Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 04:52, 2 January 2025

Republic of Belarus Рэспубліка Беларусь (Belarusian) Республика Беларусь (Russian)
Flag Emblem
Anthem:  Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь (Belarusian) Dziaržaŭny Himn Respubliki Biełaruś Государственный гимн Республики Беларусь (Russian) Gosudarstvennyy gimn Respubliki Belarus "State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus"
Show globeShow map of EuropeLocation of Belarus (green) in Europe (dark grey)  –  [Legend]
Capitaland largest city	Minsk 53°55′N 27°33′E / 53.917°N 27.550°E / 53.917; 27.550
Official languages	Belarusian Russian
Recognized minority languages	Polish Ukrainian Yiddish
Ethnic groups (2021)	84.9% Belarusians 7.5% Russians 3.1% Poles 1.7% Ukrainians 2.8% other
Religion (2020)	91.0% Christianity 83.3% Eastern Orthodoxy 7.7% other Christian 7.8% no religion 1.2% other
Demonym(s)	Belarusian
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic under a dictatorship
• President	Alexander Lukashenko
• Prime Minister	Roman Golovchenko
Legislature	National Assembly
• Upper house	Council of the Republic
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Formation
• Kievan Rus'	882
• Belarusian Democratic Republic	25 March 1918
• Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia	1 January 1919
• Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic	31 July 1920
• Declaration of State Sovereignty	27 July 1990
• Declaration of Independence	25 August 1991
• Republic of Belarus	19 September 1991
• Current constitution	15 March 1994
• Formation of the Union State	8 December 1999
Area
• Total	207,595 km (80,153 sq mi) (84th)
• Water (%)	1.4% (2.830 km or 1.093 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 estimate	9,155,978 (98th)
• Density	45.8/km (118.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$221.186 billion (73rd)
• Per capita	$24,016 (71st)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$68.864 billion (74th)
• Per capita	$7,477 (82nd)
Gini (2019)	25.3 low inequality
HDI (2022)	0.801 very high (69th)
Currency	Belarusian ruble (BYN)
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+375
ISO 3166 code	BY
Internet TLD	.by .бел
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 Section 1, Article 17 "FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture". FAO. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) with a population of 9.1 million. The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into six regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status.

Between the medieval period and the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including Kievan Rus', the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid the Civil War, ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian SSR, which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. After the Polish-Soviet War (1918–1921), Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland, and were finalized after World War II. During World War II, military operations devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources. In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations and the Soviet Union. The republic was home to a widespread and diverse anti-Nazi insurgent movement which dominated politics until well into the 1970s, overseeing Belarus's transformation from an agrarian to an industrial economy.

The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus gained independence on 25 August 1991. Following the adoption of a new constitution in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was elected Belarus's first president in the country's first and only free election after independence, serving as president ever since. Lukashenko heads a highly centralized authoritarian government. Belarus ranks low in international measurements of freedom of the press and civil liberties. It has continued several Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy. Belarus is the only European country that continues to use capital punishment. In 2000, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty for greater cooperation, forming the Union State.

The country has been a member of the United Nations since its founding and has joined the CIS, the CSTO, the EAEU, the OSCE, and the Non-Aligned Movement. It has shown no aspirations of joining the European Union but maintains a bilateral relationship with the bloc, and also participates in the Baku Initiative.

Etymology

The name Belarus is closely related with the term Belaya Rus', i.e., White Rus'. There are several claims to the origin of the name White Rus'. An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by Slavs who had been Christianized early, as opposed to Black Ruthenia, which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts. An alternative explanation for the name comments on the white clothing the local Slavic population wears. A third theory suggests that the old Rus' lands that were not conquered by the Tatars (i.e., Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev) had been referred to as White Rus'. A fourth theory suggests that the color white was associated with the west, and Belarus was the western part of Rus' in the 9th to 13th centuries.

The name Rus' is often conflated with its Latin forms Russia and Ruthenia, thus Belarus is often referred to as White Russia or White Ruthenia. The name first appeared in German and Latin medieval literature; the chronicles of Jan of Czarnków mention the imprisonment of Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila and his mother at "Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto" in 1381. The first known use of White Russia to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th century by Englishman Sir Jerome Horsey, who was known for his close contacts with the Russian royal court. During the 17th century, the Russian tsars used the term to describe the lands added from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The term Belorussia (Russian: Белору́ссия, the latter part similar but spelled and stressed differently from Росси́я, Russia) first rose in the days of the Russian Empire, and the Russian Tsar was usually styled "the Tsar of All the Russias", as Russia or the Russian Empire was formed by three parts of Russia—the Great, Little, and White. This asserted that the territories are all Russian and all the peoples are also Russian; in the case of the Belarusians, they were variants of the Russian people.

After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the term White Russia caused some confusion, as it was also the name of the military force that opposed the red Bolsheviks. During the period of the Byelorussian SSR, the term Byelorussia was embraced as part of a national consciousness. In western Belarus under Polish control, Byelorussia became commonly used in the regions of Białystok and Grodno during the interwar period.

The term Byelorussia (its names in other languages such as English being based on the Russian form) was used officially only until 1991. Officially, the full name of the country is Republic of Belarus (Рэспубліка Беларусь, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus). In Russia, the usage of Belorussia is still very common.

In Lithuanian, besides Baltarusija (White Russia), Belarus is also called Gudija. The etymology of the word Gudija is not clear. By one hypothesis the word derives from the Old Prussian name Gudwa, which, in turn, is related to the form Żudwa, which is a distorted version of Sudwa, Sudovia. Sudovia, in its turn, is one of the names of the Yotvingians. Another hypothesis connects the word with the Gothic Kingdom that occupied parts of the territory of modern Belarus and Ukraine in the 4th and 5th centuries. The self-naming of Goths was Gutans and Gytos, which are close to Gudija. Yet another hypothesis is based on the idea that Gudija in Lithuanian means "the other" and may have been used historically by Lithuanians to refer to any people who did not speak Lithuanian.

History

Early history

From 5000 to 2000 BC, the Bandkeramik predominated in what now constitutes Belarus, and the Cimmerians as well as other pastoralists roamed through the area by 1,000 BC. The Zarubintsy culture later became widespread at the beginning of the 1st millennium. In addition, remains from the Dnieper–Donets culture were found in Belarus and parts of Ukraine. The region was first permanently settled by Baltic tribes in the 3rd century. Around the 5th century, the area was taken over by the Slavs. The takeover was partially due to the lack of military coordination of the Balts, but their gradual assimilation into Slavic culture was peaceful. Invaders from Asia, among whom were the Huns and Avars, swept through c. 400–600 AD, but were unable to dislodge the Slavic presence.

Kievan Rus'

In the 9th century, the territory of modern Belarus became part of Kievan Rus', a vast East Slavic state ruled by the Rurikids. Upon the death of its ruler Yaroslav the Wise in 1054, the state split into independent principalities. The Battle on the Nemiga River in 1067 was one of the more notable events of the period, the date of which is considered the founding date of Minsk.

Many early principalities were virtually razed or severely affected by a major Mongol invasion in the 13th century, but the lands of modern-day Belarus avoided the brunt of the invasion and eventually joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There are no sources of military seizure, but the annals affirm the alliance and united foreign policy of Polotsk and Lithuania for decades.

Incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania resulted in an economic, political, and ethno-cultural unification of Belarusian lands. Of the principalities held by the duchy, nine of them were settled by a population that would eventually become the Belarusians. During this time, the duchy was involved in several military campaigns, including fighting on the side of Poland against the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410; the joint victory allowed the duchy to control the northwestern borderlands of Eastern Europe.

The Muscovites, led by Ivan III of Russia, began military campaigns in 1486 in an attempt to incorporate the former lands of Kievan Rus', including the territories of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

On 2 February 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were joined in a personal union through a marriage of their rulers. This union set in motion the developments that eventually resulted in the formation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created in 1569 by the Union of Lublin.

In the years following the union, the process of gradual Polonization of both Lithuanians and Ruthenians gained steady momentum. In culture and social life, both the Polish language and Catholicism became dominant, and in 1696, Polish replaced Ruthenian as the official language, with Ruthenian being banned from administrative use. However, the Ruthenian peasants continued to speak their native language. Also, the Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church was formed by the Poles to bring Orthodox Christians into the See of Rome. The Belarusian church entered into a full communion with the Latin Church through the Union of Brest in 1595, while keeping its Byzantine liturgy in the Church Slavonic language.

Russian Empire

The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the Third Partition of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The Belarusian territories acquired by the Russian Empire under the reign of Catherine II were included into the Belarusian Governorate (Russian: Белорусское генерал-губернаторство) in 1796 and held until their occupation by the German Empire during World War I.

Under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed with policies of Polonization replaced by Russification which included the return to Orthodox Christianity of Belarusian Uniates. Belarusian language was banned in schools while in neighboring Samogitia primary school education with Samogitian literacy was allowed.

In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I prohibited the use of the Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications, and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under the Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. In 1863, economic and cultural pressure exploded in a revolt, led by Konstanty Kalinowski (also known as Kastus). After the failed revolt, the Russian government reintroduced the use of Cyrillic to Belarusian in 1864 and no documents in Belarusian were permitted by the Russian government until 1905.

During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Belarus first declared independence under German occupation on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic. Immediately afterwards, the Polish–Soviet War ignited, and the territory of Belarus was divided between Poland and Soviet Russia. The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic exists as a government in exile ever since then; in fact, it is currently the world's longest serving government in exile.

Early states and interwar period

The Belarusian People's Republic was the first attempt to create an independent Belarusian state under the name "Belarus". Despite significant efforts, the state ceased to exist, primarily because the territory was continually dominated by the Imperial German Army and the Imperial Russian Army in World War I, and then the Bolshevik Red Army. It existed from only 1918 to 1919 but created prerequisites for the formation of a Belarusian state. The choice of name was probably based on the fact that core members of the newly formed government were educated in tsarist universities, with corresponding emphasis on the ideology of West-Russianism.

The Republic of Central Lithuania was a short-lived political entity, which was the last attempt to restore Lithuania to the historical confederacy state (it was also supposed to create Lithuania Upper and Lithuania Lower). The republic was created in 1920 following the staged rebellion of soldiers of the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division of the Polish Army under Lucjan Żeligowski. Centered on the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilna (Lithuanian: Vilnius, Polish: Wilno), for 18 months the entity served as a buffer state between Poland, upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area. After a variety of delays, a disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Żeligowski later in his memoir which was published in London in 1943 condemned the annexation of the Republic by Poland, as well as the policy of closing Belarusian schools and general disregard of Marshal Józef Piłsudski's confederation plans by Polish ally.

In January 1919, a part of Belarus under Bolshevik Russian control was declared the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB) for just two months, but then merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (SSR LiB), which lost control of its territories by August.

The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was created in July 1920.

The contested lands were divided between Poland and the Soviet Union after the war ended in 1921, and the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922. In the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet agricultural and economic policies, including collectivization and five-year plans for the national economy, led to famine and political repression.

The western part of modern Belarus remained part of the Second Polish Republic. After an early period of liberalization, tensions between increasingly nationalistic Polish government and various increasingly separatist ethnic minorities started to grow, and the Belarusian minority was no exception. The polonization drive was inspired and influenced by the Polish National Democracy, led by Roman Dmowski, who advocated refusing Belarusians and Ukrainians the right for a free national development. A Belarusian organization, the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union, was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions. Nonetheless, compared to the (larger) Ukrainian minority, Belarusians were much less politically aware and active, and thus suffered fewer repressions than the Ukrainians. In 1935, after the death of Piłsudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox churches and Belarusian schools being closed. Use of the Belarusian language was discouraged. Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison.

World War II

In September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded and occupied eastern Poland, following the German invasion of Poland two weeks earlier which marked the beginning of World War II. The territories of Western Belorussia were annexed and incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR. The Soviet-controlled Byelorussian People's Council officially took control of the territories, whose populations consisted of a mixture of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews, on 28 October 1939 in Białystok. Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The defense of Brest Fortress was the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa.

The Byelorussian SSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II; it remained under German occupation until 1944. The German Generalplan Ost called for the extermination, expulsion, or enslavement of most or all Belarusians to provide more living space in the East for Germans. Most of Western Belarus became part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland in 1941, but in 1943 the German authorities allowed local collaborators to set up a client state, the Belarusian Central Council.

During World War II, Belarus was home to a variety of guerrilla movements, including Jewish, Polish, and Soviet partisans. Belarusian partisan formations formed a large part of the Soviet partisans, and in the modern day these partisans have formed a core part of the Belarusian national identity, with Belarus continuing to refer to itself as the "partisan republic" since the 1970s. Following the war, many former Soviet partisans entered positions of government, among them Pyotr Masherov and Kirill Mazurov, both of whom were First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia. Until the late 1970s, the Belarusian government was almost entirely composed of former partisans. Numerous pieces of media have been made about the Belarusian partisans, including the 1985 film Come and See and the works of authors Ales Adamovich and Vasil Bykaŭ.

The German occupation in 1941–1944 and war on the Eastern Front devastated Belarus. During that time, 209 out of 290 towns and cities were destroyed, 85% of the republic's industry, and more than one million buildings. After the war, it was estimated that 2.2 million local inhabitants had died, and of those some 810,000 were combatants—some foreign. This figure represented a staggering quarter of the prewar population. In the 1990s some raised the estimate even higher, to 2.7 million. The Jewish population of Belarus was devastated during the Holocaust and never recovered. The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. Belarus was also hit hard economically, losing around half of its economic resources.

Post-war

The borders of the Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn, in accord with the 1919-proposed Curzon Line. Byelorus gained territory to the west: the formerly Polish Kresy.

Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences. This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Byelorussian SSR government. After Stalin died in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev continued his predecessor's cultural hegemony program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian, the faster we shall build communism."

Between Stalin's death in 1953 and 1980, Belarusian politics was dominated by former members of the Soviet partisans, including First Secretaries Kirill Mazurov and Pyotr Masherov. Mazurov and Masherov oversaw Belarus's rapid industrialisation and transformation from one of the Soviet Union's poorest republics into one of its richest. In 1986, the Byelorussian SSR was contaminated with most (70%) of the nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant located 16 km beyond the border in the neighboring Ukrainian SSR.

By the late 1980s, political liberalization led to a national revival, with the Belarusian Popular Front becoming a major pro-independence force.

Independence

In March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR took place. Though the opposition candidates, mostly associated with the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front, took only 10% of the seats, Belarus declared itself sovereign on 27 July 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Wide-scale strikes erupted in April 1991. With the support of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991. Stanislav Shushkevich, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on 8 December 1991 in Białowieża Forest to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In January 1992, the Belarusian Popular Front campaigned for early elections later in the year, two years before they were scheduled. By May of that year, about 383,000 signatures had been collected for a petition to hold the referendum, which was 23,000 more than legally required to be put to a referendum at the time. Despite this, the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus to ultimately decide the date for the referendum was delayed by six months. However, with no evidence to suggest such, the Supreme Council rejected the petition on the grounds of massive irregularities. Elections for the Supreme Council were set for March 1994. A new law on parliamentary elections failed to pass by 1993. Disputes over the referendum were accredited to the largely conservative Party of Belarusian Communists, which controlled the Supreme Council at the time and was largely opposed to political and economic reform, with allegations that some of the deputies opposed Belarusian independence.

Lukashenko era

A national constitution was adopted in March 1994 in which the functions of prime minister were given to the President of Belarus. A two-round election for the presidency on 24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994 catapulted the formerly unknown Alexander Lukashenko into national prominence. He garnered 45% of the vote in the first round and 80% in the second, defeating Vyacheslav Kebich who received 14% of the vote. The elections were the first and only free elections in Belarus after independence.

The 2000s saw some economic disputes between Belarus and its primary economic partner, Russia. The first one was the 2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute when Russian energy giant Gazprom ceased the import of gas into Belarus because of price disagreements. The 2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute centered on accusations by Gazprom that Belarus was siphoning oil from the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Belarus. Two years later the so-called Milk War, a trade dispute, started when Russia wanted Belarus to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and through a series of events ended up banning the import of dairy products from Belarus.

In 2011, Belarus suffered a severe economic crisis attributed to Lukashenko's government's centralized control of the economy, with inflation reaching 108.7%. Around the same time the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing occurred in which 15 people were killed and 204 were injured. Two suspects, who were arrested within two days, confessed to being the perpetrators and were executed by shooting in 2012. The official version of events as publicised by the Belarusian government was questioned in the unprecedented wording of the UN Security Council statement condemning "the apparent terrorist attack" intimating the possibility that the Belarusian government itself was behind the bombing.

Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office. Neighbouring countries Poland and Lithuania do not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus and the Lithuanian government has allotted a residence for main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and other members of the Belarusian opposition in Vilnius. Neither is Lukashenko recognized as the legitimate president of Belarus by the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States. The European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all imposed sanctions against Belarus because of the rigged election and political oppression during the ongoing protests in the country. Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country's role and complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine; Russian troops were allowed to stage part of the invasion from Belarusian territory. Sanctions were targeted towards not only corporate offices and individual officers of government, but also private individuals who work in the state-owned enterprise industrial sector. Norway and Japan have joined the sanctions regime which aims to isolate Belarus from the international supply chain. Most major Belarusian banks are also under restrictions.

Geography

Belarus lies between latitudes 51° and 57° N, and longitudes 23° and 33° E. Its extension from north to south is 560 km (350 mi), from west to east is 650 km (400 mi). It is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. About 40% of Belarus is covered by forests. The country lies within two ecoregions: Sarmatic mixed forests and Central European mixed forests.

Many streams and 11,000 lakes are found in Belarus. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman, the Pripyat, and the Dnieper. The Neman flows westward towards the Baltic Sea and the Pripyat flows eastward to the Dnieper; the Dnieper flows southward towards the Black Sea.

The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132 ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90 m (295 ft). The average elevation of Belarus is 160 m (525 ft) above sea level. The climate features mild to cold winters, with January minimum temperatures ranging from −4 °C (24.8 °F) in southwest (Brest) to −8 °C (17.6 °F) in northeast (Vitebsk), and cool and moist summers with an average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F). Belarus has an average annual rainfall of 550 to 700 mm (21.7 to 27.6 in). The country is in the transitional zone between continental climates and maritime climates.

Natural resources include peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomite (limestone), marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. About 70% of the radiation from neighboring Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster entered Belarusian territory, and about a fifth of Belarusian land (principally farmland and forests in the southeastern regions) was affected by radiation fallout. The United Nations and other agencies have aimed to reduce the level of radiation in affected areas, especially through the use of caesium binders and rapeseed cultivation, which are meant to decrease soil levels of caesium-137.

In Belarus forest cover is around 43% of the total land area, equivalent to 8,767,600 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 7,780,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forests covered 6,555,600 hectares (ha), and planted forests covered 2,212,000 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 2% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 16% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.

Belarus borders five countries: Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, Russia to the north and the east, and Ukraine to the south. Treaties in 1995 and 1996 demarcated Belarus's borders with Latvia and Lithuania, and Belarus ratified a 1997 treaty establishing the Belarus-Ukraine border in 2009. Belarus and Lithuania ratified final border demarcation documents in February 2007.

Government and politics

Belarus, by the constitution, is a semi-presidential republic with separation of powers, governed by a president and the National Assembly. However, Belarus has been led by a highly centralized and authoritarian government, and has often been described as "Europe's last dictatorship" and president Alexander Lukashenko as "Europe's last dictator" by some media outlets, politicians and authors. Belarus has been considered an autocracy where power is ultimately concentrated in the hands of the president, elections are not free and judicial independence is weak. The Council of Europe removed Belarus from its observer status since 1997 as a response for election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. Readmission of the country into the council is dependent on the completion of benchmarks set by the council, including the improvement of human rights, rule of law, and democracy.

The term for each presidency is five years. Under the 1994 constitution, the president could serve for only two terms as president, but a change in the constitution in 2004 eliminated term limits. Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. In 1996, Lukashenko called for a controversial vote to extend the presidential term from five to seven years, and as a result the election that was supposed to occur in 1999 was pushed back to 2001. The referendum on the extension was denounced as a "fantastic" fake by the chief electoral officer, Viktar Hanchar, who was removed from the office for official matters only during the campaign. The National Assembly is a bicameral parliament comprising the 110-member House of Representatives (the lower house) and the 64-member Council of the Republic (the upper house).

The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the prime minister, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on foreign and domestic policy. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber can veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution.

The government includes a Council of Ministers, headed by the prime minister and five deputy prime ministers. The members of this council need not be members of the legislature and are appointed by the president. The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court and specialized courts such as the Constitutional Court, which deals with specific issues related to constitutional and business law. The judges of national courts are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic. For criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court. The Belarusian Constitution forbids the use of special extrajudicial courts.

Elections

Lukashenko was officially re-elected as president in 2001, in 2006, in 2010, in 2015 and again in 2020, although none of those elections were considered free or fair nor democratic.

Neither the pro-Lukashenko parties, such as the Belarusian Social Sporting Party and the Republican Party of Labour and Justice (RPTS), nor the People's Coalition 5 Plus opposition parties, such as the BPF Party and the United Civic Party, won any seats in the 2004 elections. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ruled that the elections were unfair because opposition candidates were arbitrarily denied registration and the election process was designed to favor the ruling party.

In the 2006 presidential election, Lukashenko was opposed by Alaksandar Milinkievič, who represented a coalition of opposition parties, and by Alyaksandr Kazulin of the Social Democrats. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the All Belarusian People's Assembly. Lukashenko won the election with 80% of the vote; the Russian Federation and the CIS deemed the vote open and fair while the OSCE and other organizations called the election unfair.

After the December completion of the 2010 presidential election, Lukashenko was elected to a fourth straight term with nearly 80% of the vote in elections. The runner-up opposition leader Andrei Sannikov received less than 3% of the vote; independent observers criticized the election as fraudulent. When opposition protesters took to the streets in Minsk, many people, including some presidential candidates, were beaten and arrested by the riot police. Many of the candidates, including Sannikov, were sentenced to prison or house arrest for terms which are mainly and typically over four years. Six months later amid an unprecedented economic crisis, activists utilized social networking to initiate a fresh round of protests characterized by wordless hand-clapping.

In the 2012 parliamentary election, 105 of the 110 members elected to the House of Representatives were not affiliated with any political party. The Communist Party of Belarus won 3 seats, and the Belarusian Agrarian Party and RPTS, one each. Most non-partisans represent a wide scope of social organizations such as workers' collectives, public associations, and civil society organizations, similar to the composition of the Soviet legislature.

In the 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko won again with official results giving him 80% of the vote, leading to mass protests. The European Union and the United Kingdom did not recognise the result and the EU imposed sanctions.

Foreign relations

The Byelorussian SSR was one of the two Soviet republics that joined the United Nations along with the Ukrainian SSR as one of the original 51 members in 1945. Belarus and Russia have been close trading partners and diplomatic allies since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Belarus is dependent on Russia for imports of raw materials and for its export market.

The Union State, a supranational confederation between Belarus and Russia, was established in a 1996–99 series of treaties that called for monetary union, equal rights, single citizenship, and a common foreign and defense policy. However, the future of the union has been placed in doubt because of Belarus's repeated delays of monetary union, the lack of a referendum date for the draft constitution, and a dispute over the petroleum trade. Belarus was a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Belarus has trade agreements with several European Union member states (despite other member states' travel ban on Lukashenko and top officials), including neighboring Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Travel bans imposed by the European Union have been lifted in the past in order to allow Lukashenko to attend diplomatic meetings and also to engage his government and opposition groups in dialogue.

Bilateral relations with the United States are strained; the United States has not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus has not had an ambassador in Washington since 2008. Diplomatic relations remained tense, and in 2004, the United States passed the Belarus Democracy Act, which authorized funding for anti-government Belarusian NGOs, and prohibited loans to the Belarusian government, except for humanitarian purposes.

Relations between China and Belarus are close, with Lukashenko visiting China multiple times during his tenure. Belarus also has strong ties with Syria, considered a key partner in the Middle East. In addition to the CIS, Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (previously the Eurasian Economic Community), the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the international Non-Aligned Movement since 1998, and the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As an OSCE member state, Belarus's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Belarus is included in the European Union's Eastern Partnership program, part of the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which aims to bring the EU and its neighbours closer in economic and geopolitical terms. However, Belarus suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership program on 28 June 2021, after the EU imposed more sanctions against the country.

Military

Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin heads the Ministry of Defence, and Alexander Lukashenko (as president) serves as Commander-in-Chief. The armed forces were formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces on the new republic's territory. The transformation of the ex-Soviet forces into the Armed Forces of Belarus, which was completed in 1997, reduced the number of its soldiers by 30,000 and restructured its leadership and military formations.

Most of Belarus's service members are conscripts, who serve for 12 months if they have higher education or 18 months if they do not. Demographic decreases in the Belarusians of conscription age have increased the importance of contract soldiers, who numbered 12,000 in 2001. In 2005, about 1.4% of Belarus's gross domestic product was devoted to military expenditure.

Belarus has not expressed a desire to join NATO but has participated in the Individual Partnership Program since 1997, and Belarus provided refueling and airspace support for the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan. Belarus first began to cooperate with NATO upon signing documents to participate in their Partnership for Peace Program in 1995. However, Belarus cannot join NATO because it is a member of the CSTO. Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus.

Human rights and corruption

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (November 2022)

Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have criticized Lukashenko's violations of human rights. Belarus's Democracy Index rating is the lowest in Europe, the country is labelled as "not free" by Freedom House, as "repressed" in the Index of Economic Freedom, and in the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Belarus is ranked 153rd out of 180 countries for 2022. The Belarusian government is also criticized for human rights violations and its persecution of non-governmental organizations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. Lukashenko announced a new law in 2014 that will prohibit kolkhoz workers (around 9% of total work force) from leaving their jobs at will—a change of job and living location will require permission from governors. Lukashenko himself compared the law with serfdom. Similar regulations were introduced for the forestry industry in 2012. Belarus is the only European country still using capital punishment, having carried out executions in 2011. LGBT rights in the country are also ranked among the lowest in Europe. In March 2023, Lukashenko signed a law which allows using capital punishment against officials and soldiers convicted of high treason.

The judicial system in Belarus lacks independence and is subject to political interference. Corrupt practices such as bribery often took place during tender processes, and whistleblower protection and national ombudsman are lacking in Belarus's anti-corruption system.

On 1 September 2020, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that its experts received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people who were arrested during the protests following the presidential election. The experts also received reports of violence against women and children, including sexual abuse and rape with rubber batons. At least three detainees suffered injuries indicative of sexual violence in Okrestino prison in Minsk or on the way there. The victims were hospitalized with intramuscular bleeding of the rectum, anal fissure and bleeding, and damage to the mucous membrane of the rectum. In an interview from September 2020 Lukashenko claimed that detainees faked their bruises, saying, "Some of the girls there had their butts painted in blue".

On 23 May 2021, Belarusian authorities forcibly diverted a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius in order to detain opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich along with his girlfriend; in response, the European Union imposed stricter sanctions on Belarus. In May 2021, Lukashenko threatened that he will flood the European Union with migrants and drugs as a response to the sanctions. In July 2021, Belarusian authorities launched a hybrid warfare by human trafficking of migrants to the European Union. Lithuanian authorities and top European officials Ursula von der Leyen, Josep Borrell condemned the usage of migrants as a weapon and suggested that Belarus could be subject to further sanctions. In August 2021, Belarusian officials, wearing uniforms, riot shields and helmets, were recorded on camera near the Belarus–Lithuania border pushing and urging the migrants to cross the European Union border. Following the granting of humanitarian visas to an Olympic athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and her husband, Poland also accused Belarus for organizing a hybrid warfare as the number of migrants crossing the Belarus–Poland border sharply increased multiple times when compared to the 2020 statistics. Illegal migrants numbers also exceeded the previous annual numbers in Latvia. On 2 December 2021, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada imposed new sanctions on Belarus.

Administrative divisions

Belarus is divided into six regions called oblasts (Belarusian: вобласць; Russian: область), which are named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers: Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk, and Vitebsk. Each region has a provincial legislative authority, called a region council (Belarusian: абласны Савет Дэпутатаў; Russian: Областной Совет депутатов), which is elected by its residents, and a provincial executive authority called a region administration (Belarusian: абласны выканаўчы камітэт; Russian: областной исполнительный комитет), whose chairman is appointed by the president. The regions are further subdivided into 118 raions, commonly translated as districts (Belarusian: раён; Russian: район). Each raion has its own legislative authority, or raion council, (Belarusian: раённы Савет Дэпутатаў; Russian: районный Совет депутатов) elected by its residents, and an executive authority or raion administration appointed by oblast executive powers. The city of Minsk is split into nine districts and enjoys special status as the nation's capital at the same administration level as the oblasts. It is run by an executive committee and has been granted a charter of self-rule.

Local government

Local government in Belarus is administered by administrative-territorial units (Belarusian: адміністрацыйна-тэрытарыяльныя адзінкі; Russian: административно-территориальные единицы), and occurs on two levels: basic and primary. At the basic level are 118 raions councils and 10 cities of oblast subordination councils, which are supervised by the governments of the oblasts. At the primary level are 14 cities of raion subordination councils, 8 urban-type settlements councils, and 1,151 village councils. The councils are elected by their residents, and have executive committees appointed by their executive committee chairs. The chairs of executive committees for raions and city of oblast subordinations are appointed by the regional executive committees at the level above; the chairs of executive committees for towns of raion subordination, settlements, and villages are appointed by their councils, but upon the recommendation of the raion executive committees. In either case, the councils have the power to approve or reject a nominee for executive committee chair.

Settlements without their own local council and executive committee are called territorial units (Belarusian: тэрытарыяльныя адзінкі; Russian: территориальные единицы). These territorial units may also be classified as a city of regional or raion subordination, urban-type settlement, or rural settlement, but whose government is administered by the council of another primary or basic unit. In October 1995, a presidential decree abolished the local governments of cities of raion subordination and urban-type settlements which served as the administrative center of raions, demoting them from administrative-territorial units to territorial units.

As for 2019, the administrative-territorial and territorial units include 115 cities, 85 urban-type settlements, and 23,075 rural settlements.

Economy

Belarus is a developing country, but at 60th place in the United Nations' Human Development Index, it has a "very high" human development. It is one of the most equal countries in the world, with one of the lowest Gini-coefficient measures of national resource distribution, and it ranks 82nd in GDP per capita. In 2019, the share of manufacturing in GDP was 31%, and over two-thirds of this amount fell on manufacturing industries. Manufacturing employed 34.7% of the workforce. Manufacturing growth is much smaller than for the economy as a whole—about 2.2% in 2021. Important agricultural products include potatoes and cattle byproducts, including meat.

Trade

Belarus has trade relations with over 180 countries. As of 2007, its main trading partners were Russia, which accounted for about 45% of Belarusian exports and 55% of imports (which include petroleum), and the EU countries, with 25% of exports and 20% of imports.

In April 2022, as a result of its facilitation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU imposed trade sanctions on Belarus. The sanctions were extended and expanded in August 2023. These sanctions are in addition to those imposed following the rigged 2020 "election" of Lukashenko.

At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus was one of the world's most industrially developed states by proportion of GDP and the richest CIS member-state. In 2015, 39.3% of Belarusians were employed by state-controlled companies, 57.2% by private companies (in which the government has a 21.1% stake) and 3.5% by foreign companies. In 1994, Belarus's main exports included heavy machinery (especially tractors), agricultural products, and energy products. Economically, Belarus involved itself in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community, and Union with Russia. In the 1990s, industrial production plunged due to decreases in imports, investment, and demand for Belarusian products from its trading partners. GDP only began to rise in 1996; the country was the fastest-recovering former Soviet republic in the terms of its economy. In 2006, GDP amounted to US$83.1 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars (estimate), or about $8,100 per capita. In 2005, GDP increased by 9.9%; the inflation rate averaged 9.5%. Belarus was ranked 85th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control of key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics.

Belarus applied to become a member of the World Trade Organization in 1993. Due to its failure to protect labor rights, including passing laws forbidding unemployment or working outside state-controlled sectors, Belarus lost its EU Generalized System of Preferences status on 21 June 2007, which raised tariff rates to their prior most favored nation levels.

Employment

The labor force consists of more than 4 million people, of whom women are slightly more than men. In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population was employed in industrial factories. Employment is also high in agriculture, manufacturing sales, trading goods, and education. The unemployment rate was 1.5% in 2005, according to government statistics. There were 679,000 unemployed Belarusians, of whom two-thirds were women. The unemployment rate has been declining since 2003, and the overall rate of employment is the highest since statistics were first compiled in 1995.

Currency

The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble. The currency was introduced in May 1992 to replace the Soviet ruble and it has undergone redenomination twice since then. The first coins of the Republic of Belarus were issued on 27 December 1996. The ruble was reintroduced with new values in 2000 and has been in use ever since. In 2007, The National Bank of Belarus abandoned pegging the Belarusian ruble to the Russian ruble. As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, the two states have discussed using a single currency analogous to the Euro. This led to a proposal that the Belarusian ruble be discontinued in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting as early as 1 January 2008.

On 23 May 2011, the ruble depreciated 56% against the United States dollar. The depreciation was even steeper on the black market and financial collapse seemed imminent as citizens rushed to exchange their rubles for dollars, euros, durable goods, and canned goods. On 1 June 2011, Belarus requested an economic rescue package from the International Monetary Fund. A new currency, the new Belarusian ruble (ISO 4217 code: BYN) was introduced in July 2016, replacing the Belarusian ruble in a rate of 1:10,000 (10,000 old ruble = 1 new ruble). From 1 July until 31 December 2016, the old and new currencies were in parallel circulation, and series 2000 notes and coins could be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021. This redenomination can be considered an effort to fight the high inflation rate. On 6 October 2022, Lukashenko banned price increases, to combat food inflation. In January 2023, Belarus legalized copyright infringement of media and intellectual property created by "unfriendly" foreign nations.

The banking system of Belarus consists of two levels: the Central Bank (National Bank of the Republic of Belarus) and 25 commercial banks.

Demographics

According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million with ethnic Belarusians constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population. Minority groups include: Russians (7.5%), Poles (3.1%), and Ukrainians (1.7%). Belarus has a population density of about 50 people per square kilometre (127 per sq mi); 70% of its total population is concentrated in urban areas. Minsk, the nation's capital and largest city, was home to 1,937,900 residents in 2015. Gomel, with a population of 481,000, is the second-largest city and serves as the capital of the Gomel Region. Other large cities are Mogilev (365,100), Vitebsk (342,400), Grodno (314,800) and Brest (298,300).

Like many other Eastern European countries, Belarus has a negative population growth rate and a negative natural growth rate. In 2007, Belarus's population declined by 0.41% and its fertility rate was 1.22, well below the replacement rate. However, its net migration rate is +0.38 per 1,000, indicating that Belarus experiences slightly more immigration than emigration, unlike most neighbouring countries which experience significant negative net migration.As of 2015, 69.9% of Belarus's population is aged 14 to 64; 15.5% is under 14, and 14.6% is 65 or older. Its population is also aging; the median age of 30–34 is estimated to rise to between 60 and 64 in 2050. There are about 0.87 males per female in Belarus. The average life expectancy is 72.15 (66.53 years for men and 78.1 years for women). Over 99% of Belarusians aged 15 and older are literate.

Largest cities or towns in Belarus Source?
	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.
Minsk Gomel	1	Minsk	Minsk Region	1,992,685	Mogilev Vitebsk
	2	Gomel	Gomel Region	536,938
	3	Mogilev	Mogilev Region	383,313
	4	Vitebsk	Vitebsk Region	378,459
	5	Grodno	Grodno Region	373,547
	6	Brest	Brest Region	350,616
	7	Babruysk	Mogilev Region	216,793
	8	Baranavichy	Brest Region	179,000
	9	Barysaw	Minsk Region	142,681
	10	Pinsk	Brest Region	137,960

Religion

According to the census of November 2011, 58.9% of all Belarusians adhered to some kind of religion; out of those, Eastern Orthodoxy made up about 82%: Eastern Orthodox in Belarus are mainly part of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, though a small Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church also exists. Roman Catholicism is practiced mostly in the western regions, and there are also different denominations of Protestantism. Minorities also practice Greek Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and neo-paganism. Overall, 48.3% of the population is Orthodox Christian, 41.1% is not religious, 7.1% is Roman Catholic and 3.3% follows other religions.

Belarus's Catholic minority is concentrated in the western part of the country, especially around Grodno, consisting of a mixture of Belarusians and the country's Polish and Lithuanian minorities. President Lukashenko has stated that Orthodox and Catholic believers are the "two main confessions in our country".

Belarus was once a major center of European Jews, with 10% of the population being Jewish. But since the mid-20th century, the number of Jews has been reduced by the Holocaust, deportation, and emigration, so that today it is a very small minority of less than one percent. The Lipka Tatars, numbering over 15,000, are predominantly Muslims. According to Article 16 of the Constitution, Belarus has no official religion. While the freedom of worship is granted in the same article, religious organizations deemed harmful to the government or social order can be prohibited.

Languages

Belarus's two official languages are Russian and Belarusian. According to data published by the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the 2009 census recorded that 53% of the population described Belarusian as their "mother tongue" compared to 41% who described Russian in that way. In addition, 70% described Russian and 23% described Belarusian as the "language normally spoken at home". Minorities also speak Polish, Ukrainian and Eastern Yiddish. Following the election of Alexander Lukashenko, most schools in major cities began to teach in Russian rather than Belarusian. The annual circulation of Belarusian-language literature also significantly decreased from 1990 to 2020.

Culture

Arts and literature

The Belarusian government sponsors annual cultural festivals such as the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, which showcases Belarusian performers, artists, writers, musicians, and actors. Several state holidays, such as Independence Day and Victory Day, draw big crowds and often include displays such as fireworks and military parades, especially in Vitebsk and Minsk. The government's Ministry of Culture finances events promoting Belarusian arts and culture both inside and outside the country.

Belarusian literature began with 11th- to 13th-century religious scripture, such as the 12th-century poetry of Cyril of Turaw.

By the 16th century, Polotsk resident Francysk Skaryna translated the Bible into Belarusian. It was published in Prague and Vilnius sometime between 1517 and 1525, making it the first book printed in Belarus or anywhere in Eastern Europe. The modern era of Belarusian literature began in the late 19th century; one prominent writer was Yanka Kupala. Many Belarusian writers of the time, such as Uładzimir Žyłka, Kazimir Svayak, Yakub Kolas, Źmitrok Biadula, and Maksim Haretski, wrote for Nasha Niva, a Belarusian-language paper published that was previously published in Vilnius but now is published in Minsk.

After Belarus was incorporated into the Soviet Union, the Soviet government took control of the Republic's cultural affairs. At first, a policy of "Belarusianization" was followed in the newly formed Byelorussian SSR. This policy was reversed in the 1930s, and the majority of prominent Belarusian intellectuals and nationalist advocates were either exiled or killed in Stalinist purges. The free development of literature occurred only in Polish-held territory until Soviet occupation in 1939. Several poets and authors went into exile after the Nazi occupation of Belarus and would not return until the 1960s.

The last major revival of Belarusian literature occurred in the 1960s with novels published by Vasil Bykaŭ and Uladzimir Karatkievich. An influential author who devoted his work to awakening the awareness of the catastrophes the country has suffered was Ales Adamovich. He was named by Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarusian winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2015, as "her main teacher, who helped her to find a path of her own".

Music in Belarus largely comprises a rich tradition of folk and religious music. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 19th century, Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko composed operas and chamber music pieces while living in Minsk. During his stay, he worked with Belarusian poet Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich and created the opera Sialanka (Peasant Woman). At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies. The ballet Nightingale by M. Kroshner was composed during the Soviet era and became the first Belarusian ballet showcased at the National Academic Vialiki Ballet Theatre in Minsk.

After the Second World War, music focused on the hardships of the Belarusian people or on those who took up arms in defense of the homeland. During this period, Anatoly Bogatyrev, creator of the opera In Polesye Virgin Forest, served as the "tutor" of Belarusian composers. The National Academic Theatre of Ballet in Minsk was awarded the Benois de la Dance Prize in 1996 as the top ballet company in the world. Rock music has become increasingly popular in recent years, though the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of foreign music aired on the radio in favor of traditional Belarusian music. Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887. He spent the World War I years in Soviet Belarus, becoming one of the country's most distinguished artists and a member of the modernist avant-garde and was a founder of the Vitebsk Arts College.

Dress

The traditional Belarusian dress originates from the Kievan Rus' period. Due to the cool climate, clothes were designed to conserve body heat and were usually made from flax or wool. They were decorated with ornate patterns influenced by the neighboring cultures: Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Russians, and other European nations. Each region of Belarus has developed specific design patterns. One ornamental pattern common in early dresses currently decorates the hoist of the Belarusian national flag, adopted in a disputed referendum in 1995.

Cuisine

Belarusian cuisine consists mainly of vegetables, meat (particularly pork), and bread. Foods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed. Typically, Belarusians eat a light breakfast and two hearty meals later in the day. Wheat and rye bread are consumed in Belarus, but rye is more plentiful because conditions are too harsh for growing wheat. To show hospitality, a host traditionally presents an offering of bread and salt when greeting a guest or visitor.

Sport

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (November 2020)

Belarus has competed in the Olympic Games since the 1994 Winter Olympics as an independent nation. Receiving heavy sponsorship from the government, ice hockey is the nation's second most popular sport after football. The national football team has never qualified for a major tournament; however, BATE Borisov has played in the Champions League. The national hockey team finished fourth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics following a memorable upset win over Sweden in the quarterfinals and regularly competes in the World Championships, often making the quarterfinals. Numerous Belarusian players are present in the Kontinental Hockey League in Eurasia, particularly for Belarusian club HC Dinamo Minsk, and several have also played in the National Hockey League in North America. The 2014 IIHF World Championship was hosted in Belarus and the 2021 IIHF World Championship was supposed to be co-hosted in Latvia and Belarus but it was cancelled due to widespread protests and security concerns. The 2021 UEC European Track Championships in cycling was also cancelled because Belarus was not considered a safe host.

Darya Domracheva is a leading biathlete whose honours include three gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Tennis player Victoria Azarenka became the first Belarusian to win a Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in 2012. She also won the gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Max Mirnyi, who holds ten Grand Slam titles in doubles.

Other notable Belarusian sportspeople include cyclist Vasil Kiryienka, who won the 2015 Road World Time Trial Championship, and middle-distance runner Maryna Arzamasava, who won the gold medal in the 800m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. Andrei Arlovski, who was born in Babruysk, Byelorussian SSR, is a current UFC fighter and the former UFC heavyweight champion of the world.

Belarus is also known for its strong rhythmic gymnasts. Noticeable gymnasts include Inna Zhukova, who earned silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liubov Charkashyna, who earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, and Melitina Staniouta, Bronze All-Around Medalist of the 2015 World Championships. The Belarusian senior group earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

Telecommunications

• Country code: .by

The state telecom monopoly, Beltelecom, holds the exclusive interconnection with Internet providers outside of Belarus. Beltelecom owns all the backbone channels that linked to the Lattelecom, TEO LT, Tata Communications (former Teleglobe), Synterra, Rostelecom, Transtelekom and MTS ISPs. Beltelecom is the only operator licensed to provide commercial VoIP services in Belarus.

World Heritage Sites

Belarus has four UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Mir Castle Complex, the Nesvizh Castle, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland), and the Struve Geodetic Arc (shared with nine other countries).

See also

• List of Belarus-related topics
• Outline of Belarus
• Republican Scientific Medical Library

Notes

1. A number of countries do not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus since the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.
2. /ˌbɛləˈruːs/ BEL-ə-ROOSS, US also /ˌbiːləˈruːs/ BEE-lə-ROOSS, UK also /ˈbɛlərʌs, -rʊs/ BEL-ə-ru(u)ss; Belarusian: Беларусь, romanized: Byelarus, IPA: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] ; Russian: Беларусь, Russian: [bʲɪlɐˈrusʲ] ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian Белоруссия), a name often proscribed within Belarus, although commonly used in Russia.
3. Belarusian: Рэспубліка Беларусь, romanized: Respublika Byelarus, IPA: [rɛsˈpublʲika bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] ; Russian: Республика Беларусь, romanized: Respublika Belarus, IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʲɪlɐˈrusʲ].

References

1. "Belarus in figures 2021" (PDF). National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. 2021.
2. "Generations and Gender Survey, 2020 Belarus Wave 1". ggpsurvey.ined.fr. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
3. "Belarus". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
4. ^ John R. Short (25 August 2021). Geopolitics: Making Sense of a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 163 ff. ISBN 978-1-5381-3540-2. OCLC 1249714156.
5. Constitution of Belarus, 106, 97.5 97.7.
6. "Belarus leader Lukashenko holds secret inauguration amid continuing protests". france24.com. 23 September 2020.
7. "Belarus: Mass protests after Lukashenko secretly sworn in". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Several EU countries and the US say they do not recognise Mr. Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus.
8. "Lukashenko appoints new government". eng.belta.by. 19 August 2020.
9. "Population at the beginning of 2024" (PDF). belstat.gov.by.
10. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Belarus)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
11. "GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Belarus". World Bank. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
12. "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
13. "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Minsk, Belarus". timeanddate.com.
14. "Icann Адобрыла Заяўку Беларусі На Дэлегаванне Дамена Першага Ўзроўню З Падтрымкай Алфавітаў Нацыянальных Моў.Бел". Retrieved 26 August 2014.
15. Minahan 1998, p. 35.
16. ^ Zaprudnik 1993, p. 2
17. Аб паходжанні назваў Белая і Чорная Русь (Eng. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), Язэп Юхо (Joseph Juho), 1956.
18. "Why Is Belarus called White Russia | Belarus Travel". 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
19. Vauchez, Dobson & Lapidge 2001, p. 163
20. Bely, Alies (2000). The chronicle of the White Russia: an essay on the history of one geographical name. Minsk, Belarus: Encyclopedix. ISBN 985-6599-12-1.
21. Plokhy 2001, p. 327
22. Philip G. Roeder (2011). Where Nation-States Come From: Institutional Change in the Age of Nationalism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13467-3.
23. Fishman, Joshua; Garcia, Ofelia (2011). Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-983799-1.
24. Richmond 1995, p. 260
25. Ioffe, Grigory (2008). Understanding Belarus and How Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7425-5558-7.
26. "Law of the Republic of Belarus – About the name of the Republic of Belarus" (in Russian). Pravo – Law of the Republic of Belarus. 19 September 1991. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
27. ^ "Belarus". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
28. ""Беларусь" vs "Белоруссия": ставим точку в вопросе". Onliner (in Russian). 26 February 2014.
29. ""Gudija" ar "Baltarusija"?". State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
30. "Lithuania Refuses to Call Belarus as "Belarusia"". Telegraf.by. 16 April 2010.
31. Dziarnovič, Aleh (2013). "Gudas as a Historical Name of Belarusians in the Lithuanian Language: 'Goths' or 'Barbarians'?". Belarus and its Neighbors: Historical Perceptions and Political Constructs. International Conference Papers. Warsaw: Uczelnia Łazarskiego. pp. 56–68. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
32. Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (2008). A Dictionary of Archaeology. Wiley. pp. 203–204. ISBN 978-0-470-75196-1.
33. Zaprudnik 1993, p. 7
34. John Haywood, Historical Atlas, Ancient and Classical World (1998).
35. Plokhy, Serhii (2006). The Origins of the Slavic Nations. Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-521-86403-8.
36. Robinson, Charles Henry (1917). The Conversion of Europe. Longmans, Green. pp. 491–492. ISBN 978-0-00-750296-7.
37. NN (1914). The chronicle of Novgorod, 1016–1471. Translated by Michell, Robert; Forbes, Nevill. Introduction by C. Raymond Beazley. Text account by A.A. Shakhmatov. London, Offices of the society. p. 41.
38. Ermalovich, Mikola (1991). Pa sliadakh adnago mifa (Tracing one Myth). Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika. ISBN 978-5-343-00876-0.
39. Zaprudnik 1993, p. 27
40. Lerski, George Jan; Aleksander Gieysztor (1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945. Greenwood Press. pp. 181–82. ISBN 0-313-26007-9.
41. Nowak, Andrzej (1 January 1997). "The Russo-Polish Historical Confrontation". Sarmatian Review XVII. Rice University. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
42. Rowell, S.C. (2005). "Baltic Europe". In Jones, Michael (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History (Vol. 6). Cambridge University Press. p. 710. ISBN 0-521-36290-3.
43. Lukowski, Jerzy; Zawadzki, Hubert (2001). A Concise History of Poland (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-521-55917-1.
44. Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. (1999). A History of Russia (6th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512179-7.
45. "Belarusian": UCLA Language Materials Project Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ucla.edu; accessed 4 March 2016.
46. Scheuch, E.K.; David Sciulli (2000). Societies, Corporations and the Nation State. Brill. p. 187. ISBN 90-04-11664-8.
47. Birgerson 2002, p. 101
48. ^ Olson, Pappas & Pappas 1994, p. 95
49. (in Russian) Воссоединение униатов и исторические судьбы Белорусского народа (Vossoyedineniye uniatov i istoričeskiye sud'bi Belorusskogo naroda), Pravoslavie portal
50. Żytko, Russian policy ..., p. 551.
51. Иван Петрович Корнилов (1908). Русское дєло в Сєверо-Западном крає: материиалы для историии Виленскаго учебнаго округа преимущественно в Муравьевскую эпоху (in Russian). Тип. А.С. Суворина.
52. D. Marples (1996). Belarus: From Soviet Rule to Nuclear Catastrophe. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-230-37831-5.
53. ^ Birgerson 2002, pp. 105–106
54. Ioffe, Grigory (2008). Understanding Belarus and How Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7425-5558-7.
55. Timothy Snyder (2002). The Reconstruction of Nations. Yale University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-300-12841-3.
56. "Europe's Last Dictatorship Is Opposed by the Oldest Exiled Government in the World". 26 January 2016.
57. Vitali Silitski, Jr.; Jan Zaprudnik (7 April 2010). The A to Z of Belarus. Scarecrow Press. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-1-4617-3174-0.
58. Rauch, Georg von (1974). "The Early Stages of Independence". In Gerald Onn (ed.). The Baltic States: Years of Independence – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917–40. C. Hurst & Co. pp. 100–102. ISBN 0-903983-00-1.
59. Żeligowski, Lucjan (1943). Zapomniane prawdy (PDF) (in Polish). F. Mildner & Sons. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
60. Ioffe, Grigorij Viktorovič; Silitski, Vitali (2018). Historical dictionary of Belarus (3rd ed.). Lanham (Md.): Rowman & Littlefield. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-5381-1706-4.
61. Marples, David (1999). Belarus: A Denationalized Nation. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 90-5702-343-1.
62. "Belarus history". Official website of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
63. Sorge, Arndt (2005). The global and the local: understanding the dialectics of business systems. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-153534-5.
64. Nick Baron; Peter Gatrell (2004). "War, Population Displacement and State Formation in the Russian Borderlands 1914–1924". Homelands. Anthem Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-84331-385-4. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
65. ^ Norman Davies, God's Playground (Polish edition), second tome, pp. 512–513
66. ^ "Stosunki polsko-białoruskie pod okupacją sowiecką (1939–1941)". Archived from the original on 23 June 2008.
67. Mironowicz, Eugeniusz (2007). Belarusians and Ukrainians in the policies of the Piłsudski camp [Białorusini i Ukraińcy w polityce obozu piłsudczykowskiego] (in Polish). Wydawn. Uniwersyteckie Trans Humana. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-83-89190-87-1.
68. Bieder, H. (2000): Konfession, Ethnie und Sprache in Weißrußland im 20. Jahrhundert. In: Zeitschrift für Slawistik 45 (2000), 200–214.
69. Lubachko, Ivan (1972). Belorussia under Soviet Rule, 1917–1957. University Press of Kentucky. p. 137.
70. Abdelal, Rawi (2001). National purpose in the world economy: post-Soviet states in comparative perspective. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-3879-0.
71. Taylor & Francis Group (2004). Europa World Year, Book 1. Europa publications. ISBN 978-1-85743-254-1.
72. • Клоков В. Я. Великий освободительный поход Красной Армии. (Освобождение Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии).-Воронеж, 1940.
    • Минаев В. Западная Белоруссия и Западная Украина под гнетом панской Польши.—М., 1939.
    • Трайнин И.Национальное и социальное освобождение Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии.—М., 1939.—80 с.
    • Гiсторыя Беларусі. Том пяты.—Мінск, 2006.—с. 449–474
73. Andrew Wilson (2011). Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-13435-3.
74. Snyder, Timothy (2010). Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. Basic Books. p. 160. ISBN 0465002390
75. (German) Dallin, Alexander (1958). Deutsche Herrschaft in Russland, 1941–1945: Eine Studie über Besatzungspolitik, pp. 234–236. Droste Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf.
76. Exeler, Franziska. "What Did You Do during the War?: Personal Responses to the Aftermath of Nazi Occupation". Kritika Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History: 807 – via ResearchGate.
77. Ioffe, Grigory (6 February 2015). "The Partisan Movements in Belarus During World War II (Part Two)". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
78. Chernyshova, Natalya (15 June 2022). "Belarus". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
79. ^ Ioffe, Grigory (December 2003). "Understanding Belarus: Belarusian Identity". Europe-Asia Studies. 55 (8): 1259. doi:10.1080/0966813032000141105. ISSN 0966-8136. JSTOR 3594506. S2CID 143667635.
80. ^ Axell, Albert (2002). Russia's Heroes, 1941–45. Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 247. ISBN 0-7867-1011-X.
81. Andrew Wilson (2011). Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship. Yale University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-300-13435-3.
82. ^ Fedor, Helen (1995). "Belarus – Stalin and Russification". Belarus: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
83. "Потери гражданского населения". function.mil.ru. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
84. Wilson, Andrew (2011). Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship (New ed.). New Haven, London: Yale University Press. pp. 237–239. ISBN 978-0-300-25921-6.
85. Fedor, Helen (1995). "Belarus- Perestroika". Belarus: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
86. "Belarus: Five things you may not know about the country". BBC. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
87. "Post-Soviet Belarus: A Timeline". rferl.org. 24 February 2006.
88. "Belarus profile – Timeline". BBC News. 20 August 2018.
89. ^ Fedor, Helen (1995). "Belarus – Prelude to Independence". Belarus: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
90. "History, Belarus". Belarus.by. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
91. "Belarus". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 4 March 2016. (Archived 2016 edition.)
92. Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1997 (3 ed.). Europa Publications Limited. November 1996. p. 181. ISBN 1-85743-025-5.
93. Profile: Europe's last dictator? BBC News, 10 September 2001
94. Andrew E. Kramer (11 May 2011). "Belarus Economic Crisis Deepens as Currency Plunges". The New York Times.
95. "Security Council Press Statement on Minsk Bombing | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org.
96. "Belarus's Protests Aren't Particularly Anti-Putin". Foreign Policy. 19 August 2020.
97. "Protests in Belarus continue despite challenger's departure". Associated Press. 11 August 2020.
98. "Belarus asks Lithuania to extradite opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya". Euronews. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
99. "Lithuania to Belarus: 'Rather watch hell freeze over' than deliver Tsikhanouskaya". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
100. "Headquarters of Tsikhanouskaya, Coordination Council and National Anti-Crisis Management". Voice of Belarus. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
101. "Belarus protests: Why Poland is backing the opposition". BBC News. 10 September 2020.
102. "Belarus opposition leader: Foreign mediation may be needed". Associated Press. 9 September 2020.
103. "El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him"". eeas.europa.eu. 24 August 2020.
104. Dave Lawler, "U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus", Axios. 24 September 2020.
105. "Belarus election: UK refuses to recognise the result and demands international investigation into 'grisly repression' of protests". The Independent. London. 17 August 2020.
106. "Canada denounces Lukashenko's inauguration in Belarus, preparing sanctions over human rights violations". CBC News. 24 September 2020.
107. "U.S., EU Sanction Belarus in Coordinated Western Action". The Wall Street Journal. New York. 24 August 2020.
108. Ljunggren, Josh Smith (29 September 2020). "Britain and Canada impose sanctions on Belarus leader Lukashenko". Reuters.
109. "Ukraine conflict: UK sanctions Belarus for role in Russian invasion". BBC News. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
110. Guarascio, Francesco (2 March 2022). "EU bans 70% of Belarus exports to bloc with new sanctions over Ukraine invasion". Reuters. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
111. ^ Ferris, Emily (12 January 2023). "Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly?" (PDF). The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
112. "Coordinates of the extreme points of the state frontier. Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus". Land of Ancestors. the Scientific and Production State Republican Unitary Enterprise "National Cadastre Agency" of the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus. 2011. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
113. ^ "Belarus § Geography". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 November 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
114. ^ "Key Facts". Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus. 2015.
115. "Belarus: Window of Opportunity (see Table 15, page 66)" (PDF). United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
116. Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; Joshi, Anup; Vynne, Carly; Burgess, Neil D.; Wikramanayake, Eric; Hahn, Nathan; Palminteri, Suzanne; Hedao, Prashant; Noss, Reed; Hansen, Matt; Locke, Harvey; Ellis, Erle C; Jones, Benjamin; Barber, Charles Victor; Hayes, Randy; Kormos, Cyril; Martin, Vance; Crist, Eileen; Sechrest, Wes; Price, Lori; Baillie, Jonathan E. M.; Weeden, Don; Suckling, Kierán; Davis, Crystal; Sizer, Nigel; Moore, Rebecca; Thau, David; Birch, Tanya; Potapov, Peter; Turubanova, Svetlana; Tyukavina, Alexandra; de Souza, Nadia; Pintea, Lilian; Brito, José C.; Llewellyn, Othman A.; Miller, Anthony G.; Patzelt, Annette; Ghazanfar, Shahina A.; Timberlake, Jonathan; Klöser, Heinz; Shennan-Farpón, Yara; Kindt, Roeland; Lillesø, Jens-Peter Barnekow; van Breugel, Paulo; Graudal, Lars; Voge, Maianna; Al-Shammari, Khalaf F.; Saleem, Muhammad (2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. ISSN 0006-3568. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
117. Bell, Imogen (2002). Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 132. ISBN 1-85743-137-5.
118. Zaprudnik 1993, p. xix
119. ^ Fedor, Helen (1995). "Belarus – Climate". Belarus: A Country Study. Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
120. Rainsford, Sarah (26 April 2005). "Belarus cursed by Chernobyl". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
121. "The United Nations and Chernobyl – The Republic of Belarus". United Nations. 2004. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
122. Smith, Marilyn. "Ecological reservation in Belarus fosters new approaches to soil remediation". International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
123. Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2023.
124. "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Belarus". Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
125. Larissa Titarenko (2011). "Country Report: Belarus Borders: Borders and policy in Belarus". University of Eastern Finland. p. 14. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
126. Larissa Titarenko. "Country Report: Belarus Borders". University of Eastern Finland. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
127. Levitsky, Steven; Way, Lucan A. (2010). "The Evolution of Post-SovietCompetitive Authoritarianism". Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Problems of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-139-49148-8. Retrieved 12 June 2020. Unlike his predecessor, Lukashenka consolidated authoritarian rule. He censored state media and closed Belarus's only independent radio station .
128. "Interview with Belarus President Lukashenko". Reuters. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. "I am the last dictator in Europe," Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has told Reuters in a rare interview.
     Tharoor, Ishaan. "Analysis | Can people power topple Europe's 'last dictator'?". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
     "Profile: Alexander Lukashenko". BBC News. BBC. 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2014. '..an authoritarian ruling style is characteristic of me '
     Levitsky, Steven; Way, Lucan A. (2010). "The Evolution of Post-Soviet Competitive Authoritarianism". Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Problems of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-139-49148-8. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020. Unlike his predecessor, Lukashenka consolidated authoritarian rule. He censored state media and closed Belarus's only independent radio station .
     Treisman, Rachel (16 August 2020). "One Week After Election, Belarus Sees Giant Protests Against 'Europe's Last Dictator'". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
129. Rausing, Sigrid (7 October 2012). "Belarus: inside Europe's last dictatorship". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
130. "Belarus's Lukashenko: 'Better a dictator than gay'". Reuters. Berlin. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2017. ...German Foreign Minister's branding him 'Europe's last dictator'
131. Liabedzka, Anatoly (2008). "Europe's Last Dictatorship". European View. 7 (1): 81–89. doi:10.1007/s12290-008-0029-7. S2CID 154655219.
132. Marples, David R (2005). "Europe's Last Dictatorship: The Roots and Perspectives of Authoritarianism in 'White Russia'". Europe-Asia Studies. 57 (6): 895–908. doi:10.1080/1080/09668130500199509. S2CID 153436132.
133. Burkhardt F. (2016). "Belarus". In Fruhstorfer A.; Hein M. (eds.). Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft. Springer VS. pp. 463–493. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-13762-5_19. ISBN 978-3-658-13761-8.
134. "Belarus suspended from the Council of Europe". Press Service of the Council of Europe. 17 January 1997. Archived from the original on 26 April 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
135. "Republic of Belarus". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
136. "Belarus – Office of the Directorate General of Programmes". coe.int. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
137. "Profile: Alexander Lukashenko". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
138. Jeffries, Ian (2004). The countries of the former Soviet Union at the turn of the twenty-first century: the Baltic and European states in transition. Routledge. p. 274. ISBN 0-415-25230-X.
139. Constitution of Belarus Chapter 4, Art. 90 and 91
140. "Belarus 1994 (rev. 2004)". Constitute. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
141. ^ "Section IV:The President, Parliament, Government, the Courts". Constitution of Belarus. Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus. 2004. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
142. "Deputy Prime Ministers of the Republic of Belarus". Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
143. Belarus vote 'neither free nor fair' BBC News, 10 September 2001
144. Republic of Belarus Presidential Election 19 March 2006: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report OSCE
145. OSCE (20 December 2010). "Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions" (PDF).
146. Sofie Bedford (2017). ""The Election Game": Authoritarian Consolidation Processes in Belarus". Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. 25 (4): 381–305. officially the sanctions were reduced as a 'reward' for the 2015 presidential elections being peaceful and non-violent, despite the fact that these elections were just as non-democratic as any previous election in Belarus
147. Foreign Affairs; International Trade Canada (25 September 2012). "Standing up for Free and Fair Elections in Belarus". Government of Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
148. Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. pp. 282–302. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.013.23. ISBN 978-0-19-025865-8. Retrieved 21 May 2020. unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context.
149. Belarus election 'neither free nor fair,' says UN human rights expert, United Nations (13 October 2015).
150. "Belarus poll workers describe fraud in Aug. 9 election". AP. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
151. Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-025865-8. Retrieved 21 May 2020. unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context.
152. "Lukashenka vs. democracy: Where is Belarus heading?". AtlanticCouncil. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. However, the vote was marred by allegations of widespread fraud. These suspicions appeared to be confirmed by data from a limited number of polling stations that broke ranks with the government and identified opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya as the clear winner.
153. "OSCE Report on the October 2004 parliamentary elections" (PDF). Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. December 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
154. "Belarus in the aftermath of the Presidential election of 19 March 2006" (PDF). Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 11 April 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
155. "Belarus rally marred by arrests". BBC News. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 13 March 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
156. Oliphant, Roland (25 December 2010). "Police guard threatened to rape Belarus Free Theatre director after election protest". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
157. Belarus opposition leader Andrei Sannikov jailed, BBC News Online (14 May 2011)
158. "Belarus: 7 presidential candidates face 15 years". Kyiv Post. 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
159. Motlagh, Jason (7 July 2011). "Why Belarus' Dictator Is Not Fond of Applause". Time. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
160. Wolfram Nordsieck (2012). "Belarus". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
161. "Soviet Local Government". Russia Today Society. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
162. "Belarus: EU imposes sanctions as Lukashenko orders police to clear the streets". Sky News. 19 August 2020.
163. "UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATES | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org.
164. ^ United States Government (2007). "Background Note: Belarus". United States State Department. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
165. "Russia-Belarus relations: The future of the union state".
166. Radio Free Europe (2006). "CIS: Foreign Ministers, Heads Of State Gather In Minsk For Summit". Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
167. "EU imposes Belarus travel ban". BBC News. 19 November 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
168. ^ "Foreign Policy". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
169. "Belarus president visits Vatican". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
170. Gramer, Robbie; Mackinnon, Amy (12 August 2020). "The U.S. Was Set to Send an Ambassador to Belarus. Then Came the Crackdown".
171. "Modest Advances in US-Belarus Relations". Jamestown.
172. "Belarus Democracy Act Will Help Cause of Freedom, Bush Says". USINO. United States State Department. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
173. "China's Xi promises Belarus $1 billion in loans". Guardian. London. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
174. Li, Yan; Cheng, Enfu (1 December 2020). "Market Socialism in Belarus: An Alternative to China's Socialist Market Economy". World Review of Political Economy. 11 (4): 438. doi:10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.4.0428. ISSN 2042-8928. S2CID 236786906.
175. "Syria and Belarus agree to promote trade". BBC News. BBC. 13 March 1998. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
176. "Belarus-Syria report substantial progress in trade and economic relations". Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
177. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the RB (2007). "Membership of the Republic of Belarus in International Organizations". Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
178. "Growth in United Nations membership, 1945–present". Department of Public Information. United Nations Organization. 3 July 2006. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
179. "European Neighbourhood Policy". European Commission Migration and Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
180. "EU relations with Belarus". Council of the EU. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
181. "Belarus freezes migrant cooperation deal over EU sanctions". Deutsche Welle. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
182. "Leaders". Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
183. "History" (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus. 2006. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
184. Routledge, IISS Military Balance 2007, pp. 158–59
185. Bykovsky, Pavel; Alexander Vasilevich (May 2001). "Military Development and the Armed Forces of Belarus". Moscow Defense Brief. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
186. "Belarus § Military and Security". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 9 October 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
187. "Belarus and NATO". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 2002. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
188. "North Atlantic Treaty Organization". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
189. "NATO Council adopted individual partnership program with Belarus". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 11 March 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
190. Laurie Walker (21 November 2010). "Nato and Belarus: partnership, past tensions and future possibilities". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
191. ^ "Human rights by country – Belarus". Amnesty International. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
192. ^ "Essential Background – Belarus". Human Rights Watch. 2005. Archived from the original on 15 January 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
193. "Belarus: Country Profile". Freedom House. 20 April 2023.
194. Belarus, Reporters Without Borders, retrieved 8 June 2022
195. "Lukashenka promises "serfdom" in villages". Charter '97. 28 May 2014.
196. "Pańszczyzna u Łukaszenki. Prezydent Białorusi chce zakazać kołchoźnikom odchodzić z pracy". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 2014.
197. "In chase of upgrade: serfdom for woodworkers?". Belsat. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014.
198. Death sentences and executions in 2011 Amnesty International March 2012
199. "Rainbow Europe". ILGA-Europe. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
200. "Belarus approves death penalty for officials convicted of high treason". Reuters.
201. "2012 Human Rights Reports: Belarus". The US Department of State. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
202. "Snapshot of the Belarus Country Profile". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. GAN Integrity Solutions. 5 November 2020.
203. "UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
204. "Das verprügelte Minsk". Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
205. "Lukashenko blames Americans and drunks for Belarus protests". MSN. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
206. "EU imposes sanctions on Belarusian economy". Council of the European Union. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
207. Evans, Joe (28 May 2021). "Belarus dictator threatens to 'flood EU with drugs and migrants'". The Week. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
208. Whitmore, Brian (30 June 2021). "Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
209. Hopkins, Valerie (19 July 2021). "In Lithuania, Migrants Find Themselves Caught in a Geopolitical Battle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
210. Beniušis, Vaidotas; Balkūnas, Vidmantas (5 August 2021). "Baltarusijos pareigūnai su skydais blokuoja migrantų grąžinimą: kadrai iš pasienio". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 5 August 2021.
211. Wądołowska, Agnieszka (6 August 2021). "Poland accuses Belarus of sending migrants over border as "living weapons" in "hybrid war"". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
212. "Poland Says Belarus Is Letting Migrants Cross Border In 'Hybrid War' With EU". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
213. "Lukašenkos keršto akcija pasiekė ir Latviją: šią savaitę – ryškus nelegalių migrantų skaičiaus šuolis". DELFI (in Lithuanian). 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
214. "US, EU, UK and Canada Announce New Belarus Sanctions". Voice of America. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
215. ^ "Section I: Principles of the Constitutional System. Published 1994, amended in 1996". Constitution of Belarus. Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus. 2004. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
216. "Section V: Local government and self-government". Constitution of Belarus. Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus. 2004. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
217. "About Minsk". Minsk City Executive Committee. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
218. "About Minsk". Minsk City Executive Committee. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
219. ^ "Strengthening Institutional Frameworks for Local Governance Programme". rm.coe.int. Council of Europe. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
220. "State Structure". president.gov.by. Press Service President of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
221. "СВЕДЕНИЯ о составе избранных депутатов местных Советов депутатов двадцать восьмого созыва" (PDF). rec.gov.by. Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
222. "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Республики Беларусь". world_of_law.pravo.by. National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
223. "№ 434 от 20.10.1995. Об объединении административных единиц Республики Беларусь, имеющих общий административный центр". belzakon.net. Belzakon. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
224. "Number and territorial distribution of the population". census.belstat.gov.by. National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
225. Nations, United. "Country Insights".
226. "Gini Coefficient by Country 2023".
227. O'Neill, Aaron. "Belarus GDP Distribution Across Economic Sectors". Statista. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
228. ^ "Belarus § Economy". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 8 October 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
229. "Russia may cut oil supplies to ally Belarus – Putin". Reuters. 25 October 2006. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
230. Bykau, A.; Vysotski, S. (2019). "What Belarus Produces, Exports, and Imports: Analyzing Trade in Value Added". In Sergi, B.S. (ed.). Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Belarus (Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth). Emerald Publishing Limited. pp. 235–248. doi:10.1108/978-1-83867-695-720191016. ISBN 978-1-83867-696-4. S2CID 211781907.
231. Kaare Dahl Martinsen (2002). "The Russian-Belarusian Union and the Near Abroad" (PDF). Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. NATO. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
232. "EU sanctions in response to the involvement of Belarus in the Russian military aggression against Ukraine" (Press release). European Commission. 8 April 2022.
233. "Belarus: EU adopts new round of individual sanctions over continued human rights abuses and imposes further targeted measures in response to involvement in Russia's military aggression against Ukraine" (Press release). Council of the European Union. 3 August 2023.
234. "EU restrictive measures against Belarus". European Council, Council of the European Union.
235. World Bank. "Belarus: Prices, Markets, and Enterprise Reform", p. 1. World Bank, 1997; ISBN 0-8213-3976-1
236. ^ "Belarus in Figures, 2016". www.belstat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
237. Library of Congress (1994). "Belarus – Exports". Country Studies. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
238. "Belarus and CIS countries and Georgia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
239. "Belarus – Industry". Country Studies. Library of Congress. 1995. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
240. World Bank (2006). "Belarus – Country Brief 2003". Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
241. Bléjer, Mario I.; Blejer, Director of the Centre for Central Banking Studies Mario I.; Skreb, Marko (9 May 2001). Transition: The First Decade. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02505-8 – via Google Books.
242. "Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
243. Sharon, Omondi (14 June 2019). "What Are The Biggest Industries In Belarus?". World Atlas. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
244. "Accessions – Belarus". Wto.org. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
245. "No Job? Pay Up. Belarus Imposes Fines for Being Unemployed – News". The Moscow Times. 3 April 2015.
246. "The EU's Relationship With Belarus – Trade" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009.
247. "Banknotes and Coins of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus". National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
248. "History of the Belarusian ruble". National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
249. "Belarus abandons pegging its currency to Russian ruble". English.pravda.ru. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
250. Yuras Karmanau (25 May 2011). "Belarus devaluation spreads panic". Seattle Times. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
251. With economy in tatters, Belarus appeals to IMF for rescue loan of up to $8 billion Archived 14 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, 1 June 2011; retrieved 2 June 2011
252. Belarus Appeals To IMF For $8bln Rescue Loan. Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Associated Press, 1 June 2011; retrieved 2 June 2011
253. ^ "ISO 4217 Amendment Number 161" (DOC). Currency-iso.org. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
254. "Международное обозначение белорусского рубля меняется на BYN после деноминации – Новости республики – Минский район-Минск-Новости Минска-Новости Минского района-Минский райисполком". Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
255. "Новости – Официальный интернет-портал Президента Республики Беларусь".
256. "Belarusian Strongman Lukashenka Bans Price Hikes To Curb Inflation". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty.
257. Ntim, Zac (10 January 2023). "Belarus Legalizes Piracy Of Audiovisual Material And Computer Software From "Unfriendly" Nations". Deadline Hollywood.
258. "Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom – Belarus". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
259. ^ "Национальный состав населения Республики Беларусь". www.belstat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
260. "About Belarus – Population". United Nations Office in Belarus. 2003. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
261. О демографической ситуации в январе-марте 2015 г. [About demographic situation in January–March 2015] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 May 2015.
262. "Largest Cities of Belarus (2007)". World-gazetteer.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
263. ^ "Belarus § People and Society". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 November 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
264. "International Programs: International Data Base". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
265. ^ "Religion and denominations in the Republic of Belarus" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. November 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
266. Ioffe, Grigoriĭ Viktorovich; Ioffe, Grigorij V. (2008). Understanding Belarus and how Western Foreign Policy Misses the Mark. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5558-7.
267. "Belarusian Religion statistics, definitions and sources". Nation Master. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
268. "Belarus – Religion". Country Studios.
269. "Belarus, Roman Catholic Church may ink cooperation agreement". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. BelITA. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
270. Minsk Jewish Campus Jewish Belarus Archived 24 August 2013 at archive.today; retrieved 9 July 2007.
271. "Languages across Europe". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
272. "Population classified by knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages by region and Minsk City". Belstat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
273. Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, TX: SIL International. Online version: Ethnologue.com.
274. Bekus, Nelly (2010). Struggle over identity: the official and the alternative "Belarusianness". Budapest: CEU press. pp. 151–155. ISBN 978-963-9776-68-5. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
275. "The Belarusian language in the period of socio-political crisis: signs of linguistic discrimination". Penbelarus.org. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
276. "The Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk amazes with its artistic atmosphere, popular artistes, hundreds of events and thousands of reasons to enjoy". sb.by. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
277. "Belarusian National Culture". Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
278. "Belarusian Literature". yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
279. "Old Belarusian Poetry". Virtual Guide to Belarus. 1994. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
280. ^ "Belarus: history", Britannica.com; accessed 4 March 2016.
281. "About Nasha Niva newspaper". Nasha Niva. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016.
282. Tereshkovich, Pavel; Robert J. Valliere (2001). "The Belarusian Road to Modernity". International Journal of Sociology. Belarus:Between the East and the West (I). 31 (3): 78–89. doi:10.1080/15579336.2001.11770234. JSTOR 20628625. S2CID 152025564.
283. "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015". NobelPrize.org.
284. Zou, Crystal (11 December 2003). "Ballets for Christmas". Shanghai Star. Archived from the original on 25 February 2005. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
285. ^ "Classical Music of Belarus". Belarusguide.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
286. "Eurovision.tv". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
287. National State Teleradiocompany"Belarus entry to the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
288. "Шагал в Беларуси: игнорируемый, забытый и снова открытый". Archived from the original on 26 March 2016.
289. Геташвили (2006). Атлас мировой живописи. ОЛМА Медиа Групп. ISBN 978-5-373-00553-1.
290. "Belarusian traditional clothing". Belarusguide.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
291. "Belarus – Ornament, Flags of the World". Fotw.fivestarflags.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
292. Canadian Citizenship and Immigration – Cultures Profile Project – Eating the Belarusian Way Archived 20 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine (1998); retrieved 21 March 2007.
293. "Darya Domracheva". www.olympic.org.
294. "Queen Victoria takes the throne determined to court further success". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 2012.
295. "ONI Country Profile: Belarus", OpenNet Initiative, 18 November 2010
296. "Belarus – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Archived from the original on 21 April 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2006.

Bibliography

• Birgerson, Susanne Michele (2002). After the Breakup of a Multi-Ethnic Empire. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96965-7.
• Minahan, James (1998). Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-30610-9.
• Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance; Pappas, Nicholas C. J. (1994). Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-27497-5.
• Plokhy, Serhii (2001). The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-924739-0.
• Richmond, Yale (1995). From Da to Yes: Understanding the East Europeans. Intercultural Press. ISBN 1-877864-30-7.
• Vauchez, André; Dobson, Richard Barrie; Lapidge, Michael (2001). Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Routledge. ISBN 1-57958-282-6.
• Zaprudnik, Jan (1993). Belarus: At a Crossroads in History. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-1794-0.

Further reading

• Bennett, Brian M. The Last Dictatorship in Europe: Belarus under Lukashenko (Columbia University Press, 2011)
• Frear, Matthew. Belarus Under Lukashenka: Adaptive Authoritarianism (Routledge, 2015)
• Korosteleva, Elena A. (June 2016). "The European Union and Belarus: Democracy Promotion by Technocratic Means?" Democratization 23: 4 pp. 678–698. doi:10.1080/13510347.2015.1005009.
• Levy, Patricia; Spilling, Michael (2009). Belarus. New York: Benchmark Books. ISBN 978-0-7614-3411-5.
• Kropotkin, Peter Alexeivitch; Bealby, John Thomas (1911). "Minsk (government)" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 555, 556.
• Marples, David. 'Our Glorious Past': Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War (Columbia University Press, 2014)
• Parker, Stewart. The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus (Trafford Publishing, 2007)
• Rudling, Pers Anders. The Rise and Fall of Belarusian Nationalism, 1906–1931 (University of Pittsburgh Press; 2014) 436 pages
• Ryder, Andrew (1998). Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Routledge. ISBN 1-85743-058-1.
• Silitski, Vitali & Jan Zaprudnik (2010). The A to Z of Belarus. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4617-3174-0.
• Snyder, Timothy (2004). The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999
• Szporluk, Roman (2000). Russia, Ukraine, and the Breakup of the Soviet Union. Hoover Institution Press. ISBN 0-8179-9542-0.
• Treadgold, Donald; Ellison, Herbert J. (1999). Twentieth Century Russia. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3672-4.
• Vakar, Nicholas Platonovich. Belorussia: The Making of a Nation: A Case Study (Harvard UP, 1956).
• Vakar, Nicholas Platonovich. A Bibliographical Guide to Belorussia (Harvard UP, 1956)

External links

• Website of the Republic of Belarus Archived 15 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine by BelTA news agency
• Belarus. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• FAO Country Profiles: Belarus

53°N 27°E / 53°N 27°E / 53; 27

• Belarus
• Countries in Europe
• Landlocked countries
• Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States
• Member states of the United Nations
• Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
• Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union
• Republics
• Countries and territories where Russian is an official language
• States and territories established in 1991
• States and territories established in the 980s