#litva

“Belarusian was already significantly different from Russian and other Slavic languages when it was first mentioned. Historical documents in the Belarusian language first appeared after the Belarusians adopted Christianity. In 986, Icelandic missionary Thorvald Konradsson baptized the Belarusian lands. Even then, however, the Belarusians rejected the rules of the Old Church Slavonic language in favor of their own. Later, in the 13th-16th centuries, Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Europe's largest state since the 14th century. In addition to the Belarusian lands, the principality included the territories of the modern Baltic states, as well as parts of Ukraine, Russia, and Poland.”

“A key figure in the history of the Belarusian language is Francysk Skaryna, who played a huge role in the birth of the entire East Slavic book printing. His name is mentioned on par with such famous figures of the European Renaissance as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Jan Amos Komensky. Francysk Skaryna went down in history as the “father of Eastern European book publishing” for printing the first Bible in Old Belarusian in 1517. This is how Belarusian became the first East Slavic language in which book printing began. Francysk Skaryna’s legacy numbers 520 books, many of which are in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany.”