Belarusians in Lithuania
Total population | |
---|---|
(36,200 1.2% of the Lithuanian Population[1]) | |
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.[2] 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