ABSTRACT
Belarus' relative lack of both a nationalistic agenda and of Russian mobilization, together with Ukraine's anti-Moscow nationalism and the concomitant domestic Russian reaction, provides further evidence of the explanatory power of the concept of interactive nationalism. Belarus differs from its Baltic and Ukrainian neighbors in its level of national self-consciousness and in its relationship to Russia. Language arose as an issue in Belarus in 1986 when several intellectuals requested in a letter to Gorbachev that Belarusian be used in education and government. The parliament's supporters maintained, however, that Belarus would attract western support and investment precisely because of its political stability. The many Belarusians who migrated outside their native republic typically used Russian as their medium of interaction and also exhibited a high intermarriage rate with Russians. Because of size, urban concentration, and economic productivity, Russians have disproportionate influence in independent Ukraine and on inter-state relations.
