Belarusian (; ) is an official language of
Belarus, along with Russian, and is spoken abroad, chiefly in
Russia,
Ukraine, and
Poland. Before
Belarus gained independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991, the language was known in English as
Byelorussian or
Belorussian, transliterating the
Russian name, , or alternatively as
White Ruthenian or
White Russian. Following independence, it also became known as
Belarusian.