindependence authors in the 1990s continued to use rural themes widely.
Unlike literature's focus on rural life, other fields of culture—painting, sculpture, music, film, and theater—centered on urban reality, universal concerns, and universal values.
Faust
by Antoni Radziwiłł. In the 17th century, Polish composer Stanislau Maniushka composed many operas and chamber music pieces while living in Minsk. During his stay, he worked with Belarusian poet Vincent Dunin-Marcinkevich and created the opera Sialianka (Peasant Woman). At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies. The ballet Nightingale by M. Kroshner was composed during the Soviet era.
After the Great Patriotic War, the music focused on the hardships of the Belarusian people or on those who took up arms in defense of the homeland. This was the time period that A. Bogatyryov, the creator of the opera 'In Polesye Virgin Forest', served as the "tutor" of Belarusian composers. The National Academic Theatre of Ballet, in Minsk, was awarded the Benois de la Dance Prize in 1996 as the top ballet company in the world.
Popular Soviet Belarusian music
was composed by several prominent bands, many of whom performed Belarusian folk music
. Folk rock act Pesniary
, formed in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin
, became the most popular folk band of the Soviet Union, and often toured over Europe. Pesniary's example inspired Siabry and Verasy
to follow their way. The tradition of Belarus as a centre of folk and folk rock music is continued today by Stary Olsa
, Vicious Crusade and Gods Tower, among others.
Rock music of Belarus arose in Perestroika times. Bands like Bi-2
(currently living in Russia), Lyapis Trubetskoy
, Krama and ULIS
were founded in late 1980s or early 90's. Though rock music has risen in popularity in recent years, the Belarusian government has suppressed the development of popular music through various legal and economic mechanisms. Because of this restrictions, many Belarusian bands prefer to sign up to Russian labels and to perform in Russia or Ukraine.
Researchers Maya Medich and Lemez Lovas reported in 2006 that "independent music-making in Belarus today is an increasingly difficult and risky enterprise", and that the Belarusian government "puts pressure on ‘unofficial’ musicians - including ‘banning’ from official media and imposing severe restrictions on live performance." In a video interview on freemuse.org the two authors explain the mechanisms of censorship in Belarus. http://www.freemuse.org/sw19372.asp
Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest
.
s that provide closed covering and warmth. The outfits were designed with either many threads of different colors woven together or are adorned with symbols called ornaments
. The Belarusian nobles usually had their fabrics imported and chose the colors of red, blue or green
. Males wore a shirt and trousers adorned with a belt and the females wore a longer shirt, a wrap-around skirt called a "paniova", and a headscarf
. The outfits also were also influenced by the dress worn by Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and other European nations and have changed over time due to improvements in the techniques used to make clothing.
Belarus has four World Heritage Sites, with two of them being shared between Belarus and its neighboring countries. The four are: the Mir Castle Complex
; the Niasviž Castle
; the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland
); and the Struve Geodetic Arc
(shared with Estonia
, Finland
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Norway
, Moldova
, Russia
, Sweden
and Ukraine
).
, Latin
, Polish or Church-Slavic. By the 16th century, Polatsk
resident Francysk Skaryna translated the Bible into Belarusian. It was published in Prague
and Vilnius
between 1517 and 1525, making it the first book printed in Belarus or anywhere in Eastern Europe. The modern period of Belarusian literature began in the late 19th century; one important writer was Yanka Kupala
. Many of the writers at the time, such as Uładzimir Žyłka, Kazimir Svayak, Yakub Kolas
, Źmitrok Biadula
and Maksim Haretski
, wrote for a Belarusian language paper called Nasha Niva, published in Vilnius. After (Eastern) Belarus was incorporated into the Soviet Union, the government took control of Belarusian culture, and until 1939 free development of literature occurred only in the territories incorporated into Poland (Western Belarus). Several poets and authors went into exile after the Nazi occupation of Belarus, not to return until the 1960s. In post-war literature, the central topic was World War II (known in Belarus as the Great Patriotic War)
, that had particularly left particularly deep wounds in Belarus (Vasil Bykaŭ, Ales Adamovich
etc); the pre-war era was also often depicted (Ivan Melezh
). A major revival of the Belarusian literature occurred in the 1960s with novels published by Vasil Bykaŭ and Uładzimir Karatkievič.
for the Belarusians who were being sent to the region. Documentation of Belarusian folk music
stretches back to at least the 15th century. Prior to that, skomorokh
s were the major profession for musicians. A neumatic chant, called znamenny
, from the word 'znamia', meaning sign or neume, was used until 16th century in Orthodox church music, followed by two hundreds of stylistic innovation that drew on the Renaissance
and Protestant Reformation
. In the 17th century, Partesnoe penie, part singing, became common for choruses, followed by private theaters established in cities like Minsk and Vitebsk. Popular music groups that came from Belarus include Pesniary
, Dreamlin
and NRM. Currently, there are 27 professional theater groups touring in Belarus, 70 orchestra
s, and 15 agencies that focus on promoting concerts.
In 2005, playwrights Nikolai Khalezin and Natalya Kolyada founded the Belarus Free Theatre
, an underground
theatre project dedicated to resisting Belarussian government pressure and censorship
. The group performs in private apartments and at least one such performance was broken up by special forces of the Belarusian police The Belarus Free Theatre has attracted the support of notable Western writers such as Tom Stoppard
, Edward Bond
, Václav Havel
, Arthur Kopit and Harold Pinter
.
, the Imperial Russia had a policy of de-polonisation of the Ruthenian people. However, even after many cases when the Belarusian peoples were subjected to what some call Russification, it was clear that this created a distinct ethnicity and a distinct culture that was neither Polish nor Russian. In 1897 census most of the population referred to their language as Belarusian rather than Ruthenian (and wrongly interpreted as Russian by Tsarist authorities), as they did during Polish rule.
It was the 20th century that fully allowed Belarus to show its culture to the world. Notable Belarusian poets and writers included Yanka Kupala
, Maksim Bahdanovič
, Vasil Bykau, Uladzimir Karatkievich. Also helped was the korenizatsiya
policy of the Soviet Union which encouraged local level nationalism. The Belarusian language
was numerously reformed to fully represent the phonetics of a modern speaker. However, some contemprory nationalists find that the Russian influence has taken its toll too much. At present the Russian language
is being used in official business and in other sections of Belarusian society.
; "Minsk Spring"; "Slavonic Theatrical Meetings"; International Jazz Festival; National Harvesting Festival; "Arts for Children and Youth"; Competition of Youth Variety Show Arts; "Muses of Niesvizh"; "Mir Castle"; and the National Festival of the Belarusian Song and Poetry. These events showcase talented Belarusian performers, whether it is in music
, art
, poetry
, dance
or theater. At these festivals, various prizes named after Soviet and Belarusian heroes are awarded for excellence in music or art. The contemporary nationalists argue that most of these sponsoured events have nothing to do with the Belarusian culture, let alone the culture as such, but such opinions are not valid, as all the events are subject to the expertise of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture. Several state holidays, like Independence Day
or Victory Day
draw big crowds and include various displays such as fireworks
and military parades. Most of the festivals take place in Vitebsk or Minsk.
as part of the Soviet
Olympic squad. During the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Belarus competed as part of the Unified Team
. The nation's athletes competed in an Olympic Games as Belarusians for the first time during the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Belarus has won a total of 52 medal
s; 6 gold, 17 silver and 29 bronze. The first Olympic medal for the Soviet Union was won by Belarusian Mikhail Krivonosov
at the 1956 Summer Games held in Melbourne, Australia. Belarus's National Olympic Committee
has been headed by President Lukashenko since 1997; he is the only head of state in the world to hold this position.
Receiving heavy sponsorship from the President, himself, ice hockey
is the nation's most popular sport. Team Belarus finished a surprising fourth in overall competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Belarusian players have become commonplace in the NHL and international competitions.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
is the product of a millennium of development under the impact of a number of diverse factors. These include the physical environment; the ethnographic background of Belarusians (the merger of Slavic newcomers with Baltic natives); the paganism of the early settlers and their hosts; Byzantine Christianity as a link to the Orthodox religion and its literary tradition; the country's lack of natural borders; the flow of rivers toward both the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea; and the variety of religions in the region (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam).
An early Western influence on Belarusian culture was Magdeburg Law—charters that granted municipal self-rule and were based on the laws of German cities. These charters were granted in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by grand dukes and kings to a number of cities, including Brest, Hrodna, Slutsk, and Minsk. The tradition of self-government not only facilitated contacts with Western Europe but also nurtured self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and a sense of civic responsibility.
In 1517-19 Frantsishak Skaryna (ca. 1490-1552) translated the Bible into the vernacular (Old Belarusian). Under the communist regime, Skaryna's work was vastly undervalued, but in independent Belarus he became an inspiration for the emerging national consciousness as much for his advocacy of the Belarusian language as for his humanistic ideas.
From the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, when the ideas of humanism, the Renaissance, and the Reformation were alive in Western Europe, these ideas were debated in Belarus as well because of trade relations there and because of the enrollment of noblemen's and burghers' sons in Western universities. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation also contributed greatly to the flourishing of polemical writings as well as to the spread of printing houses and schools.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Poland and Russia were making deep political and cultural inroads in Belarus by assimilating the nobility into their respective cultures, the rulers succeeded in associating "Belarusian" culture primarily with peasant ways, folklore, ethnic dress, and ethnic customs, with an overlay of Christianity. This was the point of departure for some national activists who attempted to attain statehood for their nation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The development of Belarusian literature, spreading the idea of nationhood for the Belarusians, was epitomized by the literary works of Yanka Kupala (1882-1942) and Yakub Kolas (1882- 1956). The works of these poets, along with several other outstanding writers, became the classics of modern Belarusian literature by writing widely on rural themes (the countryside was where the writers heard the Belarusian language) and by modernizing the Belarusian literary language, which had been little used since the sixteenth century. Postindependence authors in the 1990s continued to use rural themes widely.
Unlike literature's focus on rural life, other fields of culture—painting, sculpture, music, film, and theater—centered on urban reality, universal concerns, and universal values.
Music
The first major musical composition by a Belarusian was the operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
by Antoni Radziwiłł. In the 17th century, Polish composer Stanislau Maniushka composed many operas and chamber music pieces while living in Minsk. During his stay, he worked with Belarusian poet Vincent Dunin-Marcinkevich and created the opera Sialianka (Peasant Woman). At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies. The ballet Nightingale by M. Kroshner was composed during the Soviet era.
After the Great Patriotic War, the music focused on the hardships of the Belarusian people or on those who took up arms in defense of the homeland. This was the time period that A. Bogatyryov, the creator of the opera 'In Polesye Virgin Forest', served as the "tutor" of Belarusian composers. The National Academic Theatre of Ballet, in Minsk, was awarded the Benois de la Dance Prize in 1996 as the top ballet company in the world.
Popular Soviet Belarusian music
Soviet music
Soviet music is the music composed and produced in the USSR. It varied in many genres and epochs. Although the majority of it was written by Russians, it was also influenced by various national minorities in the Soviet Republic. The Soviet state supported musical institutions, but also carried out...
was composed by several prominent bands, many of whom performed Belarusian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Folk rock act Pesniary
Pesniary
Pesniary was a popular Soviet Belarusian folk rock band. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin. Before 1970 the band was known under the name Liavony .-Style:...
, formed in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin
Vladimir Mulyavin
Uladzimir Muliavin was a Belarusian rock musician and founder of the folk-rock band Pesniary.- Biography :Uladzimir Muliavin was born in Sverdlovsk in the family of a worker at the Uralmash plant. He started playing the guitar at the age of 12.In 1956, after graduating from school, he entered...
, became the most popular folk band of the Soviet Union, and often toured over Europe. Pesniary's example inspired Siabry and Verasy
Verasy
Verasy was a musical band created in Belarus in 1971. It was created under the Belarusian State Philarmony, Minsk, director and composer Vasily Rainchik...
to follow their way. The tradition of Belarus as a centre of folk and folk rock music is continued today by Stary Olsa
Stary Olsa
Stary Olsa is a Belarusian medieval folk band. Stary Olsa play medieval Belarusian music of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Stary Olsa is one of the few Belarusian bands enjoying popularity outside Belarus. The band has received numerous positive critical reviews.The band was founded in 1999 by...
, Vicious Crusade and Gods Tower, among others.
Rock music of Belarus arose in Perestroika times. Bands like Bi-2
Bi-2
Bi-2 is a Russian rock band with Belarusian origin, formed in the 80's in Minsk, Belarus. It was one of the most successful with many sales and chart-hits in Russia. Bi-2 was awarded MTV Russian Music Awards for Best Rock Act in 2007.-Pre-history:...
(currently living in Russia), Lyapis Trubetskoy
Lyapis Trubetskoy
- Early years :The band was formed in Minsk in 1990. By the end of 1990s it received serious popularity in Belarus and other countries of the Russian speaking world....
, Krama and ULIS
ULIS
ULIS is a Belarusian rock band, singing in Belarusian language. It has been created and made its first public performance in Minsk in March 1989...
were founded in late 1980s or early 90's. Though rock music has risen in popularity in recent years, the Belarusian government has suppressed the development of popular music through various legal and economic mechanisms. Because of this restrictions, many Belarusian bands prefer to sign up to Russian labels and to perform in Russia or Ukraine.
Researchers Maya Medich and Lemez Lovas reported in 2006 that "independent music-making in Belarus today is an increasingly difficult and risky enterprise", and that the Belarusian government "puts pressure on ‘unofficial’ musicians - including ‘banning’ from official media and imposing severe restrictions on live performance." In a video interview on freemuse.org the two authors explain the mechanisms of censorship in Belarus. http://www.freemuse.org/sw19372.asp
Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
Dress
Traditional two piece Belarusian dress originated from the time of Kievan Rus, and continues to be worn today at special functions. Due to the cool climate of Belarus, the clothes were made out fabricTextile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s that provide closed covering and warmth. The outfits were designed with either many threads of different colors woven together or are adorned with symbols called ornaments
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
. The Belarusian nobles usually had their fabrics imported and chose the colors of red, blue or green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
. Males wore a shirt and trousers adorned with a belt and the females wore a longer shirt, a wrap-around skirt called a "paniova", and a headscarf
Headscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
. The outfits also were also influenced by the dress worn by Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and other European nations and have changed over time due to improvements in the techniques used to make clothing.
World Heritage Sites
Mir Castle Complex
The Mirsky Castle Complex , is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Belarus located in the town of Mir in the Karelichy District of the Hrodna voblast, at , 29 km to the north-west from another World Heritage site, Nesvizh Castle....
; the Niasviž Castle
Niasviž Castle
Nesvizh Castle or Niasvizh Castle is a residential castle of the Radziwill family in Nesvizh in Belarus.-History:The estate was owned by the Radziwiłł Polish magnate family from 1533, when it was awarded to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł after the extinction of the Kiszka family...
; the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
); and the Struve Geodetic Arc
Struve Geodetic Arc
The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km, which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian....
(shared with Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
).
Literature
Belarusian literature began with 11th- to 13th-century religious writing; the work of 12th-century poet Kiryla Turauski is representative. Rhyming was common in these works, which were generally written in Old BelarusianOld Belarusian language
Old Belarusian was a historic East Slavic language, written and spoken at least in the 14th–17th century, and reported spoken as late as the very beginning of the 19th century, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in the East Slavic territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, probably...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Polish or Church-Slavic. By the 16th century, Polatsk
Polatsk
Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...
resident Francysk Skaryna translated the Bible into Belarusian. It was published in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
between 1517 and 1525, making it the first book printed in Belarus or anywhere in Eastern Europe. The modern period of Belarusian literature began in the late 19th century; one important writer was Yanka Kupala
Yanka Kupala
Yanka Kupala — was the pen name of Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich , a Belarusian poet and writer. Kupala is considered one of the greatest Belarusian-language writers of the 20th century.-Early life:...
. Many of the writers at the time, such as Uładzimir Žyłka, Kazimir Svayak, Yakub Kolas
Yakub Kolas
Yakub Kolas , real name Kanstantsin Mitskievich was a Belarusian writer, People's Poet of the Byelorussian SSR , and member and vice-president of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences.In his works, Yakub Kolas was known for his sympathy towards the ordinary Belarusian peasantry...
, Źmitrok Biadula
Zmitrok Biadula
Shmuel Yefimovich Plavnik , better known by the pen name Źmitrok Biadula, , was a famous Jewish Belarusian poet, prose writer, cultural worker, and political activist in the Belarusian independence movement.Źmitrok Biadula was born Shmuel Yefimovich Plavnik on April 23, 1886 in the...
and Maksim Haretski
Maksim Haretski
Maksim Haretski was a Belarusian prose writer. In 1919, he published a short novel titled Two Souls. During his lifetime, he also wrote for the Belarusian language newspaper Nasha Niva....
, wrote for a Belarusian language paper called Nasha Niva, published in Vilnius. After (Eastern) Belarus was incorporated into the Soviet Union, the government took control of Belarusian culture, and until 1939 free development of literature occurred only in the territories incorporated into Poland (Western Belarus). Several poets and authors went into exile after the Nazi occupation of Belarus, not to return until the 1960s. In post-war literature, the central topic was World War II (known in Belarus as the Great Patriotic War)
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, that had particularly left particularly deep wounds in Belarus (Vasil Bykaŭ, Ales Adamovich
Ales Adamovich
Ales Adamovich was a Soviet writer and a critic, Professor and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Doctor of Philosophy in philology, Doctorate in 1962 ; the people's deputy...
etc); the pre-war era was also often depicted (Ivan Melezh
Ivan Melezh
Ivan Melezh was a Belarusian writer....
). A major revival of the Belarusian literature occurred in the 1960s with novels published by Vasil Bykaŭ and Uładzimir Karatkievič.
Theater
Belarusian theater also began gain popularity in the early 1900s. One of Belarus's most famous plays, Paulinka (written by Yanka Koupala), was performed in SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
for the Belarusians who were being sent to the region. Documentation of Belarusian folk music
Music of Belarus
Belarus is an Eastern European country with a rich tradition of folk and religious music. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 20th century, the Soviet control of the country somewhat limited musical development because...
stretches back to at least the 15th century. Prior to that, skomorokh
Skomorokh
The skomorokhs were medieval East Slavic harlequins, i.e. actors, who could also sing, dance, play musical instruments and compose most of the scores for their oral/musical and dramatic performances. The etymology of the word is not completely clear...
s were the major profession for musicians. A neumatic chant, called znamenny
Znamennoe singing
Znamenny Chant is a singing tradition used in the Russian Orthodox Church. Znamenny Chant is unison, melismatic liturgical singing that has its own specific notation, called the stolp notation...
, from the word 'znamia', meaning sign or neume, was used until 16th century in Orthodox church music, followed by two hundreds of stylistic innovation that drew on the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. In the 17th century, Partesnoe penie, part singing, became common for choruses, followed by private theaters established in cities like Minsk and Vitebsk. Popular music groups that came from Belarus include Pesniary
Pesniary
Pesniary was a popular Soviet Belarusian folk rock band. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin. Before 1970 the band was known under the name Liavony .-Style:...
, Dreamlin
Dreamlin
Dreamlin is an electronic music group from Belarus.Dreamlin, hailing from Minsk, Belarus started when Denis «C4» Korabkov, who used to play guitar with a local cult, psychedelic reggae band at the time met Egor Kunovsky, who had long been involved with music software and computers.In 2000, they...
and NRM. Currently, there are 27 professional theater groups touring in Belarus, 70 orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s, and 15 agencies that focus on promoting concerts.
In 2005, playwrights Nikolai Khalezin and Natalya Kolyada founded the Belarus Free Theatre
Belarus Free Theatre
Belarus Free Theatre is a Belarusian underground theatre group.Under the current political system the Belarus Free Theatre has no official registration, no premises, nor any other facilities...
, an underground
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
theatre project dedicated to resisting Belarussian government pressure and censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. The group performs in private apartments and at least one such performance was broken up by special forces of the Belarusian police The Belarus Free Theatre has attracted the support of notable Western writers such as Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
, Edward Bond
Edward Bond
Edward Bond is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them Saved , the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK...
, Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, Arthur Kopit and Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
.
Russian impact
After the Partitions of PolandPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, the Imperial Russia had a policy of de-polonisation of the Ruthenian people. However, even after many cases when the Belarusian peoples were subjected to what some call Russification, it was clear that this created a distinct ethnicity and a distinct culture that was neither Polish nor Russian. In 1897 census most of the population referred to their language as Belarusian rather than Ruthenian (and wrongly interpreted as Russian by Tsarist authorities), as they did during Polish rule.
It was the 20th century that fully allowed Belarus to show its culture to the world. Notable Belarusian poets and writers included Yanka Kupala
Yanka Kupala
Yanka Kupala — was the pen name of Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich , a Belarusian poet and writer. Kupala is considered one of the greatest Belarusian-language writers of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, Maksim Bahdanovič
Maksim Bahdanovic
Maksim Bahdanovich was a famous Belarusian poet, journalist and literary critic.- Life :Bahdanovich was born in Minsk in the family of a scientist...
, Vasil Bykau, Uladzimir Karatkievich. Also helped was the korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya sometimes also called korenization, meaning "nativization" or "indigenization", literally "putting down roots", was the early Soviet nationalities policy promoted mostly in the 1920s but with a continuing legacy in later years...
policy of the Soviet Union which encouraged local level nationalism. The Belarusian language
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
was numerously reformed to fully represent the phonetics of a modern speaker. However, some contemprory nationalists find that the Russian influence has taken its toll too much. At present the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
is being used in official business and in other sections of Belarusian society.
Festivals
The Belarusian government sponsors many annual cultural festivals: Slavianski Bazaar in VitebskSlavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk
The International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" is an annual festival held in Vitebsk, Belarus under the auspices of the Belarussian Government since 1992. Its main program is devoted to Slavic music. The main participants are artists from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with guests...
; "Minsk Spring"; "Slavonic Theatrical Meetings"; International Jazz Festival; National Harvesting Festival; "Arts for Children and Youth"; Competition of Youth Variety Show Arts; "Muses of Niesvizh"; "Mir Castle"; and the National Festival of the Belarusian Song and Poetry. These events showcase talented Belarusian performers, whether it is in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
or theater. At these festivals, various prizes named after Soviet and Belarusian heroes are awarded for excellence in music or art. The contemporary nationalists argue that most of these sponsoured events have nothing to do with the Belarusian culture, let alone the culture as such, but such opinions are not valid, as all the events are subject to the expertise of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture. Several state holidays, like Independence Day
Independence Day
An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...
or Victory Day
Victory Day
Victory Day is a common name of many different public holidays in various countries to commemorate victories in important battles or wars in the countries' history.- April 30 in Vietnam :...
draw big crowds and include various displays such as fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
and military parades. Most of the festivals take place in Vitebsk or Minsk.
Sport
From the 1952 Helsinki Games until the end of the Soviet era, Belarus competed in the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
as part of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Olympic squad. During the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Belarus competed as part of the Unified Team
Unified Team
The Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...
. The nation's athletes competed in an Olympic Games as Belarusians for the first time during the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Belarus has won a total of 52 medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s; 6 gold, 17 silver and 29 bronze. The first Olympic medal for the Soviet Union was won by Belarusian Mikhail Krivonosov
Mikhail Krivonosov
Mikhail Petrovich Krivonosov was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the hammer throw.Krivonosov graduated from the Byelorussian Institute for Physical Culture in 1953. He trained at Burevestnik in Minsk and competed internationally for the USSR throughout his career...
at the 1956 Summer Games held in Melbourne, Australia. Belarus's National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
has been headed by President Lukashenko since 1997; he is the only head of state in the world to hold this position.
Receiving heavy sponsorship from the President, himself, ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
is the nation's most popular sport. Team Belarus finished a surprising fourth in overall competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Belarusian players have become commonplace in the NHL and international competitions.