Belarusians, also spelt Belarusans, Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorussians are a distinct ethnic group of East Slavs who are the major population of Belarus, also being minorities in the neighboring Poland (especially Bialystok province), Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Noticeable numbers are in emigration in the Canada.
The prefix "Bela" can be translated into 'White' so these people were sometimes called White Russians though not to be confused with the political group of white Russians that opposed Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. This name was in use in the west for some time in history, together with White Ruthenes, White Ruthenians and similar forms. See Ruthenia#Belarusians. Using the form "White Russians" is considered offensive and misleading by many Belarusians.
The Belarusian people trace their distinct culture to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus' and Samogitia and earlier. For quite a long time they were mostly known under the name of Litvins (Lithuanians), which refers to the state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Litva, Vialikaja Litva) of which the White Ruthenian lands were part of since the 12th century.
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Belorussians and Russians live in Belarus together often creating mixed families, that is basically due to linguistic and ethnic closeness of the two peoples.
Belorussian national radicals in 1990 understood that rude anti-Russian policy would not be accepted by Belorussian population which overwhelmingly voted for preservation of the Soviet Union.
Belorussian dependence on Russian raw materials is of a comprehensive character, and some of the problems may not be resolved by purely free-market economy methods.
The population of the Belorussian SSR was jolted into national awareness in the late 1980s with the occurrence of one disaster and the discovery of another.
The territory of the Belorussian SSR was enlarged in both 1924 and 1926 by the addition of Belorussian ethnographic regions that had become part of Russia under the Treaty of Riga.
In the early 1920s, Belorussian language and culture flourished, and the language was promoted as the official medium of the communist party and the government as well as of scholarly, scientific, and educational establishments.
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