Language, identity, and nation: The special case of Belarusian state-and nation-formation

Abstract

The article deals with the processes and mechanisms of nation-building and identity formation in the framework of the nationality policy of Belarusization as it occurred in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) during the period from 1924 to 1929. The article argues that the processes of Belarusian nation-building and nation-formation are unique in the context of other European national movements because they represent a special case of Soviet nation-formation (i.e. identity formation after state-formation). In addition, the article analyses the post-soviet period of independent Belarus as well as the new wave of national movement, the so-called neo-Belarusization, which took place from 1990 to 1995.