Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "National emblem of Belarus" in English language version.
Over the next 150 years the grand duchy of Lithuania expanded, absorbing much of the Belarusian population. Under Lithuanian rule, however, the conquered regions retained a large degree of autonomy. (...) During this epoch of Lithuanian domination, the Belarusian language and nationality began to take shape.
Influenced greatly by their Russian subjects, the Lithuanians not only reorganized their army, government administration, and legal and financial systems on Russian models but also allowed the Russian nobility to retain its Orthodox religion, its privileges, and its local authority.
An older form of Belarusian was used as the official language of administration in the 14th to 16th centuries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which included present-day Belarus as well as Lithuania and Ukraine.
The ruling Lithuanian warrior caste intermarried extensively with the ruling princely families of the subject East Slav principalities and accepted Orthodoxy.
In the early years of the existence of the Grand Duchy, Slavic or Russian elements dominated the region's culture.
Over the next 150 years the grand duchy of Lithuania expanded, absorbing much of the Belarusian population. Under Lithuanian rule, however, the conquered regions retained a large degree of autonomy. (...) During this epoch of Lithuanian domination, the Belarusian language and nationality began to take shape.
In the early years of the existence of the Grand Duchy, Slavic or Russian elements dominated the region's culture.
Influenced greatly by their Russian subjects, the Lithuanians not only reorganized their army, government administration, and legal and financial systems on Russian models but also allowed the Russian nobility to retain its Orthodox religion, its privileges, and its local authority.
An older form of Belarusian was used as the official language of administration in the 14th to 16th centuries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which included present-day Belarus as well as Lithuania and Ukraine.
The ruling Lithuanian warrior caste intermarried extensively with the ruling princely families of the subject East Slav principalities and accepted Orthodoxy.
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