Belorussian

Member of an eastern Slav people closely related to the Russians (Great Russians) and Ukrainians, who live in Belarus and the surrounding area. Belorussian, a Balto-Slavic language belonging to the Indo-European family, is spoken by about 10 million people, including some in Poland. It is written in the Cyrillic script. Belorussian literature dates from the 11th century.

The Belorussians are descended from eastern Slavic tribes who moved into the region between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. They were ruled by Kiev until 1240, when Belorussian lands were taken over by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Belorussian was the official language of the grand duchy until its union with Poland in 1569. Ensuing Catholic and Polish influences were resisted by the Orthodox Church and the bratstvos and the majority of Belorussians remained Russian and Orthodox. In the 18th century Catherine the Great acquired Belarus, but western Belarus was under Polish rule 1921-39.