Litvinism (Belarusian: Літвінізм, romanized: Litvinizm; Russian: Литвинизм, romanized: Litvinizm) is a branch of nationalism, philosophy and political current in Belarus, which bases the history of its state on the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and emphasizes the Baltic component of the Belarusian ethnic group.[1] According to this branch of Belarusian nationalism, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (they refer to this state as Вялікае Княства Літоўскае, Vialikaje Kniastva Litoŭskaje, and to modern Lithuania as Летува, Letuva or Жмудзь, Žmudź) was a Slavic or Belarusian state, the medieval Lithuanians were Belarusians, and modern Lithuania is a consequence of a falsification of history.[2][3][4] On the other hand, some Russian Litvinists refer to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a Slavic Russian state.[2][5][6]
The ideas of Litvinism claiming that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a "Belarusian state" and that the Belarusians have "historical rights" to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius were expressed by interwar period Belarusians,[7] Belarusian communists,[8][9] long-term Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko,[10][11] members of the Belarusian opposition to Lukashenko,[12][13][14][15] and modern Belarusian scientists.[16][17][18][19][20] Moreover, Lukashenko claimed that the Polish city of Białystok is also historically Belarusian.[21]
Opponents of Litvinism consider it a fringe pseudohistorical theory.[22][23][24][25][26] The usage of the word "Letuva" when referring to modern Lithuania in Belarusian language was also criticized among Belarusians themselves who deemed it "unacceptable" and "monstrous" and stressed that in the early 1990s there was an agreement between Belarusian and Lithuanian intellectuals to stop using terms Лету́ва, Letuva and летувíсаў, letuvísaŭ in Belarusian publications.[27] Belarusian political activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya described Litvinism as "marginal cases" which seek to artificially set at variance Lithuanians and Belarusians, and claimed that Belarusians respect the integrity and heritage of Lithuania.[28][29] Litvinism was also described as a form of fascism with expansionistic territorial claims to neighboring countries of Belarus.[30]
Some Litvinists reject their Belarusian national identity[31] and affiliation with the Republic of Belarus,[31] in favor of a reconstructed Baltic Catholic[31] Litvin ("Lithuanian") identity, based on the history and legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to national censuses, only a few dozen residents of Belarus state their ethnic identity as Litvin rather than Belarusian.[32]
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