Three Options Of New Name For Belarus Suggested In Lithuania

Scientists have proposed their variants.

In response to the proposal received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania to change the official name of Belarus in the Lithuanian language from Baltarùsija to Belarusià, the State Commission on the Lithuanian language proposes to discuss other options, BNS reports.

According to the head of the commission, Audris Antanaitis, the commission has submitted its proposals to the Foreign Ministry today. He agrees that a broad public discussion on the issue of renaming Belarus in the Lithuanian language makes sense, and the commission is ready to participate in it.

Scientists have proposed to replace today's "Baltarùsija" (its drawback is that the part of "rùsija" coincides with Russia and causes an erroneous association of our country with the Russian Federation - "White Russia") three possible options that have roots in the Lithuanian language: "Gudija" , "Baltarusia" and "Baltoji Rusia".

"Gudiya" is an old traditional name of Belarus in the Lithuanian language dating back to the 17th century, and until 2007 it was even official, it can be found on maps. Lithuanians often call Belarusians "the guds", and in the western part of Belarus there are many settlements with this root in their names: Gudogai, Gudevichi, etc. “Baltoji Rusia” is still used in Lithuanian historiography. “Baltarusia” is a new word, but it also does not contradict the Lithuanian tradition.

As Antanaitis noted, if the issue of renaming Belarus was already serious, he would have supported the option "Baltarusia", but would also suggest considering "Gudija". At the same time, he stressed that he does not consider it right to rush now with this issue - in his opinion, it would be better to postpone it until the change of power in Belarus.