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Belarus |
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The Republic of Belarus is a landlocked
nation-state in Eastern Europe, which borders
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
Its capital city is Minsk, and other important
cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homyel'),
Mahilyow and Vitebsk (Viciebsk).
Throughout much of history, the area which is
now known as Belarus was part of various
countries including Lithuania, Poland and the
Russian Empire. Eventually, in 1922, Belarus
became a republic in the Soviet Union as the
Byelorussian SSR. The republic officially
declared its sovereignty on 27 August 1990, and
following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
declared independence as the Republic of Belarus
on 25 August 1991. Since 1994, amidst
allegations of human rights violations and
autocracy, Alexander Lukashenko has been the
nation's president. As a consequence, Belarus
has been excluded from joining the Council of
Europe. The country also continues to suffer
from the effects of nuclear fallout from the
1986 Chernobyl accident, which took place in
neighboring Ukraine.
Officially, the country is known as the Republic
of Belarus (Belarusian: Рэспубліка Беларусь,
Łacinka: Respublika Biełaruś; Russian:
Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus), while
the short name is Belarus (Беларусь, Biełaruś,
Беларусь). The earlier name "Byelorussia" (Белоруссия)
can still be found in use, although mainly in
historical contexts. Some Belarusians consider
the use of "Byelorussian" derogatory, as it
brings back memories of Russification. The name
has incorrectly been translated as "White
Russia", a name that refers to a separate
region.
Culture
Traditional Belarusian dress originates from the
time of Kievian Rus and over time was under the
influence of cultures of neigbors: Poles,
Lithuanians, Latvians, Russians, and other
European nations. Aside from its predominantly
Ruthenian roots, Belarusian cuisine is very
close to Lithuanian. It is sometimes considered
as somewhat less rich and impressive than those
of its imposing neighbours. In fact, however,
this may result from the general lack of
national identity which still continues to hold
back the development of a nation and also led to
the loss of many culinary traditions in the last
100 years.
Certain aspects of the Belarusian culture have
been lost over time because of the Russification
period. President Lukashenko has introduced laws
that force radio and television stations to
showcase a percentage of Belarusian talent
daily, but it does not state that the
performance has to be in the Belarusian or
Russian language.
The Belarusian government sponsors many annual
cultural festivals: "Slavonic 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, whether it is in music,
art, poetry, dance or theater. At these
festivals, various prizes named after Soviet and
Belarusian heroes are awarded for excellence in
music or art. 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.[16]
Russian Orthodox church in Brest, BelarusBelarus
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).
[17]
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Background:
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After
seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR,
Belarus attained its independence in 1991. 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 implementation has yet to take
place. |
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Location:
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Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
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Geographic coordinates:
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53 00
N, 28 00 E
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Kansas |
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Climate:
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cold
winters, cool and moist summers; transitional
between continental and maritime |
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Terrain:
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generally flat and contains much marshland |
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Ethnic groups:
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Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian,
and other 7.4% |
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Religions:
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Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman
Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997
est.)
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Languages:
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Belarusian, Russian, other |
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Currency:
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Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
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Currency code:
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BYB/BYR
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Exchange rates:
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Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend
2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000),
248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note -
on 1 January 2000, the national currency was
redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old |
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Internet country code:
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.by
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