Belarusian ( endonym : беларуская мова , romanized : bielaruskaja mova , pronounced [bʲɛɫaˈruskaja ˈmɔva] ) is an East Slavic language . It is one of the two official languages in Belarus , alongside Russian . Additionally, it is spoken in some parts of Russia , Lithuania , Latvia , Poland , and Ukraine by Belarusian minorities in those countries.
121-589: Jewish surnames Pinsky is a Belarusian toponymic surname , and means someone from Pinsk in Belarus . When spelled Pinski ; it is usually short form of the Polish and Ashkenazi Jewish surname Lapinski. It may refer to: Charles Pinsky , producer/director David Pinski (1872–1959), Yiddish-language writer Drew Pinsky (born 1958), American doctor, medical radio talk show host Ellis Pinsky , American student involved in
242-494: A Fellowship of the Royal Society . In 1791, Great Sejm parliament adopted the 3 May Constitution , the first set of supreme national laws, and introduced a constitutional monarchy . The Targowica Confederation , an organisation of nobles and deputies opposing the act, appealed to Catherine and caused the 1792 Polish–Russian War . Fearing the reemergence of Polish hegemony, Russia and Prussia arranged and in 1793 executed,
363-668: A coastline spanning 770 km (480 mi); extending from the shores of the Baltic Sea, along the Bay of Pomerania in the west to the Gulf of Gdańsk in the east. The beach coastline is abundant in sand dune fields or coastal ridges and is indented by spits and lagoons, notably the Hel Peninsula and the Vistula Lagoon , which is shared with Russia. The largest Polish island on the Baltic Sea
484-473: A high-profile cryptocurrency theft Leo Pinsky (born 1926), American baseball player Mark Pinsky (born in 1940), mathematician. the Pinsky phenomenon , his discovery Paul G. Pinsky , American politician Robert Pinsky (born 1940), American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator Viktor Pinsky (born 1964), Russian politician [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
605-548: A leading power and a major cultural entity, exercising political control over parts of Central, Eastern , Southeastern and Northern Europe. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied approximately 1 million km (390,000 sq mi) at its peak and was the largest state in Europe. Simultaneously, Poland imposed Polonisation policies in newly acquired territories which were met with resistance from ethnic and religious minorities. In 1573, Henry de Valois of France ,
726-645: A legendary ruler of the Lechites , or from the Lendians , a West Slavic tribe that dwelt on the south-easternmost edge of Lesser Poland . The origin of the tribe's name lies in the Old Polish word lęda (plain). Initially, both names Lechia and Polonia were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the Middle Ages . The first Stone Age archaic humans and Homo erectus species settled what
847-626: A mixture of Russian and Belarusian, known as Trasianka ). Approximately 29.4% of Belarusians can write, speak, and read Belarusian, while 52.5% can only read and speak it. Nevertheless, there are no Belarusian-language universities in Belarus. The Belarusian language has been known under a number of names, both contemporary and historical. Some of the most dissimilar are from the Old Belarusian period. Although closely related to other East Slavic languages , especially Ukrainian , Belarusian phonology
968-598: A new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a betrayal by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945,
1089-461: A number of radical changes. A fully phonetic orthography was introduced. One of the most distinctive changes brought in was the principle of akanye (Belarusian: а́канне ), wherein unstressed "o", pronounced in both Russian and Belarusian as /a/ , is written as "а". The Belarusian Academic Conference on Reform of the Orthography and Alphabet was convened in 1926. After discussions on the project,
1210-506: A perception that Belarusian was a "rural" and "uneducated" language. However, the census was a major breakthrough for the first steps of the Belarusian national self-awareness and identity, since it clearly showed to the Imperial authorities and the still-strong Polish minority that the population and the language were neither Polish nor Russian. The rising influence of Socialist ideas advanced
1331-548: A political force. Despite persecution and imposition of martial law in 1981 by General Wojciech Jaruzelski , it eroded the dominance of the Polish United Workers' Party and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first partially free and democratic parliamentary elections since the end of the Second World War. Lech Wałęsa , a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990 . The Solidarity movement heralded
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#17329490766771452-729: A rival Habsburg electoral candidate, Archduke Maximilian III , in the War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588) . In 1592, Sigismund succeeded his father and John Vasa , in Sweden . The Polish-Swedish union endured until 1599, when he was deposed by the Swedes. In 1609, Sigismund invaded Russia which was engulfed in a civil war , and a year later the Polish winged hussar units under Stanisław Żółkiewski occupied Moscow for two years after defeating
1573-845: A tribal federation and later a centralised monarchical state. Poland began to form into a recognisable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty . In 966, ruler of the Polans Mieszko I accepted Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Church with the Baptism of Poland . In 968, a missionary bishopric was established in Poznań . An incipit titled Dagome iudex first defined Poland's geographical boundaries with its capital in Gniezno and affirmed that its monarchy
1694-654: Is Warsaw ; other major cities include Kraków , Wrocław , Łódź , Poznań , Gdańsk , and Szczecin . Prehistoric human activity on Polish soil dates to the Lower Paleolithic , with continuous settlement since the end of the Last Glacial Period . Culturally diverse throughout late antiquity , in the early medieval period the region became inhabited by the West Slavic tribal Polans , who gave Poland its name . The process of establishing statehood coincided with
1815-803: Is Wolin , located within Wolin National Park . Poland also shares the Szczecin Lagoon and the Usedom island with Germany. The mountainous belt in the extreme south of Poland is divided into two major mountain ranges ; the Sudetes in the west and the Carpathians in the east. The highest part of the Carpathian massif are the Tatra Mountains , extending along Poland's southern border. Poland's highest point
1936-508: Is a phonemic orthography that closely represents the surface phonology, whereas Russian orthography represents the underlying morphophonology . The most significant instance of this is found in the representation of vowel reduction, and in particular akanje , the merger of unstressed /a/ and /o/, which exists in both Russian and Belarusian. Belarusian always spells this merged sound as ⟨a⟩ , whereas Russian uses either ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩ , according to what
2057-749: Is a founding member state of the United Nations and a member of the World Trade Organization , OECD , NATO , and the European Union (including the Schengen Area ). The native Polish name for Poland is Polska . The name is derived from the Polans , a West Slavic tribe who inhabited the Warta River basin of present-day Greater Poland region (6th–8th century CE). The tribe's name stems from
2178-529: Is a high degree of mutual intelligibility among the Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian languages. Within East Slavic, the Belarusian language is most closely related to Ukrainian . The modern Belarusian language was redeveloped on the base of the vernacular spoken remnants of the Ruthenian language , surviving in the ethnic Belarusian territories in the 19th century. The end of the 18th century (the times of
2299-479: Is chiefly characterized by the "soft sounding R" ( мякка-эравы ) and "strong akanye " ( моцнае аканне ), and the South-Western dialect is chiefly characterized by the "hard sounding R" ( цвёрда-эравы ) and "moderate akanye" ( умеранае аканне ). The West Polesian dialect group is separated from the rest of the country by the conventional line Pruzhany – Ivatsevichy – Tsyelyakhany – Luninyets – Stolin . There
2420-502: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Belarusian language Before Belarus gained independence in 1991, the language was known in English as Byelorussian or Belorussian , or alternatively as White Russian . Following independence, it became known as Belarusian , or alternatively as Belarusan . As one of the East Slavic languages, Belarusian shares many grammatical and lexical features with other members of
2541-468: Is distinct in a number of ways. The phoneme inventory of the modern Belarusian language consists of 45 to 54 phonemes: 6 vowels and 39 to 48 consonants , depending on how they are counted. When the nine geminate consonants are excluded as mere variations, there are 39 consonants, and excluding rare consonants further decreases the count. The number 48 includes all consonant sounds, including variations and rare sounds, which may be phonetically distinct in
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#17329490766772662-487: Is internal waters and 8,783 km (3,391 sq mi) is territorial sea. Topographically, the landscape of Poland is characterised by diverse landforms , water bodies and ecosystems . The central and northern region bordering the Baltic Sea lie within the flat Central European Plain , but its south is hilly and mountainous. The average elevation above the sea level is estimated at 173 metres. The country has
2783-408: Is mainly based on the Belarusian folk dialects of Minsk - Vilnius region. Historically, there have been several other alternative standardized forms of Belarusian grammar. Belarusian grammar is mostly synthetic and partly analytic, and overall quite similar to Russian grammar . Belarusian orthography, however, differs significantly from Russian orthography in some respects, due to the fact that it
2904-482: The Armia Krajowa ( Home Army ), fought against German occupation. It was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war, and encompassed a range of clandestine activities, which functioned as an underground state complete with degree-awarding universities and a court system . The resistance was loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in
3025-533: The Battle of Vienna . The Saxon era, under Augustus II and Augustus III , saw neighboring powers grow in strength at the expense of Poland. Both Saxon kings faced opposition from Stanisław Leszczyński during the Great Northern War (1700) and the War of the Polish Succession (1733) . The royal election of 1764 resulted in the elevation of Stanisław II Augustus Poniatowski to the monarchy. His candidacy
3146-588: The Belarusian Democratic Republic , Belarusian was used as the only official language (decreed by Belarusian People's Secretariat on 28 April 1918). Subsequently, in the Byelorussian SSR , Belarusian was decreed to be one of the four (Belarusian, Polish, Russian, and Yiddish) official languages (decreed by Central Executive Committee of BSSR in February 1921). A decree of 15 July 1924 confirmed that
3267-563: The Curzon Line by Stalin . The western border became the Oder-Neisse line . As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of other people , most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews. At the insistence of Joseph Stalin , the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of
3388-593: The Divisions of Commonwealth ) is the usual conventional borderline between the Ruthenian and Modern Belarusian stages of development. By the end of the 18th century, (Old) Belarusian was still common among the minor nobility in the eastern part, in the territory of present-day Belarus, of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereafter GDL). Jan Czeczot in the 1840s had mentioned that even his generation's grandfathers preferred speaking (Old) Belarusian. According to A. N. Pypin,
3509-610: The Duke of Milan and queen consort to Sigismund I, made considerable contributions to architecture , cuisine , language and court customs at Wawel Castle . The Union of Lublin of 1569 established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , a unified federal state with an elective monarchy , but largely governed by the nobility. The latter coincided with a period of prosperity; the Polish-dominated union thereafter becoming
3630-642: The European Spring of Nations , Poles took up arms in the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848 to resist Germanisation , but its failure saw duchy's status reduced to a mere province ; and subsequent integration into the German Empire in 1871. In Russia, the fall of the January Uprising (1863–1864) prompted severe political, social and cultural reprisals , followed by deportations and pogroms of
3751-576: The European Union (green) – [ Legend ] Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to
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3872-578: The Grand Duke of Lithuania , thus forming the Jagiellonian dynasty and the Polish–Lithuanian union which spanned the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era . The partnership between Poles and Lithuanians brought the vast multi-ethnic Lithuanian territories into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for its inhabitants, who coexisted in one of the largest European political entities of
3993-582: The Hebrew alphabet (by Belarusian Jews ). The Glagolitic script was used, sporadically, until the 11th or 12th century. There are several systems of romanization of Belarusian written texts. The Belarusian Latin alphabet is rarely used. Standardized Belarusian grammar in its modern form was adopted in 1959, with minor amendments in 1985 and 2008. It was developed from the initial form set down by Branislaw Tarashkyevich (first printed in Vilnius , 1918), and it
4114-715: The Proto-Slavic noun pole meaning field, which in-itself originates from the Proto-Indo-European word *pleh₂- indicating flatland. The etymology alludes to the topography of the region and the flat landscape of Greater Poland. During the Middle Ages , the Latin form Polonia was widely used throughout Europe. The country's alternative archaic name is Lechia and its root syllable remains in official use in several languages, notably Hungarian , Lithuanian , and Persian . The exonym possibly derives from either Lech ,
4235-543: The Russian Academy of Sciences refused to print his submission, on the basis that it had not been prepared in a sufficiently scientific manner. From the mid-1830s ethnographic works began to appear, and tentative attempts to study the language were instigated (e.g. Shpilevskiy's grammar). The Belarusian literary tradition began to re-form, based on the folk language, initiated by the works of Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich . See also : Jan Czeczot , Jan Barszczewski . At
4356-590: The Second Partition , which left the country deprived of territory and incapable of independent existence. On 24 October 1795, the Commonwealth was partitioned for the third time and ceased to exist as a territorial entity. Stanisław Augustus, the last King of Poland, abdicated the throne on 25 November 1795. The Polish people rose several times against the partitioners and occupying armies. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in
4477-874: The Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September. On 28 September 1939, Warsaw fell . As agreed in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Nazi Germany , the other by the Soviet Union . In 1939–1941, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. The Soviet NKVD executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (among other incidents in the Katyn massacre ) ahead of Operation Barbarossa . German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in
4598-731: The Teutonic Knights to aid in combating the Baltic Prussians; a decision that later led to centuries of warfare with the Knights. In the first half of the 13th century, Henry I the Bearded and Henry II the Pious aimed to unite the fragmented dukedoms, but the Mongol invasion and the death of Henry II in battle hindered the unification. As a result of the devastation which followed, depopulation and
4719-454: The University of Kraków , one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Europe. Upon his death in 1370, the Piast dynasty came to an end. He was succeeded by his closest male relative, Louis of Anjou , who ruled Poland, Hungary , and Croatia in a personal union . Louis' younger daughter Jadwiga became Poland's first female monarch in 1384. In 1386, Jadwiga of Poland entered a marriage of convenience with Władysław II Jagiełło ,
4840-421: The War of the Fourth Coalition . In accordance with the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit , Napoleon proclaimed the Duchy of Warsaw , a client state ruled by his ally Frederick Augustus I of Saxony . The Poles actively aided French troops in the Napoleonic Wars , particularly those under Józef Poniatowski who became Marshal of France shortly before his death at Leipzig in 1813. In the aftermath of Napoleon's exile,
4961-459: The armistice with Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic . The Second Polish Republic reaffirmed its sovereignty after a series of military conflicts , most notably the Polish–Soviet War , when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw . The inter-war period heralded a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in
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5082-472: The collapse of communist regimes and parties across Europe . A shock therapy program, initiated by Leszek Balcerowicz in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its Soviet-style planned economy into a market economy . As with other post-communist countries , Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living standards, but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels as early as 1995, although
5203-594: The first of its neighbors, initiating the fall of the Iron Curtain . Poland is a parliamentary republic with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate . Considered a middle power , it is a developed market and high-income economy that is the sixth largest in the EU by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by GDP (PPP) . Poland enjoys a very high standard of living , safety, and economic freedom , as well as free university education and universal health care . The country has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites , 15 of which are cultural. Poland
5324-450: The surname Pinsky, Pinski . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pinsky&oldid=1223010382 " Categories : Surnames Surnames of Jewish origin Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
5445-418: The "underlying" phoneme is (determined by identifying the related words where the vowel is being stressed or, if no such words exist, by written tradition, mostly but not always conforming to etymology). This means that Belarusian noun and verb paradigms, in their written form, have numerous instances of alternations between written ⟨a⟩ and ⟨o⟩ , whereas no such alternations exist in
5566-484: The 1794 Kościuszko Uprising , where a popular and distinguished general Tadeusz Kościuszko , who had several years earlier served under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War , led Polish insurgents. Despite the victory at the Battle of Racławice , his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence for 123 years . In 1806, an insurrection organised by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski liberated western Poland ahead of Napoleon's advance into Prussia during
5687-431: The 1897 Russian Empire census , about 5.89 million people declared themselves speakers of Belarusian (then known as White Russian). The end of the 19th century, however, still showed that the urban language of Belarusian towns remained either Polish or Russian. The same census showed that towns with a population greater than 50,000 had fewer than a tenth Belarusian speakers. This state of affairs greatly contributed to
5808-424: The 1950s. Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland (in particular the cities of Wilno and Lwów ) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of Red Army units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture. In
5929-409: The Allies, providing much of the intelligence from Europe and beyond, Polish code breakers were responsible for cracking the Enigma cipher and Polish scientists participating in the Manhattan Project were co-creators of the American atomic bomb . In the east, the Soviet-backed Polish 1st Army distinguished itself in the battles for Warsaw and Berlin . The wartime resistance movement , and
6050-510: The Belarusian grammar. In 1915, Rev. Balyaslaw Pachopka had prepared a Belarusian grammar using the Latin script. Belarusian linguist S. M. Nyekrashevich considered Pachopka's grammar unscientific and ignorant of the principles of the language. But Pachopka's grammar was reportedly taught in an unidentified number of schools, from 1918 for an unspecified period. Another grammar was supposedly jointly prepared by A. Lutskyevich and Ya. Stankyevich, and differed from Tarashkyevich's grammar somewhat in
6171-441: The Belarusian language is declared as a "native language" by about 55,000 Belarusians, which comprise about 19.7% of Belarusians living in Ukraine. In Poland , the Belarusian language is declared as a "language spoken at home" by about 40,000 inhabitants According to a study done by the Belarusian government in 2009, 72% of Belarusians speak Russian at home, while Belarusian is actively used by only 11.9% of Belarusians (others speak
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#17329490766776292-403: The Belarusian language was spoken in some areas among the minor nobility during the 19th century. In its vernacular form, it was the language of the smaller town dwellers and of the peasantry and it had been the language of oral folklore. Teaching in Belarusian was conducted mainly in schools run by the Basilian order . The development of Belarusian in the 19th century was strongly influenced by
6413-419: The Belarusian language, the North-Eastern and the South-Western. In addition, there is a transitional Middle Belarusian dialect group and the separate West Polesian dialect group. The North-Eastern and the South-Western dialects are separated by a hypothetical line Ashmyany – Minsk – Babruysk – Gomel , with the area of the Middle Belarusian dialect group placed on and along this line. The North-Eastern dialect
6534-502: The Belarusian, Russian, Yiddish and Polish languages had equal status in Soviet Belarus. In the BSSR, Tarashkyevich's grammar had been officially accepted for use in state schooling after its re-publication in unchanged form, first in 1922 by Yazep Lyosik under his own name as Practical grammar. Part I , then in 1923 by the Belarusian State Publishing House under the title Belarusian language. Grammar. Ed. I. 1923 , also by "Ya. Lyosik". In 1925, Lyosik added two new chapters, addressing
6655-441: The Brave . In 1000, at the Congress of Gniezno , Bolesław obtained the right of investiture from Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor , who assented to the creation of additional bishoprics and an archdioceses in Gniezno. Three new dioceses were subsequently established in Kraków , Kołobrzeg , and Wrocław . Also, Otto bestowed upon Bolesław royal regalia and a replica of the Holy Lance , which were later used at his coronation as
6776-410: The Commission had actually prepared the project for spelling reform. The resulting project had included both completely new rules and existing rules in unchanged and changed forms, some of the changes being the work of the Commission itself, and others resulting from the resolutions of the Belarusian Academic Conference (1926), re-approved by the Commission. Notably, the use of the Ь (soft sign) before
6897-475: The Conference made resolutions on some of the problems. However, the Lyosik brothers' project had not addressed all the problematic issues, so the Conference was not able to address all of those. As the outcome of the conference, the Orthographic Commission was created to prepare the project of the actual reform. This was instigated on 1 October 1927, headed by S. Nyekrashevich, with the following principal guidelines of its work adopted: During its work in 1927–29,
7018-469: The Duchy of Warsaw was abolished at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and its territory was divided into Russian Congress Kingdom of Poland , the Prussian Grand Duchy of Posen , and Austrian Galicia with the Free City of Kraków . In 1830, non-commissioned officers at Warsaw's Officer Cadet School rebelled in what was the November Uprising . After its collapse, Congress Poland lost its constitutional autonomy , army and legislative assembly. During
7139-400: The European Union were dismantled, allowing for full freedom of movement within most of the European Union. On 10 April 2010, the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński , along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials died in a plane crash near Smolensk , Russia. In 2011, the ruling Civic Platform won parliamentary elections . In 2014, the Prime Minister of Poland , Donald Tusk ,
7260-543: The European scene, it came to characterise the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations. The new communist government took control with the adoption of the Small Constitution on 19 February 1947. The Polish People's Republic ( Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa ) was officially proclaimed in 1952 . In 1956, after the death of Bolesław Bierut , the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Collectivisation in
7381-405: The German occupation of Poland , including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish intelligentsia – academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility and priesthood. During the Warsaw Uprising alone, over 150,000 Polish civilians were killed, most were murdered by the Germans during the Wola and Ochota massacres. Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during
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#17329490766777502-436: The Polish People's Republic failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek , but most of the time persecution of anti-communist opposition groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union " Solidarity " (" Solidarność "), which over time became
7623-447: The Polish-Jewish population. Towards the end of the 19th century, Congress Poland became heavily industrialised; its primary exports being coal, zinc , iron and textiles. In the aftermath of World War I , the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland, confirmed through the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919. A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and over 450,000 died. Following
7744-464: The Prussian rulers to pay tributes . The Jagiellonian dynasty also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of Bohemia (1471 onwards) and Hungary. In the south, Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire (at the Varna Crusade ) and the Crimean Tatars , and in the east helped Lithuania to combat Russia . Poland was developing as a feudal state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful landed nobility that confined
7865-443: The Russian language and literature department of St. Petersburg University, approached the board of the Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva with a proposal that a Belarusian linguist be trained under his supervision in order to be able to create documentation of the grammar. Initially, the famous Belarusian poet Maksim Bahdanovič was to be entrusted with this work. However, Bahdanovič's poor health (tuberculosis) precluded his living in
7986-404: The Russians at Klushino . Sigismund also countered the Ottoman Empire in the southeast; at Khotyn in 1621 Jan Karol Chodkiewicz achieved a decisive victory against the Turks, which ushered the downfall of Sultan Osman II . Sigismund's long reign in Poland coincided with the Silver Age . The liberal Władysław IV effectively defended Poland's territorial possessions but after his death
8107-591: The Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland ( Kresy ), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the Wołyń Massacres . Of all the countries in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: around 6 million perished – more than one-sixth of Poland's pre-war population – half of them Polish Jews. About 90% of deaths were non-military in nature. In 1945, Poland's borders were shifted westwards . Over two million Polish inhabitants of Kresy were expelled along
8228-545: The all-Russian " narodniki " and Belarusian national movements (late 1870s–early 1880s) renewed interest in the Belarusian language (See also: Homan (1884) , Bahushevich , Yefim Karskiy , Dovnar-Zapol'skiy , Bessonov, Pypin, Sheyn, Nasovič). The Belarusian literary tradition was also renewed ( see also : F. Bahushevich ). It was in these times that F. Bahushevich made his famous appeal to Belarusians: "Do not forsake our language, lest you pass away" (Belarusian: Не пакідайце ж мовы нашай, каб не ўмёрлі ). The first dictionary of
8349-422: The beginning of World War II , which resulted in the Holocaust and millions of Polish casualties . Forced into the Eastern Bloc in the global Cold War , the Polish People's Republic was a founding signatory of the Warsaw Pact . Through the emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement , the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a democratic state in 1989, as
8470-584: The beginning of the 1860s, both the Russian and Polish parties in Belarusian lands had begun to realise that the decisive role in the upcoming conflicts was shifting to the peasantry, overwhelmingly Belarusian. So a large amount of propaganda appeared, targeted at the peasantry and written in Belarusian; notably, the anti-Russian, anti-Tsarist, anti-Eastern Orthodox "Manifesto" and the first newspaper Mužyckaja prauda ( Peasants' Truth ) (1862–1863) by Konstanty Kalinowski , and anti-Polish, anti-Revolutionary, pro-Orthodox booklets and poems (1862). The advent of
8591-430: The climate of St. Petersburg, so Branislaw Tarashkyevich , a fresh graduate of the Vilnya Liceum No. 2 , was selected for the task. In the Belarusian community, great interest was vested in this enterprise. The already famous Belarusian poet Yanka Kupala , in his letter to Tarashkyevich, urged him to "hurry with his much-needed work". Tarashkyevich had been working on the preparation of the grammar during 1912–1917, with
8712-545: The combinations "consonant+iotated vowel" ("softened consonants"), which had been previously denounced as highly redundant (e.g., in the proceedings of the Belarusian Academic Conference (1926)), was cancelled. However, the complete resolution of the highly important issue of the orthography of unstressed Е ( IE ) was not achieved. Poland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
8833-604: The conversion of a pagan ruler of the Polans to Christianity, under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church in 966. The Kingdom of Poland emerged in 1025, and in 1569 cemented its long-standing association with Lithuania , thus forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the great powers of Europe, with an elective monarchy and a uniquely liberal political system, which adopted Europe's first modern constitution in 1791. With
8954-489: The corresponding written paradigms in Russian. This can significantly complicate the foreign speakers' task of learning these paradigms; on the other hand, though, it makes spelling easier for native speakers. An example illustrating the contrast between the treatment of akanje in Russian and Belarusian orthography is the spelling of the word for "products; food": Besides the standardized lect , there are two main dialects of
9075-403: The decades up until World War I , a new political tradition was established in the country. Many exiled Polish activists, such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski , who would later become prime minister, returned home. A significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when Gabriel Narutowicz , inaugural holder of
9196-552: The demand for craft labour spurred a migration of German and Flemish settlers into Poland, which was encouraged by the Polish dukes. In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz introduced unprecedented autonomy for the Polish Jews , who came to Poland fleeing persecution elsewhere in Europe. In 1320, Władysław I the Short became the first king of a reunified Poland since Przemysł II in 1296, and
9317-538: The doctrine of the so-called Polish Brethren , who separated from their Calvinist denomination and became the co-founders of global Unitarianism . The European Renaissance evoked under Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus a sense of urgency in the need to promote a cultural awakening . During the Polish Golden Age , the nation's economy and culture flourished. The Italian-born Bona Sforza , daughter of
9438-686: The earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish Kuyavia , and the Bronocice pot is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC). The period spanning the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (1300 BC–500 BC) was marked by an increase in population density, establishment of palisaded settlements ( gords ) and the expansion of Lusatian culture . A significant archaeological find from
9559-531: The educational system. The Polish and Russian languages were being introduced and re-introduced, while the general state of the people's education remained poor until the very end of the Russian Empire. In summary, the first two decades of the 19th century had seen the unprecedented prosperity of Polish culture and language in the former GDL lands, and had prepared the era of such famous Polish writers as Adam Mickiewicz and Władysław Syrokomla . The era had seen
9680-514: The effective completion of the Polonization of the lowest level of the nobility, the further reduction of the area of use of contemporary Belarusian, and the effective folklorization of Belarusian culture. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century "there began a revival of national pride within the country ... and a growth in interest [in Belarusian] from outside". Due both to the state of
9801-584: The elections organised by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc . As elsewhere in Communist Europe , the Soviet influence over Poland was met with armed resistance from the outset which continued into
9922-427: The emancipation of the Belarusian language even further ( see also: Belarusian Socialist Assembly , Circle of Belarusian People's Education and Belarusian Culture , Belarusian Socialist Lot , Socialist Party "White Russia" , Alaiza Pashkevich , Nasha Dolya ). The fundamental works of Yefim Karsky marked a turning point in the scientific perception of Belarusian. The ban on publishing books and papers in Belarusian
10043-497: The first King of Poland in c. 1025 , when Bolesław received permission for his coronation from Pope John XIX . Bolesław also expanded the realm considerably by seizing parts of German Lusatia , Czech Moravia , Upper Hungary , and southwestern regions of the Kievan Rus' . The transition from paganism in Poland was not instantaneous and resulted in the pagan reaction of the 1030s . In 1031, Mieszko II Lambert lost
10164-625: The first elected king, approbated the Henrician Articles which obliged future monarchs to respect the rights of nobles. When he left Poland to become King of France , his successor, Stephen Báthory , led a successful campaign in the Livonian War , granting Poland more lands across the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. State affairs were then headed by Jan Zamoyski , the Crown Chancellor . Stephen's successor, Sigismund III , defeated
10285-516: The first to be crowned at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. Beginning in 1333, the reign of Casimir III the Great was marked by developments in castle infrastructure , army, judiciary and diplomacy . Under his authority, Poland transformed into a major European power; he instituted Polish rule over Ruthenia in 1340 and imposed quarantine that prevented the spread of Black Death . In 1364, Casimir inaugurated
10406-635: The genocidal Generalplan Ost . Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution in Europe, and its troops served both the Polish Government in Exile in the west and Soviet leadership in the east . Polish troops played an important role in the Normandy , Italian , North African Campaigns and Netherlands and are particularly remembered for the Battle of Britain and Battle of Monte Cassino . Polish intelligence operatives proved extremely valuable to
10527-470: The group. To some extent, Russian, Ukrainian , and Belarusian retain a degree of mutual intelligibility . Belarusian descends from a language generally referred to as Ruthenian (13th to 18th centuries), which had, in turn, descended from what is referred to as Old East Slavic (10th to 13th centuries). In the first Belarusian census in 1999, the Belarusian language was declared as a "language spoken at home" by about 3,686,000 Belarusian citizens (36.7% of
10648-553: The help and supervision of Shakhmatov and Karskiy. Tarashkyevich had completed the work by the autumn of 1917, even moving from the tumultuous Petrograd of 1917 to the relative calm of Finland in order to be able to complete it uninterrupted. By the summer of 1918, it became obvious that there were insurmountable problems with the printing of Tarashkyevich's grammar in Petrograd: a lack of paper, type and qualified personnel. Meanwhile, his grammar had apparently been planned to be adopted in
10769-786: The modern Belarusian language authored by Nasovič was published in 1870. In the editorial introduction to the dictionary, it is noted that: The Belarusian local tongue, which dominates a vast area from the Nioman and the Narew to the Upper Volga and from the Western Dvina to the Prypiac and the Ipuc and which is spoken by inhabitants of the North-Western and certain adjacent provinces, or those lands that were in
10890-643: The modern Belarusian language. The Belarusian alphabet is a variant of the Cyrillic script , which was first used as an alphabet for the Old Church Slavonic language. The modern Belarusian form was defined in 1918, and consists of thirty-two letters. Before that, Belarusian had also been written in the Belarusian Latin alphabet (Łacinka / Лацінка), the Belarusian Arabic alphabet (by Lipka Tatars ) and
11011-426: The new Prime Minister leading a coalition made up of Civic Coalition , Third Way , and The Left . Law and Justice became the leading opposition party. Poland covers an administrative area of 312,722 km (120,743 sq mi), and is the ninth-largest country in Europe . Approximately 311,895 km (120,423 sq mi) of the country's territory consists of land, 2,041 km (788 sq mi)
11132-516: The nobility. The failed attempts at government restructuring as well as the domestic turmoil provoked its neighbours to invade. In 1772, the First Partition of the Commonwealth by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place; an act which the Partition Sejm , under considerable duress, eventually ratified as a fait accompli . Disregarding the territorial losses, in 1773 a plan of critical reforms
11253-528: The orthography of compound words and partly modifying the orthography of assimilated words. From this point on, Belarusian grammar had been popularized and taught in the educational system in that form. The ambiguous and insufficient development of several components of Tarashkyevich's grammar was perceived to be the cause of some problems in practical usage, and this led to discontent with the grammar. In 1924–25, Lyosik and his brother Anton Lyosik prepared and published their project of orthographic reform, proposing
11374-422: The particularities of different Belarusian dialects. The scientific groundwork for the introduction of a truly scientific and modern grammar of the Belarusian language was laid down by the linguist Yefim Karsky. By the early 1910s, the continuing lack of a codified Belarusian grammar was becoming intolerably obstructive in the opinion of uniformitarian prescriptivists. Then Russian academician Shakhmatov , chair of
11495-542: The passing of the prosperous Polish Golden Age , the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its independence at the end of World War I in 1918 with the creation of the Second Polish Republic , which emerged victorious in various conflicts of the interbellum period. In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked
11616-555: The past settled by the Kryvic tribe , has long attracted the attention of our philologists because of those precious remains of the ancient Ruthenian language that survived in that tongue. In 1891, in the preface to the Belarusian Flute , Francišak Bahuševič wrote, "There have been many peoples, which first lost their language… and then they perished entirely. So do not abandon our Belarusian language, lest we perish!" According to
11737-500: The people's education and to the strong positions of Polish and Polonized nobility, it was only after the 1880s–1890s that the educated Belarusian element, still shunned because of "peasant origin", began to appear in state offices. In 1846, ethnographer Pavel Shpilevskiy prepared a Belarusian grammar (using the Cyrillic alphabet) on the basis of the folk dialects of the Minsk region. However,
11858-484: The period known as Golden Liberty , when the state was ruled by the seemingly free and equal Polish nobles . The 16th century saw Protestant Reformation movements making deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tolerance, unique in Europe at that time. This tolerance allowed the country to avoid the religious turmoil and wars of religion that beset Europe. In Poland, Nontrinitarian Christianity became
11979-462: The political conflict in the territories of the former GDL, between the Russian Imperial authorities, trying to consolidate their rule over the "joined provinces", and the Polish and Polonized nobility, trying to bring back its pre-Partitions rule (see also Polonization in times of Partitions ). One of the important manifestations of this conflict was the struggle for ideological control over
12100-563: The population to private manorial farmstead known as folwarks . In 1493, John I Albert sanctioned the creation of a bicameral parliament composed of a lower house, the Sejm , and an upper house, the Senate . The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish General Sejm in 1505, transferred most of the legislative power from the monarch to the parliament, an event which marked the beginning of
12221-468: The population). About 6,984,000 (85.6%) of Belarusians declared it their "mother tongue". Other sources, such as Ethnologue , put the figure at approximately 3.5 million active speakers in Belarus. In Russia , the Belarusian language is declared as a "familiar language" by about 316,000 inhabitants, among them about 248,000 Belarusians, comprising about 30.7% of Belarusians living in Russia. In Ukraine ,
12342-473: The presence of Roman Legions sent to protect the amber trade . The Polish tribes emerged following the second wave of the Migration Period around the 6th century AD; they were Slavic and may have included assimilated remnants of peoples that earlier dwelled in the area. Beginning in the early 10th century, the Polans would come to dominate other Lechitic tribes in the region, initially forming
12463-621: The presidency, was assassinated at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw by a painter and right-wing nationalist Eligiusz Niewiadomski . In 1926, the May Coup , led by the hero of the Polish independence campaign Marshal Józef Piłsudski , turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the nonpartisan Sanacja ( Healing ) movement to prevent radical political organisations on both the left and
12584-515: The protohistory of Poland is a fortified settlement at Biskupin , attributed to the Lusatian culture of the Late Bronze Age (mid-8th century BC). Throughout antiquity (400 BC–500 AD), many distinct ancient populations inhabited the territory of present-day Poland, notably Celtic , Scythian , Germanic , Sarmatian , Baltic and Slavic tribes. Furthermore, archaeological findings confirmed
12705-584: The resolution of some key aspects. On 22 December 1915, Paul von Hindenburg issued an order on schooling in German Army-occupied territories in the Russian Empire ( Ober Ost ), banning schooling in Russian and including the Belarusian language in an exclusive list of four languages made mandatory in the respective native schooling systems (Belarusian, Lithuanian , Polish , Yiddish ). School attendance
12826-494: The right from destabilizing the country. By the late 1930s, due to increased threats posed by political extremism inside the country, the Polish government became increasingly heavy-handed, banning a number of radical organisations, including communist and ultra-nationalist political parties, which threatened the stability of the country. World War II began with the Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, followed by
12947-619: The summer of 1944 it initiated Operation Tempest , of which the Warsaw Uprising that began on 1 August 1944 is the best-known operation. Nazi German forces under orders from Adolf Hitler set up six German extermination camps in occupied Poland, including Treblinka , Majdanek and Auschwitz . The Germans transported millions of Jews from across occupied Europe to be murdered in those camps. Altogether, 3 million Polish Jews – approximately 90% of Poland's pre-war Jewry – and between 1.8 and 2.8 million ethnic Poles were killed during
13068-545: The time. In the Baltic Sea region, the struggle of Poland and Lithuania with the Teutonic Knights continued and culminated at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against them. In 1466, after the Thirteen Years' War , king Casimir IV Jagiellon gave royal consent to the Peace of Thorn , which created the future Duchy of Prussia under Polish suzerainty and forced
13189-612: The title of king and fled amidst the violence. The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by Casimir I the Restorer . In 1076, Bolesław II re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent, Bishop Stanislaus . In 1138, the country fragmented into five principalities when Bolesław III Wrymouth divided his lands among his sons. These were Lesser Poland , Greater Poland, Silesia , Masovia and Sandomierz , with intermittent hold over Pomerania . In 1226, Konrad I of Masovia invited
13310-536: The unemployment rate increased. Poland became a member of the Visegrád Group in 1991, and joined NATO in 1999. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on 1 May 2004, following the consequent enlargement of the organisation . Poland has joined the Schengen Area in 2007, as a result of which, the country's borders with other member states of
13431-528: The vast Commonwealth began declining from internal disorder and constant warfare. In 1648, the Polish hegemony over Ukraine sparked the Khmelnytsky Uprising , followed by the decimating Swedish Deluge during the Second Northern War , and Prussia's independence in 1657. In 1683, John III Sobieski re-established military prowess when he halted the advance of an Ottoman Army into Europe at
13552-477: The west. The territory is characterised by a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and temperate transitional climate. Poland is composed of sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 million people, and the fifth largest EU country by land area, covering a combined area of 312,696 km (120,733 sq mi). The capital and largest city
13673-437: The workers' and peasants' schools of Belarus that were to be set up, so Tarashkyevich was permitted to print his book abroad. In June 1918, he arrived in Vilnius , via Finland. The Belarusian Committee petitioned the administration to allow the book to be printed. Finally, the first edition of the "Belarusian grammar for schools" was printed ( Vil'nya , 1918). There existed at least two other contemporary attempts at codifying
13794-610: Was chosen to be President of the European Council , and resigned as prime minister. The 2015 and 2019 elections were won by the national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) led by Jarosław Kaczyński , resulting in increased Euroscepticism and increased friction with the European Union. In December 2017, Mateusz Morawiecki was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding Beata Szydlo , in office since 2015. President Andrzej Duda , supported by Law and Justice party,
13915-517: Was established, in which the Commission of National Education , the first government education authority in Europe, was inaugurated. Corporal punishment of schoolchildren was officially prohibited in 1783. Poniatowski was the head figure of the Enlightenment , encouraged the development of industries, and embraced republican neoclassicism . For his contributions to the arts and sciences he was awarded
14036-508: Was extensively funded by his sponsor and former lover, Empress Catherine II of Russia . The new king maneuvered between his desire to implement necessary modernising reforms, and the necessity to remain at peace with surrounding states. His ideals led to the formation of the 1768 Bar Confederation , a rebellion directed against the Poniatowski and all external influence, which ineptly aimed to preserve Poland's sovereignty and privileges held by
14157-580: Was not made mandatory, though. Passports at this time were bilingual, in German and in one of the "native languages". Also at this time, Belarusian preparatory schools, printing houses, press organs were opened ( see also: Homan (1916) ). After the 1917 February Revolution in Russia, the Belarusian language became an important factor in political activities in the Belarusian lands ( see also: Central Council of Belarusian Organisations , Great Belarusian Council , First All-Belarusian Congress , Belnatskom ). In
14278-462: Was officially removed (25 December 1904). The unprecedented surge of national feeling in the 20th century, especially among the workers and peasants, particularly after the events of 1905, gave momentum to the intensive development of Belarusian literature and press (See also: Nasha Niva , Yanka Kupala , Yakub Kolas ). During the 19th and early 20th century, there was no normative Belarusian grammar. Authors wrote as they saw fit, usually representing
14399-432: Was re-elected in the 2020 presidential election . As of November 2023 , the Russian invasion of Ukraine had led to 17 million Ukrainian refugees crossing the border to Poland. As of November 2023 , 0.9 million of those had stayed in Poland. In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the election , but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, Donald Tusk became
14520-447: Was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments. The arrival of Homo sapiens and anatomically modern humans coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the Last Glacial Period ( Northern Polish glaciation 10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable. Neolithic excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era;
14641-511: Was under the protection of the Apostolic See . The country's early origins were described by Gallus Anonymus in Gesta principum Polonorum , the oldest Polish chronicle. An important national event of the period was the martyrdom of Saint Adalbert , who was killed by Prussian pagans in 997 and whose remains were reputedly bought back for their weight in gold by Mieszko's successor, Bolesław I
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