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BLR redirects here. For the International Air Transport Association airport code, see HAL Bangalore International Airport {{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = Рэспубліка БеларусьРеспублика БеларусьRepublic of Belarus|common_name = Belarus|image_flag = Flag_of_Belarus.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Belarus.svg|symbol_type = National emblem|image_map = Europe_location_BLR.png|map_caption = |national_anthem = Мы, беларусы(Belarusian language)My Belarusy(transliteration)We Belarusians], Russian language|demonym = Belarusians, Belarusians|capital = Minsk|leader_title1 = [President of Belarus|leader_name1 = Alexander Lukashenko|leader_name2 = [Sergey Sidorsky|sovereignty_note = from the [Soviet Union [1990 [1991 [1991-->|area_rank = 85th|area_magnitude = 1 E11|percent_water = negligible (183 km²)1|population_estimate = 9,724,723|population_estimate_year = 2007|population_estimate_rank = 86th|population_census = 9,849,000|population_census_year = 2003|population_census = 10,045,237|population_census_year = 1999|population_density_km2 = 49|population_density_sq_mi = 127 |currency_code = BYR|time_zone = Eastern European Time|utc_offset = +2|time_zone_DST = Eastern European Summer Time|utc_offset_DST = +3|cctld = .by and [Russian language: Беларусь, BGN/PCGN romanization of Belarusian: Byelarus’) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk — other major cities include Brest, Belarus, Hrodna, Homyel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Babruysk. One third of the country is forested, and agriculture and manufacturing are pillars of the economy.

Until the twentieth century the Belarusians lacked the opportunity to form their national polity as the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. After the failure of a short-lived Belarusian People's Republic (1918–1919) Belarus became a Soviet Republic, the Byelorussian SSR.

The final unification of the Belarusians lands in the modern borders took place in 1939 when the ethnically Belarusian lands that were a part of Second Polish Republic were annexed by the USSR and attached to the Soviet Belarus. The territory and its nation were devastated in the Second World War as Belarus lost about 1/3 of its population while the loss of the economy amounting to 35 times the republic's annual GDP The concequences of the Great Patriotic War for Belarus, at the Archives of the Republic of Belarus but the republic recovered in the post-war years and became one of the founding members of the United Nations. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on July 27, 1990 and following the History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991), Belarus officially declared independence on August 25 1991. Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president. During his presidency, Lukashenko has implemented Soviet-era policies, despite objections from Western powers. Belarus is negotiating with Russia to unify into a single state called the Union of Russia and Belarus, although the discussions have stalled for several years.

A total of population of approximately 9,849,000 reside in Belarus, mostly in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other oblast capitals. Over 80% of the population are native Belarusians, with Russians, Ukrainians and Polish making a sizable minority. Since a referendum in 1995, the two official languages spoken in Belarus are Belarusian language and Russian language. Belarus does not establish an official religion, yet the primary religion in the country is Russian Orthodox Church.

Etymology Historically, the country was referred to in English language as "White Russia", although this is a slight mis-translation. The correct translation is "White Ruthenia" ('White Rus' phonetically), which either describes the area of Eastern Europe populated by Slavic people or the various states that occupied the area. The first use of the term "White Russia" appeared in medieval literature in German and Latin. The Latin term for the area, Russia Alba, is derived from the area of present-day Albania, where the inhabitants had very white skin and dogs that could kill large animals. The only area that fit the Latin description was the Great Novgorod, but it was never called White Russia at all. Nonetheless, usage of the term 'White Russia' continues in many languages, e.g. "Weißrussland" in German, "Beyaz Rusya" in Turkish, "Λευκορωσία" (Leukorosía) in Greek, "Fehéroroszország" in Hungarian (see wiktionary:Belarus for the full list).

The first known use of the term "White Russia" to refer to Belarus was in the late sixteenth century by Englishman Sir Jerome Horsey. During the seventeenth century, Russian tsars used "White Ruthenia", asserting that they were trying to recapture their heritage from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Belarus was named "Belorussia" (Russian language: Белоруссия) in the days of Imperial Russia, and the Russian tsar was usually styled "Czar of Russia — Great Russia, Little Russia, and White Russia". "Belorussia" was the only Russian language name of the country (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) until 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic decreed by law that the new independent republic should be called "Belarus" (Беларусь) in Russian and in all other language transcriptions of its name. The change was made to reflect adequately the Belarusian language form of the name. The law determining the name of the country. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Accordingly, the name "Belorussia" was replaced by "Belarus" in English, and, to some extent, in Russian (although the traditional name still persists in that language as well); likewise, the adjective "Belorussian" or "Byelorussian" was replaced by "Belarusian" in English (though Russian has not developed a new adjective). Some Belarusians object to the name "Belorussia", as an unwelcome reminder of the days under Russian and Soviet rule. Officially, the full name of the country is the Republic of Belarus (Рэспубліка Беларусь, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Byelarus'). CIA World Factbook. Belarus - Government. Published March 17 2007. Retrieved March 22 2007.

In 2002, an informal survey was conducted by the Web site pravapis.org to see which version of the name was used on a majority of Web sites. By using Google, Pravapis.org looked up various terms and it found that "Belarus", the official short form of the name, was used on 93% of Web sites checked. Other spellings used included "Belorussia", "Bielorussia" and "Byelorussia," which were used in 1%–2% of cases.

History near Minsk, built in the 15th century and the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1619

The area of modern-day Belarus was first settled by early East Slavs in the 6th century. They gradually came into contact with the Varangians, a band of warriors comprised of Scandinavians and Slavs from the Baltics. Though defeated and briefly exiled by the local population, the Varangians were later asked to return and helped to form a polity—commonly referred to as the Kievan Rus'—in exchange for tribute. The start of the Kievan Rus' state began approximately in 862 at the present-day city of Novgorod.

Upon the death of Kievan Rus' ruler Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the state broke apart and became independent principalities, including Polatsk. These Ruthenian principalities were badly affected by a Mongol Empire invasion in the 13th century and many were later incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Of all the principalities held by the Duchy, nine were settled by ancestors of the Belarusian people. During this time, the Duchy was involved with battles between different forces. One of the major battles was with the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Duchy's victory allowed it to control the northwestern border lands of Eastern Europe.

On February 2, 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) were joined together in a personal union through a Act of Kreva. This union set in motion the developments that eventually resulted in the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Union of Lublin. The Grand Duchy of Moscow, led by Tsar Ivan III of Russia, began military conquests in 1486 in an attempt to gain the Kievan Rus' lands, specifically Belarus and Ukraine.Rice University The Russo-Polish Historical Confrontation. Authored by Andrzej Nowak. Published in January 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2007. The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795, with the commonwealth partitions of Poland between Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria, dividing Belarus. Belarusian territories were acquired by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine II of Russia and held them until their occupation by Imperial Germany during World War I.Virtual Guide of Belarus History of Belarus. Published by Vladimir Novik in 1994. Retrieved March 22, 2007., 1762-—1801During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Belarus first declared independence on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian National Republic. The Germans supported the BNR, which lasted for about 10 months.(Birgerson, pp. 105–106) Soon after the Germans were defeated, the BPR fell under the influence of Russia and became the Byelorussian SSR (BSSR) in 1919. After Russian occupation of eastern and northern Lithuania, it was merged into the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Byelorussian lands were then split between Poland and the Soviets after the Polish-Soviet War ended in 1921, and the recreated Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922.

tank drivers in Minsk

In September 1939, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) and Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, including the majority of Polish-held Byelorussian land. In 1941, Nazi Germany Operation Barbarossa. Byelorussia was hardest hit in the war and Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany until 1944. During that time, 209 out of 290 cities in the republic were destroyed, the Nazis destroyed or removed to Germany 85% of the republic industry, over one million buildings were destroyed and the human losses are estimated between two and three million, (approximately a quarter to one-third of their total population). Country Studies - Belarus - World War II. United States Library of Congress, published 1995. These huge losses were due to Byelorussia's direct path between Berlin and Moscow and to purges ordered by Stalin that caused 300,000 Belarusians to either disappear or perish. The History of the Jews in Belarus was devastated during The Holocaust and never recovered after the war. The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. After the war ended, Byelorussia was among the fifty-one founding signatories of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and began to rebuilding the Soviet Republic. During this time, the Byelorussian SSR became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR, increasing jobs and bringing an influx of ethnic Russians into the republic. The borders of Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn to a point known as the Curzon Line.

, 1940

Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western world. This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Byelorussian SSR government. The official use of the Belarusian language and other cultural aspects were limited by Politics of the Soviet Union. After Stalin died in 1953, successor Nikita Khrushchev continued this program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian language, the faster we shall build communism." When Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began pushing through his Perestroika, the Belarusian people delivered a petition to him in December 1986 explaining the loss of culture of Belarus. Earlier that year, Byelorussian SSR was exposed to nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl disaster power plant in neighboring Ukrainian SSR. In June 1988, mass graves were discovered at the city of Kurapaty by archaeologist Zianon Pazniak which contained about 250,000 bodies from the Stalin era. Some contend that this discovery was proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people, and caused some to seek independence.{Birgerson, pp. 99) during students' demonstration in May 1988. Banner says "We're with you. Students of Belarus".Two years later, in March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR took place. While the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front took only 10 percent of the seats, the populace was content with the selection of the delegates. Belarus declared itself sovereign on July 27, 1990 by the issuance of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on August 25, 1991.Country Studies Belarus - Prelude to Independence. Library of Congress. Retrieved March 21, 2007. Stanislav Shushkevich, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on December 8, 1991 in Belavezhskaya Pushcha to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In March 1994, a Constitution of Belarus was adopted, which replaced the office of prime minister with that of a president of Belarus. Elections for the presidency resulted in the politically unknown Alexander Lukashenko winning over 80% of the vote. Lukashenko continues to hold the office of president, being reelected Belarusian presidential election, 2001 and Belarusian presidential election, 2006.

Politics .Belarus is a presidential system republic, governed by a Leaders of Belarus and a bicameral parliament—the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. The assembly comprises a lower house, the 110-member House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus, and an upper house, the 64-member Council of the Republic of Belarus. The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the List of Belarusian Prime Ministers, make constitutional amendments, call for a Motion of Confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on the foreign and domestic policy of Belarus. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and the ability to accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution of Belarus.Constitution of the Republic of Belarus Chapter 3 - The President, Parliament, Government, the Courts. Published 1994, amended 1995 and 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2007. The Belarusian President since 1994 has been Alexander Lukashenko. The government is a Council of Ministers, headed by a List of Belarusian Prime Ministers. The members of the Council of Ministers need not be members of the legislature, and are appointed by the President. The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court of Belarus and various specialized courts, such as the Constitutional Court of Belarus, which deals with specific issues related to the constitution or business law. The judges of the national courts are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic. When dealing with criminal issues, the highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court According to Article 109 of the Constitution, special extra-judicial courts are not allowed to be set up in Belarus.

in the front in Minsk

Three political parties currently have seats in the House of Representatives: the Communist Party of Belarus (eight seats), the Agrarian Party of Belarus (three seats), and the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (one seat). The remaining 98 members are not affiliated with a political party. The pro-Lukashenko parties, the Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party and the Republican Party of Labour and Justice, and opposition parties, such as the Belarusian People's Front (BPF) and the United Civil Party of Belarus (UCPB), did not gain any seats in the 2004 election. The UCPB and the BPF are two of the parties that make up the People's Coalition 5 Plus, a group of political parties who oppose Lukashenko. Several organizations, including the OSCE, declared the election "un-free" due to opposition parties' negative results and the bias of the Belarusian media in favor of the government. The Belarusian presidential election, 2006 took place on March 19, 2006. Lukashenko was opposed in the election by Alexander Milinkevich, a candidate representing a coalition of opposition parties and Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the All Belarusian People's Assembly. While Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote, the OSCE and other organizations stated the election was not fair.

Lukashenko was quoted as saying that he has an "authoritarian ruling style" that he uses to run the country. The Council of Europe has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for undemocratic voting and election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. The Belarusian government is also criticized for human rights violations and its actions against non-governmental organizations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians.Amnesty International 2006 Report - Belarus (summary). Published in 2006. Belarus is the only nation in Europe that retains the Capital punishment in Belarus for certain crimes during times of peace and war.Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United Kingdom. Use of capital punishment in Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved May 5 2007. In testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus, among six nations, as part of the "outposts of tyranny". The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that the statements from Secretary Rice "are a poor basis" to form a good Belarusian-American alliance.

Foreign relations in Cuba, 2006Belarus and Russia have been close financial and diplomatic allies since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia provides Belarus with raw materialsVyacheslav Kebich, 'Videt' istinu. K dogovoru ob ob "edinenii denezhnykh sistem Belarussii i Rossii", Belarusskaya niva, 27 April 1994. and is working with Belarus on Union of Russia and Belarus since 1996. The Union treaty, signed by Lukashenko and Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, called for a greater cooperation in the realms of politics, social welfare and economic integration.Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Russia, Belarus sign union treaty. Published December 8, 1999. Reviewed October 6, 2007. The last major discussions about the union states took place in December 2006 inside RussiaRussia Today. Unified state of Russia and Belarus discussed in Kremlin. Published December 15, 2006. Reviewed October 6, 2007. and January 2007 inside Belarus. The only thing Belarus does not wish to do is to completely give-up complete independence and become a subject of the Russia, according to a speech by President Lukashenko.Al Jazeera "Belarus local elections end". Published January 14, 2007. Reviewed October 6, 2007.

However, the ties between Belarus and the CIS has been strained recently because of the color revolutions that took place inside Georgia (country), Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Despite the European Union travel ban on Lukashenko and top officials, Belarus has trade agreements with several EU member states. The neighboring Lithuania, Poland and Latvia also have trade agreements with Belarus.Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy history and goals. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

Bilateral relations with the United States continued without problems until 1997, when the United States State Department began to issue grants to pro-democratization oriented NGOs and the Belarus Government also made it harder for US based organizations to carry out their duties.United States Embassy in Minsk, Belarus FY97 Report on US Assistance to Belarus. Retrieved March 21, 2007. In 2004, the United States passed a bill called the Belarus Democracy Act, which allowed American resources to be spent on groups who promote democratic efforts and forbid American businesses to grant loans to the Belarusian Government, except for humanitarian purposes.United States Department of State. Belarus Democracy Act Will Help Cause of Freedom, Bush Says. Published October 20, 2004. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Despite this, the two nations cooperate on issues dealing with human trafficking, technology crime, intellectual property rights and prevention of natural and man made disasters.Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belarus - United States Relations. Published 2005. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

Belarus has been increasing cooperation with Middle Eastern and Asian countries. China and Belarus have been building ties, strengthened by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October 2005.Xinhua News Agency China, Belarus agree to upgrade economic ties. Written by Letian Pan. Published December 6, 2005. Retrieved March 21, 2007. In the Middle East, Belarus has strong ties with SyriaBBC Syria and Belarus agree to promote trade. Published March 13, 1998. Retrieved October 6, 2007. and considered by President Lukashenko as a key partner in the Middle East.President of the Republic of Belarus Belarus-Syria report substantial progress in trade and economic relations. Published August 31, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Other than the CIS, Belarus has membership in the regional organizations Eurasian Economic Community and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. In international organizations, Belarus has membership in the Non-Aligned MovementNon-Alignment Movement List of Member States. Updated in 2002. Retrieved March 21, 2007. since 1998 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Interview with Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov. Published by BelTA in 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2007. and Belarus was one of the founder members of the United Nations in 1945.United Nations Growth in United Nations membership, 1945–present. Published 2004, amended in 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Belarus was officially formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces which were on the new republic's territory. It took from 1993 until 1997 to transform the ex-Soviet forces into the Armed Forces of Belarus; it was completed by reducing the number of soldiers by 30,000 and to restructure the leadership and military formations.Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus History - Into the Army of the Sovereign State. Retrieved October 6, 2007. There are three branches of military; the army, air force and Ministry of Defense (Belarus) joint staff. There are currently 72,940 servicemembers (IISS 2007). Most soldiers are conscripts serving for a period 12 months (with higher education) or 18 month (without).Routledge, IISS Military Balance 2007, p.158–159 The number of the conscripted soldiers have been decreasing; 2006 estimates had conscripted soldiers at 85,000. Further cuts in conscriptions have been planned to only needing approximately 60,000 soldiers by 2016. In addition to conscription, contract soldiers have been used since 1995 for low-ranked soldiers, such as privates and sergeants. Despite this, 1.6 million males and 2.1 million females were considered fit for military service in 2005, with 85,000 males and 82,000 females reaching military service age annually. The official head of the Ministry of Defense is Colonel-General Leonid MaltsevMinistry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus High-ranking Military Officials of the Republic of Belarus. with the President of Belarus serving as the Commander-in-Chief.Webportal of the President of the Republic of Belarus Section 4 of the Constitution. Published 1994, amended in 1996. Retrieved June 07, 2007. In a 2005 estimate, 1.4% of the gross domestic product of Belarus went to military expenditures. Belarus does have a partnership with NATO, being the recipient of the Individual Partnership Program since 1997 and Belarusian scientists received NATO grants to study abroad since 1993. Belarus has not expressed a desire to join the organization, but is surrounded by NATO members (with the exception of Russia and Ukraine).

Provinces and districts Belarus is divided into six provinces ("voblasts"), named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers. The city of Minsk, located in the Minsk province, has the special status of being a national subordinate, as it is not included in any voblast. Subdivision into voblasts was inherited from the Soviet era. Voblasts are further subdivided into raions (commonly translated as "districts" or "regions"). Local legislative authorities (raisovet, "raion council") are elected by the raion's residents. Local executive authorities (raion administration) are appointed by higher executive authorities. In the same way, each voblast has its own legislative authority (oblsovet), elected by residents, and an executive authority (voblast administration), whose leader is appointed by the President.

(Administrative centers are given in parentheses)
  • Minsk (capital)
  • Brest Voblast (Brest, Belarus)
  • Homiel Voblast (Homyel)
  • Hrodna Voblast (Hrodna)
  • Mahilyow Voblast (Mogilev)
  • Minsk Voblast (Minsk)
  • Vitsebsk Voblast (Vitebsk)


    • Geography Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. Lakes and rivers punctuate the country. The largest marsh territory is Polesie, which is among the largest marshes in Europe. There are 11,000 lakes in Belarus, but the majority of the lakes are smaller than 0.5 square kilometer (120 acres). Three major rivers run through the country; the Neman River, the Pripyat River, and the Dnepr River. Belarus' highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill), 345 meters (1,132 ft), and its lowest point is on the Neman River, 90 meters (295 ft). Belarus is home, along with Poland, to the Belavezhskaya Pushcha (Белавежская пушча) or, by its Polish name, Białowieża Forest, the only remaining, virgin part of the immense forest that once spread across the European Plain.

    The climate ranges from harsh winters (average January temperatures are in the range −8 to −2 °C (18 to 28 °F) to cool and moist summers (average temperature 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F). On average, 15–30 centimeters of snow falls in the country, mostly in the northeast. Belarus experiences an average rainfall of 600–700 millimeters with over 70% of the rain falling during the warmer periods of the year.Library of Congress Country Studies Belarus - Climate. Retrieved July 13, 2007. Due to the weather patterns, natural disasters such as droughts and floods occasionally occur in Belarus. Between the period of 1881 until 2005, the average temperature of Belarus rose 1 degree Celsius, with temperatures rising significantly during the winter and spring months. It has been projected that Belarus will face a 3 to 4 degree Celsius rise in average temperatures when the twenty-first century ends.Belarus Tourist Climate of Belarus. Retrieved July 13, 2007.



    Forest covers about 34% of the total landscape, making forestry products one of the most abundant natural resources in Belarus. Other natural resources found in Belarus include peat deposits, small quantities of petroleum and natural gas, granite, dolomite (limestone), marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. About one-fifth of the territory, mostly agricultural and forest lands in the southeastern provinces of Homyel voblast and Mahilyow voblast, continue to be affected by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. While the amount of radiation has decreased since the disaster, most of the area is considered uninhabitable. Approximately 70% of the total radiation emitted from the Chernobyl plant entered into Belarusian territory. The United Nations has created programs to help Belarus reduce the level of radiation in the affected areas, mostly reducing the levels of caesium-137 that are found in the soil. Another United Nations program is using the rapeseed cultivation method to increase agricultural output from the affected areas.

    Belarus is bordered by the following nations: Latvia (north), Lithuania (northwest), Poland (west), Russia (north and east) and Ukraine (south). Since its departure from the Soviet Union, Belarus signed a treaty with Latvia and Lithuania to demarcate the boundaries between the three countries. Ukraine signed a similar agreement with Belarus, though ratification on the Belarusian side is pending. Border Demarcation History. State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007. As of 2006, Belarus and Lithuania began to demarcate their border using water buoys. Border Demarcation. State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    Economy (BYB/BYR), the national currency.

    The Belarusian Economic system remains mostly state intervention, as in Soviet times. Over half of the business are state controlled and foreign ownership is under 4%.Ministry of Statistics and Analysis Labor Statistics in Belarus. Published 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2007. The country is relatively stable economically, but depends to a large extent on raw material supplies, such as oil, from its close ally Russia. Agriculture is dominated by collective farming, with major sub-sectors being the cultivation of potatoes and cattle byproducts, such as meat. The biggest export of Belarus is machinery, such as tractors and defense equipment.

    Historically important branches of industry include textiles and wood processing. After 1965, the development of heavy industry and mechanical engineering (tractors, refrigerators, etc.) significantly strengthened the country's development.United States Library of Congress Country Studies - Belarus - Exports. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Within the Soviet Union, Belarus was one of the most industrially-developed republics and was the most developed CIS state at the fall of the Soviet Union.World Bank. "Belarus: Prices, Markets, and Enterprise Reform," pp. 1. World Bank, 1997. ISBN 0821339761 Economically, Belarus involved itself in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community, and Union of Russia and Belarus. Soon after 1990, industrial production plunged due to decrease demand of Belarusian goods from traditional partners, lost investments and less production of military grade equipment. Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2006 was $83.1 billion in Purchasing power parity dollars (estimate), or about $8,100 per capita. In 2005, the gross domestic product increased by about 9.9%, with the inflation rate averaging about 9.5%.



    The biggest trading partner of Belarus is Russia. According to government statics, 48.6% of the total trade was made between Russia and Belarus. The largest European Union member that traded with Belarus during that time period was the Netherlands at 7.5%.Council of Ministers Foreign trade in goods and services in Belarus up by 11.5 percent in January-October. Published 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Due to an agreement between the EU and the former Soviet Union, Belarus was able perform bilateral trades with EU member states. Textiles were exported from Belarus to the EU, only 0.1% of total EU trade is performed with Belarus.European Union The EU's Relationship With Belarus - Trade. Published November 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Failing to achieve political goals, such as the protection of rights and liberties, Belarus was not permitted to receive benefits from the EU's Generalised System of Preferences program. Belarus has applied to become a member of the World Trade Organization since 1993.World Trade Organization Accessions - Belarus. Retrieved October 6, 2007.

    Over four million people comprise the labor force in Belarus, with women holding slightly more jobs than men. In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population were employed in industrial factories. Employment is also high in agriculture, manufacturing sales, trading goods, and education. The unemployment rate, according to Belarusian government statistics, was about 1.5% in 2005. The number of unemployed persons totaled 679,000, with approximately two-thirds being women. The rate of unemployment has been decreasing since 2003, and the overall rate has been lower since statistics were first taken in 1995.



    The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble (BYR). The currency was introduced in May of 1992, replacing the Soviet ruble. The ruble was reintroduced with new values in 2000 and has been in use since.National Bank of the Republic of Belarus History of the Belarusian Ruble. Retrieved March 18, 2007. As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, there has been discussion between both states to use a single currency along the same lines as the Euro. This has led to the suggestion that the Belarusian ruble to be discontinued in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting on 1 January 2008. At last reports in August of 2007, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus will decide not to peg the Belarusian ruble to the Russian ruble.Pravda.ru Belarus abandons pegging its currency to Russian ruble. Published August 23, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007. The banking system of Belarus is composed of thirty state owned banks and one privatized bank. Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom - Belarus. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    The Belarusian economy has been impacted by the political situations inside the republic. The impact is mostly felt in the form of sanctions against the country or the leadership of Belarus. For example, the European Union adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 on 18 May 2006. The Regulation provided for a freeze on the funds of President Lukashenko and between 30 to 35 high-level officials of Belarus. The sanctions also provided for travel bans for the aforementioned leaders. The sanction was imposed by the EU after the nation-block declared that the 19 March, 2006 elections were fraudulent and called for the crackdown on opposition groups.Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty EU Sanctions on Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    Demographics

    The majority of the population of Belarus are native Belarusians, who comprise 81.2% of the total population of 10,293,011 people. Russians are the second largest group, making up 11.4% of the population. Polish people and Ukrainians account for 3.9% and 2.4% of the population, respectively. Languages commonly spoken in Belarus are Russian language and Belarusian language. Both are the official languages of Belarus since a referendum in 1995. Official 1995 Referendum data. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Inside Belarus, the Belarusian language is declared as a "language spoken at home" by ~3,686,000 (36.7%) of inhabitants according to a 1999 national census.Data of 1999 Belarusian general census In English. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Other than Belarusian and Russian, a sizable majority also speak Polish language, Ukrainian language and Eastern Yiddish.Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.

    The population density is about 50 persons per square kilometre (127/sq mi) and 71.7% of the total population lives in Urbanization areas. Of the urban population, 24% live in Minsk, the national capital and largest city. The total population in Minsk is approximately 1,741,400 people. Homel, with 481,000 people, is the second largest city of Belarus and serves as the capital of the Homel Oblast. Other large cities are Mogilev (365,100), Vitebsk (342,400), Hrodna (314,800) and Brest, Belarus (298,300).World Gazette Largest Cities of Belarus (2007). Published in 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2007.

    Most of the population, 69.7%, are between the ages of 14 and 64. Sixteen percent of the population is under 14, while 14.6% are age 65 or older. The median age of the population is 37. The average life expectancy for Belarusian citizens is 68.72 years; for males it is 63.03 years and for females it is 74.96 years. The literacy rate in Belarus (the number of people aged 15 and older who can read and write) is 99%, with men at 99.8% and women at 99.3%. The male-to-female ratio in 2005 was estimated to be .88 males to every female.

    .

    Most demographic indicators for Belarus resemble other European countries, notably with both the population growth rate and the natural growth rate in the negative. The population growth is currently at −0.06% in 2005, with a fertility rate of 1.43. The population is also growing older, and by the year 2050, it is predicted that the majority of the population will be over the age of 50. BLR redirects here. For the International Air Transport Association airport code, see HAL Bangalore International Airport {{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = Рэспубліка БеларусьРеспублика БеларусьRepublic of Belarus|common_name = Belarus|image_flag = Flag_of_Belarus.svg|image_coat = Coat of arms of Belarus.svg|symbol_type = National emblem|image_map = Europe_location_BLR.png|map_caption = |national_anthem = Мы, беларусы(Belarusian language)My Belarusy(transliteration)We Belarusians], Russian language|demonym = Belarusians, Belarusians|capital = Minsk|leader_title1 = [President of Belarus|leader_name1 = Alexander Lukashenko|leader_name2 = [Sergey Sidorsky|sovereignty_note = from the [Soviet Union [1990 [1991 [1991-->|area_rank = 85th|area_magnitude = 1 E11|percent_water = negligible (183 km²)1|population_estimate = 9,724,723|population_estimate_year = 2007|population_estimate_rank = 86th|population_census = 9,849,000|population_census_year = 2003|population_census = 10,045,237|population_census_year = 1999|population_density_km2 = 49|population_density_sq_mi = 127 |currency_code = BYR|time_zone = Eastern European Time|utc_offset = +2|time_zone_DST = Eastern European Summer Time|utc_offset_DST = +3|cctld = .by and [Russian language: Беларусь, BGN/PCGN romanization of Belarusian: Byelarus’) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk — other major cities include Brest, Belarus, Hrodna, Homyel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Babruysk. One third of the country is forested, and agriculture and manufacturing are pillars of the economy.

    Until the twentieth century the Belarusians lacked the opportunity to form their national polity as the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. After the failure of a short-lived Belarusian People's Republic (1918–1919) Belarus became a Soviet Republic, the Byelorussian SSR.

    The final unification of the Belarusians lands in the modern borders took place in 1939 when the ethnically Belarusian lands that were a part of Second Polish Republic were annexed by the USSR and attached to the Soviet Belarus. The territory and its nation were devastated in the Second World War as Belarus lost about 1/3 of its population while the loss of the economy amounting to 35 times the republic's annual GDP The concequences of the Great Patriotic War for Belarus, at the Archives of the Republic of Belarus but the republic recovered in the post-war years and became one of the founding members of the United Nations. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on July 27, 1990 and following the History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991), Belarus officially declared independence on August 25 1991. Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president. During his presidency, Lukashenko has implemented Soviet-era policies, despite objections from Western powers. Belarus is negotiating with Russia to unify into a single state called the Union of Russia and Belarus, although the discussions have stalled for several years.

    A total of population of approximately 9,849,000 reside in Belarus, mostly in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other oblast capitals. Over 80% of the population are native Belarusians, with Russians, Ukrainians and Polish making a sizable minority. Since a referendum in 1995, the two official languages spoken in Belarus are Belarusian language and Russian language. Belarus does not establish an official religion, yet the primary religion in the country is Russian Orthodox Church.

    Etymology Historically, the country was referred to in English language as "White Russia", although this is a slight mis-translation. The correct translation is "White Ruthenia" ('White Rus' phonetically), which either describes the area of Eastern Europe populated by Slavic people or the various states that occupied the area. The first use of the term "White Russia" appeared in medieval literature in German and Latin. The Latin term for the area, Russia Alba, is derived from the area of present-day Albania, where the inhabitants had very white skin and dogs that could kill large animals. The only area that fit the Latin description was the Great Novgorod, but it was never called White Russia at all. Nonetheless, usage of the term 'White Russia' continues in many languages, e.g. "Weißrussland" in German, "Beyaz Rusya" in Turkish, "Λευκορωσία" (Leukorosía) in Greek, "Fehéroroszország" in Hungarian (see wiktionary:Belarus for the full list).

    The first known use of the term "White Russia" to refer to Belarus was in the late sixteenth century by Englishman Sir Jerome Horsey. During the seventeenth century, Russian tsars used "White Ruthenia", asserting that they were trying to recapture their heritage from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

    Belarus was named "Belorussia" (Russian language: Белоруссия) in the days of Imperial Russia, and the Russian tsar was usually styled "Czar of Russia — Great Russia, Little Russia, and White Russia". "Belorussia" was the only Russian language name of the country (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) until 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic decreed by law that the new independent republic should be called "Belarus" (Беларусь) in Russian and in all other language transcriptions of its name. The change was made to reflect adequately the Belarusian language form of the name. The law determining the name of the country. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Accordingly, the name "Belorussia" was replaced by "Belarus" in English, and, to some extent, in Russian (although the traditional name still persists in that language as well); likewise, the adjective "Belorussian" or "Byelorussian" was replaced by "Belarusian" in English (though Russian has not developed a new adjective). Some Belarusians object to the name "Belorussia", as an unwelcome reminder of the days under Russian and Soviet rule. Officially, the full name of the country is the Republic of Belarus (Рэспубліка Беларусь, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Byelarus'). CIA World Factbook. Belarus - Government. Published March 17 2007. Retrieved March 22 2007.

    In 2002, an informal survey was conducted by the Web site pravapis.org to see which version of the name was used on a majority of Web sites. By using Google, Pravapis.org looked up various terms and it found that "Belarus", the official short form of the name, was used on 93% of Web sites checked. Other spellings used included "Belorussia", "Bielorussia" and "Byelorussia," which were used in 1%–2% of cases.

    History near Minsk, built in the 15th century and the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1619

    The area of modern-day Belarus was first settled by early East Slavs in the 6th century. They gradually came into contact with the Varangians, a band of warriors comprised of Scandinavians and Slavs from the Baltics. Though defeated and briefly exiled by the local population, the Varangians were later asked to return and helped to form a polity—commonly referred to as the Kievan Rus'—in exchange for tribute. The start of the Kievan Rus' state began approximately in 862 at the present-day city of Novgorod.

    Upon the death of Kievan Rus' ruler Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the state broke apart and became independent principalities, including Polatsk. These Ruthenian principalities were badly affected by a Mongol Empire invasion in the 13th century and many were later incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Of all the principalities held by the Duchy, nine were settled by ancestors of the Belarusian people. During this time, the Duchy was involved with battles between different forces. One of the major battles was with the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Duchy's victory allowed it to control the northwestern border lands of Eastern Europe.

    On February 2, 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) were joined together in a personal union through a Act of Kreva. This union set in motion the developments that eventually resulted in the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Union of Lublin. The Grand Duchy of Moscow, led by Tsar Ivan III of Russia, began military conquests in 1486 in an attempt to gain the Kievan Rus' lands, specifically Belarus and Ukraine.Rice University The Russo-Polish Historical Confrontation. Authored by Andrzej Nowak. Published in January 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2007. The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795, with the commonwealth partitions of Poland between Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria, dividing Belarus. Belarusian territories were acquired by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine II of Russia and held them until their occupation by Imperial Germany during World War I.Virtual Guide of Belarus History of Belarus. Published by Vladimir Novik in 1994. Retrieved March 22, 2007., 1762-—1801During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Belarus first declared independence on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian National Republic. The Germans supported the BNR, which lasted for about 10 months.(Birgerson, pp. 105–106) Soon after the Germans were defeated, the BPR fell under the influence of Russia and became the Byelorussian SSR (BSSR) in 1919. After Russian occupation of eastern and northern Lithuania, it was merged into the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Byelorussian lands were then split between Poland and the Soviets after the Polish-Soviet War ended in 1921, and the recreated Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922.

    tank drivers in Minsk

    In September 1939, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) and Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, including the majority of Polish-held Byelorussian land. In 1941, Nazi Germany Operation Barbarossa. Byelorussia was hardest hit in the war and Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany until 1944. During that time, 209 out of 290 cities in the republic were destroyed, the Nazis destroyed or removed to Germany 85% of the republic industry, over one million buildings were destroyed and the human losses are estimated between two and three million, (approximately a quarter to one-third of their total population). Country Studies - Belarus - World War II. United States Library of Congress, published 1995. These huge losses were due to Byelorussia's direct path between Berlin and Moscow and to purges ordered by Stalin that caused 300,000 Belarusians to either disappear or perish. The History of the Jews in Belarus was devastated during The Holocaust and never recovered after the war. The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. After the war ended, Byelorussia was among the fifty-one founding signatories of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and began to rebuilding the Soviet Republic. During this time, the Byelorussian SSR became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR, increasing jobs and bringing an influx of ethnic Russians into the republic. The borders of Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn to a point known as the Curzon Line.

    , 1940

    Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western world. This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Byelorussian SSR government. The official use of the Belarusian language and other cultural aspects were limited by Politics of the Soviet Union. After Stalin died in 1953, successor Nikita Khrushchev continued this program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian language, the faster we shall build communism." When Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began pushing through his Perestroika, the Belarusian people delivered a petition to him in December 1986 explaining the loss of culture of Belarus. Earlier that year, Byelorussian SSR was exposed to nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl disaster power plant in neighboring Ukrainian SSR. In June 1988, mass graves were discovered at the city of Kurapaty by archaeologist Zianon Pazniak which contained about 250,000 bodies from the Stalin era. Some contend that this discovery was proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people, and caused some to seek independence.{Birgerson, pp. 99) during students' demonstration in May 1988. Banner says "We're with you. Students of Belarus".Two years later, in March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR took place. While the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front took only 10 percent of the seats, the populace was content with the selection of the delegates. Belarus declared itself sovereign on July 27, 1990 by the issuance of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on August 25, 1991.Country Studies Belarus - Prelude to Independence. Library of Congress. Retrieved March 21, 2007. Stanislav Shushkevich, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on December 8, 1991 in Belavezhskaya Pushcha to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In March 1994, a Constitution of Belarus was adopted, which replaced the office of prime minister with that of a president of Belarus. Elections for the presidency resulted in the politically unknown Alexander Lukashenko winning over 80% of the vote. Lukashenko continues to hold the office of president, being reelected Belarusian presidential election, 2001 and Belarusian presidential election, 2006.

    Politics .Belarus is a presidential system republic, governed by a Leaders of Belarus and a bicameral parliament—the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. The assembly comprises a lower house, the 110-member House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus, and an upper house, the 64-member Council of the Republic of Belarus. The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the List of Belarusian Prime Ministers, make constitutional amendments, call for a Motion of Confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on the foreign and domestic policy of Belarus. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and the ability to accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution of Belarus.Constitution of the Republic of Belarus Chapter 3 - The President, Parliament, Government, the Courts. Published 1994, amended 1995 and 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2007. The Belarusian President since 1994 has been Alexander Lukashenko. The government is a Council of Ministers, headed by a List of Belarusian Prime Ministers. The members of the Council of Ministers need not be members of the legislature, and are appointed by the President. The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court of Belarus and various specialized courts, such as the Constitutional Court of Belarus, which deals with specific issues related to the constitution or business law. The judges of the national courts are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic. When dealing with criminal issues, the highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court According to Article 109 of the Constitution, special extra-judicial courts are not allowed to be set up in Belarus.

    in the front in Minsk

    Three political parties currently have seats in the House of Representatives: the Communist Party of Belarus (eight seats), the Agrarian Party of Belarus (three seats), and the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (one seat). The remaining 98 members are not affiliated with a political party. The pro-Lukashenko parties, the Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party and the Republican Party of Labour and Justice, and opposition parties, such as the Belarusian People's Front (BPF) and the United Civil Party of Belarus (UCPB), did not gain any seats in the 2004 election. The UCPB and the BPF are two of the parties that make up the People's Coalition 5 Plus, a group of political parties who oppose Lukashenko. Several organizations, including the OSCE, declared the election "un-free" due to opposition parties' negative results and the bias of the Belarusian media in favor of the government. The Belarusian presidential election, 2006 took place on March 19, 2006. Lukashenko was opposed in the election by Alexander Milinkevich, a candidate representing a coalition of opposition parties and Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the All Belarusian People's Assembly. While Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote, the OSCE and other organizations stated the election was not fair.

    Lukashenko was quoted as saying that he has an "authoritarian ruling style" that he uses to run the country. The Council of Europe has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for undemocratic voting and election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. The Belarusian government is also criticized for human rights violations and its actions against non-governmental organizations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians.Amnesty International 2006 Report - Belarus (summary). Published in 2006. Belarus is the only nation in Europe that retains the Capital punishment in Belarus for certain crimes during times of peace and war.Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United Kingdom. Use of capital punishment in Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved May 5 2007. In testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus, among six nations, as part of the "outposts of tyranny". The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that the statements from Secretary Rice "are a poor basis" to form a good Belarusian-American alliance.

    Foreign relations in Cuba, 2006Belarus and Russia have been close financial and diplomatic allies since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia provides Belarus with raw materialsVyacheslav Kebich, 'Videt' istinu. K dogovoru ob ob "edinenii denezhnykh sistem Belarussii i Rossii", Belarusskaya niva, 27 April 1994. and is working with Belarus on Union of Russia and Belarus since 1996. The Union treaty, signed by Lukashenko and Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, called for a greater cooperation in the realms of politics, social welfare and economic integration.Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Russia, Belarus sign union treaty. Published December 8, 1999. Reviewed October 6, 2007. The last major discussions about the union states took place in December 2006 inside RussiaRussia Today. Unified state of Russia and Belarus discussed in Kremlin. Published December 15, 2006. Reviewed October 6, 2007. and January 2007 inside Belarus. The only thing Belarus does not wish to do is to completely give-up complete independence and become a subject of the Russia, according to a speech by President Lukashenko.Al Jazeera "Belarus local elections end". Published January 14, 2007. Reviewed October 6, 2007.

    However, the ties between Belarus and the CIS has been strained recently because of the color revolutions that took place inside Georgia (country), Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Despite the European Union travel ban on Lukashenko and top officials, Belarus has trade agreements with several EU member states. The neighboring Lithuania, Poland and Latvia also have trade agreements with Belarus.Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy history and goals. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

    Bilateral relations with the United States continued without problems until 1997, when the United States State Department began to issue grants to pro-democratization oriented NGOs and the Belarus Government also made it harder for US based organizations to carry out their duties.United States Embassy in Minsk, Belarus FY97 Report on US Assistance to Belarus. Retrieved March 21, 2007. In 2004, the United States passed a bill called the Belarus Democracy Act, which allowed American resources to be spent on groups who promote democratic efforts and forbid American businesses to grant loans to the Belarusian Government, except for humanitarian purposes.United States Department of State. Belarus Democracy Act Will Help Cause of Freedom, Bush Says. Published October 20, 2004. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Despite this, the two nations cooperate on issues dealing with human trafficking, technology crime, intellectual property rights and prevention of natural and man made disasters.Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belarus - United States Relations. Published 2005. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

    Belarus has been increasing cooperation with Middle Eastern and Asian countries. China and Belarus have been building ties, strengthened by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October 2005.Xinhua News Agency China, Belarus agree to upgrade economic ties. Written by Letian Pan. Published December 6, 2005. Retrieved March 21, 2007. In the Middle East, Belarus has strong ties with SyriaBBC Syria and Belarus agree to promote trade. Published March 13, 1998. Retrieved October 6, 2007. and considered by President Lukashenko as a key partner in the Middle East.President of the Republic of Belarus Belarus-Syria report substantial progress in trade and economic relations. Published August 31, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Other than the CIS, Belarus has membership in the regional organizations Eurasian Economic Community and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. In international organizations, Belarus has membership in the Non-Aligned MovementNon-Alignment Movement List of Member States. Updated in 2002. Retrieved March 21, 2007. since 1998 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Interview with Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov. Published by BelTA in 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2007. and Belarus was one of the founder members of the United Nations in 1945.United Nations Growth in United Nations membership, 1945–present. Published 2004, amended in 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2007.

    Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Belarus was officially formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces which were on the new republic's territory. It took from 1993 until 1997 to transform the ex-Soviet forces into the Armed Forces of Belarus; it was completed by reducing the number of soldiers by 30,000 and to restructure the leadership and military formations.Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus History - Into the Army of the Sovereign State. Retrieved October 6, 2007. There are three branches of military; the army, air force and Ministry of Defense (Belarus) joint staff. There are currently 72,940 servicemembers (IISS 2007). Most soldiers are conscripts serving for a period 12 months (with higher education) or 18 month (without).Routledge, IISS Military Balance 2007, p.158–159 The number of the conscripted soldiers have been decreasing; 2006 estimates had conscripted soldiers at 85,000. Further cuts in conscriptions have been planned to only needing approximately 60,000 soldiers by 2016. In addition to conscription, contract soldiers have been used since 1995 for low-ranked soldiers, such as privates and sergeants. Despite this, 1.6 million males and 2.1 million females were considered fit for military service in 2005, with 85,000 males and 82,000 females reaching military service age annually. The official head of the Ministry of Defense is Colonel-General Leonid MaltsevMinistry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus High-ranking Military Officials of the Republic of Belarus. with the President of Belarus serving as the Commander-in-Chief.Webportal of the President of the Republic of Belarus Section 4 of the Constitution. Published 1994, amended in 1996. Retrieved June 07, 2007. In a 2005 estimate, 1.4% of the gross domestic product of Belarus went to military expenditures. Belarus does have a partnership with NATO, being the recipient of the Individual Partnership Program since 1997 and Belarusian scientists received NATO grants to study abroad since 1993. Belarus has not expressed a desire to join the organization, but is surrounded by NATO members (with the exception of Russia and Ukraine).

    Provinces and districts Belarus is divided into six provinces ("voblasts"), named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers. The city of Minsk, located in the Minsk province, has the special status of being a national subordinate, as it is not included in any voblast. Subdivision into voblasts was inherited from the Soviet era. Voblasts are further subdivided into raions (commonly translated as "districts" or "regions"). Local legislative authorities (raisovet, "raion council") are elected by the raion's residents. Local executive authorities (raion administration) are appointed by higher executive authorities. In the same way, each voblast has its own legislative authority (oblsovet), elected by residents, and an executive authority (voblast administration), whose leader is appointed by the President.

    (Administrative centers are given in parentheses)
  • Minsk (capital)
  • Brest Voblast (Brest, Belarus)
  • Homiel Voblast (Homyel)
  • Hrodna Voblast (Hrodna)
  • Mahilyow Voblast (Mogilev)
  • Minsk Voblast (Minsk)
  • Vitsebsk Voblast (Vitebsk)


    • Geography Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. Lakes and rivers punctuate the country. The largest marsh territory is Polesie, which is among the largest marshes in Europe. There are 11,000 lakes in Belarus, but the majority of the lakes are smaller than 0.5 square kilometer (120 acres). Three major rivers run through the country; the Neman River, the Pripyat River, and the Dnepr River. Belarus' highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill), 345 meters (1,132 ft), and its lowest point is on the Neman River, 90 meters (295 ft). Belarus is home, along with Poland, to the Belavezhskaya Pushcha (Белавежская пушча) or, by its Polish name, Białowieża Forest, the only remaining, virgin part of the immense forest that once spread across the European Plain.

    The climate ranges from harsh winters (average January temperatures are in the range −8 to −2 °C (18 to 28 °F) to cool and moist summers (average temperature 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F). On average, 15–30 centimeters of snow falls in the country, mostly in the northeast. Belarus experiences an average rainfall of 600–700 millimeters with over 70% of the rain falling during the warmer periods of the year.Library of Congress Country Studies Belarus - Climate. Retrieved July 13, 2007. Due to the weather patterns, natural disasters such as droughts and floods occasionally occur in Belarus. Between the period of 1881 until 2005, the average temperature of Belarus rose 1 degree Celsius, with temperatures rising significantly during the winter and spring months. It has been projected that Belarus will face a 3 to 4 degree Celsius rise in average temperatures when the twenty-first century ends.Belarus Tourist Climate of Belarus. Retrieved July 13, 2007.



    Forest covers about 34% of the total landscape, making forestry products one of the most abundant natural resources in Belarus. Other natural resources found in Belarus include peat deposits, small quantities of petroleum and natural gas, granite, dolomite (limestone), marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. About one-fifth of the territory, mostly agricultural and forest lands in the southeastern provinces of Homyel voblast and Mahilyow voblast, continue to be affected by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. While the amount of radiation has decreased since the disaster, most of the area is considered uninhabitable. Approximately 70% of the total radiation emitted from the Chernobyl plant entered into Belarusian territory. The United Nations has created programs to help Belarus reduce the level of radiation in the affected areas, mostly reducing the levels of caesium-137 that are found in the soil. Another United Nations program is using the rapeseed cultivation method to increase agricultural output from the affected areas.

    Belarus is bordered by the following nations: Latvia (north), Lithuania (northwest), Poland (west), Russia (north and east) and Ukraine (south). Since its departure from the Soviet Union, Belarus signed a treaty with Latvia and Lithuania to demarcate the boundaries between the three countries. Ukraine signed a similar agreement with Belarus, though ratification on the Belarusian side is pending. Border Demarcation History. State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007. As of 2006, Belarus and Lithuania began to demarcate their border using water buoys. Border Demarcation. State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    Economy (BYB/BYR), the national currency.

    The Belarusian Economic system remains mostly state intervention, as in Soviet times. Over half of the business are state controlled and foreign ownership is under 4%.Ministry of Statistics and Analysis Labor Statistics in Belarus. Published 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2007. The country is relatively stable economically, but depends to a large extent on raw material supplies, such as oil, from its close ally Russia. Agriculture is dominated by collective farming, with major sub-sectors being the cultivation of potatoes and cattle byproducts, such as meat. The biggest export of Belarus is machinery, such as tractors and defense equipment.

    Historically important branches of industry include textiles and wood processing. After 1965, the development of heavy industry and mechanical engineering (tractors, refrigerators, etc.) significantly strengthened the country's development.United States Library of Congress Country Studies - Belarus - Exports. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Within the Soviet Union, Belarus was one of the most industrially-developed republics and was the most developed CIS state at the fall of the Soviet Union.World Bank. "Belarus: Prices, Markets, and Enterprise Reform," pp. 1. World Bank, 1997. ISBN 0821339761 Economically, Belarus involved itself in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community, and Union of Russia and Belarus. Soon after 1990, industrial production plunged due to decrease demand of Belarusian goods from traditional partners, lost investments and less production of military grade equipment. Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2006 was $83.1 billion in Purchasing power parity dollars (estimate), or about $8,100 per capita. In 2005, the gross domestic product increased by about 9.9%, with the inflation rate averaging about 9.5%.



    The biggest trading partner of Belarus is Russia. According to government statics, 48.6% of the total trade was made between Russia and Belarus. The largest European Union member that traded with Belarus during that time period was the Netherlands at 7.5%.Council of Ministers Foreign trade in goods and services in Belarus up by 11.5 percent in January-October. Published 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Due to an agreement between the EU and the former Soviet Union, Belarus was able perform bilateral trades with EU member states. Textiles were exported from Belarus to the EU, only 0.1% of total EU trade is performed with Belarus.European Union The EU's Relationship With Belarus - Trade. Published November 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2007. Failing to achieve political goals, such as the protection of rights and liberties, Belarus was not permitted to receive benefits from the EU's Generalised System of Preferences program. Belarus has applied to become a member of the World Trade Organization since 1993.World Trade Organization Accessions - Belarus. Retrieved October 6, 2007.

    Over four million people comprise the labor force in Belarus, with women holding slightly more jobs than men. In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population were employed in industrial factories. Employment is also high in agriculture, manufacturing sales, trading goods, and education. The unemployment rate, according to Belarusian government statistics, was about 1.5% in 2005. The number of unemployed persons totaled 679,000, with approximately two-thirds being women. The rate of unemployment has been decreasing since 2003, and the overall rate has been lower since statistics were first taken in 1995.



    The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble (BYR). The currency was introduced in May of 1992, replacing the Soviet ruble. The ruble was reintroduced with new values in 2000 and has been in use since.National Bank of the Republic of Belarus History of the Belarusian Ruble. Retrieved March 18, 2007. As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, there has been discussion between both states to use a single currency along the same lines as the Euro. This has led to the suggestion that the Belarusian ruble to be discontinued in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting on 1 January 2008. At last reports in August of 2007, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus will decide not to peg the Belarusian ruble to the Russian ruble.Pravda.ru Belarus abandons pegging its currency to Russian ruble. Published August 23, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007. The banking system of Belarus is composed of thirty state owned banks and one privatized bank. Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom - Belarus. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    The Belarusian economy has been impacted by the political situations inside the republic. The impact is mostly felt in the form of sanctions against the country or the leadership of Belarus. For example, the European Union adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 on 18 May 2006. The Regulation provided for a freeze on the funds of President Lukashenko and between 30 to 35 high-level officials of Belarus. The sanctions also provided for travel bans for the aforementioned leaders. The sanction was imposed by the EU after the nation-block declared that the 19 March, 2006 elections were fraudulent and called for the crackdown on opposition groups.Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty EU Sanctions on Belarus. Published in 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2007.

    Demographics

    The majority of the population of Belarus are native Belarusians, who comprise 81.2% of the total population of 10,293,011 people. Russians are the second largest group, making up 11.4% of the population. Polish people and Ukrainians account for 3.9% and 2.4% of the population, respectively. Languages commonly spoken in Belarus are Russian language and Belarusian language. Both are the official languages of Belarus since a referendum in 1995. Official 1995 Referendum data. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Inside Belarus, the Belarusian language is declared as a "language spoken at home" by ~3,686,000 (36.7%) of inhabitants according to a 1999 national census.Data of 1999 Belarusian general census In English. Reviewed October 6, 2007. Other than Belarusian and Russian, a sizable majority also speak Polish language, Ukrainian language and Eastern Yiddish.Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.

    The population density is about 50 persons per square kilometre (127/sq mi) and 71.7% of the total population lives in Urbanization areas. Of the urban population, 24% live in Minsk, the national capital and largest city. The total population in Minsk is approximately 1,741,400 people. Homel, with 481,000 people, is the second largest city of Belarus and serves as the capital of the Homel Oblast. Other large cities are Mogilev (365,100), Vitebsk (342,400), Hrodna (314,800) and Brest, Belarus (298,300).World Gazette Largest Cities of Belarus (2007). Published in 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2007.

    Most of the population, 69.7%, are between the ages of 14 and 64. Sixteen percent of the population is under 14, while 14.6% are age 65 or older. The median age of the population is 37. The average life expectancy for Belarusian citizens is 68.72 years; for males it is 63.03 years and for females it is 74.96 years. The literacy rate in Belarus (the number of people aged 15 and older who can read and write) is 99%, with men at 99.8% and women at 99.3%. The male-to-female ratio in 2005 was estimated to be .88 males to every female.

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    Most demographic indicators for Belarus resemble other European countries, notably with both the population growth rate and the natural growth rate in the negative. The population growth is currently at −0.06% in 2005, with a fertility rate of 1.43. The population is also growing older, and by the year 2050, it is predicted that the majority of the population will be over the age of 50.

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