Three national/ethnic groups trace their ancestry to Kievan Rus': (Great) Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians. The latter two diverged from Russians mostly due to the long period of Polish-Lithuanian rule, which brought Catholic and Latinate influences quite distinct from Orthodox Muscovy. But why did Ukrainian and Belorussian split from each other? Both were under Commonwealth rule for about the same amount of time; both later came under the rule of the Russian empire and then the USSR. As far as I can tell, the two countries never were part of separate polities until 1991.
Edit: this thread asked a similar question. I feel that the split from Russian is explained well there, but there's not much on why Ukrainian and Belorussian are separate.
1 Answers 2015-02-25
I'm curious if anyone has good suggestions for a book on Welsh history. I'm open to any time period and/or topic that you may find interesting.
Personally, I am particularly interested in the time period between 1535 and 1917. However, the unification of Wales seems like it could be a fascinating topic. I'd also like to stay away from military history and I generally gravitate towards cultural history. Thanks in advance.
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And if so, when were they discovered? Were they known during their time? Were any events affected positively or negatively by it?
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The author of Neighbors describes a horrifically brutal massacre of the 1,500 Jewish Poles in the small town of Jedwabne, Poland shortly after Nazi Germany's invasion of Eastern Poland; many were stabbed, decapitated, drowned, and mutilated before the remaining Jews were burned alive in a large barn. The author also argues that half of the town's male Polish-gentile actively and readily perpetrated the massacre (including the town's mayor and council). The author also argues that the Germans largely did not participate beyond taking photographs, and encouraging the Polish gentiles population with their mere presence.
How accurate are the testimonies presented in this book, and do the events at Jedwabne reflect a broader sentiment in Eastern Poland - that given the chance, many Poles (and other Europeans) would commit (and have committed) similar atrocities to their Jewish neighbors?
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I have heard that Hitler's generals/advisers were more intelligent than him, and that he may have actually hindered the Nazi's efforts. Is there any truth to that?
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This is one of my favorite (morbidly favorite) movies - but how accurate is it?
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Hello,
I have been reading about it lately (am just a curious lay) and found very conflicting data about this subject.
I found numbers ranging from 3 million to almost 6 million. The discrepancies are even bigger when it comes to the casualties in concentration camps (I read data that said 500k to some that said 3 million).
Hence the question, is there any majoritary position on the jewish total casualties during second world war?
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I'm prompted by this inscription that Laura de Force Gordon put in a time capsule in San Francisco in 1879:
"If this little book should see the light after its 100 years of entombment, I would like its readers to know that the author was a lover of her own sex and devoted the best years of her life in striving for the political equality and social and moral elevation of women."
But are there any diaries by queer, closeted people that survive from Medieval or Renaissance times?
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I am aware of the small hotair ballon bombs from japanese school children. But why not large bombing raids of industrial areas?
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This is kind of a more "tip of my tongue" type question, I don't know if that's forbidden, but what was the battles name and who won? I think it was against the Gauls maybe?
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I have a situation in a video game where as the Netherlands I have a significant population count in modern day Indonesia that I could really use in mainland Netherlands.
I think I have read that soldiers were used but what about in industry and resource gathering? (any material will be good: India, Africa, Asia)
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Hey everyone! I have a debate coming up soon and we were assigned the side that argues that imperialism benefited the natives (or helped them progress). The overall theme for the debate is "Did Imperialism Bring Progress to Other Parts of the World?"
Examples of pros (mainly pros) and cons would be awesome... I know that the product of imperialism has been devastating to many populations, but I have no choice. This is the side I was given. Oh... and how Imperialism helped "down the road" and at the time (for natives) are both relevant in my argument.
Thanks in advance!
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"Trickle down economics" is generally now considered a failed economic strategy. But did it work in a short term outlook? What to spur the policy trickle down economics and why do people consider it so evil and failed a practice?
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