Belarusian diaspora
Encyclopedia
Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus
as well for people of Belarusian descent.
According to different researches, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 millions of people of Belarusian descent living outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus. This number includes descendants of economic emigrants from Belarus of late 19th century and early 20th century, of emigrants of times of the Second World War as well as emigrants of the wave that started in the 1990s. Another group of Belarusian diaspora are people who migrated within the USSR before 1991 and who after its dissolution became inhabitants of other post-Soviet countries. A separate group usually associated with the Belarusian diaspora are indigenous Belarusian minorities in the borderlands of Belarus with Poland
, Lithuania
and Russia
.
A separate group of emigrants from Belarus were Belarusian Jews who have established significant communities in the USA and Israel
. The historic name for Belarusian Jews were Litvaks
, a corrupted term of Litvin
or "Lithuanian" in Belarusian.
There is a tendency to a decline in the number of people identifying themselves as Belarusians according to official censuses.
The biggest and best organized Belarusian diasporas live in Russia
(including Siberia
), Ukraine
, Poland
, the USA, Canada
, the UK, the Baltic states (i.e. Estonia
and Latvia
), Central Asia
(primarily the Soviet-era Farming settlement program in Kazakhstan
) and the TransCaucasus nations (i.e. Armenia
and Georgia
).
There are small Belarusian communities in Scandinavia
, Germany
, Netherlands
, France
, Spain
, Portugal
and Ireland
as a result of European Union
and Council of Europe
contract labor agreements to recruit Belarusian and Ukrainian workers in the late 2000s.
The World Association of Belarusians
based in Minsk is the international organization uniting people of Belarusian descend from around the world. The government of the short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic is in exile since 1919 and acts as a consolidating centre for many Belarusians abroad, especially in North America
and Western Europe
(i.e. Belgium
and Switzerland
).
as well as of remainders of the indigenous Belarusian population of the regions of Smolensk
and Bryansk
, now largely assimilated. According to official 2002 census, over 800 thousand Russians identified themselves as people of Belarusian descent. The number drastically declined from over 1 million just a decade before (the 1991 Soviet Census) due to processes of assimilation
, and factors affecting the population decline in Russia such as low birthrate and high death rate caused by the economic hardships of the 1990s. Most Russian Belarusians live in Moscow
, St. Petersburg and Siberia.
. Aside from that, a stream of Belarusian immigrants has been coming into Poland from the 1990s, including political immigrants and Belarusian Poles
. Now there are also Belarusian communities in larger cities like Warsaw
and Krakow
.
, the city has historically been the centre of Belarusian cultural life. In 1939 the region of Vilnius
was transferred to Belarus, but later was given away to the Republic of Lithuania. Nowadays there is only a small Belarusian minority in Lithuania, consisting primarily of Soviet times migrants and post-Soviet emigres, including political refugees. The Belarusian and Polish-Lithuanian
communities sought more representation in the Lithuanian government, as well the mass movement of Belarusian contract laborers via Poland into Western Europe in the 2000s.
. It is difficult to estimate the real number of Americans of Belarusian descent because immigrants from Belarus were often classified as Poles
or Russians
(sometimes Lithuanians, i.e. Litvin
y), or sometimes as Ukrainians
.
Several thousand Belarusian refugees and soldiers of the Anders Army
landed in Great Britain after World War II
. They established a Belarusian cultural and religious centre in London
. In 1971 the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum
was founded. Nowadays it is the largest Belarusian library outside Belarus
.
appeared in the 1st half of the 20th century. It used to be one of the most numerous Belarusian diasporas abroad, counting between 10 and 20 thousand people. Almost all Belarusian immigrants of that time came to Argentina from Poland-occupied West Belarus
. Unlike in other western countries, Belarusian organizations in Argentina were pro-Soviet and fell under influence of the Soviet embassy. There was a wave or repatriation to the BSSR in 1956.
in Soviet times. Lviv
has been an important center of Belarusian social and cultural life in the Russian Empire and interwar Poland. There are now Belarusian organizations in major cities like Lviv
, Sevastopol
and others. A notable Ukrainian of Belarusian descent is Viktor Yanukovych
, the fourth president of Ukraine.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
as well for people of Belarusian descent.
According to different researches, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 millions of people of Belarusian descent living outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus. This number includes descendants of economic emigrants from Belarus of late 19th century and early 20th century, of emigrants of times of the Second World War as well as emigrants of the wave that started in the 1990s. Another group of Belarusian diaspora are people who migrated within the USSR before 1991 and who after its dissolution became inhabitants of other post-Soviet countries. A separate group usually associated with the Belarusian diaspora are indigenous Belarusian minorities in the borderlands of Belarus with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
A separate group of emigrants from Belarus were Belarusian Jews who have established significant communities in the USA and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The historic name for Belarusian Jews were Litvaks
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
, a corrupted term of Litvin
Litvin
Litvin literally means Lithuanian person in several Slavic languages. The term may also refer to:* Litvins, in historical context, Slavic people who identified themselves with the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
or "Lithuanian" in Belarusian.
There is a tendency to a decline in the number of people identifying themselves as Belarusians according to official censuses.
The biggest and best organized Belarusian diasporas live in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(including Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
), Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the USA, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the UK, the Baltic states (i.e. Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
), Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
(primarily the Soviet-era Farming settlement program in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
) and the TransCaucasus nations (i.e. Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
).
There are small Belarusian communities in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as a result of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
contract labor agreements to recruit Belarusian and Ukrainian workers in the late 2000s.
The World Association of Belarusians
World Association of Belarusians
The World Association of Belarusians "Baćkaŭščyna" is an international organisation uniting people of Belarusian descent globally. Currently 135 organisations of the Belarusian diaspora from 28 countries are members of Baćkaŭščyna.The organisation was founded in 1990...
based in Minsk is the international organization uniting people of Belarusian descend from around the world. The government of the short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic is in exile since 1919 and acts as a consolidating centre for many Belarusians abroad, especially in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
(i.e. Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
).
Russia
The Belarusian minority in Russia consists mainly of emigrants from Belarus during Soviet times and the times of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as well as of remainders of the indigenous Belarusian population of the regions of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, now largely assimilated. According to official 2002 census, over 800 thousand Russians identified themselves as people of Belarusian descent. The number drastically declined from over 1 million just a decade before (the 1991 Soviet Census) due to processes of assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
, and factors affecting the population decline in Russia such as low birthrate and high death rate caused by the economic hardships of the 1990s. Most Russian Belarusians live in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, St. Petersburg and Siberia.
Poland
Poland is home to a shrinking Belarusian minority that was part of the larger Białystok Voivodeship; annexed by Stalin in 1939 and incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, and only returned to Poland after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Aside from that, a stream of Belarusian immigrants has been coming into Poland from the 1990s, including political immigrants and Belarusian Poles
Polish minority in Belarus
The Polish minority in Belarus numbers officially about 294,549 according to 2009 census. It forms the second largest ethnic minority in the country after the Russians, at 3,1% of the total population. An estimated 180,905 Polish Belarusians live in large agglomerations and 113,644 in smaller...
. Now there are also Belarusian communities in larger cities like Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
Lithuania
According to censuses of early 20th century, Belarusians consisted a majority in the region of Vilnius. As the capital of the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaGrand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, the city has historically been the centre of Belarusian cultural life. In 1939 the region of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
was transferred to Belarus, but later was given away to the Republic of Lithuania. Nowadays there is only a small Belarusian minority in Lithuania, consisting primarily of Soviet times migrants and post-Soviet emigres, including political refugees. The Belarusian and Polish-Lithuanian
Polish minority in Lithuania
The Polish minority in Lithuania numbered 234,989 persons, according to the Lithuanian census of 2001, or 6.74% of the total population of Lithuania. It is the largest ethnic minority in the country and the second largest Polish diaspora group among the post-Soviet states...
communities sought more representation in the Lithuanian government, as well the mass movement of Belarusian contract laborers via Poland into Western Europe in the 2000s.
United States
Belarusian immigrants have been coming to the US since the 19th century. A large group of Belarusian immigrants from Belarus were Belarusian Jews, who came to the country in late 19th century and early 20th century. An other wave of refugees came after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is difficult to estimate the real number of Americans of Belarusian descent because immigrants from Belarus were often classified as Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
or Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(sometimes Lithuanians, i.e. Litvin
Litvin
Litvin literally means Lithuanian person in several Slavic languages. The term may also refer to:* Litvins, in historical context, Slavic people who identified themselves with the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
y), or sometimes as Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
.
Great Britain
Anders Army
The Anders Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941-1942, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders...
landed in Great Britain after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They established a Belarusian cultural and religious centre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1971 the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum
Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum
Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, England, is the only library outside Belarus to collect exclusively in the field of Belarusian studies and its collection is the most comprehensive in this field in Western Europe. The library is an independent institution owned by a...
was founded. Nowadays it is the largest Belarusian library outside Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
.
Argentina
The First organized Belarusian diaspora in ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
appeared in the 1st half of the 20th century. It used to be one of the most numerous Belarusian diasporas abroad, counting between 10 and 20 thousand people. Almost all Belarusian immigrants of that time came to Argentina from Poland-occupied West Belarus
West Belarus
West Belarus is the name used in reference to the territory of modern Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939. The area of West Belarus was annexed into the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic following staged elections soon after the Nazi-Soviet Invasion of...
. Unlike in other western countries, Belarusian organizations in Argentina were pro-Soviet and fell under influence of the Soviet embassy. There was a wave or repatriation to the BSSR in 1956.
Ukraine
Most Belarusians diaspora in Ukraine appeared as a result of migration of Belarusians to the Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
in Soviet times. Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
has been an important center of Belarusian social and cultural life in the Russian Empire and interwar Poland. There are now Belarusian organizations in major cities like Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
and others. A notable Ukrainian of Belarusian descent is Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, the fourth president of Ukraine.
Sources
- Натальля Гардзіенка. Сучаснае беларускае замежжа: праблемы і перспектывы (даклад на V Зьездзе беларусаў сьвету) (Belarusians abroad today: problems and perspectives, report by Natallia Hardzijenka at the 5th World Congress of Belarusians in 2009)