Ethnic identity in post-Soviet Belarus: ethnolinguistic survival as an argument in the political struggle

Abstract

This article discusses the Belarusian case of post-communist development and the role and status of Belarusian ethnicity in Belarus' nation-formation process. 'Nationalizing nationalism' (Brubaker), as realised by the Belarusian state through various social and cultural practices, is aimed at the creation of a Belarusian national entity without reference to the ethnocultural core of Belarusians. As a result of the nationalising practices of the Belarusian state, most Belarusians identify with their nation-state while displaying weak identification with ethnicity. At the same time, the recent dynamic of patterns of self-perception in Belarusian society can be interpreted as the beginning of a gradual 'heating' of the ethnocultural vitality of Belarusians, which is occurring under the impact of the agency of elites. Ethnolinguistic survival and vitality in this context can be viewed both as an argument in the struggle between different forces on the political arena and a factor contributing to victory in the rivalry between them. In this context, the phenomenon of 'ethnic temperature' can be analysed not only from the perspective of its impact on group vitality and survival, but also as a phenomenon dependent on various political, cultural and historical factors.

Societal fragilities and resilience: The emergence of peoplehood in Belarus

“…To be called PEOPLE! Peculiarities of Belarusian identity formation, including a relatively late start of nation-building in the second half of the 19th century, geopolitical and geocultural inbetweenness (stark Orthodox Russian influence on the one hand and Catholic Western on the other), devastating effect of the two world wars and intensive socio-economic development in the framework of the USSR (Bekus, 2010(Bekus, , 2014Buhr et al, 2011;Ioffe, 2003;Kazharski, 2021;White and Feklyunina, 2014) have fostered if anything, some very modest aspirations in the Belarusians-those of quietness and peace, non-interference and fortitude shaped by a phrase "as long as there is no more war," which was painstakingly rehearsed by the post-war generations as a daily mantra. As the 2019 focus groups revealed, stability, above all, remained "the most important value" for the Belarusian respondents, through which they appraise the notions of "family, work, no debt, stable income" (female, 51 years old, Vitebsk), and "the desire to live your own little quiet life" and "the wish to avoid any changes even on a daily basis" (male, 65 years old, Gomel).…”

Soft Belarusization: (Re)building of Identity or “Border Reinforcement”

“…This space is defined as 'ours', 'own', 'cultural', 'safe', 'harmonically organised', etc. It is confronted by 'their space ', 3 See: Bekus, 2014;Hall, 2015;Ioffe, 2003;White & Feklyunina, 2014. 4 Several observations on Russia's colonial practices in the "North-West Territories" can be found in Ėtkind, Uffel'mann, & Kukulin, 2012.…”

Intercultural communication: Where we’ve been, where we’re going, issues we face

“…This theory predicts 'if an individual perceives high in-group identification, cognitive alternatives to in-group status, strong group vitality, and hard, close boundaries, intergroup differentiation will occur' (Abrams, O'Connor, & Giles, 2002, p. 230). Studies in this field have investigated various subjects such as media studies (Vincze & Freynet, 2014;Vincze & Holley, 2013), nation-building and minority integration (Bekus, 2014;Olsen & Olsen, 2010), multilingualism and language policy (Brownie, 2012), and education (Taylor-Leech & Liddicoat, 2014), to mention just a few.…”