A Belarusian Woman To Russians: Leave If You Don't Respect Our Country

• 22.10.2026, 16:56

Tourists from Russia were rude to the café staff and insulted Belarusians.

A woman from Minsk shared on the social media platform Threads about the behavior of Russians she encountered at “Mac.by.”

“Russians, if you don’t respect Belarus, then go back home,” she writes. “I came to Belarus for a week; I was on my way home and decided to stop by ‘Mac.by.’ In front of me was a group of young Russians aged 20–25. Not only were they rude to the cashier, but they also started insulting Belarus.

We treat everyone well and are happy to see everyone, but only on one condition: that you respect our country.

I’m Belarusian myself; I’ve lived most of my life in Belarus, though I moved away three years ago. And no matter where I live, my native language and my homeland come first for me. When you allow yourselves to make such statements, you forget that you’re not in your homeland and have no right to say such things. You can speak that way in your homeland, but showing such disrespect here is despicable.”

Another Belarusian woman, as noted by the website Charter97.org, cited yet another recent example of Russians’ rude attitude toward our country and language.

“A girl came to Belarus and started laughing at the Belarusian language, at how certain words sound,” she writes. “And I have just one question: guys, are you serious? What’s so funny about this?

Why, when a person hears a language different from their native one, do they feel the urge to laugh and mock it? It’s someone else’s culture, history, and part of their identity. Just because some words sound unfamiliar to you doesn’t make them funny or ridiculous.”