Lietuviai išeiviai Rytų Baltarusijoje XIX a. pabaigoje – XXI a. pradžioje

LTStraipsnyje kalbama apie lietuvių išeivių bendruomenę Rytų Baltarusijoje nuo XIX a. pabaigos iki XXI a. pradžios. Pateikiami to laikotarpio jos paplitimo faktai ir skaičiai, aprašoma etnokultūrinė charakteristika ir istorinė bendruomenės raida. Paskutiniais XIX a. dešimtmečiais ir XX a. pradžioje keli tūkstančiai etninių lietuvių apsigyveno Rytų Baltarusijoje. Vieni buvo priversti tai padaryti, kiti persikėlė dėl ekonominių priežasčių. Iki XX a. vidurio jie išsaugojo savo etninę tapatybę. Nemažai įtakos šiam reiškiniui turėjo XIX a. pabaigoje - XX a. pradžioje lietuvių kalba skaitomi pamokslai vietinėse katalikų bažnyčiose, taip pat vėlesnė 1920 m. nacionalinė sovietinės Baltarusijos Respublikos politika, kuri buvo palanki tautinių mažumų kultūroms. XX a. antroje pusėje šiai politikai pasikeitus, etninių lietuvių skaičius Rytų Baltarusijoje sumažėjo, ir prasidėjo asimiliacijos procesas. Per Antrąjį pasaulinį karą ir pokariu etninių lietuvių Rytų Baltarusijoje sumažėjo dėl jų aktyvios migracijos į sovietinę Lietuvos Respubliką. Pagal 1970 m. gyventojų surašymą Vitebsko, Gomelio, Mogiliovo ir Minsko rajonuose buvo 3483 etniniai lietuviai (1926 m. buvo 6864), o 1979 m. etninių lietuvių šiuose rajonuose sumažėjo iki 3168. Vėliau dėl urbanizacijos, industrializacijos ir natūralaus populiacijos augimo skaičius padidėjo iki 4010. Pagal 1999 m. gyventojų surašymo duomenis Baltarusijos Respublikoje buvo 3001 etniniai lietuviai. 1992 m. lietuviai, gimę Rytų Baltarusijoje, Lietuvoje įkūrė kraštiečių klubą "Beržynas".Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuviai Baltarusijoje; Rytų Baltarusija; Lietuviai išeiviai.

ENIn this article Juryj Unukovič looks at the Lithuanian emigrant community in Eastern Belarus from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 21st century. He presents facts on their diffusion and numbers, describes the ethnocultural characteristics and the historical development of the community during this time. During the last decades of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century a few thousand ethnic Lithuanians moved to Eastern Belarus. Some were forced to do so while others moved for economic reasons. Up to the mid 20th century they preserved their ethnic identity. This was largely due to the Lithuanian language sermons delivered in local Catholic churches at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries as well as the subsequent national policy of the Soviet Republic of Belarus in the 1920s, which favoured ethnic minority cultures. After the change in this policy in the second half of the 20th century, the number of ethnic Lithuanians in Eastern Belarus decreased, and the process of assimilation began. During the Second World War and in the post-war period the number of ethnic Lithuanians in Eastern Belarus decreased due to their active emigration to the Lithuanian Soviet Republic. According to the population census of 1970 there were 3483 ethnic Lithuanians in the Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogiliov and Minsk Districts, whereas in 1979 the number of ethnic Lithuanians in these districts dropped to 3168. Later on due to urbanisation, industrialisation and natural increase of population the number rose up to 4010. According to the population census of 1999 there are 3001 ethnic Lithuanians in the districts of the Republic of Belarus. In 1992 Lithuanians born in Eastern Belarus founded the compatriot club "Beržynas" in Lithuania. [From the publication]The article discusses the Lithuanian expatriates’ community of the Eastern Byelorussia from the end of the 19th till the beginning of the 21st century, presents the facts and statistical data of its spread during the period, describes its ethnic-cultural characteristics and historical development. In the last decades of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century several thousands of ethnic Lithuanians came to live to the Eastern Byelorussia. Some of them were forced to do that, while others moved due to economic reasons. Till the middle of the 20th century they retained their ethnical identity. The said phenomenon was largely influenced by the sermons in the local Catholic churches, given in the Lithuanian language at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century as well as the national politics of the Soviet Republic of Byelorussia of 1920, which was favourable to the cultures of national minorities. In the second half of the 20th century, after the said policies were changed, the number of ethnic Lithuanians in the Eastern Byelorussia reduced and the process of assimilation commenced. During the WWII and after the war the number of ethnic Lithuanians in the Eastern Byelorussia reduced due to their active migration to the Soviet Republic of Lithuania. According to the census of 1970, there were 3483 ethnic Lithuanians in Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilev and Minsk districts (6864 in 1926) and in 1979 the number of ethnic Lithuanians in the districts reduced down to 3168. Later, due to urbanization, industrialization and natural increase of population the number grew to 4010. According to the data of the census of 1999 there were 3001 ethnic Lithuanians in the Republic of Byelorussia. In 1992 the Lithuanians, born in the Eastern Byelorussia founded the fellow-countrymen’s club "Beržynas" in Lithuania.

• Etnologija / Ethnology
• Istorija / History