White Ruthenia (TheodoresTomfooleries)
Imperial Territory of White Ruthenia
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Regional anthem Razvitannie "Farewell" | |
Capital and largest city | Meinha (Minsk) |
Official languages | |
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Government | Unitary semi-autonomous Reichsland of the Greater Germanic Reich |
• Reichsgouverneur | Johannes Rothenburg |
• President of the Landtag of White Ruthenia | Maksim Kavałioŭ |
Legislature | Landtag |
Autonomous Reichsland of Germany (1972 - ) | |
• Established (as the General District of White Ruthenia) | 1 September 1941 |
• Formation of the Belarusian Central Rada | 1 March 1943 |
• Detachment from the Reichskommissariat Ostland | 1 April 1944 |
• Creation of the Reichsland Weißruthenien | 1 July 1972 |
Currency | Reichsmark (ℛℳ) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Driving side | right |
White Ruthenia, or Belorussia (German: Weißruthenien; Belorussian: Biełaruś), officially the Imperial Territory of White Ruthenia (German: Reichsland Weißruthenien; White Ruthenian: Imperskaja Kraina Biełaruś) is an autonomous, self-governing Reichsland of the Greater Germanic Reich. It holds jurisdiction over the lands of the former Generalbezirk Weissruthenien. It was formerly (as GB Weissruthenien) part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland before it was detached from Ostland and put under direct German administration. Since 1972, it has been an autonomous Reichsland of the Greater Germanic Reich.
Officially, White Ruthenia is an autonomous territory of the Greater Germanic Reich. Its autonomy has varied throughout its history, at some points being described as something akin to an autonomous Reichsgau while at other times being described as a de-facto puppet regime in the former Belorussia. While the region has territorial autonomy with its own legislature, it is subservient to the Reichstag and has no real legal independence. While the Belorussian language is labeled as an official language, in practice its usage is marginalized in favor of German, and the Reichsland implements a system of forced Germanization at the expense of the local population. It is estimated that upwards of 3 million White Ruthenians have died under Germanic occupation; this genocide, as part of the Generalplan Ost, has slowed and toned down since the 1970s but continues in the form of gradual cultural and linguistic genocide.
The United Nations does not recognize Germania's control over White Ruthenia, nor does it recognize the Reichsland as the legitimate government of Belorussia. The Belarusian Democratic Republic and its Rada has been recognized as the legitimate government-in-exile of Belorussia since the formal, legal dissolution of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1959.