detail from: KRK Art dizajn

WORLD CULTURES & FOLK CUSTOMS

SIMO JELAČA, PhD

FOREWORD

This book summarizes information about culture and customs of different nations. Noticeable differences in customs are among Christian, Islamic and Buddhist’s nations, although in all prevails intention for nice and greatest.  

It will be too much to include every country, as there are similarities among many nations of the same or close nationalities. Characteristic are Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Belarus, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, or as well as Germany and Austria. The similar conclusion values for Latin nations, among themselves too.

Readers will find basic information about each country, such as its location and size, population and Ethnic Make-up, Religion, Climate, Language, Etiquettes and others. 

This book can equally be used for travelers, either as tourists or business people, therefore everyone will find necessary information about Etiquette of people at their homes as well as at the business.

My intention was to find as much good information as possible. How much I have succeeded readers will judge it. 

                                                                                                            Author

BELARUS  
        CULTURE AND FOLK CUSTOMS

Facts and Statistics

Population: 9.33 million

Capital: Minsk 1.7 million

Location and size : 208.000 sq.km.

Belarus is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe bordering Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia to the west; Ukraine to the south; and Russia to the east and north. It has a total border of 3,100 kilometers, with almost one-third of its border 960 kilometers touching Russia. Belarus covers an area of 208,000 square kilometers. Belarus is divided into 6 oblasti (provinces). The city Minsk is the capital. 

Population

The population of Belarus is estimated at about 10 million, with almost 75 percent living in urban areas. The population of the city of Minsk alone is estimated at about 1.67 million. The number of people living in Belarus peaked in 1993 and has been declining at an average annual rate of 0.5 percent. It is estimated that by 2015 the population will fall to 9.8 million. The negative population growth rate is partly due to a falling life expectancy, a low fertility rate and emigration. 

Ethnic Belarusians make up more than 77 percent of the country's population. Russians form the second largest ethnic group (13 percent). The remainder of the population are Poles (4 percent), Ukrainians (3 percent), and Jews (1 percent), with a small number of Latvians, Lithuanians, and Tartars (0.1 percent). 

Alternative Names 

Republic of Belarus, Respublika Belarus; before 1991, the country was known as the Belorussian (also spelled Byelorussian). The name Belarus probably derives from the middle Ages geographic designation of the area as "White Russia." 

Languages

The official language is Belarusian, but Russian is also widely spoken. Furthermore, each ethnic minority Polish, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian also speaks its own language. Most Belarusians speak two or three languages, usually including Belarusian and Russian. About 98 percent of adult Belarusians are literate. The Belarusian language belongs to the family of Slavic languages and is very close to Russian and Ukrainian. All the three languages use the Cyrillic alphabet, with minor modifications in Ukrainian and Belarusian.

National Identity 

National identity is symbolically linked to two significant moments in Belarusian history. The national holiday is officially celebrated on 3 July, commemorating the day Soviet troops entered Minsk in 1944, liberating the city from Nazi forces. For some Belarusians, 25 March is celebrated as an unofficial Independence Day. The date commemorates the short time period when Belarus broke free from Bolshevik Russia in March 1918, only to be reoccupied in December 1918.

Ethnic Relations 

Throughout the centuries, Belarusian lands were home to an ethnically and religiously diverse society. Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Roman and Greek Catholic Christians, and Protestants lived together without any major confrontations; Belarusians, Poles, Russians, Jews, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Roma (Gypsies) also lived in peace in Belarus. Although the twentieth century brought many challenges to this peaceful coexistence, Belarus is in many senses a culture of tolerance. The current population is primarily Belarusian but also includes Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews. All ethnic groups enjoy equal status, and there is no evidence of hate or ethnically-biased crimes.

Urbanism and Architecture

Belarus is predominantly rural with several large cities. Urban centers such as Minsk have been important in the development of Eastern European architecture since the eleventh century.The architecture of the twentieth century was characterized by both modernism and constructivism (such as the National Library of Belarus, built 1930–32). Belarus is a farming country. Twenty-nine percent of the farmland is devoted to arable land; 15 percent to permanent pastures; 1 percent to permanent crops; 34 percent to forests and woodland; and 21 percent to other uses.

Food in Daily Life 

Belarusian eating habits are not very different from those of people in other Eastern European cultures. They usually have three main daily meals, and staples include red meat and potatoes. Belarusians are also very fond of spending their free time in the woods searching for the many types of mushrooms that are used in soups and other dishes. Favorite Belarusian dishes include borscht ,a soup made with beets that is served hot with sour cream; filet àla Minsk and Minsk cutlet; potato dishes with mushrooms; and pickled berries. Mochanka is a thick soup mixed with lard accompanied by hot pancakes. There is also a large selection of international and Russian specialties available. A favorite drink is black tea, and coffee is generally available with meals and in cafés, although standards vary. Soft drinks, fruit juices, and mineral waters are widely available.

Food customs often involve women. For instance, setting a food table was customarily a woman's job. An interesting food custom is associated with drinking vodka and having food. After a funeral, the mourners gather together for a meal. 

Basic Economy 

The official currency is the rouble (R) (also known as the zaichik ) divided into 100 kopecks. Belarus is an industrial state with developed and diversified agriculture. The main industries include electric power, timber, metallurgy, chemicals and petrochemicals, pulp and paper, building materials, medical, printing, machine-building, microbiology, textiles, and food industries. 

The agricultural products are dairy and beef products, pork, poultry, potatoes, and flax. Agricultural production is highly industrialized and is based on the use of modern technology such as tractors, machine tools, trucks, equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding, and chemical fertilizers. Agricultural lands make up more than 46 percent of Belarus's territory, and agriculture accounts for about 20 percent of the national income. State-run farms are main producers of agrarian goods. Privately-owned farms are in the state of development. 

Since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus has moved relatively slowly on privatization and other market reforms, emphasizing instead close economic relations with Russia. About 80 percent of all industry remains in state hands. Belarus is almost completely dependent on Russia, which buys 70 percent of its exports.

Trade 

The country's main trading partners are the other CIS states. Among the primary products traded are buckwheat, chalk, chloride, clay, limestone, peat, potassium, quartz sand, rye, sodium chloride, sugar beets, timber, tobacco, wheat, farm machinery, fertilizers, glass, machine tools, synthetic fibers, and textiles. In 1999 Belarus exported $6 billion (U.S.) worth of goods. Among the most significant export partners are Russia (66 percent of export), Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Lithuania.

Belarus imports such commodities as oil, natural gas, coal, ferrous metal, lumber, chemicals, chemical semi-products, cement, cotton, silk, cars, buses, household appliances, paper, grain, sugar, fish. 

Manufacturing 

The main industrial products include metal cutting tools, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, bicycles, television sets, radios, refrigerators, and chemical fibers. In addition, tires, timber, paper, board, textiles, and clothing are produced. Agricultural machinery is one of the specialties of Belarusian industry. Basic agricultural machinery produced in Belarus includes tractors, harvesters, fertilizers, and equipment for livestock-raising farms. Engineering and metalworking plants account for as much as 25 percent of the industrial output. The automotive industry specializes in the production of heavy-duty trucks. 

The chemical and petrochemical industries are well-developed. There are large complexes for the production of mineral fertilizers, tires, artificial fibers, and filament.

Tourism 

Belarus has fewer visits by tourists than its neighbors, but the numbers are increasing.Belarus requires visas for most tourists. The Ministry of Sports and Tourism and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection have looked into establishing national parks and protected territories and monuments to stimulate an increase in tourism. 

Gender Roles

Today men and women do the same jobs and they might even be compensated equal wages. But ethnographic sources confirm a strong division of labor by gender existing in the beginning of the twentieth century and some of those patterns can still be recognized today. They relate to eating and child rearing patterns. Men are considered the more powerful gender and as breadwinners, while women are required to take care of the children and household. Men occupy all top positions in various spheres of the economy and politics.

Marriage 

Traditionally, marriage was a matter of mutual consent between the young, but the custom also required the consent of the families involved. Daughters enjoyed considerable freedom and had many opportunities to meet young men. The young couple had to live with the husband's family and often marriage was a compromise. Both the bride and the groom were expected to contribute something to the marriage and the farm, and most often it was just labor.

Each married son would have his own hut, but the land, animals, and equipment was owned by the entire family. The family also worked and ate together. Usually, the father would assume the position of the family's head and after his death any of his sons (usually the oldest), or his brother, or even a stranger, could take up his position in the family.

Inheritance 

With certain exceptions for unmarried daughters, men and women were equal to family property. Whatever they brought into the marriage remained theirs forever. Only the common investments were considered as family holdings.

Child Rearing and Education 

Child rearing and education are controlled by the state. Mothers can take paid maternity leaves and paid sick-days when their children are ill. Schooling is free and primary and secondary schooling is mandatory. The state runs affordable kindergartens. 

Higher Education 

There were fifty-five higher educational institutions in Belarus at the end of the twentieth century, including thirteen private schools. The largest state institutions are the Belarusian University; the University of Informatics and Radio-electronics; the Economic, Technological, Agricultural Technological, and Pedagogical Universities; the Polytechnic Academy; the Academy of Arts; the Academy of Music; the Academy of Physical Training and Sports; the Academy of Agriculture; the Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev, and Minsk Linguistic Universities; the Vitebsk Technological University; and medical institutes in Gomel, Grodno, Vitebsk, and Minsk. There were 292 scientific establishments in Belarus, employing 26,000 scientists. The main scientific center is the National Academy of Sciences.

Etiquette 

"Sardechna zaprashayem!" is the traditional expression used when welcoming guests, who are usually presented with bread and salt. Shaking hands is a common form of greeting. Hospitality is part of the Belarusian tradition; people are welcoming and friendly; and gifts are given to friends and business associates.

Religious Beliefs 

Christianity is the dominant faith. Byzantine Christianity was introduced to Belarus with the rise of the Kievan kingdom in the tenth century. With the incorporation of the Belarusian territories into the Great Lithuanian Duchy and later into the Polish-dominated Commonwealth, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism flourished in Belarus. At the end of the sixteenth century, the struggle between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches produced the Orthodox Uniate Church, governed by the Vatican. The Orthodox Church dominated following the Russian defeat of uprisings in 1863 and 1864.
There are now about 44,000 Muslims, including people from the former Soviet republics and about 1,500 Arab students, in Belarus. Most of the Jews fled the region before World War II, were exterminated during that war, or emigrated after it ended. 

Medicine and Health Care 

Hospital treatment and some other medical and dental treatment is normally provided without fee. Belarus has several large, diverse healthcare facilities, both hospitals and outpatient institutions. Specialized medicine is expanding and improving in the country.

Arts

Modern Belarusian literature originated in the nineteenth century, with a sense of national identity. Belarusian literature flourished in the twentieth century; key figures were Yakub Kolas and Yanka Kupala, both poets, novelists, playwrights, critics, publicists, public figures, and founders of modern Belarusian literature and language. 

Painting first developed in Belarus in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, under influence of Byzantine art.

Belarus has the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, as well as the State Musical Comedy Theater and State Symphonic Concert Orchestra. Belarusian opera and ballet are well known and admired internationally. Today the most famous are the State Theater of Musical Comedy, the Gorkiy State Theater. 

Physical and Social Sciences 

Universities or the institutes of the National Academy of Sciences  of Belarus has a well-developed scientific community: the National Academy of Sciences, the Belarusian State University, and scientific and research institutes conduct investigations in the fields of quantum electronics, solid-state physics, genetics, chemistry, powder metallurgy, and other research fields. 

                                                                                                            To be continued

SHARE THIS PAGE ON: