1735: White, Black, and Red Russia Sep 14, 2019

While Belarus means, and is often referred to simply as 'White Russia', the 'white' may not have anything to do with that color. There was also a Black Ruthenia and Red Ruthenia also referred to as a 'Rus', now the former is mostly in western Belarus and the latter was mostly in western Ukraine. A leading theory suggests that this system had been used in Western Europe, apparently inherited by the Mongols who used it just to denote direction. Though the colored Rus regions were not used in Russia, since 'Black Russia' was also linked geographically to the pagan Balts, the term 'White Russia gained additional Christian connotations in Western Europe. By the time of the country's independence, the color in the name distinguished them from the Soviets. One way or another, through hundreds of years, the color in the name stuck.

For commentary on the photos cut from the recent videos, click here.