List of Famous people born in Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko or Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka is a Belarusian politician and army officer who has served as the first and only president of Belarus since the establishment of the office 26 years ago, on 20 July 1994. Before launching his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm (sovkhoz), and served in the Soviet Border Troops and in the Soviet Army.
Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódorovna Azárenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former world No. 1 in singles, having claimed the top ranking for the first time on 30 January 2012. She was the year-end No. 1 in 2012 and has held the top ranking for a combined total of 51 weeks. Azarenka has won 21 WTA singles titles, including two Grand Slam singles titles at the, becoming the first Belarusian player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam tournament singles title. Azarenka is also a three-time major finalist at the US Open, finishing runner-up to Serena Williams in both 2012 and 2013 and to Naomi Osaka in 2020. Her other important singles achievements include winning six Premier Mandatory tournaments, four Premier 5 tournaments, and the singles bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, as well as being the runner-up at the 2011 WTA Finals to Petra Kvitová, reaching three additional Grand Slam singles semifinals, and an additional nine major quarterfinal appearances. She finished with a year-end top 10 singles ranking for five consecutive years between 2009 and 2013.
Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Borisovich Chubais is a Russian politician and businessman who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s. During this period, he was a key figure in introducing market economy and the principles of private ownership to Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Siarhiejeŭna Sabalenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been a top ten player in both singles and doubles, having been ranked as high as No. 7 in singles and No. 2 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam title in doubles at the 2019 US Open alongside Elise Mertens. She has won thirteen WTA titles in total, nine in singles and four in doubles.
Polly Adler
Pearl "Polly" Adler was an American madam and author, best known for her work A House Is Not a Home, which was posthumously adapted into a film of the same name.
Dasha Nekrasova
Daria "Dasha" Dmitrievna Nekrasova is a Belarusian-American actress, filmmaker and host of the Red Scare podcast with Anna Khachiyan.
Aleksandra Bortich
Aleksandra Nikolaevna Bortich is a Belarusian-born Russian actress known for her roles in Dukhless 2 (2015), Viking (2016) and I Am Losing Weight (2018).
Diana Arbenina
Diana Sergeyevna Arbenina is a Russian singer, musician, poet, and leader of the rock group Nochnye Snaipery.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya or Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya is a Belarusian human rights activist and politician who ran for the 2020 Belarusian presidential election as the main opposition candidate. She is married to activist Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was a candidate for the same election until his arrest on 29 May 2020; she subsequently announced her intention to run in his place.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Aliaksandra Aliaksandraŭna Sasnovich is a Belarusian tennis player. She has won eleven singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She has reached a Grand-Slam semifinal in doubles, at the 2019 US Open, together with Viktoria Kuzmova. She achieved her best singles ranking of No. 30 on 10 September 2018, and peaked at No. 42 in the WTA doubles rankings, on 8 March 2021.