Russian in Belarus: A Feature of Belarusian Identity or Moscow’s ‘Trojan Horse’?
Journal: Edinburgh University Press eBooks
Year: 2021

Language issues in Belarus are strongly politicised. While Russian had been the preferred language during the Soviet period, Belarusian was strongly favoured during the early years of Belarusian independence (1991–4). Following Lukashenka’s ascent to power, bilingualism was the official line in language policies. In the absence of any substantial support for the less popular Belarusian, this policy amounted to a stabilisation of the dominant position of Russian in the public space. In the wake o