{
  "place_id": "mstyslav#8001_11762",
  "wikidata": "Q744167",
  "country": "BY",
  "local_name": "Мсціслаў",
  "names": {
    "en": {
      "main": "Mstsislaw",
      "why": "Conventional Belarusian-based English form; the dated 2007 national geographical romanization is listed separately where it differs.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Mstislaw",
          "why": "Conventional Belarusian-based English reference spelling, without the s in the initial consonant cluster."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mstislavl",
          "why": "Russian-based English spelling used in historical and geographical references; not a separate official renaming."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mstislav",
          "why": "Short Russian-based historical form."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mscislaŭ",
          "why": "Belarusian national geographical romanization of 2007, recommended by the UN in 2012; identified by date, without implying that domestic policy remained unchanged after 2023."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mścisław",
          "why": "Polish historical name used in regional history and genealogical references in English."
        },
        {
          "name": "Мсціслаў",
          "why": "Original Belarusian spelling, useful when matching local source titles quoted in English."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mscislaw",
          "why": "Diacritic-free typing/indexing form of Mścisław for English retrieval; not a separate official name. Independent prose frequency is unverified."
        }
      ]
    },
    "fr": {
      "main": "Mstsislaw",
      "why": "Same form as in English; retained in French reference usage.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Mstislav",
          "why": "Russian-based form explicitly given in French geographical references."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mstislavl",
          "why": "Alternative Russian-based French reference form."
        },
        {
          "name": "Mscislaŭ",
          "why": "Belarusian Latin spelling quoted in French references."
        },
        {
          "name": "la petite Vilnius",
          "why": "French reference nickname comparing its heritage with Vilnius; descriptive and non-unique."
        },
        {
          "name": "la Souzdal biélorusse",
          "why": "French reference nickname invoking the historic Russian town; not an official civic name."
        },
        {
          "name": "la Souzdal bielorusse",
          "why": "Diacritic-free typing/indexing form of la Souzdal biélorusse for French retrieval; not a separate official name. Independent prose frequency is unverified."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "about_en": "Mstsislaw is a town in the Mogilev region of eastern Belarus. It was the centre of a medieval principality and retains churches associated with its later history in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.",
  "about_fr": "",
  "certainty": "medium",
  "notes": "Mstsislaw and Mstislaw coexist in English. The former better preserves the Belarusian initial consonant sequence; Mstislavl is Russian-derived. French nicknames are descriptive comparisons, not civic aliases. The 2007 geographical romanization is dated; domestic rules changed in 2023. Reference pages checked 2026-11-15: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mstsislaw ; https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mstsislaw.",
  "rank": 1001,
  "slug": "mstsislaw"
}