| Association of Belarusians in Great Britain | |
| Native Name: | Згуртаваньне беларусаў у Вялікай Брытаніі |
| Native Name Lang: | be |
| Founders: | --> |
| Focus: | --> |
| Location City: | London |
| Location Country: | United Kingdom |
| Languages: | --> |
| Leader Title: | Head |
| Leader Name: | Mikalaj Packajeu |
| Former Name: | --> |
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.
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]
The Association’s present-day activities include among others:
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.