Belarusians in Lithuania

Belarusians in Lithuania

Total population
(36,200 1.2% of the Lithuanian Population)
Regions with significant populations
Vilnius, Visaginas, Klaipėda
Languages
Russian, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy
Related ethnic groups
Belarusians, Slavs, especially East Slavs

The Belarusian minority in Lithuania (Belarusian: беларусы, biełarusy, Russian: белорусы, byelorusy, Lithuanian: baltarusiai or gudai) numbered 36,200 persons at the 2011 census, and at 1.2% of the total population of Lithuania, being the third most populous national minority. The Belarusian national minority in Lithuania has deep historical, cultural and political relations. Many famous Belarusians lived and created in Lithuania, mostly its capital Vilnius; it was in Vilnius that the first standardized Belarusian language grammar was printed in.

According to the 2011 census, only 18.4% of Belarusians speak Belarusian as their mother tongue, while Russian is native for 56.3%, Polish - 9.3%, Lithuanian - 5.2% of Belarusians.

The most widespread religion among Belarusians are Roman Catholicism (49.6%) and Orthodox (32.3%).

Francysk Skaryna gymnasium is the only Belarusian school in Vilnius. One Catholic church in Vilnius (St. Bartholomew’s Church) provides religious services in Belarusian.

Some famous Lithuanian Belarusians

• Frantsishak Alyakhnovich
• Klaudzi Duzh-Dusheuski
• Konstantinas Galkauskas
• Vaclau Lastouski
• Anton Luckevich
• Ivan Luckevich
• Leonidas Muraška
• Pyotra Sergyevich
• Kazimir Svajak
• Branislaw Tarashkyevich
• Zoska Veras

See also

• Ethnic minorities in Lithuania
• Belarus-Lithuania relations