The article examines the difficulties of forming ethnic identity among Belarusians through their historical past. Identification features characteristic of Belarusians are highlighted: hard work, thrift, scrupulousness, perseverance, high morality, self-esteem, peacefulness, etc. The author considers such a feature as religious tolerance, or religious tolerance, which was formed over a long historical period, as ethnospecific. In conclusion, it is stablished that the process of formation of the ethnic identity of Belarusians was influenced by natural-historical conditions and inclusion in foreign ethnic state formations. It is noted that the process of formation of the Belarusian ethnic identity did not have the character of a deliberate construction of any predetermined properties and qualities. It crystallized from the values formed in the process of the historical development of the Belarusian nation.