Association of Belarusians in Great Britain
Згуртаваньне беларусаў у Вялікай Брытаніі | |
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Formation | 1946 |
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Location |
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Head | Mikalaj Packajeu |
Website | www |
The Association of Belarusians in Great Britain (Belarusian: Згуртаваньне беларусаў у Вялікай Брытаніі, Zhurtavańnie bielarusaŭ u Vialikaj Brytanii) is the oldest Belarusian organisation in the United Kingdom uniting members of the Belarusian diaspora since the late 1940s until the present day.
History
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Commemorative_meeting_of_the_Association_in_2001.jpg/213px-Commemorative_meeting_of_the_Association_in_2001.jpg)
After the end of World War II, several thousand ethnic Belarusians landed in Britain. Most of these people were former soldiers of the Polish Anders Army. Some of them were stationed in Britain during the war (1st Polish corps), with the bulk arriving from Italy with the 2nd Polish corps. The ranks were further swelled by arrival of so-called ‘displaced persons’ who found themselves outside Belarus during the war.[1]
In 1946 the Association of Belarusians in Great Britain was established, with Dr. Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič as its chair. It soon became a “well-established and growing organisation”.[2]
The organisation had branches in London, Manchester and Bradford and acquired several buildings for its activities, including the Belarusian House in Islington, London. It became the first organization of the Belarusian diaspora established by the wave of emigrants from Belarus after World War II.[3]
With the support of the association, the Anglo-Belarusian Society was established in 1954 with the aim to promote Belarusian-British contacts.[4]
![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Commemoration_of_the_centenary_of_the_BDR_at_the_Palace_of_Westminster.jpg/213px-Commemoration_of_the_centenary_of_the_BDR_at_the_Palace_of_Westminster.jpg)
Present day
[edit]The Association’s present-day activities include among others:
- commemoration of notable events in the history of the Belarusian independence movement, such as the proclamation of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 and the Slutsk Uprising in 1921;
- collaboration with and support of the Belarusian Democracy Movement, the 2020-2021 Belarusian protests;
- financial support of Belarusian cultural projects;
- organisation of meetings in Britain with prominent Belarusian cultural and political figures;
- engagement with British politicians and journalists.[5][6][7]
![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Stanislau_Suskevic_in_London_2018.jpg/215px-Stanislau_Suskevic_in_London_2018.jpg)
In 2018 the Association organised celebrations of the centenary of the proclamation of the Belarusian Democratic Republic at the Palace of Westminster.
Mikalaj Packajeu is the current head of the Association.
Notable members
[edit]- Dr. Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič
- Ceslaus Sipovich
- Alexander Nadson
- Paval Navara
- Helen Michaluk
- Andrej Aliaksandraŭ
References
[edit]- ^ Nadson, Alexander (2006). Ceslaus Sipovich: the first Belarusian Catholic Bishop in the 20th century (1914-1981). pp. 36 at al.
- ^ Жук-Грышкевіч, Раіса (1993). Жыцьцё Вінцэнта Жук-Грышкевіча [The Life of Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič, by Raisa Žuk-Hryškievič]. Toronto: Выдавецкі Фонд Успамінаў зь Беларускага Жыцьця. p. 83.
- ^ "Станаўленьне" [Establishment]. Association of Belarusians in Great Britain (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- ^ "Далейшая дзейнасьць" [Further activities]. Association of Belarusians in Great Britain (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- ^ Гардзіенка, Наталля (2010). Беларусы ў Вялікабрытаніі [Belarusians in Great Britain, by Natalla Hardzijenka]. Minsk: Згуртаванне беларусаў свету Бацькаўшчына. p. 230. ISBN 978-985-6887-63-8.
- ^ "Сёньняшнi дзень" [Present day]. Association of Belarusians of Great Britain (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- ^ "Мікалай Пачкаеў:Толькі давайце, калі ласка, без "Россотрудничества"" [Mikalaj Packajeu: Let's do it, please, without "Rossotrudnichestvo"]. budzma.by (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2021-05-09.