Belarus is in Eastern Europe. It has borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Cities

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Minsk - the capital

Brest

Homel

Hrodna

Nesvizh

Sharkovshchina

Vitsyebsk

Understand

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Originally part of Kievan Rus, Belarus was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Polish Partitions in the 18th century. After over a hundred years of Russian rule followed by seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. However under authoritarian rule it has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious steps towards implementation have yet to take place.

Get in

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Visa requirements, basic information
While most CIS nationals do not require visa, most other visitors to Belarus will need a visa. For a list of those exempt see here. Visas on arrival are available at Minsk-2 airport, but not other entry points.

Visa fees and processing changes so make sure that you check with the local embassy or consulate before you plan your travel. A visa will take a full page of your passport so make sure you have at least 1 page free.

The easiest way to obtain a visa is doing it on arrival to the National airport Minsk 2 at the Consular office (contact phone + 375 17 279 20 58) at a fee of:
in case no consulate or embassy of Belarus is established in the country of residence:

private or business visa - 100 USD

tourist visa - 45 USD

transit visa - 30 USD

in case consulate or embassy of Belarus is established in the country of residence:

private or business visa - 140 USD

tourist visa - 60 USD

transit visa - 50 USD

There is no possibility to get a Belarusian entry visa on the border (except for the National airport Minsk-2)

Latest prices and procedures are available from the Embassy Sites. Pre-issued visas save a lot of time on entry.

Belarusian visa is issued in 5 working days, there is also a possibility to get it urgently (in 48 hours) by paying double fee.
Normal fee for Belarusian private or business single visa can vary from 40 to 80 USD.
Visas for children under 16 are issued free of charge, visa processing fee can be levied in this case by certain Belarusian embassies or consulates.

In order to get a visa you will also need: medical insurance and documents, depending on the type of visa you apply for.
There is a compulsory state medical insurance for visitors to Belarus. For a week's visit you will need to fill out a form and pay US$3.

To get a Belarusian BUSINESS VISA a foreigner has to present an original invitation of any Belarusian legal person, which is officially registered in the Republic of Belarus. The invitation is to be written on letterhead paper and should contain name, personal and passport details as well as purpose and duration of visit. The invitation is to be signed and bear official seal of the inviting organization. Embassies or consulates (with the exception of Consular office at the National airport) in certain cases can except invitations received by fax. Multiple business visa is obtainable against payment of 300 USD from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consular department upon presentation of all required documents (contact phone + 375 17 222 26 61).

To get a VISA FOR PRIVATE PURPOSES a foreigner has to present the invitation issued for a Belarusian resident by his citizenship and migration office. The original invitation should be handed over to the embassy/consulate or Consular office at the National airport in this case, any fax or photocopy is excluded. Multiple private visa is issued upon presentation of the original invitation to foreigners, visiting their close relatives.
Belarusian tourist visas are issued upon presentation of the original of the tourist voucher received from any Belarusian tour operator or tourist agency.

Visas can be valid for one, two, three or multiple entries. They are to be used within the period indicated therein.
Foreigners visiting Belarus must register within a period of 3 working days with local passport and visa office and have registration put in their passport. If staying in a hotel, this will be arranged by the hotel.
In case of need, private or business visa can be extended up to 90 days when staying in Belarus. It will be done by Minsk city citizenship and migration office (contact phone + 375 17 231 38 09) or Regional citizenship and migration office in Hrodna, Brest, Minsk, Mahilyou, Homel upon presentation of all required documents.
Exit permits required for all foreigners intending to leave the country with expired visas. They are issued by Minsk city passport and visa office or Regional passport and visa offices in Hrodna, Brest, Minsk, Mahilyou, Homel.

By plane

Several European airlines have flights to Minsk (operating at National airport Minsk situated appr. 40 km from capital Minsk). Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Lot Polish airlines, Air Baltic, Czech Airlines, and some other carriers offer this destination.
The only national airline - Belavia - could be competitive due to attractive tickets prices.

Flying directly to Belarus is VERY expensive, possibly one of the most expensive tourist destinations in Europe. Do you have time and want to save some money? Fly to Vilnius Lithuania with LAL(or Kaunas, Lithuania with Ryan Air) and take a train to Minsk. The train ride from Vilnius is only four hours and generally trains leave twice per day. You will save a great deal of money.

By train

Some of the entry/exit points along the Poland/Belarus border include:

Kuźnica-Białostocka/Hrodna

Terespol/Brest

You can take a local train between the two corresponding border towns. Timetable information should be available on sites like DB or PKP (en) (pl).

Passport, customs controls

Passport controls happen in the train itself. In the get in to Belarus direction, they happen typically even before the train leaves the station in Poland.

Customs controls happen in a room of the train station in the Belarus train station. As of 2005, you are most likely to have a short chat with a customs officer - the system of green (nothing to declare) and red (something to declare) streams and random checks of suspicious looking people in the green stream - everyone is presumed to be suspicious. In practice, the rules seem to be fairly standard - declare expensive goods, you can import/export a small quantity of alcohol, cigarettes, computer equipment for personal use. However, the formal content of the customs form asks whether you are carrying any publications. So if you have, e.g. a US passport and are carrying a whole bunch of do-it-yourself-color-revolution materials and you have that subversive look about you, then you will probably be giving the customs people have a legal reason to detain you and/or deport you.

Warning: the customs room in the train station where you exit Belarus may be difficult to find (especially if you walk around the station rather casually and your cyrillic is weak) and it closes a long time before the train leaves; if you arrive only 10 minutes before the train leaves, you will be refused customs control and access to the train. ''(please update: the delay before closing is unknown, but it is more than 10 minutes, and probably it is around 30-60 minutes).UPDATE 6/20/07-In the 6 months I've been here (I'm a US citizen), I've taken an overnight Minsk-Kiev-Minsk and the early morning Minsk-Vilnius one way. Both times, customs was carried out at the border while on the train. It added over an hour to the trip, but other than that, the officials were efficient and friendly. As far as I know, there is no more customs office in the Minsk train station.

On a local train between two border towns, chances are high that you will be accompanied/befriended by women trading underpants, soap powder, strawberries, cigarettes etc across the border. They may be friendly and casual or (leaving Belarus) they might put pressure on you to help them in their trade by carrying cigarettes over the border for them - the idea is that you buy it cheap in Belarus and that you resell it to them once you're in Poland. Chances are also good that their friendly mafia boss is with them and you'll all travel together in the same train carriage, so chances of you getting away and reselling the cigarettes independently are probably weak unless you're James Bond. If you're not James Bond, just smile, use your common sense and probably best not to provoke them. Don't look to the border guards for help. They know the women traders and seem to have some informal deal with them (e.g. not being strict about visas etc) - the Belarus border guards are only worried about political subversives, they have higher priorities than defending you against women trading underpants and cigarettes.

By car

At the Terespol/Brest crossing, there are six different controls, some sort of mix of anti-spam filter, passport control and customs control from the two sides. It would be nice to believe that there's a geiger counter to check for stuff which is radioactive from the Chernobyl accident, but it's unclear if this is used in practice - it's not done in any obvious way.

Expect to wait half an hour to an hour between the three controls on the Belarus side. The three Polish controls are typically faster. In reality, the border guards/customs officers from the two countries seem to be present together at many of the control lines, so it's not easy to know when you're still in Belarus and when you're in Poland.

By bus

Taking the bus from Vilnius to Minsk is a quick (3,5 h) and fairly comfortable ride, as long as you stick to western international carriers such as Eurolines. Buy your ticket in advance. However bribery at the border is not uncommon, especially with EU citizens. Customs officers may implicate that something is wrong with your insurance (even if it is perfectly all right) and tell you to go back to Lithuania and buy a new one. This is a discrete cry for a bribe, as they know you won't have the time to walk back to Lithuania as you're on a scheduled bus (and probaby with luggage you don't feel like carrying - it's a long way back. If you agree to comply, put 10 € (per person) discretely in your passport) and that will do it. Naturally you won't get any additional stamp or document to "upgrade" your insurance, so do not wait or ask for it. Needless to say, such behaviour is condemnable and police authorities should be notified.

By foot

If you're at one of the double town crossings, e.g.

Kuźnica-Białostocka/Hrodna

Terespol/Brest

there may be some places where you can cross by foot - e.g. because you're on the last day of your Belarus visa and you want to be sure not to overstay - but more likely you'll have to befriend some people in a car who will adopt you for a few hours and will (implicitly) pretend that you're travelling with them. The border guards have no problem with this. Remember that the people in the car are taking a risk as well as you - as far as they know you might be a :WikiPedia:National Endowment for Democracy|National Endowment for Democracy agent who will be discovered by the Belarus border guard and get them into a heap of trouble. So if they are Belarusians and they ask for a fee of US$5 consider it fair. See the section By car above for what happens in your adopted car.

Talk

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Belarusian and Russian are the two official languages, but Russian is more widely spoken. It will be difficult to get by without some Russian. The two languages are closely related, so even the Belarusian monolinguals understand some Russian. Polish is spoken in the western parts, especially around Grodno.

Buy

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Inside of Belarus, you can get belarusian rubles from automatic bank machines for standard types of credit/debit cards, and you can change US dollars and euros into belarusian rubles or vice/versa at many exchange kiosks in big railway stations and centers of big cities. Converting belarusian rubles back into hard currency once you are outside of Belarus will probably be extremely difficult. However, if you exchange all your rubles before leaving, any last minute purchases (or fines for overstaying, customs, whatever) would have to be paid in dollars/euros.

Be very careful, exchange kiosks will not exchange any bill that is damaged or marked on in anyway. Approximately half of the bills you currently have in your wallet will be rejected for exchange in Belarus. Be sure to take ONLY relatively new and undamaged foreign money with you.

A very rough conversion (summer 2006) is about 2200 belarusian rubles = US$1.

Prices are much lower than in Western Europe: if you buy local products (local train tickets, food, drink) in local markets, supermarkets, shops, then divide the cost you normally pay in Western Europe by something like a factor of 20 (summer 2005).

Eat

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Potatoes , Pork , Beef , Bread , Italian pizzas,

Drink

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You can get softdrinks and beers everywhere in Belarus. Most commonly found at bus stops.Vodka is the most common drink(alcoholic).

Sleep

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"Legal theft". Most hotels in Minsk are safe. However, be aware of the Belarusian trick. Since Belarusians are very afraid of the authorities and thus of committing a crime, some corrupt hotels may practice a very annoying way of stealing, so called "legal theft" inovolving maids (often in conspiracy with the reception personnel). While cleaninig your room (in your absence) they may hide your personal belongings in the most outrageous parts of your room, combining bizarre sets of items, such as a cellular phone with a piece of bread, a wallet with a cheap magazine or a pair of glasses (!). The trick is: if you miss them, the maid will come and collect them later, if you report the items missing (or find them by yourself) you won't be able to do a thing (since the items never left the room, it is not considered a theft). The personnel may also ridicule your allegation by pointing out why on earth they would want to hide some bread or a hotel magazine - they just accidentally tucked the items away while cleaning. Avoid such unpleasant situations by always locking your valuables in the hotel safe or at least taking them with you. Before checking out, always search the room thoroughly (wardrobes, cabinets, deep shelves, behind sofas and radiators).

Learn

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Russian language courses at the Belarus State Economic University and the Minsk State Linguistic Univeristy.

Stay safe

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As of 2005, the USA has given several overt signs that it wishes to overthrow the Lukashenko government, by supporting opposition parties in elections, e.g.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's high-profile meeting with people from Belarus opposition parties on 21 April 2005. Just as Sudanese or North Korean or Chinese or whatever local authorities would be rather sensitive about USA or Russian non government organizations supporting local opposition parties, the Belarusian authorities are rather sensitive about foreign organizations helping the Belarusian people overthrow the dictatorship.

If you participate in a street demonstration with political banners, expect to be detained within minutes. How fast you get out (24 hours or 24 days) depends on your support network, your social status, etc.

The KGB in Belarus has not changed its name since the days of the Soviet Union - it is still called the KGB, and its habits have probably not changed much either.

Some ethnic Polish journalists and journalists with Polish citizenship had hassles with the authorities (ranging from refused entry to a dozen or so days in prison) during 2005. If you have a Polish sounding name, better have good evidence that you're not a journalist. Polish and American diplomats have also been detained by Belarusian authorities in contravention of the :Wikipedia:Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations|Vienna Convention. So if you are a diplomat, you may not be treated in accordance with international law by Belarusian authorities.

Stay healthy

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In Belarus, there is a big institute and lots of funding for studying the after effects of the :Wikipedia:Chernobyl accident|Chernobyl disaster, which happened in 1986 in a nuclear power plant on the Ukraine-Belarus border, in the food chain. In principle, food inspectors check food not only for bacterial contamination but also for radiation levels, and except for the banned region within about 50 kilometers of the Chernobyl plant itself and a second hotspot starting from the point where Russia, Ukraine and Belarus all touch each other, and running roughly 100 km to the North of this point, food is considered safe. (please update: if someone has more quantitative information, please provide this; just saying "safe" is rather vague.)


:''BLR redirects here. For the IATA code, see Bangalore International Airport

Belarus (Belarusian and Russian: Беларусь Transliteration: Byelarus) is a landlocked country in the region traditionally called Eastern Europe, bordering Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk and other major cities include Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and Vitebsk. One third of the country is forested, and industries such as agriculture and manufacturing are staples of the Belarusian economy. Belarus is one of the countries most affected by nuclear radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the neighboring Ukraine.

At different points in its history, parts of Belarus have been under the control of several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. Belarus became a Soviet republic in 1922 (see Belorussian SSR). The republic declared its sovereignty on 27 July 1990. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus officially declared independence on 25 August 1991. Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president. During his rule, Lukashenko used Soviet-era policies, despite objections from Western powers. Belarus is negotiating with Russia to unify into a single state: the Union of Russia and Belarus, although the discussions have stalled for several years.

History of the name

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Historically, the country was referred to in English as "White Russia", although this is not exactly correct. The correct translation is "White Rus'", which either describes the area of Eastern Europe populated by Slavic people or the various states that occupied the area. Despite this, the practice of using the term White Russia continues as of 2006 in the following languages: "Weißrussland" in German, "Beyaz Rusya" in Turkish or "Λευκορωσία" (Levkorosía) in Greek (see for the full list).

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

Belarus was named "Belorussia" in the days of Imperial Russia, and the Russian tsar was usually styled "Czar of All the Russias — Great, Little, and White". This practice continued throughout the Soviet era, with the country taking the official name of the "Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic". Some Belarusians object to the name "Byelorussia", as an unwelcome reminder of the days under Russian and Soviet rule. Officially, the full name of the country is the Republic of Belarus (Республика Беларусь, Respublika Byelarus').
In 2002, an informal survey was conducted by the Web site pravapis.org to see which version of the name was used on a majority of Web sites. By using Google, Pravapis.org looked up various terms and it found that "Belarus", the official short form of the name, was used on 93% of Web sites checked. Other spellings used included "Belorussia", "Bielorussia" and "Byelorussia," which were used in 1%–2% of cases.

History

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and the Kingdom of Poland in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1619.

Between the sixth and the twelfth centuries, what is now known as Belarus was settled by the Slavs, who still dominate the country. The Early East Slavs gradually came into contact with the Varangians and were organized by them under the state of Kievan Rus'.

In the thirteenth century, several of the separate Ruthenian principalities were badly affected by a Mongol invasion. Later, parts of Rus were swallowed up by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Most of its population was ethnically Slavonic. Slavonic lands enjoyed limited autonomy within Lithuanian state. Sometimes it is wrongly supposed that Belarusian was the official language of the state, because Latin, Old Russian (Ruthenian) and Polish were used side by side in state affairs. Belarusian language was born only in a middle of 19th century when Russian speakers in modern day Belarusian territory were subject to a heavy Polish cultural influence. At the beginning of 17th century Old Russian language was banned in Lithuania and replaced by Polish which was dominant for centuries already. Therefore the use of Old Russian (Old Slavonic-Ruthenian) was allowed in Ruthenian autonomies (principalities). Belarusian lands were easily incorporated into the Duchy within the next one hundred years, because of the strength of Lithuania and the threat of Mongols on modern day Belarusian lands. During this time, the Duchy was involved with battles between different forces. One of the major battles was between the Duchy and the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Duchy won the battle and the victory allowed the Duchy to control the North-western borders of Eastern Europe. Other military battles took place between the Duchy and the Mongols and the Turks, resulting in military victories for the Duchy. By the fifteenth century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched across much of Eastern Europe, spanning from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

On February 2 1386, Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila was crowned King of Poland, and allied the Grand Duchy with Kingdom of Poland in a personal union. The union was formed between Jogaila and the daughter of King Luis of Poland, Jadwiga, by marriage. This was seen by the Polish as a move to end a union with Hungary. In the early parts of the This personal union eventually resulted in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a federation created in 1569. The Muscovites, led by Tsar Ivan the III, began military conquests in 1486 to try and gain the Kievan Rus' lands, specifically Belarus and Ukraine. The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795, with the commonwealth partitioned and annexed by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Belarusian territories remained part of the Russian Empire until they were occupied by Germany during World War I.

Belarus first declared independence on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic. The Republic, however, was short-lived, and the regime was overthrown soon after the German withdrawal. In 1919, Belarus became the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). After Russian occupation of eastern and northern Lithuania, it was merged into the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Polish-Soviet War ended in 1921, Byelorussian lands were split between Poland and the Bolsheviks, and the recreated Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922.

In September 1939, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union invaded Poland and annexed its eastern lands, including majority of Polish-held Byelorussian land. In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Byelorussia was occupied soon after and remained in Nazi hands until 1944. Over one million buildings were destroyed and the human losses totaled over two million Belarusians. The Jewish population of Belorussia was devastated during The Holocaust. The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. The Jewish population, however, never recovered.

After the war ended, Byelorussia was among the fifty-one signatories to the founding of the United Nations Charter in 1945. After the war, Belarus began a process of rebuilding, with help from Moscow. During this time, Belarus became a major center of manufacturing in the western region of the USSR. The increase in jobs brought in a huge immigrant population from the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.

Under the control of Joseph Stalin, a policy of Sovietization was started to "protect" Byelorussian SSR from influences by the West. This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Belorussian SSR government. The official use of the Belarusian language and other cultural aspects were limited by Moscow. After Stalin died in 1953, his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, continued this program, stating, "The sooner we all start speaking Russian, the faster we shall build communism." In June of 1988, mass graves were discovered at the city of Kurapaty. The graves allegedly contained about 250,000 of Stalin's victims.

After the discovery of the mass graves by archaeologist Zyanon Paznyak, it caused some Belarusians to press Moscow on why this happened. After clashes with the police, the Belarusian Popular Front was created in October of 1988, having Paznyak as the chairman of the new party. Two years later in March of 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR took place. While only 10% of the seats were taken by the BPF, the populace was content with the selection of the delegates. Belarus declared itself sovereign on 27 July 1990, by the issuance of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The BSSR became the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991, days after the coup on Gorbachev, even with the support of the Communist Party of Belarus. Days after the declaration, Belarusian Prime Minister Vyachaslaw Kyebich and his entire cabinent renounced their membership in the CPB, soon stopping the activities of the CPB completely.

Around that time, Stanislav Shushkevich became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus, after liberals replaced Mikalay Dzyemyantsyey for siding with the coup. The white, red, white flag and the Pahonia shield were chosen as the national symbols of Belarus. Shushkevich, along with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine, met on 8 December 1991, in Belavezhskaya Pushcha to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, being headquartered in Minsk. In 1993, there was an agreement in the Supreme Soviet to reduce its service by one year, so that new elections could take place in 1994. This move, along with others, is part of the 1996 plan created by Lukashenko and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin to create a union between the two nations.

Politics

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Belarus is a presidential republic, governed by a President and a bicameral parliament—the National Assembly. The assembly comprises a lower house, the 110-member House of Representatives, and an upper house, the 64-member Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the Prime Minister of Belarus, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on the foreign and domestic policy of Belarus. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and the ability to accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution of Belarus.

The Belarusian President since 1994 has been Alexander Lukashenko. The government is a Council of Ministers, headed by a prime minister. The members of the Council of Ministers need not be members of the legislature, and are appointed by the President. The judiciary is comprised of the Supreme Court and various specialized courts, such as the Constitutional Court, which deals with specific issues related to the constitution or business law. The judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic.

The next round of elections took place on March 19, 2006, and included selecting the President. Lukashenko was opposed in the election by Alexander Milinkevich, a candidate representing a coalition of opposition parties. Another opposition candidate, Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the Lukashenko sponsored event, the All Belarusian People's Assembly. This event, among others, have caused for concern that the 2006 elections had irregularities. The incumbent President won a landslide victory, receiving over 80% of the vote. It was, however, deemed unfair by the OSCE (see Belarusian presidential election, 2006).

Lukashenko was quoted as saying that he has an "authoritarian ruling style" that he uses to run the country. The Council of Europe has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for undemocratic voting and election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. According to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Belarus's constitution is "illegal and does not respect minimum democratic standards and thus violates the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law". The Belarusian government is also criticized for human rights violations and its actions against non-governmental organizations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. During the rule of the current administration in Belarus, there have been several cases of persecution, including the disappearances or deaths of prominent opposition leaders and independent journalists. Belarus is the only nation in Europe that retains the death penalty for certain crimes during times of peace and war. In testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus, among six nations, as part of the US's list of "outposts of tyranny". The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that the statements from Secretary Rice "are a poor basis" to form a good Belarusian-American alliance. The organization Amnesty International have also reported that some of the journalists who criticize the leadership have disappeared and have not been located.

In the realm of diplomacy, Belarus are close allies with Russia and with the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Russia provides Belarus not only with raw materials but has asked for the world community to view Belarus in a positive light. Cooperation with fellow members of the CIS began with the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the ties between Belarus and the CIS has been strained because of the color revolutions that took place inside Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Despite the European Union travel ban on Lukashenko and top officials, Belarus has trade agreements with several EU member states, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Neighboring countries of Lithuania and Poland and former Soviet republic of Latvia also have trade agreements with Belarus. Bilateral relations with the United States continued without problems until 1997, when the United States State Department began to issue grants to neoliberal orientated NGO's. The Belarus Government also made it harder for US based organizations, such as the Soros Foundation, to carry out their duties. In 2004, the United States passed a bill called the Belarus Democracy Act, which allowed US funds to be spent on groups who oppose Lukashenko and on other destabilizing efforts. Despite this, the United States and Belarus cooperate on issues dealing with human trafficking, technology crime, intellectual property rights and prevention of natural and man made disasters. Belarus has been increasing their cooperation with African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. China and Belarus have been building strong ties with each other, made stronger by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October of 2005.

Other than the CIS, Belarus has membership in the regional organizations Eurasian Economic Community and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. since 1998 as a way to promote Belarusian interests and to gain leverage on major powers, such as the United States. As the Byelorusian SSR, Belarus was one of the founder members of the United Nations.
Provinces and districts

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

(Administrative centers are given in parentheses)
# Minsk (capital)
# Brest Province (Brest)
# Homyel Province (Homyel)
# Hrodna Province (Hrodna)
# Mahilyow Province (Mahilyow)
# Minsk Province (Minsk)
# Vitsebsk Province (Vitsebsk)

Geography

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Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. Lakes and rivers punctuate the country. The largest marsh territory is Polesie, which is among the largest marshes in Europe. There are 11,000 lakes in Belarus, but the majority of the lakes are smaller than 0.5 square kilometres (124 acres). Three major rivers run through the country; the Neman River, the Pripyat River, and the Dnepr River. Belarus' highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill), 345 metres (1,132 ft), and its lowest point is on the Neman River, 90 metres (295 ft).

Belarus is home, along with Poland, to the Belaveskaya Pushcha (Белавеская пушча) or, by its Polish name, Białowieża Forest, the only remaining, virgin part of the immense forest that once spread across the European Plain.

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

Forest covers about 34% of the total landscape, making forestry products one of the most abundant natural resources in Belarus. Other natural resources found in Belarus include peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomite (limestone), marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay.

About one-fifth of the territory, mostly in the southeastern provinces of Homyel and Mahilyow, continue to be affected by fallout from the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. While the amount of radiation has decreased since the disaster, most of the area is considered uninhabitable. Approximately 70% of the total radiation emitted from the Chernobyl plant entered into Belarusian territory.

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

Economy

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The Belarusian economy remains mostly state-controlled, as in Soviet times. Over half of the business are state controlled and foreign ownership is under 4%. The country is relatively stable economically, but depends to a large extent on raw material supplies, such as oil, from its close ally Russia. Industry and agriculture remain largely in state hands. Agriculture is dominated by collective farming, with major sub-sectors being the cultivation of potatoes and cattle breeding.

Historically important branches of industry include textiles and wood processing. After 1965, creation of heavy industry and mechanical engineering (tractors, refrigerators, etc.) significantly strengthened the country's development. Within the Soviet Union, Belarus was one of the most industrially-developed republics. Economically, Belarus involved itself in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Eurasian Economic Community, and Union with Russia. Soon after 1990, industrial production plunged due to the introduction of free market structures into the former Soviet Union. Economic growth returned in 1996, and in 2001 Belarus was the first CIS country to reach Soviet-era levels of industrial production and agricultural production.

Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005 was $79.13 billion (estimate), or about $7,700 per capita. In 2005, the gross domestic product increased by about 8-9%, with the inflation rate averaging about 8%. According to the UN, average monthly income grew from US$20 to US$225 during the last 10 years.

Over four million people comprise the labor force in Belarus, with women holding slightly more jobs than men. In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population were employed in industrial factories. Employment is also high in agriculture, manufacturing sales, trading goods, and education. The unemployment rate, according to Belarusian government statistics, was about 1.5% in 2005. The number of unemployed persons totaled 679,000, with approximately two-thirds being women. The rate of unemployment has been decreasing since 2003, and the overall rate has been lower since statistics were first taken in 1995. As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, there has been discussion between both states to use a single currency along the same lines as the Euro. This has led to the suggestion for the Belarusian ruble to be discontinued in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting on 1 January 2008, according to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS. The banking system of Belarus is composed of thirty state owned banks and one privatized bank.

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

Demographics

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The majority of the population of Belarus are native Belarusians, who comprise 81.2% of the total population of 10,293,011 people. Russians are the second largest group, making up 11.4% of the population. Poles and Ukrainians account for 3.9% and 2.4% of the population, respectively.

Languages commonly spoken in Belarus are Russian and Belarusian. Both are the official languages of Belarus.

The population density is about 50 persons per square kilometer (127/sq. mi) and 71.7% of the total population lives in urban areas. Of the urban population, 24% live in Minsk, the national capital and largest city.

Most of the population, 69.7%, are between the ages of 14 and 64. Sixteen percent of the population is under 14, while 14.6% are age 65 or older. The median age of the population is 37. The average life expectancy for Belarusian citizens is 68.72 years; for males it is 63.03 years and for females it is 74.96 years.

The literacy rate in Belarus (the number of people aged 15 and older who can read and write) is 99%, with men at 99.8% and women at 99.3%. The male-to-female ratio in 2005 was estimated to be .88 males to every female.

Most demographic indicators for Belarus resemble other European countries, notably with both the population growth rate and the natural growth rate in the negative. The population growth is currently at −0.06% in 2005, with a fertility rate of 1.43. The population is also growing older, and by the year 2050, the majority of the population will be over the age of 50. The migration rate is +2.3 for every 1,000 people in Belarus.

According to the Save the Children international organization report (comparing 167 countries), Belarus has the highest rating for the quality of life for women and children among all countries in the former Soviet Union. Belarus ranked sixteenth for mothers' quality of life, fourteenth for a womans' quality of life and twentieth for the quality of life for children. The closest former Soviet republics are Estonia (18th for Women's rank), Ukraine (21/31/26) and Russia (27/34/64).

Much of the population is located in Minsk, the national capital of Belarus and, with 1,741,400 people, the largest city of the country. Homel, with 481,000 people, is the second largest city of Belarus and serves as the capital of the Honel Oblast. Other large cities are Mogilev (365,100), Vitebsk (342,400), Hrodna (314,800) and Brest (298,300).

Culture

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The traditional Belarusian dress originates from the Kievan Rus' period. Due to the climate of Belarus, clothing that kept a person warm was required. The clothes that were made in Belarus were composed of either flax or wool and were decorated with ornate patterns and over time, has been influenced by the cultures of its neighbors: Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Russians, and other European nations. Each region of Belarus has a specific pattern used on their designs. An ornament pattern used on some early dresses is current used to decorate the hoist of the Belarusian national flag.

Belarusian cuisine consists of mostly of vegetables, meats and breads. The foods that are considered to be staples of Belarus include pork, cabbages, potatoes and bread. Because of traditional cooking methods in the pre-Soviet era, foods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed. A typical Belarusian eats in a day a very light breakfast and two hearty meals, with dinner being the largest meal of the day. Wheat and rye breads are both consumed in Belarus, but rye is more plentiful due to the conditions being too harsh to grow wheat. When greeting a guest or visitor, an offering of bread salt is presented to show hospitality. Drinks are also popular among the Belarusians, mostly Russian wheat vodka or kvass. Kvass is a type of soft drink that is made from either brown bread or rye flour that has been malted. Kvass can also be combined with sliced vegetables to create a cold soup called okroshka.

In the field of music, the first major composition by a Belarusian was the opera Faust by Radzivill and other opera pieces. In the seventeenth century, Polish composer Stanislau Maniushka resided in Belarus, composing many opera and chamber pieces while in Minsk. During his stay, he worked with Belarusian poet Vincent Dunin-Marcinkevich and created the opera Sialianka (Peasant Woman). At the end of the nineteenth century, the major cities in Belarus were forming their own opera and ballet companies. During the Soviet era, early music saw the creation of the ballet Nightingale by M. Kroshner. After the Great Patriotic War, the music focused on the hardship of the Belarusian people or on the Belarusians who took up arms in defense of the homeland. This was also the time period that A. Bogatyryov, the creator of the opera "In Polesye Virgin Forest," served as the "tutor" of Belarusian composers. After independence, ballet is still important culturally to Belarus. 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. Modern music has seen a rise in popularity and creation among Belarusians. Famous rock bands from the country include NRM, Neurodubel, Ulis, Nowaje Nieba, and Krama. Several Belarusian acts perform in Poland and Lithuania, where the population of Belarusian speakers are very high. Poland is also the host of the Belarusian alternative music festival Basowiszcza. Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Belarusian government sponsors many annual cultural festivals: "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", "Minsk Spring", "Slavonic Theatrical Meetings", International Jazz Festival, National Harvesting Festival, "Arts for Children and Youth", the Competition of Youth Variety Show Arts, "Muses of Niesvizh", "Mir Castle", and the National Festival of the Belarusian Song and Poetry. These events showcase talented Belarusian performers, artists, writers, musicians, or actors. The festivals end with a ceremony where prizes are awarded in honor of famous Belarusian composers.

Several state holidays, like Independence Day or Victory Day draw big crowds and include various displays such as fireworks and military parades. Most of the festivals take place in Vitebsk or Minsk.

Belarus has four World Heritage Sites, two of them shared between Belarus and its neighbors. The four are: the Mir Castle Complex; the Niasvizh Castle; the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland); and the Struve Geodetic Arc (shared with Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Moldova, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine).

Religion

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Belarus has historically been a Russian Orthodox country with minorities practicing Catholicism, Judaism and other religions. In Article 16 of the Constitution of Belarus, there is no official religion established by the government. While the freedom of worship is granted in the same article, religions that are deemed harmful to the government or social order of the country can be prohibited.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported that some Protestant congregations experience harrassment.

External links

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Miscellaneous

The EU's relations with Belarus - European Commission website

Current Status of United Nations Romanization Systems for Geographical Names of Belarus

Media

European Radio for Belarus

News of Belarus (bel)

Vitebsk popular news (bel)

Governmental websites

President's official site

Government of Belarus

Embassy of Belarus in the United States

E-Government in Belarus

Informational/cultural

A Belarus Miscellany

The Virtual Guide of Belarus

Belarus Inside - Belarus by Belarusians

Web directory of Belarusian topics

Belarus News and Analysis

Dudutki Park: An outdoor museum

Belarus National Tourism Agency

Videos of Minsk

Eating the Belarusian way

Belarusian festivals

History and Heritage of Belarus in photos

Castles and Palaces of Belarus

Media in Belarus

Chernobyl Children Life Line