Black Ruthenia

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Black Russia on a map of Poland with borders from 1771 and the partitions of the First Republic in 1772, 1793 and 1795

Black Ruthenia (also Schwarzreußen , Schwarze Rus or Schwarzrussland ) is the German name for a historical landscape in the southwest of what is now Belarus . The name was in common use for the area from around the 13th to the 19th century, but its use is uncommon today.

Demarcation and geography

At the time the names were first mentioned in the High Middle Ages , the exact extent was initially not well defined.

From the 14th century the upper reaches of the Njemen in the north, the Pzitsch ( Ptitsch ) in the east, the Pripjet Marshes in the south and the densely wooded headwaters of the Narew (east of Białystok ) were considered the borders of Black Ruthenia .

The area is essentially covered by the western part of the Byelorussian Ridge , which slopes to the north to the lowlands of the Memel and to the south to the lowlands of Polesia .

Important cities: Centrally located and the largest city in the area of ​​the old Black Ruthenia is Baranowitschi , which was completely insignificant before the end of the 19th century. Nawahradak , Wolkowysk , Slonim , Sluzk and Nyasvish were already significant in the Middle Ages .

The name

The name "Black Ruthenia" is derived from the Polish name Ruś Czarna (Belarusian: Чорная Русь ) or its Latin translation Ruthenia Nigra . The alternative Latinization Russia Nigra led to the forms Schwarzreußen and Schwarzrussland, which are also used in German . The translation "Black Rus" would come closest to Slavonic , but was rarely used in the past (until now).

history

The name appears for the first time in the High Middle Ages and its meaning is controversial.

At the beginning of the 13th century Black Ruthenia belonged mainly to the principalities of Polatsk and Turow-Pinsk . Around 1220/40 the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas I conquered the country and was able to assert it against attacks by Daniel Romanovich of Galicia . From 1300 at the latest, Black Ruthenia was an integral part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for half a millennium .

In the 14th century, has been Province Nowogródek (White Russian. Navahrudak , with the same capital) formed in the above limits, often called "Black Ruthenia province". The landscape was clearly defined spatially. The seat of the state assembly was Slonim .

In the course of the partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1793 the east of Black Ruthenia around Slutsk came to the Russian Empire and from then on belonged to the Minsk Governorate , the remaining area followed in 1795 and was assigned to the Grodno Governorate . This classification was to last for 130 years.

Since the Black Ruthenian landscape was now without any administrative basis, the use of the name became less and less common in the 19th century and finally completely unusual in the 20th century (except in historical treatises).

In 1921 the majority of the Black Ruthenian territories came to the resurrected Poland , the east around Slutsk to the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the Soviet Union . In 1939, finally in 1945, the West was also struck.

In the context of Belarus , which has been independent since 1991 , the Black Ruthenian areas are divided into the Woblasze Hrodna , Brest and Minsk .

See also