Lonely Linguistic Battle Of Belarus Nationalists

MINSK, Belarus -- Ya budu s vami govorit' po russki, the schoolteacher says, not hiding the resignation in her voice. "I'll speak Russian with you."This might sound like a strange concession to make in a country where almost everyone's native language is Russian, but Belarus' small nationalist minority does not think so. In fact, members of the Belarus National Front are so unbending in their drive to make Belarussian their country's national language, that they do not mind if they alienate most of their compatriots in the process.Take the slogans in the former Soviet republic's recently concluded first round of presidential elections.Alexander Lukashenko, who won 45 percent of the turnout, vowed, in Russian, that he would vernut' doveriye k vlasti, or "return trust to the authorities," and navesti poryadok, or "put things in order." Then there was the nationalist candidate, Zenon Poznyak, whose promise was spravyadlivas'ts' i paradak, which means "justice and order" to anyone who understands Belarussian. Poznyak won 12.9 percent of the vote.While the differences between Russian and Belarussian are not great, people here refer to their russkiye traditsii, or "Russian traditions" and their russky kharakter, or "Russian character." The favorite local saying is that great Russian invocation to procrastination, sem' raz otmer', odin raz otrezh': "Measure seven times, cut once."All this makes for unfertile ground for nationalism, but the Belarus National Movement refuses to be discouraged. The nationalists say Russian cultural domination goes back to the 12th century, when the Russian Prince Vladimir decided to enlist the help of the Belarussian Prince Rogvolod of Polotsk in defeating Yarapolk of Kiev. In return, Vladimir offered to marry Rogvolod's daughter Rogdena, but she was already promised to Yarapolk, so Rogvolod let her decide. She rejected Vladimir, enraging him. He conquered Polotsk, killing Rogvolod and taking the unwilling Rogdena as his wife.Later, Vladimir conquered Kiev, and settled down there with Rogdena. She hated him, and one day tried to kill him while he slept, but the prince awoke and ordered his wife executed. When their 6-year-old son Izyaslav intervened, Vladimir decided to let Rogdena and Izyaslav return to Belarus to live alone.Today, Belarus nationalists see a parallel between this story and their relationship with Russia: If they, like Rogdena, refuse to bow to Russian might, they will be assured independence. They quote a local poem, "Rogdena": Pomyatai, Belarus', shto i ty chalavek, msi mozha saboi gaspadaryts' -- "Remember, Belarus, you are a person too, if only you are able to rule yourself."