Lukashenko about Grand Duchy of Lithuania: it was during this period that Belarusian ethnos was formed
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a Belarusian state – as was particularly underlined by Aleksandr Lukashenko during an open lesson themed as Historical Memory – the Road to the Future
The President noted that the period of the 11th-13th centuries was the most difficult time for our country, “In Ancient Rus there was a struggle for power and lands. Even then, this internal partition was being used by forces in the West – hostile to the Slavs. They had a plausible pretext for it: they were carrying ‘Christian values’. How? In the same way as they do it now – with fire and sword; you can draw the parallels. What helped our ancestors to survive in this most difficult geopolitical situation? Slavic brotherhood, unity, a clear understanding of where the enemy is and where the brother is. In the face of an external threat, they cast aside insults, stopped strife, and stood shoulder to shoulder to protect their common home. This is how the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was founded.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also answered the question about which there is now a lot of controversy: whose state the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was.
“They focused on three points of view: either southerners, or Lithuanians, or someone else there, Poles, and so on. Like, it was their state. Nothing like this. I have already said that modern Lithuanians have actually privatised the heritage of this state entity. In fact, look what was Lithuanian there. The language was ours, which was used to write the Constitution: the Statute. The dominant faith was Orthodoxy. The territory comprised of Belarusian, Ukrainian and partly Russian lands. Moreover, the Belarusian lands and the Belarusian ethnic group were state-forming. Our people accounted for more than 80 percent of the population. These are Slavs. All these – territory, people, language, and cultural traditions – are the main attributes of statehood. There is no sovereignty without these attributes. Our Belarusian statehood.”
The President stressed that the Belarusian ethnos was formed during this period. At a time when Roman law dominated on the territories of Western Europe, our ancestors lived according to their own laws and did not follow European fashion.
“Meanwhile, Lithuanians at that time had no written language at all. So, who won whom? We ourselves were masters of our lands. It was Slavic solidarity that helped stop German aggression for more than 500 years. It was the Orsha, Mstislavl and Smolensk regiments, that showed special stamina and courage on the field of the Battle of Grunwald. This was described by Polish historian Jan Dlugosz just a few decades later – almost in the wake of the battle by historical standards. We will still appreciate this heroic feat of our ancestors. I am convinced that our historians, maybe even you, having received the appropriate education, will definitely do this,” the Head of the Belarusian State concluded.
