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Darah Releases Updated Guide on History of Saudi Arabia to Mark 94th National Day

Darah Releases Updated Guide on History of Saudi Arabia to Mark 94th National Day
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Darah Releases Updated Guide on History of Saudi Arabia to Mark 94th National Day

Darah Releases Updated Guide on History of Saudi Arabia to Mark 94th National Day

The King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) released an updated version of its guide on the history of Saudi National Day. This is part of its ongoing efforts to provide a reliable and accurate reference for the history of Saudi Arabia and to highlight the Kingdom's significant development milestones.

The comprehensive guide provides details about the history of National Day and its associated achievements for those interested in Saudi affairs, both locally and globally. It can also be utilized to create various media and awareness materials for commemorating the 94th National Day of the Kingdom.

The guide includes a section about the Saudi national anthem, tracing its origins from King Abdulaziz's reign to its evolution into its current form.

It also includes a section dedicated to the kings of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, offering brief biographies of the rulers from the founding of the Saudi state up to the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The guide covers significant development projects during the state-building phase, including the reconstruction of the Riyadh wall, the construction of the Murabba Palace in Riyadh, the Qishla Palace in Hail, the King Abdulaziz Palace in Al-Muwayh governorate in Taif and the Riyadh-Dammam railway.

It also covers the opening of King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, the launch of the Um Al-Qura newspaper, and the expansions of the two holy mosques.

It offers a detailed chronology of the events leading to King Abdulaziz's unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, beginning with his recapture of Riyadh in 1902 and culminating in the declaration of the country's unification in 1932.

It also highlights the prominent treaties and agreements concluded by the Kingdom, along with examples of projects undertaken during his reign.

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In Belarus, the Native Language is Vanishing as Russian Takes Prominence

FILE - Schoolchildren perform at a ceremony marking Belarus' holiday honoring the state flag and emblem in Minsk, Belarus, on May 13, 2012. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Schoolchildren perform at a ceremony marking Belarus' holiday honoring the state flag and emblem in Minsk, Belarus, on May 13, 2012. (AP Photo, File)
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In Belarus, the Native Language is Vanishing as Russian Takes Prominence

FILE - Schoolchildren perform at a ceremony marking Belarus' holiday honoring the state flag and emblem in Minsk, Belarus, on May 13, 2012. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Schoolchildren perform at a ceremony marking Belarus' holiday honoring the state flag and emblem in Minsk, Belarus, on May 13, 2012. (AP Photo, File)

When school started this year for Mikalay in Belarus, the 15-year-old discovered that his teachers and administrators no longer called him by that name. Instead, they referred to him as Nikolai, its Russian equivalent.

What's more, classes at his school — one of the country's best — are now taught in Russian, not Belarusian, which he has spoken for most of his life.

Belarusians like Mikalay are experiencing a new wave of Russification as Moscow expands its economic, political and cultural dominance.

Russia under the czars and in the era of the Soviet Union imposed its language, symbols and cultural institutions on Belarus. But with the demise of the USSR in 1991, the country began to assert its identity, and Belarusian briefly became the official language, with the white-red-white national flag replacing a version of the red hammer and sickle, according to The AP.

But all that changed in 1994, after Alexander Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm official, came to power. The authoritarian leader made Russian an official language, alongside Belarusian, and did away with the nationalist symbols.

Now, with Lukashenko in control of the country for over three decades, he has allowed Russia to dominate all aspects of life in Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people. Belarusian, which like Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, is hardly heard on the streets of Minsk and other large cities anymore.

Official business is conducted in Russian, which dominates the majority of the media. Lukashenko speaks only Russian, and government officials often don't use their native tongue.

Belarus was part of the Russian empire for centuries and became one of 15 Soviet republics after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Daily use of the Belarusian language decreased and continued only in the country's west and north and in rural areas.

In 1994, about 40% of students were taught in Belarusian; it's now down to under 9%.

Although Belarusian, like Russian, is an eastern Slavic language, its vocabulary is considerably different.