Belarusians

Belarusians
беларусы
biełarusy (Belarusian)
белорусы
byelorusy (Russian)

Total population
c. 10.5 million
Regions with significant populations
Belarus: 8,159,073
Russia 890,443 United States (ancestry) 750,000 Ukraine 275,763 Kazakstan 66,476
Languages
Russian, Belarusian
Religion
Orthodox Christianity Greek Catholicism Roman Catholicism Irreligious, atheist, also Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
Ukrainians, Rusyns, Russians, East Slavs, Slavs

The Belarusians (Belarusian: беларусы, biełarusy; Russian: белорусы, byelorusy), sometimes also spelled as Belorussian, Belarussian or even Byelorussians are an East Slavic ethnic group that is native to Belarus. 

Belarusians are one of the major ethnic groups that are descended from the ancient Rus', and later the Ruthenian peoples, along with Ukrainians and Rusyns. They spoke the Ruthenian language, an ancestors of Belarusian, Ukrainian and Rusyn. Belarusians began to unify as a nation during the days of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Although Belarusians are an Eastern Slavic nation, Belarusian culture has also absorbed heavy Polish influence, and truly shows a hybrid of Polish and Russian influence as the land today controlled by the modern Republic of Belarus had been ruled by many regimes, often-not, battlingand conflicting regimes. Belarusian language and culture was persecutedu under both Polish and Russian rulers, which each attempting to force their culture onto the native Belarusians.

Of these included the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, Russian Empire, German Empire, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, although Belarusian did recieve periods of revival and recognition when Belarus declared its first independence in World War I, and Soviet Belarus.

Due the history of oppression, unlike Russian, Ukrainian and Polish, Belarusian language is only spoken by a minority of ethnic Belarusians.

Etymology

The term Belarus and Belarusian are rooted from the Slavic word bela meaning white and rus referring to the Kievan Rus, or Ruthenia the ancient ancestors of the Belarusian, Rusyn, Russian and Ukrainian people. Therefore, it essentially means White Ruthenia.

The ancient history of Belarus mirrors that of Russia and Ukraine. When Belarus began forming as a atonomous region within the Russian Empire, it was known as Belorussia. Depending on certain translations, it can also appear as Byelorussia or Belarussia.

History

Early History and Ancestry

The history of Belarus, or, more correctly of the Belarusian ethnicity, begins with the migration and expansion of the Slavic peoples throughout Eastern Europe between the 6th and 8th centuries. East Slavs settled on the territory of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, assimilating local Baltic — (Yotvingians, Dniepr Balts), Ugro-Finnic (Russia) and steppe nomads (Ukraine) already living there, their early ethnic integrations contributed to the gradual differentiation of the three East Slavic nations. These East Slavs were pagan, animistic, agrarian people whose economy included trade in agricultural produce, game, furs, honey, beeswax and amber.

The modern Belarusian ethnos was probably formed on the basis of the three Slavic tribes — Kryvians, Drehovians, Radzimians as well as several Baltic tribes.

Principality of Polotsk (987-1397)

The earliest Belarusian state mentioend is the Principality of Polotsk (Belarusian: По́лацкае кня́ства), though much of it is known through chronicles, namely the Rus' Chronicles. It was inhabited by an Eastern Slavic tribe known as the Krivichs (Belarusian: крывічы, kryvičý). The Krivichs traded heavily with the Greeks and Varingians, eventually Polotsk became ruled by a Varingian, Rogvolod.

Polotsk was invaded by Vladimir of Novgorod, after Rogvolod's teenager daugher refused to be his wife, therefore he invaded Polotsk, slew Rogvolod and forcefully took Rogvolod's daughter as a spoil of war back to Kiev. After Vladimir converted to Orthodox Christianity, he solidified his control and became Grand Prince of Kiev.

Beginning the rule of Izyslav in 1001, Polotsk began to attempts to become independent and distance itself from Kiev. HIs son, Bryachislav invaded Novgorod, but lost to his uncle Yaroslav the Wise. Polotsk reached the height of its clury under Bryachislav's son, Vseslav, where he not only extended the borders and control of Polotsk as far as the Baltics, but even built the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Polotsk, influenced by the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

The Principality collapsed, and much like the nature of the Rus' princpalities, his sons quarelled over headship of the throne.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Mongol invasion led to the collapse of Kievan Russia, however the lands of modern-day Belarus avoided the brunt of invasion. Polotsk was aborbed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the local nobility abolished as it became the Polotsk Voivodeship. Many of the Eastern Slavic principalities joined and allowed themselves to be incroporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - eventually leading to the early development and unification of the Belarusian people as a distinct nation.

They were known as the Ruthenians, and their language was used to write Casimir's Code and the Statute of Lithuania.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland unified in 1589, which includes all of the lands of modern-day Belaurs. The Ruthenian nobility during this time became heavily Polonized, and Catholicized, and Ruthenian language took a decline within the elite - though it remained spoken among the Belarusian peasantry, who followed the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, a church in full communion with Rome utilizing Church Slavonic rite.

Imperial Russian Rule

Under Russian administration, the territory of Belarus was divided into the guberniyas of Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilyov, and Hrodno. Belarusians were active in the guerrilla movement against Napoleon's occupation.^{[citation needed]}. With Napoleon's defeat, Belarus again became a part of Imperial Russia and its guberniyas constituted part of the Northwestern Krai. The anti-Russian uprisings of the gentry in 1830 and 1863 were subdued by government forces.

Although under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed due to the policies of de-Polonization and Russification, which included the return to Orthodoxy, the 19th century was signified by the rise of the modern Belarusian nation and self-confidence. A number of authors started publishing in the Belarusian language, including Jan Czeczot, Władysław Syrokomla and Konstanty Kalinowski.

In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I forbade the use of the term Belarusia and renamed the region the "North-Western Territory". He also prohibited the use of Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under the Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. In 1863, economic and cultural pressure exploded into a revolt, led by Kalinowski. After the failed revolt, the Russian government reintroduced the use of Cyrillic to Belarusian in 1864 and banned the use of the Latin alphabet.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Belarusian economy, like that of the entire Europe, was experiencing significant growth due to the spread of the Industrial Revolution to Eastern Europe, particularly after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. Peasants sought a better lot in foreign industrial centres, with some 1.5 million people leaving Belarus in the half-century preceding the Russian Revolution of 1917.

World War I and Communist Rule

Minsk was captured by German troops on 21 February 1918. World War I was the short period when Belarusian culture started to flourish. German administration allowed schools with Belarusian language, previously banned in Russia; a number of Belarusian schools were created until 1919 when they were banned again by the Polish military administration. At the end of World War I, when Belarus was still occupied by Germans, according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the short-lived Belarus National Republic was pronounced on March 25, 1918, as part of the German Mitteleuropa plan.

On 3 December 1918 the Germans withdrew from Minsk. On 10 December 1918 Soviet troops occupied Minsk. The Rada (Council) of the Belarus National Republic went into exile, first to Kaunas, then to Berlin and finally to Prague. On January 2, 1919, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was declared. On 17 February 1919 it was disbanded. Part of it was included into RSFSR, and part was joined to the Lithuanian SSR to form the LBSSR, Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, informally known as Litbel, whose capital was Vilnius. While Belarus National Republic faced off with Litbel, foreign powers were preparing to reclaim what they saw as their territories: Polish forces were moving from the West, and Russians from the East. When Vilnius was captured by Polish forces on 17 April 1919, the capital of the Soviet puppet state Litbel was moved to Minsk. On 17 July 1919 Lenin dissolved Litbel because of the pressure of Polish forces advancing from the West. Polish troops captured Minsk on 8 August 1919.

Belarusian People's Republic 1918-1919

After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Germany and Soviet Russia, left-wing Belarusian groups formed the Belarusian National Council in 1917. Both Germany and Soviet Russia initially made attempts to reject its status, yet, the Germans saw an independant Belarusian state as a valuable buffer state.

On March 9, 1918 afte the Treatyof Brest Litovsk was signed, Belarusian Council declared the independance of Belarus. 

This Belarusian state also establishe close ties with the Ukrainian People's Republic, headed by Ukrainian natonalist Symon Petliura. 

The republic went into exile in 1919 due to the lack of any international recongition.

Soviet Union 1919-1992

In 1919, Soviet forces occupied Belarus and established the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Soviet forces also moved into the Baltics to carry forth Lenin's wish to reclaim the former Russian Empire and rule it via a communist regime.

However, the Soviet Russians faced another problem, which was Poland. After German forces withdrew from Poland, that country was under a natonalist leader with the desire to re-establish the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which included driving deep into Soviet Russia.

The Soviet military command decided to merge Belarus with a resurected Great Duchy of Lithuania, as the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. During this time, the Polish-Soviet War broke out, with Poland emerging victorious over both the Soviets and Lithuanians.

World War II

When the Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, following the terms of the Molotov

Belarusian partisans behind German front lines near Połock, Belarus in 1943.

–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol, much of what had been eastern Poland was annexed to the BSSR. Similarly to the times of German occupation during World War I, Belarusian language and Soviet culture enjoyed relative prosperity in this short period. Already in October 1940, over 75% of schools used the Belarusian language, also in the regions where no Belarus people lived, e.g. around Łomża, what was Ruthenization. After twenty months of Soviet rule, Germany and its Axis allies invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Soviet authorities immediately evacuated about 20% of the population of Belarus and destroyed all the food supplies. The country suffered particularly heavily during the fighting and the German occupation and the Belarusian SSR recieved the brunt of the German invasion. Minsk was captured by the Germans on 28 June 1941. Following bloody encirclement battles, all of the present-day Belarus territory was occupied by the Germans by the end of August 1941.

Red Army POWs, 1941 after the surrender of Minsk

Since the early days of the occupation, a powerful and increasingly well-coordinated Belarusian resistance movement emerged. Hiding in the woods and swamps, the partisans inflicted heavy damage to German forces and their supply means. In the largest^{[citation needed]} partisan sabotage action of the entire Second World War, the so-called Asipovichy diversion of 30 July 1943 four German trains with supplies and Tiger tanks were destroyed. To fight partisan activity, the Germans had to withdraw considerable forces behind their front line. On 22 June 1944 the huge Soviet offensive Operation Bagration (Russian: Oперация Багратион) was launched, Minsk was re-captured on 3 July 1944, and all of Belarus was regained by the end of August. Hundred thousand of Poles were expelled after 1944.

In total, Belarus lost a quarter of its pre-war population in World War II including practically all its intellectual elite. About 9 200 villages and 1.2 million houses were destroyed. The major towns of Minsk and Vitsebsk lost over 80% of their buildings and city infrastructure. For the defence against the Germans, and the tenacity during the German occupation, the capital Minsk was awarded the title Hero City after the war. The fortress of Brest was awarded the title Hero-Fortress.

Cold War - Belarusian SSR & Soviet Union

After the end of War in 1945, Belarus became one of the founding members of the United Nations

National emblem of the Belarusian SSR

Organisation. Joining Belarus was the Soviet Union itself and another republic Ukraine. In exchange for Belarus and Ukraine joining the UN, the United States had the right to seek two more votes, a right that has never been exercised.

The Belarusian economy was completely devastated by the events of the war. Most of the industry, including whole production plants were removed either to Russia or Germany. Industrial production of Belarus in 1945 amounted for less than 20% of its pre-war size. Most of the factories evacuated to Russia, with several spectacular exceptions, were not returned to Belarus after 1945. During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded the BSSR's economy, with control always exerted exclusively from Moscow. During this time, Belarus became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR. Huge industrial objects like the BelAZ, MAZ, and the Minsk Tractor Plant were built in the country. The increase in jobs resulted in a huge immigrant population of Russians in Belarus. Russian became the official language of administration and the peasant class, which traditionally was the base for Belarusian nation, ceased to exist.

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl disaster occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine situated close to the border with Belarus. It is regarded as the worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power. It produced a plume of radioactive debris that drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. Large areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of roughly 200,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. After 10 years since the accident, the occurrences of thyroid cancer among children increased fifteenfold (the sharp rise started in about four years after the accident).

In 1991, as the Soviet Union was collapsing, Belarusians orchestrated the 1991 Belarusian Revolution, advocating for the independence of Belarus. Demonstration took place in major Belarusian cities.[1]

Republic of Belarus 1991-present

On 27 July 1990, Belarus declared its national sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the Soviet Union. In 1991, under the leadership of Stanislav Shushkevich, who was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, signed the Belevezha Accords with Boris Yeltsin of the Russian SFSR and Leonid Kravchuk of the Ukrainian SSR, officially forming the Republic of Belarus.

Concurrently, thi Belevezha Accords also created the Commonwealth of Independent States, an attempt to keep the former Soviet Union together but as independent states.

In 1994, Alexander Lukashenko became Belarusian president, and has been president of Belarus ever-since. Unfortunately, hope for a return to democracy in Belarus was short-lived as the Lukashenko presidency has created a return to autocracy in Belarus, as well as the preservation of Soviet-era institutions and influence, such as the continuation of the KGB.

The privatization of the Belarusian economy let the severe shock-therapy effects, and the majority of Belarus continued to live in poverty for much the modern-days. The autocratic rule of Lukashenko has led to the formation of pro-Europeanist and pro-Democratic groups, Many Belarusian ultra-nationalist groups, using the white-red banner, are also opposed Lukashenko, regarding him as a Russian agent, and are also aligned with anti-Russian Ukrainian ultranationalist groups.

Language

A stamp, printed in Belarusian

Belarusian and Russian are the official languages of Belarus. Belarusian is the first official language, and the national language while Russian is the second official language. Almost all Belarusians are fluent in Russian.

They are both East Slavic languages, however Belarusian is more closely-related to Ukrainian and Rusyn, albeit the three are descendant from Ancient Ruthenian. The Belarusian language is known to have split from Ruthenian during the partitions of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and began reach to a revival in the 1800s.

Unfortunately, the Belarusian language is in danger, thanks to the history of cultural persecution of Belarusian culture, by the historically opposing Russian and Polish occupiers. Therefore, the majority of Belarusians speak the Russian language as a native language. Only twenty percent of the Belarusian population fluently speaks and/or even knows how to read Belarusian, in a research done by the Belarusian government. Another research was done, and only one in ten Belarusians understand the Belarusian language.

Both Belarusian and Russian are written using the Cryllic alphabet, however at one point, it was written in the Latin alphaet during the days of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Only after the failed January Uprising did the Tsarist government force the Cyrllic alphabet on Belarusian.

Religion

The Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk, the main seat of the Belarusian Orthodox Church

The religious nature of the Belarusian people is diverse. However in the modern-days, thanks to predominance of Russian influence, most Belarusians are followers of the Eatern Orthodox Church. The Belarusian Orthodox Church (Belarusian: Беларуская праваслаўная царква, Bielaruskaja Pravaslaŭnaja Carkva; Russian: Белорусская Православная Церковь, Belorusskaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov') is an autonomous church within the broader Russian Orthodox Church, thus, making most Belarusian Orthodox part of the Russian church.

St Cyril's of Turau Cathedral, seat of the Belarusian autocephalous church in Brooklyn, New York

However, the independent Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (Belarusian: Беларуская аўтакефальная праваслаўная царква, Bielaruskaja aŭtakiefaĺnaja pravaslaŭnaja carkva), formed in the 1920s, is unrecognized by church leaders, is mostly associated with Belarusian migrants and their descendents. It was originally a faction within the Polish Orthodox Church, a byproduct of Belarus having been influenced between Polish and Russian culture.

Additionally, many Belarusians are also Greek Catholic or Roman Catholic, thanks to Polish influence, Roman Catholicism remains as influential in Belarusian spiritual history as does Orthodoxy.

Cuisine

Pelmeni, Russian dumplings

Belarusian cuisine bares resemblance to surrounding cuisines, especially Russian cuisine. Pork is one of the most typical ingredients used in Belarusian cooking. Breads and vegetables are also used in this type of cuisine. Belarusian style breakfasts are usually light and consist of wheats. Rye bread is the most common type of bread found in Belarusian cuisine, since wheat is not producable in Belarus. Foods that are of Russian influence include okroshka, which is a cold soup. Pelmeni is also of Russian origin, these are Russian style dumplings. But there are traditional Belarusian dumplings called kalduni which is made with unleavened dough. Other Belarusian soups include kapusta which is cabbage soup, buraki which is beet soup and gyrzhanka which is swede soup. Draniki is a unique food found mostly in Belarus and Ukraine. Draniki is a potato-pancake, made Belarusian and Ukrainian style. Vodka is a very popular alcoholic beverage in Belarus. Vodka is from Russian influence, and is a distilled alcoholic beverage. Kvass is a fermented-beverage popular with Belarusians, made from rye or black bread. Kvass can also be used to make okroshka.

Notable Belarusians or People of Belarusian Origin

Academia

Francysk Skaryna Францыск Скарына	Belarusian humanist, physician and translator who is credited for pioneering book printing in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as well as all of Eastern Europe, he translated the Bible into Belarusian and also laid the foundations for the Belarusian version of Old Church Slavonic.
Yefim Karsky Яўхім Карскі	Belarusian-Russian pan-Slavist, linguist, ethnographer and paleographer who is the founder of Belarusian linguistics, among a large number of other academic works and studies. Authoring more than 100 works, his various works on the development of Church Slavonic and Russian have been used by future Soviet historians and has held high positions in numerous institutions in Easter Europe.
Symon Budny Сымон Будны	A Polish-Belarusian humanist, educator, Hebraist, Bible translator, Church reformator, philosopher, sociologist and historian, active in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was one of the first to promote the development of Belarusian culture in Belarusian language. He was one of the leaders of the Polish Brethren.
Zhores Alferov Жарэс Алфёраў	A Belarusian, Soviet and Russian physicist and academic who contributed significantly to the creation of modern heterostructure physics and electronics. He is the inventor of the heterotransistor and the winner of 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is also a Russian politician and has been a member of the Russian State Parliament, the Duma, since 1995. Lately, he has become one of the most influential members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Politics

Vaclau Lastouski Вацлаў Ластоўскі	One of the leading figures of the Belarusian independence movement, and served as the prime minister of Belarus from 1919 to 1923, he also had a career in academia and writing, and served as the secretary of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in the Belarusian SSR and led a career in Belarusian culture topics in the Soviet Union, until he was arrested by Soviet authorities for "counterrevolutionary" material..
Konstanty Kalinowski Касту́сь Каліно́ўск	A Belarusian writer, journalist, lawyer, who was one of the leaders of the January Uprising in the Kingdom of Poland, then-a territory of the Russian Empire with the Tsar as its King, he published Mużyckaja prauda, or the Peasant's Truth, the first Belarusian-language newspaper, for his role, he is praised in Belarus as being part of the Belarusian nationalist movement..
Branislaw Tarashkyevich Браніслаў Тарашкевіч	A Belarusian public figure, politician, and linguist. He was the creator of the first standardization of the modern Belarusian language in the early 20th century. The standard was later Russified by the Soviet authorities.
Alexander Lukashenko Алякса́ндр Лукашэ́нка	President of Belarus, having assumed the post on 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm and spent time with the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army. When he first entered politics, he was seen as a champion against corruption and was the only deputy to vote against the independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Known for his autocratic rule, his presidency-position is challenged by Ivonka Survilla, president of the Belarusian Government-in-Exile.
Viktor Yanukovych Виктоp Янукович	A politician of Ukraine who was the president from February 2010 until February 2014, a year short of the prescribed five-year term (amid a revolution). He also served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast, a province in eastern Ukraine, from 1997 to 2002. He was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 21 November 2002 to 31 December 2004 under President Leonid Kuchma. He is of Russian, Belarusian and Polish descent. "Yanukovych" is a Belarusian surname.

Artists, Musicians, Poets

Janka Kupala Я́нка Купа́ла	A Belarusian poet and writer. Kupala is considered one of the greatest Belarusian-language writers of the 20th century. Real name is Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich.
Lavon Volski Ляво́н Во́льскі	A Belarusian musician, writer, painter, and founder of the Belarusian rockgroups Mroja, N.R.M., and Krambambula four of his songs were performed in the 2006 documentary A Lesson of Belarusian, which dealt with the Belarusian democracy movement and the 2006 re-election of Alexander Lukashenko as president. Three of these were performed by N.R.M., the other by Belarusian students.
Angelica Agarbash Анжаліка Агурбаш	A Belarusian singer and former model perhaps most known for representing Belarus at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. In 1988, she won the first Miss Belarus title when she was a student of the Belarusian Academy of Arts. Between 1990 and 1995, she was in the band Verasy. In 1991, Angelica earned her second title "Miss Photo USSR" becoming the most photoed model in Belarus.

Military

Tadeusz Kościuszko Тадэвуш Касцюшка

A national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States, who fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's struggles against Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia and on the American side in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend and admirer of Thomas Jefferson, with whom he shared Enlightenment ideals of human rights. He was born in what is today the Belarusian town of Merechevschina.

Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowiczh Станіслаў Булак-Балаховіч

An Belarusian-Polish-Russian military leader, who became first leader of an independent Belarusian armed forces, prior he was already a well-known and experienced military commander who fought for the Russian Empire during World War I, afterward his service to the short-lived Belarusian Republic, he served in the Polish Army against the Bolshevik Russians in the Polish-Soviet war, and against Nazi Germany during the 1939 invasion of Poland.

Scientists, Engineers, Inventors

Pavel Sukhoi Павел Сухі

A Soviet aerospace engineer. He designed the Sukhoi military aircraft and founded the Sukhoi Design Bureau. In 1958–1974 he also served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Valentina Tereshkova Валенти́на Терешко́ва

A retired Soviet cosmonaut and engineer, and the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, she was only honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space. She is a descendant of Belarusian migrants to Russia.

Athletes & World Competitors

Victoria Azarenka Вікторыя Азаранка

A Belarusian professional tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 and is currently World No. 4 as of 17 February 2014. She has won two Australian Open singles titles (2012 and 2013), becoming the first Belarusian player to win a Grand Slam singles title. Her other achievements include winning the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles—the 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi, the 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan—and the gold medal in the mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympics with Max Mirnyi.

Olga Korbut Вольга Корбут

Also known as the "Sparrow from Minsk", is a former Belarusian gymnast who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in which she competed in 1972 and 1976 for the Soviet team.

See Also

• Russians
• Ukrainians