"Our Poleshuk is cunning!" Russian press of the Belarusian Polesse region in interwar Poland as an indicator of ethnic identity

Abstract

The article explores the publications of the Russian-language press of Polesse region, including the newspaper "Pod nebom Polesja" ("Under the sky of Polesse"), which was published in Russian in 1931–1932 in Pinsk, part of the Polesse province of interwar Poland. Publications of the Russian press advocated a Common Russian identity and promoted Russian culture, while considering Russians, Belorussians and Ukrainians to be parts of a single nation in accordance with the triune Russian people theory. Those publications were unacceptable for the Polish authorities, which were following the policy of total polonisation of the Belorussian population of the Eastern provinces. Using administrative resources, the local Polish authorities managed to eliminate the newspaper in early 1932.