Photo: Russian figure-skater Alexei Tikhonov
The official name of the present-day Belarusian state is Belarus, Russian Ambassador Alexander Surikov said on TV.
“You know I would rather not meddle in these linguistic disputes. But I fully realize that I am an ambassador in the overeign state which is called the Republic of Belarus in accordance with its Constitution,” he told journalists of state-run TV channel Belarus 1 when asked why their Russian counterparts keep naming our country ‘Byelorussia’.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, or Byelorussia was one of the fifteen republics of the former USSR. Sticking to old Soviet traditions, most Russian media outlets and even Internet users are not quick to use the official name of our coutry.
