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Litvinism
Pseudohistorical theory according to which Belarusians founded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 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]
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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 some modern Belarusian scientists.[16][17][18][19][20] Some Belarusians appropriate the Lithuanians national identity by claiming that they are the "real Litvins (Lithuanians)", while according to them modern Lithuanians are lietuvisai or Žmudins (Samogitians) who never before had their own state because Samogitia never was a state and because the current Lithuanian nation has nothing in common with "historical Litva (Lithuania)".[21][22] Furthermore, according to Litvinist theories Aukštaitija, including Vilnius, are "historical Litvins, that is Belarusians, lands".[23] Moreover, some Belarusians claim that the history of "Летува [Letuva]" is based on the "twisted real history of Belarus (historical Litva)",[24] and demand to use separate terms to denote "historical Litva" as "Літва, ліцьвіны [Litva, Litviny]" and modern Lithuania as "Летува, летувісы [Letuva, Letuvisy]".[25]
Opponents of Litvinism consider it a fringe pseudohistorical theory.[26][27][28][29][30] 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.[31] 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.[32][33] Litvinism was also described as a form of fascism with expansionistic territorial claims to neighboring countries of Belarus.[34]
Some Litvinists reject their Belarusian national identity[35] and affiliation with the Republic of Belarus,[35] in favor of a reconstructed Baltic Catholic[35] 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.[36]