What do Polish people think about Belorussians?

Hello to All :)))
It would be a great pleasure for me if you, guys, answer a question :)
What do Polish people think about Belorussians. Politics and Lukashenko's regime are not the topic of this theme, cuz everyone knows that it is really terrible.

I have a lot of positive and some negative experience, but actually much positive.
For instance, some of them:

When I was in Poland 2 weeks ago, one of Polish guys gave me a bottle of beer as a gift and I gave him 5000 of bel. rubles (it's about 1,8 of US dollars) as a souvenir. At that time I had nothing to give him back :(

On the other hand:

One day, when I was in a store, one lady, which was the sales person, shouted at me smth like: "Mam już chorą głowę od was wszystkich!!!" But, I was the first visitor :((( And it was really loud.

I have some friends in Poland, but they have said nothing about that.

I'm really interested and all of your opinions will be really useful.
Thanks :)))

Not much, Poles who never been to Belarus generally dont have any opinion about Belarussians, the street is fairly neutral to them.

Those who were in Belarus or are interested in it view Belarussians in a generally positive light, you guys have it hard and Poles are symphatetic, older Poles since they remember how hard was it in Poland and younger Poles by example of the older generations.

Personally i find people in Belarus very friendly, the country is p*ss poor and horribly depressing but the people are great.

I have a cleaning lady from B and she's the best. And I don't only mean that she cleans well but that she is the most trustful and friendly person you can imagine. Oh, and my dad was born in what is now Belarus, near Grodno. Also, near Bialystok there live some ethnic Belarus folk - I stayed at one elderly lady's place last summer for a night or two and she was the best company to talk to as well as drink wine and vodka with. Overall, B must have some of the nicest people in it, just feel sorry you guys are not in EU with us.

Cheers!

I have looked through the forum and to tell the truth, it seems to be very interesting :)
I'm really happy for Polish people, they made the right choice in 90th :))) But, it wouldn't happend in other way.


At some point I will definitely agree with you. And from what I've heard from my friends in Poland, Polish people actually don't care about Ukrainians or Slovaks either, but my folks don't like Russians and Germans much. Well, it is quiet understandable why, according to the history of Poland.


The funniest thing is that Belorussians which live in Poland know the belorussian language and those who live in Belarus don't. But language is part of mentality, culture etc.

"To jest naprawdę szkoda". :(

On a personal level i feel sorry for the people of Belarus having to be in the hands of the last dictator of Europe, and i cannot wait for the day when democracy comes to your country. when this happens I am sure that Poland and Belarus will have fantastic business relations:)

I believe that there is a radio station in Poland, partly sponsored by the foreign office that broadcasts into Belarus, telling the people the true state of affairs in your country. This makes the Polish leadership decidedly unpopular with your president:)

And there is a TV channel "Belsat" :)))


Yes, it would be a nice bussines, cuz there a lot of different stuff in Poland, which is produced in Poland, that we really need to and we can offer the money from rus transit :)))

Another sheep straying from the flock, losing its identity, scraps of self-respect, desperately placing his stake on "I hate Russians" field to attract the Poles. :) A typical slave psychology, whatever your antibat'ko/Russia statements are. Still can't figure out if it's funny or pathetic. I believe both.

The Russians call Polish females "Palachka"... Gosh. :)) That made my day. As if some Belorussians don't do this...

I'm not Polish but the 2 Belorussians I've had in class have been well received and there is a certain closeness. In relative terms, they are closer to them than to Germans or many other Europeans.

"Another sheep straying from the flock" - People are not sheeps, believe me ;)
"Losing its identity" - No, I know the history of my country, I use my native language :)
I have never said I don't like Russian people ;))) A'm I. I'm not trying to attract someone's attention. It's just interesting to me to know what do Polish people think about Belorussian people.

And responding to "Palachka". I wrote Russians, cuz actually people from Poland don't see the differences, that's it :))) And the word "Palachka" is very close to Slang. I'm trying to learn the Polish language and this word seems to me a bit strange. The Russian llanguage has the word "Polka" too ;)

Where are you from Sasha? :)


I think some closeness is existing, but I think not at all.
But Thanks for your Reply

Oh, I am well-aware of this convenient approach. Once there's a chinning of some achievements/inventions/goods there one could stick with another nationality, however if that's god forbid some sots/stalinists/evil there we've got "the Russians" perfectly fit. :)


It's a just a mistake. There's no such a word in Russian language. The later mentioned "Polka" is the word.


My profile says it all.

I think that they are friendly and that they are not a bad singers.
:)

You are seething with anger Sasha :)))

It isn't the subject of the theme just what you are trying to establish. And what you are trying to say is just don't make sense to me.


For the present I haven't wrote nothing about Russian or Belorussian achievements/inventions/goods ;)


And once again, have I ever wrote smth against the Russians? :)
Do you see the differences between "Russian Empier", "USSR" and "the Russians"?


Yes, I've written it as below.

But it must be sound a little bit strange for people who's native language is Polish. And funny, but it is not racist word as you see ;)) Anyway


Oh, thank you (Koldun is not in this section :D), polish singers/composers are good too, but actually I heard just a few of them. :(

I bet you are watching Eurovision now. :)

We really need to work hard on their singing, I mean the singing of belarussian singers :DDD

I think for most of Poles Belarus is kind of 'terra incognita'. There is many probably shallow stereotypes like 'Belarus is a post USSR heritage park' or 'Belarus is just a bigger version of kolchoz'. For my part I hope that some day it would be possible during canoeing trip by Czarna Hancza instead of turning right on Augustowski canal, turning left toward PL-BY border and crossing it without trouble the same way I can cross border in Sudety or Tatra mountains. It would be also nice to walking freely into Belarusian part of Białowieża Forest.

I would drink for that becasue it would mean normality both in PL and in BY and between PL and BY. Long way to go I suppose...

Personally, I don't have any bad opinion, while living in Australia for the last 19 years.
What I can say...we love each other!!!

There was never any noticable arguments between Poles or Belorusians or even Russians or Ukrainians!!!


Sasha... what is palachka- as a Pole, I don't really get it!
If I say "Ruski " or "Komunista" does it have any meaning?!

Not at all. I just got the first impression of the "same old whining".


I do and I hope you do as well. I apologize for that I seemed to misread this piece:


and rushed to a conclusion.


As I said the proper word is "Polka". What was meant is that some people from Russia and generally the former USSR wrongly use the term "Polachka". It's not a derogatory term but it somehow questions the educational level of a speaking person.


If you say "Ruski" - yes, it does. It's practically self-designation for Russian people (males). It's like "Polak" I guess. "Kommunist" wouldn't make any sense, unless the person you talk to is a commy. :)

Perhaps if you tried a different approach than this outdated Russian rhetoric you might be able to keep your flock together. Belorussians are not losing their identity; they are awakening from a long slumber and finding their own identity in the process (good for them if you ask me). There’s no need for a Russian nanny to take care of them or do all the thinking for them. I know it must be hard for an average Russian to come to terms with that reality but it’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle. In my opinion there should be more of cultural exchange between Poland and Belarus even Russia, perhaps then we can put our political differences aside and enjoy what each side has to offer. I know, it’s simply too much to ask for and it sounds like a Crows utopian dream but that would be nice for a change and no we don’t have the ambition of greater Poland, after all, that’s what you fear the most. Come on Sasha, it’s time to face your own demons.

As usual, history plays an important part here. Indeed, there is nothing about Russia in the opening post of Białorusin, yet Sasha says:


"I hate Russians" and "to attract the Poles" are crucial phrases here. So let's remind everyone that the teritory of today's Belarus had never been subjected to Russian rule until 1772, that is the year of the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Until Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was comprised of independent principalities. In fact, Belarus had been remaining part of the Grand Duchy ever after, until the 3rd of May Constitution abandoned the formal administrative duality between the Kingdom of Poland (called the Crown) and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1791.

As a result of adopting this Constitution, a war broke out between Russia and the Commonwealth in 1792, the war in which the Commonwealth was defeated, the Constitution abandoned, and another part of Belarus was "handed over" to Russia as a result of the second partition. The remainder of the country (of 215.000 sq. m.) might have existed to the era of Napoleonic wars, had it not been for the Uprising of 1794 led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko, born in Mereczowszczyzna on the territory of Belarus, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, which led to the third and final partition of the Commonwealth in 1795. Thus the remaining part of Belarus became Russian.

Since then, the Russians seem to think that Belarus was theirs since the beginning of time. In reality, the Belarussian language was using the Latin alphabet until the Cyrilic alphabet was imposed on them by the Russians. The Belarussian language was also the official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until Polish replaced it in that role in 1697.

Sasha...


It's not, because Polak means Polish and every Polish person is proud to be called Polish or Polak (as in Polish language)

Yes, and "ruski" means Russian in Russian. That's what I wanted to say.


I've got no intention to keep flock together. This ain't my purpose and I don't support any kind of imperial ambitious, in the mean time I realize that's likely to be the only way Russia can exist, unless falling apart herself.

What part of my Russian rhetoric you found outdated I wonder?
As for keeping flock together... Russia is going through tough times and obviously doesn't have a gut to hold control over anybody. Money, media resources are the only essential things in nowadays world. If one has got them, tomorrow average Pan Kowalski, Pan(Gospodin) Tarasevic and Gosp. Iwanow will believe everything they're told. Yours or mine opinion won't count.


What makes you feel like that? If one found out that the direction was wrong, it doesn't automatically mean he would choose the proper one next time. A good example Ukrainians and Bandera (and now Pres. Janek is not the best choice either). Besides all talks about course line are pointless as long as they've got Lukashenko at the helm. Let's not forget about the reality.


Can't speak for an average Russian but I want it to be fair. No more than that.

Typical Polish "Pany" scare tactics employed for centuries by the Russians bad "Lachy".


He never mentioned a unity with Poland in his posts yet you automatically assumed that to be the case. There’s nothing wrong with having a friendly approach to ones neighbors and still having your own national identity intact. I applaud him for making an effort to see what the opinion of an average Pole might be towards his country given the proximity and how little we know of each other. Perhaps I’m wrong but you perceive it to be a threat. Low self worth on your part if you ask me given how tight the Russian-Belorussian relationship is.


That’s where I beg to differ. I believe people can think for themselves, everyone has their own opinion, right or wrong, whatever the case might be it’s just your perspective on the issues at hand. Keeping quiet about your own countries politics dose not equal content or support. Little bit of free travel, contact with others and exchange of opinions brings fresh perspective and the way we view outside world. We live in an information age, it’s harder and harder for the regimes to keep their population isolated and the age old scare tactics simply won’t work anymore. Like "Polskie Pany" will return and take away your independence. That’s the point of your original post, like a mother scolding her grown up child convinced that the boogieman tactics will work.


The willingness to travel and to talk, to get a glimpse of what the outside world is really like, that’s how the opinions are formed. Only then you can dismiss the propaganda fed to you by media resources. I see hope while all you see is insubordination.


Once again if you perceive the outside world as some kind of boogieman with a sole purpose for its existence is to get you then the nationalistic ideas easily hold root but free travel and dialog changes that perspective.


You never know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. If he ever perceives Russia as a threat, he might, just might isolate himself from Russia seeking support somewhere else. Nothing is set in stone.

That doesn't make any sense to me, sorry.


I never said unity with Poland could somehow degrade or even affect self-respect. There's nothing wrong with being friendly to one's neighbours.
I already apologized for that I was too hasty and probably too harsh in my conclusion but here and there I've run onto many examples of how people from the former USSR (including Russia) are ready to adopt the most ridiculous version of their own origins/heritage and pervert the history for the only purpose to bash Russia and shift all the blame upon her. It's like trying to disprove one false theory taking on trust the other one false.


If this is the case I applaud him as well. Why shouldn't I, considering that I'm here on this forum for the purpose of learning more about Poland?


Threat? You probably meant jealous if it comes to the very pinch, but "threat"... *shrugged*


I'm afraid I can't track your logic here either.


That solely forms your personal opinion which against the background of your at times magisterial and mentoring tone sounds somewhat irritating. People tend to believe what they want to believe in, don't they? Communicating with people from Western and Eastern parts of Ukraine two people may end up with diametrically opposite opinions. Why do you act as if you have monopoly on the truth? You've travelled a lot? Ok, I'm happy to hear that. I've been to more than ten countries either. If we still want to measure the truth with our experience then I would emphasize one's open mind first of all as a key to learn the truth. If one doesn't like to hear the harsh truth or something that doesn't fit one's own agenda, how can one claim being all-know?


???

You're a right opinions are like asshåles but the options in real life are very limited unfortunately: limited political parties, limited religions, limited candidates for presidency and so on. Wanna be apolitical atheist? Ok, go for it but you won't be unique either. Now about "information age"... it's harder and harder for people to pick from the various info the proper one, no matter if one lives in nominally democratic Poland or in nominally totalitarian Belorussia. Nowadays it doesn't really necessary to scare anybody to have a firm grip on the reins of power. It only takes to win over the majority, the crowd to come to power. People can think but most of simply don't bother themselves to.


???
whose?


Who form the opinions of those who have never travelled in this world as simply can't afford to, id est the opinion of the vast majority, you think?

Helllooo!!!
That's quite interesting :))) i'll definitely make some comments later. Unfortunately I have so much work to do :)


Nowadays thats slightly the truth, cuz a vast of belarussian engineers, doctors, lawyers, IT specialists etc. immigrate to the USA, Poland Russia, Canada, Australia etc. The main reason of this is the wages of people which are engaged in different sectors of intellectual work or it's better to state inconsistence of their wages with the wages of other groups. For Example in Belarus, the avarage salary of doctor is 200 U.S dollars in comparison with the salary of wiper which is 300 U.S dollars!!! SO WHERE IS THE LOGIC???


Thank you, we will make it, and this dream will come true very soon :)

GOD BLESS AUSTRALIA!


A friend of mine was in Poznań not for a long time ago. He is an architecture and there was a plan to construct a bulding and the main goal was to create a mixed group of Polish/Belarussian architecture and engineers which could make this project come true.

There was a condition they should do it during the period of 2 weeks. All together they made it in 5 days! The other 9 days they were drinking as so called "Wódka" :D and see the sights of Poznań. The project was great! I have fotos.


Interesting fact is that Tadeusz Kosciuszko is a national hero of Belarus as well as Adam Mickiewicz! :) And Tadeusz Kosciuszko was in a half Belarussian, or it's better to say "Litwini" (those times Litwini and Belarussians had the same name). Actually the word "Belarussians" is the imaginary word. Russian Empire fabricated it. This word have never been exicting until the 18th century.


The Belarussian language was using both the Cyrilic alphabet and the Latin alphabet, as the Serb people do nowadays ;) The official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was always Belarussian. Maybe you are talking about Commonwealth and about different political documents if you are talking about that then I would say nothing, cuz actually I'm not well informed about that.


The most GDL docs were destroyed by Russian Empire, but we have some information from Belarusian People's Republic which didn't make it possible to suffer from hunger as it was in Ukraine and we won't never forget it. And we've got some ancient docs from Poland. And Also we have Russian history docs, so we can compare them and draw a conclusion. :(


Hmmm, i might be wrong, but as far as i know the word "Lachy" isn't so swear, there is a polish beer "Lech" and "Lech" is the polish name + there is a legend with 3 brothers which names are "Lech", "Rus" and Czech :D And it is a bit grate on my nerves to hear "BialoRussia"... but some of you guys are still using it :D


We had the most democratic union than other Europe had and now... How does it happend that Belarus is now the last Totalitarism country in Europe. I don't blame no one, except of us ourselves. (the people of Belarus)

Funny though! :D


Russian-Belorussian relationship is falling apart nawadays, you can grab this information from the News and Yes, Sasha Welcome to Belarus! You will see it with your own eyes, no one will call you "comrade". Please, visit Grodno and Brest at first. It sounds pretty rude, but it is the truth!


Political Games as always :D


Please, read above, thanks

YES, UNIVERSAL TRUTH!!!
And Belarussians must to do smth with it at last and we will!

Thank you all for Attention. Let the God Bless us all.

What is the background for such a poor state of affairs between us in your understanding? Really interested in your view. Feel free to pm in Russian/Belorussian if needed (don't speak the last one but will take pains to understand).

Belarus is 'White Ruthenia', not 'White Russia', but many people confuse that. Still, if you say that the term 'Belarus' was invented by the Russians in the 18th century, what about the areas of 'Red Ruthenia' (Ruś Czerwona) [in Ukraine], 'Black Ruthenia' (Ruś Czarna) as well as 'White Ruthenia' (Ruś Biała) that existed well before Cathrine II had swallowed almost the whole of the GDL in her unquenched imperial appetite for new territories?

The USSR guys invented the word "Byelorussians" and then Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 20th century. And the word "Belarus" is the modern and the official name, but the Russian people are still using the word "Byelorussia".

During the GDL there was only one name for the people of the territories of present Lithuania, Belarus and West Ukraine - "Litwini". Also, there was an unofficial word for the people which lived on the territory of nowadays Belarus "Tutejszyja". Like for example "Bavarians"

If we are talking about the nation of modern Belarus then it is a mixture of Baltic and Slavic tribes.

Weren't they at some point called "Rusini" ?

Oh, yeah you are right! But after all, as the GDL was an internatiaon country, thereby the mixture of different nationalities is irreversible, so it's hard to say whether they were "Rusini", or not, but definitely they were not "Byelorussians" after all. Another problem is the surnames which endings are "-ich", sometimes "-ski" and sometimes "-ko"

Thank you all for nice conversation

The most strange thing is that here, in Belarus, about 65% of people have the last name endings like "-ich".

that they are Poles and should stop to pretend otherwise

You don't have to be a fcuking genius to find out, the Russians were always in favor of dictatorial rule in Belarus which is not what the ordinary people want in Belarus. If it would not be for Russian meddling, the people of Belarus would be free today.

There is DW short documentary on Belarus.

dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5613730,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf

If you scroll down the page and look to the right hand corner you should find it.

I can hardly believe it, but i understand almost everything on this clip below:)

youtube.com/watch?v=GV2PV99WnQI

I did not realize that there are so many similarities between Polish and Belorussian, it almost seems closer to Polish than Russian:)

I was talking about the present day. :) Seems like one has to...


A groundless statement on your part. The history doesn't know the conjunctive mood. Besides Lukashenko is obviously not a Russian agent on throne. He has his own agenda.