Ukrainians in Lithuania
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (16,423 0.5% of the Lithuanian Population) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Vilnius, Klaipėda, Visaginas, Kaunas | |
| Languages | |
| Russian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian | |
| Religion | |
| Ukrainian Catholic, Ukrainian Orthodox | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ukrainians, Slavic Peoples especially East Slavs |
The Ukrainian minority in Lithuania (Ukrainian: Українці, Ukrayintsi, Lithuanian: Ukrainiečiai) numbered 22,488 persons at the 2001 census, and at 0.65% of the total population of Lithuania (approximately 3,350,400). The Ukrainian national minority in Lithuania has deep historical and cultural relations. Many prominent figures of Ukraine such as Taras Shevchenko, Meletius Smotrytsky, Yakiv Holovatsky, St. Yosafat (in the world — Ivan Kuntsevich, a religious figure of Greco-Catholic church canonized in 1967) and others stayed and created in Lithuania.
According to 2011 census there were two municipalities and five more cities with more than 1% Ukrainians:
In the middle of the 14th century the Ukrainian lands (the Kiev, Chernihiv, Pereyaslav regions) entered the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is presumed that in 1572, the Ukrainians made up to 3% of the whole population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The residence of the Kiev metropolitan was situated in Vilnius. During the 14–17th centuries in the fraternities of Vilnius (they were founded by Ukrainians and Belarusians) the elucidative activity of these people was concentrated.
In 1596, the Union of Brest formed catholic religious community of cast ceremony (members of Uniate Church), that contributed to the expansion of the spiritual connections of the Ukrainian and Lithuanian people.
In times of the Russian Empire according to the demographic data of 1857 and 1897 the Ukrainians were 0.1% of the whole population of the country. In 1897 their common quantity reached 2 500.
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Wikipedia