Eastern Europe SIG Ontario Ancestors – The Ontario Genealogical Society
Eastern Europe SIG

Belarus Genealogy Links

(Прывітанне)

Location of Belarus, from Wikimedia Commons.
Location of Belarus, from Wikimedia Commons.

HISTORY

FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM BELARUS

Marc Chagall was born in 1887 in Liozna, in what is now Belarus. He died in France at the age of 97, being the last of the Avant guard artists from the early 20th century. He is best known for his paintings and stained glass.

Olga Korbut, famous for winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals in gymnastics in the1972 and 1976 Olympics.  Korbut’s influence and legacy in gymnastics was far reaching. Korbut’s 1972 Olympic performances are widely credited as redefining gymnastics, changing the sport from emphasising ballet and elegance to acrobatics as well as changing popular opinion of gymnastics from a niche sport to one of the most popular sports in the world. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Korbut)

Andrei Gromyko 1909 – 1989, best known as the minister of foreign affairs for the USSR from 1957-1985

RELIGION

Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrosyne_of_Polotsk

91% of the population is Christian, with 83% Orthodox, 7% Catholic and the balance Protestants, Islam, and others. May 23rd is the feast day of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the patron saint of Belarus. She was born into a noble family in the 12th century. Against her parents’ wishes she joined a convent, there she copied books and distributed the money to the poor. The Bishop entrusted her with the task of setting up a convent, there she taught women to copy books, sing, sew and other handicrafts. Through these efforts she raised funds for a cathedral to be built – The church of The Holy Savior, which is still standing today. She died while on a pilgrimage to the holy land. Her body was returned to Kiev and only in 1910 returned to her hometown of Polotsk

UNESCO

Bialowieza Forest, a vast area of European mixed forests, wetlands and river  valleys, home to the largest free roaming bison in Europe

Stuve Geodetic Arc – Triangulation points running through several Eastern European countries from Norway to the Back Sea.  It is part of a measurement system that first determined the accurate length of a meridian.

Nesvizh Castle and complex – home to the Radziwill Family, was built in the 16th century

Mir Castle, begun in the 15th century in the gothic style and after various times of destruction was rebuilt in the Renaissance and Baroque styles. Was one of many homes of the Radziwill Family

LANGUAGE AND SURNAMES

Belarusian is an East Slavic language and is one of two official languages, the other being Russian. Statistics show that more people in Belarus speak Russian than Belarussian. The principal script is Cyrillic. Speakers of Belarussian, Ukrainian and Russian languages can understand one another, however  there are variations in spelling and pronunciation.

Latin alphabet for Belarusian (Biełaruskaja łacinskaja abeceda)

 Belarusian (Беларуская мова)
familyсям’я (siam’ja)
parentsбацькі (bats’ki)
fatherбацька (baćka)
motherмаці (maci)
childrenдзеці (dzieci)
sonсын (syn)
daughterдачка (dačka)
husbandмуж (muž)
wifeжонка (žonka)
brotherбрат (brat)
sisterсястра (siastra)
uncleдзядзька (dziadźka)
auntцётка (ciotka)
cousinстрыечны брат (stryječny brat)
nephewпляменнік (pliamiennik)
nieceпляменніца (pliamiennica)
grandparentsдзядулі і бабулі (dziaduli i babuli)
grandfatherдзядулі (dziaduli)
grandmotherбабулі (babuli)
grandchildrenунукаў (unukaŭ)
grandsonунук (unuk)
granddaughterунучка (unučka)
great grandfatherпрадзед (pradzied)
great grandmotherпрабабуля (prababulia)
father-in-lawсвёкар (sviokar)
mother-in-lawсвякроў (sviakroŭ)
brother-in-lawшвагер (švahier)
sister-in-lawсваячкі (svajački)
Minsk Image by A_Matskevich from Pixabay

GENEALOGY RESEARCH

LINKS USED FOR THIS ARTICLE

“Having gone through the process of preparing for a similar trip just recently (that is, to a Ukrainian archive one year ago), the preparations this time were quite straightforward, and mostly similar to last time. That isn’t to say that I didn’t encounter certain snags and mishaps during my week of traveling, although (luckily!) nothing too serious that I can’t laugh about now… So for those of you who care to learn from my experience, I include here details that might help you avoid a few pitfalls.”

“This web site contains photographs, memoirs and documents relating to the people and the history of the town of Mir. Much of this material has been contributed by survivors from Mir and those of us whose ancestors were born in this small town. Mir is currently in Belarus, but previously had been governed by Lithuania, Russia and Poland.”

Belarus flag Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Please let us know if you find any broken links, or have suggestions to add links.

by Karen Lynn Jaszewski 

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