State Bilingualism. Conditions of Russians and Russian-speaking in the Republic of Belarus

The author analyzes a wide range of issues related to the problems of the state language that are relevant for post-Soviet societies and states, the Russian language and specific features of the phenomenon of Russian-speaking. The consequences of the informal alliance of a part of the former party nomenclature with supporters of forced "Belarusization" in the first period of independent Belarus history are assessed. The significance of the 1995 referendum for the model of a civil-political nation in Belarus is revealed. The interpretation of changes in the number of Russians in the censuses in 1999 and 2009 is provided. The authors identifies the trends in the Russian-speaking areas of Belarus. It is shown that Belarus occupies a special place in the post-Soviet space after the introduction of state bilingualism. To verify the accusations of the Belarusian leadership in pursuing the policy of "creeping Belarusianization," the trends of Belarusian and Russian-language education over the past 12 years have been explored. The authors point out that in the Belarusian society there is a broad consensus on the positive role played by the Russian language.