Famous Belarusians

Famous Belarusians from history

Barbara Radziwill
Grand Duchess, Queen of Poland

Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Born in Belarus in 1746, Kosciuszko is considered a national hero in America, Belarus and Poland for his leadership in the American Revolutionary War and the uprising against Imperial Russia and the Prussian Empire in 1794.

Famous scientists from Belarus

Ignat Domejko
Born in Belarus in 1802. Domejko was a well-known geologist who spent most of his life in Chile where he became a national hero. He is officially recognised by UNESCO for his achievements.

Alexander Chizhevsky
Born in the Grodno region in 1897, Chizhevsky was an acclaimed scientist who studied the biological effects of the sun and universe, including how solar activity maps to periods of war throughout history.

Zhores Alferov
Born in Vitebsk in 1930, Alferov won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.

Famous cosmonauts from Belarus

Petr Klimuk

Petr Klimuk, the first Belarusian cosmonaut; a researcher in technical sciences; twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Born in Komarovka village, Brest region, in 1942. Made three space flights as a member of spaceship and orbital space station missions. Spent a total of 78.76 days in space.

Vladimir Kovalenok
Born near Minsk in 1942, Kovalenok trained as a pilot and became a celebrated cosmonaut in the Soviet Union. He commanded 3 space missions and was twice declared a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Belarusians from the arts

Marc Chagall
Perhaps the most famous of all people from Belarus, Marc Chagall is known around the world as a master of classic avant-garde art.

Louis Burt Mayer
Born in Minsk in 1885. Cinematographer Luis Bart Mayer is best known as one of founders of the Hollywood film studio "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer".

Famous politicians from Belarus

Chaim Wiezman
Born in Belarus in the small village near Pinsk in 1874. Haim Weizman was an outstanding chemist who gave lectures in Switzerland and Great Britain.

As an active Zionist he was selected as a first president of Israel (1949) and remained at this post until his death (1952).

Famous Belarusians in religion

Francysk Skaryna
Born in Polotsk in 1486. Skaryna is most famous in Belarus for translating the Bible into Belarusian.

Saint Euphrosyne
Born in the 12th century, Euphrosyne is considered the patron saint of Belarus.

Descended from a noble family, she became a nun at the age of 12 and spent her life helping the poor and building churches and monasteries across Belarus.

She died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and her relics were returned to Belarus in 1910.

Sporting heroes from Belarus

Olga Korbut
The legendary gymnast won 4 Olympic Gold medals (three of them at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972). In 1972 Korbut was named Best Sportswoman in the World.

Vitaly Shcherbo
A Belarusian sportsman (artistic gymnastics). Gold medal winner at the XXV Olympic Games (Spain, 1992). The bronze medal winner at the XXVI Olympic Games (USA, 1996). World Champion 14 times , European Champion 10 times. Winner of the Good-will games (USA, 1990). Champion of Universidad (1993, 1995).

Igor Makarov
Makarov won a gold medal in judo at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Julia Nesterenko
Nesterenko won the 100 metres gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Maxim Mirnyi
Maxim Mirnyi is the most famous Belarusian tennis player. He has won a series of international doubles titles and has led the Belarus national team to its best-ever result in the Davis Cup.