The population of Vitebsk is about 369 thousand people, which allows the city to take the fourth place in terms of population in Belarus. The latest data provided on the official website of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee reveals a pattern that the number of indigenous people is thinning, but the number of foreign citizens who move to the city for permanent residence is increasing.
Now representatives of almost 100 nationalities live in the territory of the city district and region. Such a heterogeneous national composition was the reason for the decision to create national public associations. The city has conditions for the preservation and development of the culture of national minorities. Directly in Vitebsk, such national mergers appeared:
- Russian;
- Ukrainian;
- gypsy;
- European;
- Latvian.
The main activities of these associations arecharity and guardianship, legal and other assistance to countrymen, as well as cultural education of citizens.
Vitebsk population dynamics
The first information about the population and numbers appeared in the first decade of the seventeenth century. Thus, in 1641 there were one thousand and ten estates in the city. And the population living in the city district, already at that time was a little more than ten thousand people.
The acceleration of population growth continued until the First World War, when the population reached one hundred and nine thousand inhabitants. But during the war, the city of Vitebsk and its population suffered great material and human losses, which led to a significant reduction in the number of inhabitants. So, in 1917 the population of Vitebsk was 100 thousand people, and by 1920 it had decreased to 80 thousand. After that, the number of citizens began to grow. Before the Great Patriotic War, almost 170 thousand people lived in the city.
The smallest mark in terms of population was recorded during the war and occupation. This period is regarded as the most difficult: executions of citizens, death of citizens in concentration camps, forcible removal of civilians for forced labor…
But the hard times are over. By the anniversary of the city, namely the millennium of Vitebsk, which took place in 1974, the population was already 270 thousand people. By the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population of Vitebsk began to decrease again.
Ethnic composition of Vitebsk
Firstdata on the national composition of the population in Vitebsk appeared during the census in the Russian state in 1897. The conclusion regarding nationality was made according to the native language of the respondents. The statistics were also drawn up based on the results of surveys on the religious affiliation and estates of the people.
According to the data of 1641, which also lists the initials of the respondents (more precisely, the nicknames and nicknames of the owners of the estates), the indigenous people - Belarusians - had the advantage in population. In addition, representatives of the Russian state were identified among the population. None of the estates, judging by the language of everyday communication and religion, belonged to Jews at that time. As can be noted, the absence of Jews was noted in Vitebsk, but according to other sources, it was revealed that they still lived in the city as a small community and even helped in the defense of the state from Russian troops in 1654.
The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire
The national composition of the city was first revealed during the general census of the population of the Russian Empire (1897). True, due to the absence of the “nationality” column, the nationality was written in the papers based on the native language of the respondents. According to many experts, these data do not reflect the real picture, since in those days many citizens called the language of other peoples their native language.
Based on the figures obtained during the first general census (1897), an analysis was made of the national composition of the city. The data is given inthe percentage of different classes located on the territory of the urban settlement. So, the national composition of Vitebsk is represented by the following data:
- Jews made up 50% of the population;
- Russians accounted for 29%;
- Belarusians, there were 12%;
- Poles made up 5%;
- Germans in Vitebsk, there were only 1.5%;
- persons who speak Latvian were just over 1%;
- Lithuanians - less than 0.1%.
Linguistic composition of the city's population
Based on the census of citizens (2009), Russian is recognized as the native language of the majority of the population in Vitebsk (60.5% of the number of citizens living in the city). Almost thirty-four percent of those who speak the Belarusian language turned out to be. Those who did not indicate their mother tongue or citizens with knowledge of other languages comprise five and a half percent of the population.
If we take into account the fact in which languages citizens communicate in everyday life, we can rely on the following data:
- the number of people who communicate in Russian at home is almost 92% of the total population;
- Belarusian is used by almost 3% of urban residents;
- persons who speak other languages or refused to indicate the prevailing language of communication account for 5.5%.
The second language that the majority of citizens singled out is Belarusian - 24.6% (for those who speak Russian in everyday life) and Russian - 1.5%.
Fund for social protection of the populationcity of Vitebsk
The Social Protection Fund provides its citizens with a number of social services. Directions for providing social protection services for residents:
- provision of pensions of any kind;
- assignment of benefits to persons who are raising children;
- support for citizens who are looking for work;
- setting minimum wage standards;
- help in finding a job for residents for whom employment is a problem;
- detection and elimination of offenses that affected labor protection.
For families or single parents, social benefits are provided based on average per capita income over the past twelve months.
The state can also help citizens who find themselves in a difficult life situation that affects the performance and daily activities of a person. Payments are made to socially unprotected segments of the population.
Social benefits are provided to minors who have been assigned a third degree of disability, or to persons who do not need to be assigned a group, but need medical assistance, according to a medical examination.
Current state and residents of Vitebsk
As of January 1, 2017, the population of Vitebsk is 369.9 thousand people. After a long decline, the number of city residents has finally begun to grow at a steady pace. The majority of citizens are Belarusians (80%), slightly fewer Russians (12.7%) and Ukrainians (1.3%) live in Vitebsk. Among the representatives of other nationalities, the most numerous are Jews and Poles. Today, 60% of the inhabitants of Vitebsk speak Russian, 33.8% call Belarusian their native language, 5.6% call other languages (or their native language is not specified).
The city is divided into three administrative regions. In addition, the city district includes three resort villages, where local residents buy summer cottages and build country houses. The historical, business and cultural center of the city is the Oktyabrsky district, where most of the municipal institutions are concentrated. Industrial facilities are concentrated mainly in the Zheleznodorozhny district, which also includes the aforementioned suburban settlements. Pervomaisky district - these are sleeping quarters, quiet squares, green parks and developed infrastructure. Historically, two massifs are distinguished in the region, which are separated by the Western Dvina and Luchesa rivers.
Modern Vitebsk is a city of festivals. Every year it hosts more than twenty cultural events. The most significant event is "Slavianski Bazaar".
There are many educational institutions in the city. The majority are secondary schools (38), gymnasiums (9) and lyceums (5), colleges (11), kindergartens (93). There are only five institutions of the highest level, but it is in Vitebsk that one of the largest medical universities is located, the only university in Belarus that graduates veterinarians. The sports base is especially well developed in educational institutions, because in addition to ordinary gyms, inuniversities and schools have swimming pools, gymnastic campuses and athletics arenas.
