Over the past five years, the Belarusian diaspora has undergone a cascade of upheavals that have radically changed both its size and its qualitative composition. Hundreds of thousands of people have left Belarus, and a substantial part of the country’s business sector, independent media, and civil-society structures have ended up abroad. This dynamic gives grounds to speak of the existence of at least two large diasporic groups – the “old” and the “new” diaspora – with the dividing line between them running through the year 2020.
Drawing on a comprehensive study combining a qualitative component (30 in-depth interviews) and a quantitative component (a CAWI survey), this report analyzes the overall state of the Belarusian diaspora and the existing differences between the groups that comprise it, distinguished by the timing of their migration from Belarus.