Russians in Belgium

There has been a significant community of Russians in Belgium since the 19th century.[1]

Russian Orthodox Church in Antwerp, formerly used by Roman Catholics

Migration history

Migration from Russia to Belgium grew in line with increasing commercial relations between the two countries in the late 19th century. By 1910, there were already roughly 7,500 Russians in the country, including many students in universities at Brussels, Ghent, and Liège.[1] The post-Russian Revolution community of Russians in Belgium comprised mostly Russian military personnel. Former Tsarist officers maintained numerous relations with Belgian anti-communist organisations.[2] By 1937, there were already about 8,000 Russians in the country, largely concentrated in Brussels and the Francophone portions of the country.[3] Belgium was the only country whose Russian émigré population increased during the 1930s.[2]

Numbers

As of 2008, official statistics showed 7,176 Russian citizens in Belgium.[4] Another 3,407 Russian citizens obtained Belgian nationality between 1992 and 2007.[5] Overall, 10,244 persons coming from countries of the former USSR obtained Belgian citizenship between 1990 and 2007.[5]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Stols 2002, p. 43
  2. Coudenys 2002, p. 480
  3. Coudenys 2002, p. 479
  4. Population par nationalité, sexe, groupe et classe d'âges, Statistics Belgium, January 2008, retrieved 2010-01-12
  5. Etrangers ayant obtenu la nationalité belge selon la nationalité précédente, 1990-2007, Statistics Belgium, December 2009, retrieved 2010-01-18

Bibliography

Further reading
  • Coudenys, Wim (2001), "Een caleidoscoop des levens: De vele gezichten van de Russische emigratie in België", Handelingen van de Koninklijke Zuid-Nederlandse Maatschappij voor Taal- en Letterkunde en Geschiedenis, 54: 241–269, ISSN 0774-3254
  • Ronin, Vladimir (1993), Antwerpen en zijn 'Russen': Onderdanen van de tsaar, 1814-1914, Ghent: Stichting Mens en Kultuur, ISBN 978-90-72931-40-5, OCLC 54230717
  • Bauchpas, F. (1968), L'émigration blanche, Paris
  • Zhirovova, N. (2004), "О возрождении русскоязычной эмиграции в Бельгии", in Mustaioki, Arto; Protassova, Ekaterina (eds.), Русскоязычный человек в иноязычном окружении, University of Helsinki, ISBN 952-10-2265-5
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