The reason may surprise you
How Belarus and White Russia are connected
The word Belarus (Russian: ел - white, уc - the Rus) is translated literally as ""White Russia."" Many epithets and qualifiers were once used to describe the nations that belonged to the Rus. The various territories were referred to as Red Rus, Galician Rus, Black Rus, White Rus, Great Rus, or Little Rus, for instance. Over the years, White Rus, which was the most practical moniker, came to represent the independent state. It is typically indicated in textbooks and reference books that the term's origin has not been fully explained. However, the most frequently quoted of the five alternative versions are these.
According to the first, the region that the Mongolian khans did not conquer in the thirteenth century was known as white. Between 1237 and 1242, Genghis Khan and his ancestors seized control of the region from China to the Volga, which they maintained until 1480. The Polotsk princes and their neighbors, however, put up a valiant fight and managed to maintain their independence. White hence meant independent and free in this context.
The name was given by the local indigenous peoples because of their white hair or the color of their attire, according to the second version.
According to the third version, the White Rus were Christians, whereas the Black Rus were long-time pagans. The Black Rus lived in the River Neman (Memel) drainage area between the modern Belarusian towns of Lida and Novogrudok during the years 13 and 14.
Another interpretation holds that the compass's points were supposed to be white for the west, blue for the east, black for the north, and red for the south. It was given the name "white" because the area that is now Belarus was part of western Rus during the ninth and thirteenth centuries. From the Taman Peninsula (now in Russia) in the south to the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina in the north, and from the Dniester and the upper reaches of the Vistula in the west to the tributaries of the Volga in the east, the Rus was then spread out over a vast area.
The historian Vaclau Lastouski of White Russia leads the fifth variation and believes there is a connection to paganism. He claimed that the Baltic and Slavic peoples worshiped Belobog in the 12th century (Russian: white god).
However, none of these interpretations can be supported by any conclusive documentary evidence. Despite this, the name "White Russia" (Belarus) is incredibly old. Vladimir Lemanski, a Russian academic, draws attention to it and makes reference to the Austrian poet Peter Suchenwirt, who wrote about the "White Rus" in the fourteenth century and referred to its inhabitants as "Di Weissen Reuzzen" (the White Russians)."Belarus is distinct from White Russia etymologically.
As the chair of the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain, Mikalaj Packajeu noted, "I am not entirely sure why they are using that name as they really shouldn't be."
The name Belarus is closely related to "Belaya Rus," which in modern Russian directly translates to "White Rus."
However, the name "Rus" refers to more than only Russia in terms of geography and politics.
The medieval Eastern Slavic regions known as Rus, sometimes known as Ruthenia, are today mostly a part of Belarus and Ukraine.
According to Mikalaj Packajeu, the term "White Russia" was a Russian Tsarist political ploy that first appeared in pre-World War I literature.
The "-rules" element did not mean "Russia," despite the fact that it had to be broken down into its etymological components and then translated, aside from in the propaganda of then-Tsarist Russia.
Additionally, once Belarus won independence in 1991, the English and French versions of its international name were changed to more closely reflect Belarusian.
According to Packajeu, the media ought to use the names as they appear in the English and French versions of the United Nations.
Alesia Rudnik continued, "Saying White Russia is not correct owing to political connotations with Russia," pointing out that Belarus is etymologically distinct from that country.
Since gaining independence in 1991, Belarus has maintained its current name.
Irony enough that in 2020, as protesters disseminated messages of peace and hope in the face of an uncertain future, white bracelets have come to represent the opposition movement in Belarus.