Localness and Mobility in Belarusian Nationalism: The Tactic of Tuteishaść*

Every nation has its own ways of telling its national story. Such narratives attempt to incorporate and explain the terms of a nation's history, culture, language, territory, economic welfare, and its citizens' sense of belonging. Some national stories are more complicated than others and require specific terminology to describe their nation and its “other.” Belarus is one of these complicated cases. Belarusian national character is often defined by the concept of tuteishaść , or “localness,” by which the people of Belarus identify themselves in relation to other nations and countries.