Ah. Rumak: more than 3.5 million Belarusians live outside the country

More than 3.5 million Belarusians live outside Belarus. The largest Belarusian communities are located in neighboring states - Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. This was told to journalists on September 23 by the Commissioner for Religious Affairs and Nationalities of Belarus Alexander Rumak, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

Photo from the archive of the Minsk-Novosti agency

According to A. Rumak, according to the data of 2023, more than 500 thousand Belarusians live in Russia, about 440 thousand in Ukraine, more than 180 thousand in Kazakhstan.

- People, for various reasons, were in other parts of the world. As a sovereign country, Belarus always remembers you. It is really important for us to keep in touch, meet, talk, help within our capabilities. And it is especially important that you, being outside the country, continue to maintain your connection with Belarus, the Commissioner for Religions and Nationalities said.

Belarusian public associations, creative teams and initiatives that operate in different countries play an important role in this process. Through them, national traditions, culture and historical memory are preserved, and the Belarusian culture itself becomes part of the cultural space of the states where representatives of the diaspora live.

Ah. Rumak also drew attention to the multinational nature of Belarus. According to the results of the 2019 census, representatives of 156 nationalities lived in the country.

- We treat with respect any person who lives on Belarusian soil, regardless of his or her nationality. And, of course, we count on mutual respect – so that people who come to us respect our traditions, culture and laws, as we respect the traditions and culture of other peoples, the Commissioner for Religions and Nationalities emphasized.