| Group: | Armenians in Belarus |
| Native Name: | Հայերը Բելառուսում Армяне ў Беларусі |
| Popplace: | Minsk and the surrounding region |
| Pop: | 8,512 (2009)-25,000[1] |
| Langs: | Armenian, Russian, Belarusian |
| Rels: | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| Related: | Armenians in the Baltic states |
Armenians in Belarus (;) refers to ethnic Armenians living in Belarus. They numbered 8,512 as of the 2009 census and mainly live in Minsk.
The settlement of Armenians in Belarus in the 20th century was episodic and due mainly to the needs of trade. The most important of these transpired in the latter part of the 1980s when the Armenian population began to increase. In 1989, the census figures revealed that the ethnic group reached 4,933, accounting for 0.04 percent of the Belarusian population.[2] A decade later, their population more than doubled, reaching 10,191 or 0.1 percent of the country's population.[3] The uptick in the number of Armenians, however, has led to the consolidation and the emergence of an organized Armenian diaspora in the country.
Particularly, the Armenian community has been characterized by high activity for the benefit of the state. Over the past decade, from among the Armenian diaspora came a large number of prominent scientific and creative intellectuals, government officials and business leaders.
One notable characteristic of Armenians in Belarus in comparison to the Armenians living in other countries is that they are perceived to be allied with Russians.[4] This is not the case with Armenians liking in countries like Ukraine, Moldova, and Kazakhstan where Armenians are perceived to side with titulars and hostile towards the Russians.
The Chairman of Armenian diaspora in Belarus is Eghiazaryan George Anushavanovich.
Many Armenians took part in the territory of Belarus during the establishment of Soviet power and the fighting in the Eastern Front of 1941–1945. Some Armenians fought for the Soviet Union during this time, and received awards for their service. These include the following:
Numerous streets were renamed after Armenian soldiers in Minsk, Belarus in order to commend them. In the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1989 there were 4,933 Armenians.[5] The second wave of Armenian immigrants appeared in Belarus after the events of 1988 in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the 1988 Spitak earthquake and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During the ten years from 1989 to 1999, the number of Armenians in Belarus doubled.