Modern refugees. The Ukrainian and the Belarusian context

Abstract

The first part of the article is devoted to the study of an extremely important issue for Ukraine  and the international community, namely the issue of refugees. In the global context, the problem of refugees and displaced persons is constantly monitored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the supranational (institutionalized) organization, which is the European Union. The first part of the article specifies the quantitative parameters of refugees from Ukraine as a result of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation. It is noted that the aggression has caused the largest wave of refugees from the territory of Ukraine since the Second World War. The article provides statistical data on refugees, defines the international legal principles governing the meaning and differences between the concepts of "refugee" and "temporary protection". The author characterizes the quantitative indicators and countries that have hosted Ukrainian internally displaced persons after the Second World War and at the present stage. On the basis of various sociological and other reports, primarily UNHCR data, the author identifies the quantitative and qualitative parameters of the current wave of refugees from Ukraine, as well as their impact on the current demographic situation in Ukraine.

The second part of the article presents an analysis of emigration and refugee flows from the Republic of Belarus in the 21st century, with a special focus on the period after 2020. It identifies the political, economic and socio-cultural causes of migration, the geography and nature of migration movements, and the short-term and long-term consequences for both the country of origin and the receiving countries. Particular attention is paid to politically motivated migration after the 2020 presidential elections and the subsequent wave of repression. It also shows the role of the Belarusian diaspora in exile as an emerging political and civic actor in transnational resistance networks.