Belarusians in Lithuania

Not to be confused with Lithuanians in Belarus.
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 Літвы, romanized: Biełarusy Litvy; Russian: Белорусы в Литве, romanized: Belorusy v Litve; Lithuanian: Lietuvos baltarusiai) 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.

According to Polish professor Jan Otrębski's article published in 1931, the Polish dialect in the Vilnius Region and in the northeastern areas in general are very interesting variant of Polishness as this dialect developed in a foreign territory which was mostly inhabited by the Lithuanians who were Belarusized (mostly) or Polonized, and to prove this Otrębski provided examples of Lithuanianisms in the Tutejszy language.[3][4] In 2015, Polish linguist Mirosław Jankowiak [pl] attested that many of the Vilnius Region's inhabitants who declare Polish nationality speak a Belarusian dialect which they call mowa prosta ('simple speech').[5]

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 Christian denominations among Belarusians in Lithuania are Roman Catholicism (49.6%) and Orthodoxy (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.

  1. ^ Lithuania census 2011[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Nitsch, Kazimierz; Otrębski, Jan (1931). "Język Polski. 1931, nr 3 (maj/czerwiec)" (in Polish). Polska Akademia Umiejętności, Komisja Języka Polskiego: 80–85. Retrieved 3 November 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Martinkėnas, Vincas (19 December 2016). "Vilniaus ir jo apylinkių čiabuviai". Alkas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  5. ^ Jankowiak, Miroslaw (26 August 2015). ""Mowa prosta" jest dla mnie synonimem gwary białoruskiej" (in Polish).