Level of national self-identification of Belarusians in Latvia in 1918–1940

Abstract

The Belarusian diaspora in interwar Latvia was one of the most active and successful in the world. During this period, diaspora activists participated in the development of the system of Belarusian educational institutions (for example, Society “Baćkaŭščyna” played a leading role in the opening of nearly fifty Belarusian schools), published books and newspapers, founded theatres, conducted ethnographic researches. Belarusian national movement in Latvia was not limited to the creation of cultural and educational organizations: a number of political associations appeared (for example, the Society of Belarusian Voters, the Belarusian Democratic Party), the main purpose of which was to create representation of the Belarusian minority in government agencies. Nevertheless, despite the scale of Belarusians’ activities, the history of the Belarusian minority in this country needs more investigations. That also applies to the issue of the level of national self-identification of local Belarusians. The purpose of this study is to identify the causes and factors that determined the level of self-identification of Latvian Belarusians. Population censuses showed that the number of Belarusians fluctuated significantly. The study examines the possible causes of these fluctuations, the impact of literacy level, cultural and educational initiatives of the Belarusian minority, interethnic relations and other factors.