There has always been a history of migration out of Belarus. Dating back to 1863 to 1864 when there was large emigration to the United States after Kastus Kalinouski tried a failed rebellion.
Between 1880 and until 1920, many Jewish Belarusians and Belarusian peasants due to religious persecution had to flee the country and moved to the United States as well.
The largest migration was seen at the end of World War 2. Most of these Belarusian immigrants moved to Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the US while some stayed in Germany, France, and the UK.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the third wave began and still continues today. It started off as immigration due to various social and economic factors and eventually turned into "political asylum" when President Lukashenko's dictatorial policies became harsher in the mid-to-late 2010s and early 2020s. It has been reported that around 3.5 million Belarusian descendants live outside the territory of Belarus. Belarusians immigrated to European Union countries, the US, Australia, Canada and Russia.
The latest wave of migration from Belarus included people from various professionals such as athletes, engineers and even students.
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