Russian Empire

According to the terminology of the 18th and 19th centuries, Russification meant the strengthening of the local culture of all three branches of the Pan-Russian people, with Russian language considered the main literary standard, while Belarusian language was regarded as its dialect, in which literature was also published.^[3][4]

Soviet Era

Usievalad Ihnatoŭski was a Belarusian politician, scholar and the first president of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

In Belarus, the initial phase of Russification was undertaken by the authorities of the Russian Empire, which was later followed by a period of cultural promotion and national development under the Soviet policy of belarusization.^[5] This phase, however, eventually gave way to a renewed emphasis on Russification under subsequent Soviet policies.^[6][7][8][2]

Presidency of Alexander Lukashenko

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has renewed the policy since coming to power in 1994,^{[9][10][11][12][13]} although with signs of a "soft Belarusization" (Belarusian: мяккая беларусізацыя, romanized: miakkaja biełarusizacyja) after 2014.^[14][15][16]

Current State of Belarusian Language Instruction

Minsk, Belarus, 2011: old street sign in Belarusian language (right) replaced with new one in Russian language (left)

In Minsk city for the 1994-1995 academic year, 58% of students in the first classes of elementary school were taught in the Belarusian language. After the beginning of Lukashenko's presidency in 1994, the number of these classes decreased. In 1999, only 5.3% of students in the first classes of elementary school were taught in the Belarusian language in Minsk.^[17]

In the academic year 2016-2017 near 128,000 students were taught in Belarusian language (13.3% of total).^[18] The vast majority of Belarusian-language schools located in rural areas that are gradually closed through the exodus of its population to the cities. Each year, there is a closure of about 100 small schools in Belarus, most of which use Belarusian language in teaching. There is a trend of transfer the students of these schools to Russian-language schools. Thus, there is a loss of students studying in Belarusian.^[19]

As for the cities, there are only seven Belarusian-language schools, six of which are in Minsk (in 2019). In other words, the capital city, regional and district centers of the Republic of Belarus has seven Belarusian-language schools in total:

1. Gymnasium № 4 (Kuntsaushchyna street, 18 – Minsk, Frunzyenski District)
2. Gymnasium № 9 (Siadykh street, 10 – Minsk, Pyershamayski District)
3. Gymnasium № 14 (Vasnyatsova street, 10 – Minsk, Zavodski District)
4. Gymnasium № 23 (Nezalezhnastsi Avenue, 45 – Minsk, Savyetski District)
5. Gymnasium № 28 (Rakasouski Avenue, 93 – Minsk, Leninsky District)
6. Secondary school № 60 (Karl Libkneht street, 82 – Minsk, Maskowski District)
7. Secondary school № 4 (Savetskaya street, 78 – Ivanava city)