From manipulated elections, to a centrally planned economy, [118][119] These include not only corporate offices and individual officers of government but also private individuals who work in the state-owned enterprise industrial sector. [57], Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences. 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. MOFA condemned the Chinese Communist Party's "continuous spread of false statements" and its practice of forcing other countries to agree with its claims. Along with neighbouring and mainly. [46] Trying to avoid the Tatar Yoke, the Principality of Minsk sought protection from Lithuanian princes further north and in 1242, the Principality of Minsk became a part of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On January 31, 1992, the U.S. Embassy . The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were decorated with ornate patterns influenced by the neighboring cultures: Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians, Russians, and other European nations. In 1863, economic and cultural pressure exploded in a revolt, led by Konstanty Kalinowski (also known as Kastus). It is one of the most equal countries in the world,[215] with one of the lowest Gini-coefficient measures of national resource distribution, and its ranks 82nd in GDP per capita .Belarus has trade relations with over 180 countries. Belarus is dependent on Russia for imports of raw materials and for its export market. ", "Coordinates of the extreme points of the state frontier. [76] Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison.[77]. [90], Mass protests erupted in April 1991 and became known as the 1991 Belarusian strikes. [165], Bilateral relations with the United States are strained; the United States had not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus never had an ambassador in Washington since 2008. [228], Due to its failure to protect labor rights, including passing laws forbidding unemployment or working outside of state-controlled sectors,[229] Belarus lost its EU Generalized System of Preferences status on 21 June 2007, which raised tariff rates to their prior most favored nation levels. [155][156] Six months later amid an unprecedented economic crisis, activists utilized social networking to initiate a fresh round of protests characterized by wordless hand-clapping. Russia agrees to sell Belarus gas at 60% below the price charged to other European countries, . [14][15][16][78] 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 Biaystok. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), (Joseph Juho), 1956. [126], The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90m (295ft). The German Generalplan Ost called for the extermination, expulsion, or enslavement of most or all Belarusians for the purpose of providing more living space in the East for Germans. 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. Belarusian literature[259] began with 11th- to 13th-century religious scripture, such as the 12th-century poetry of Cyril of Turaw. [135] Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. [182] Belarus first began to cooperate with NATO upon signing documents to participate in their Partnership for Peace Program in 1995. The 2007 RussiaBelarus energy dispute centered on accusations by Gazprom that Belarus was siphoning oil off of the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Belarus. [260], By the 16th century, Polotsk resident Francysk Skaryna translated the Bible into Belarusian. [265][bettersourceneeded], 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. About us. [55] The Belarusian territories acquired by the Russian Empire under the reign of CatherineII[56] were included into the Belarusian Governorate (Russian: -) in 1796 and held until their occupation by the German Empire during World War I. Other aspects of life were explored by the Belarusian poets and novelists post the 1960s. The European Union and the United Kingdom did not recognise the result and the EU imposed sanctions. Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus. The experts also received reports of violence against women and children, including sexual abuse and rape with rubber batons. The former Soviet republic was occupied by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944, when it lost 2.2 million. 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. [232] The ruble was reintroduced with new values in 2000 and has been in use ever since. [122] The average elevation of Belarus is 160m (525ft) above sea level. 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. [139] The armed forces were formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces on the new republic's territory. Belarus, country of eastern Europe. Belarus was part of the Soviet Union and became an independent country in 1991, after the USSR collapsed. Average Belarusians still remember his heyday - and the pledges that never came through. In 2015, 39.3% of Belarusians were employed by state-controlled companies, 57.2% were employed by private companies (in which the government has a 21.1% stake) and 3.5% were employed by foreign companies. [189] Belarus is the only European country still using capital punishment having carried out executions in 2011. [123] 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. A national constitution was adopted in March 1994 in which the functions of prime minister were given to the President of Belarus. The directives, part of a 3,500 . Belarus appeared to be the Prussia of the Soviet Union. Prezydent Biaorusi chce zakaza kochonikom odchodzi z pracy", "In chase of upgrade: serfdom for woodworkers? 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. [128] Belarus has an average annual rainfall of 550 to 700mm (21.7 to 27.6in). Albania country profile 16 January Albania is a small, mountainous country in the Balkan peninsula, with a long Adriatic and Ionian coastline. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him", U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus, "Belarus election: UK refuses to recognise result and demands international investigation into 'grisly repression' of protests", "Canada denounces Lukashenko's inauguration in Belarus, preparing sanctions over human rights violations", "U.S., EU Sanction Belarus in Coordinated Western Action", "Britain and Canada impose sanctions on Belarus leader Lukashenko", "Ukraine conflict: UK sanctions Belarus for role in Russian invasion", "EU bans 70% of Belarus exports to bloc with new sanctions over Ukraine invasion", "Could Russia's Reliance on Belarus be its Soft Underbelly? Belarus is the only country after Pakistan to have its relationship with China described that way. [166][167] 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. [246] The average life expectancy is 72.15 (66.53 years for men and 78.1 years for women). [151], In the 2006 presidential election, Lukashenko was opposed by Alaksandar Milinkievi, who represented a coalition of opposition parties, and by Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats. has ruled the ex-Soviet country with an iron fist . 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. Sino-Belarusian relations have improved,[169] strengthened by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October 2005. [57], Under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed. 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. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Since then, it has maintained close economic and political ties with Russia. [122] About 40% of Belarus is covered by forests. [207] It is run by an executive committee and has been granted a charter of self-rule.[208]. For criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court. [209] At the primary level are 14 cities of raion subordination councils, 8 urban-type settlements councils, and 1,151 village councils. [129] 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. [241], According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million[242] with ethnic Belarusians constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population. Current Communist Countries: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. Belarus is not in the European Union (EU). [227] In 2006, GDP amounted to US$83.1 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars (estimate), or about $8,100 per capita. The number of people employed in the industry is 34.7% of the working population. 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 welcoming ceremony also included the anthems of the two countries and the honor guard march. At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies. [253] The Lipka Tatars, numbering over 15,000, are predominantly Muslims. Communism is a form of government most frequently associated with the ideas of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who outlined his ideas for a utopian society in The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848.Marx believed that capitalism, with its emphasis on profit and private ownership, led to inequality among citizens.Thus, his goal was to encourage a system that promoted a classless society in . Two suspects, who were arrested within two days, confessed to being the perpetrators and were executed by shooting in 2012. 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. Dallas, TX: SIL International. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Kremlin said that Russia stood ready "to provide the necessary assistance to resolve the problems that have arisen" and referred to a collective security treaty. [citation needed], The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the Third Partition of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Opposition parties are permitted, but they have had little electoral success. 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. [179] In 2005, about 1.4% of Belarus's gross domestic product was devoted to military expenditure. [citation needed] The borders of the Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn, in accord with the 1919-proposed Curzon Line. Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Smokescreen: India's fragile batting from Delhi, Nagpur gapingly exposed in Indore Batting of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar covered the fragile nature of India's top-order batting in the first two Tests of the India-Australia series. Among the parties supportive of Lukashenko are the Communist Party of Belarus (KPB), a successor of the monolithic ruling Communist Party of the Soviet era; the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus; and the Agrarian Party. [190], The judicial system in Belarus lacks independence and is subject to political interference. [47] Of the principalities held by the duchy, nine of them were settled by a population that would eventually become the Belarusians. [134], The term for each presidency is five years. Washington, Mar 4 (PTI): Communist China is the strongest and the most disciplined enemy that the United States has ever faced, Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley said on Friday as she slammed the ruling Democratic Party as a 'socialist' part. [125], Many streams and 11,000 lakes are found in Belarus. While the freedom of worship is granted in the same article, religious organizations deemed harmful to the government or social order can be prohibited. President Aleksander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has flatly denied the seriousness of the pandemic, refusing to impose a lockdown, close schools, or cancel mass events like the Belarusian football league or the Victory Day parade. Flutter Entertainment Plc: The online gambling firm reported higher full-year revenues and profits, after winning two million new monthly customers through acquisitions and newly legalized sports . [276], 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). Ella Reeve Bloor was one of the founders of the Communist Labor Party of America, a predecessor of the Communist Party of the USA, and a tireless labour organiser during the Great Depression. (Eng. 2 min read. [70], The western part of modern Belarus remained part of the Second Polish Republic. The 2000s saw a number of economic disputes between Belarus and its primary economic partner, Russia. [271] One ornamental pattern common in early dresses currently decorates the hoist of the Belarusian national flag, adopted in a disputed referendum in 1995. Angela Davis, 79, was . The state telecom monopoly, Beltelecom, holds the exclusive interconnection with Internet providers outside of Belarus. [127] The climate features mild to cold winters, with January minimum temperatures ranging from 4C (24.8F) in southwest (Brest) to 8C (17.6F) in northeast (Vitebsk), and cool and moist summers with an average temperature of 18C (64.4F). The red-green flag, which has an embroidered pattern along one side, was introduced in 1951, when Belarus won a seat at the UN despite still being part of the Soviet Union. Around 1840 the Statutes were banned by the Russian tsar following the November Uprising. 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. [101][102] Lukashenko announced a new law in 2014 that will prohibit kolkhoz workers (around 9% of total work force) from leaving their jobs at willa change of job and living location will require permission from governors. Jahrhundert. Open. [177], 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. ., 2006.. The first one was the 2004 RussiaBelarus energy dispute when Russian energy giant Gazprom ceased the import of gas into Belarus because of price disagreements. [200] 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 BelarusPoland border sharply increased multiple times when compared to the 2020 statistics. Lukashenko won the election with 80% of the vote; the Russian Federation and the CIS deemed the vote open and fair[152] while the OSCE and other organizations called the election unfair. [23][24], Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin heads the Ministry of Defence,[176] and Alexander Lukashenko (as president) serves as Commander-in-Chief. [73][74] 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. 1919 - The Russian Red Army conquers Belarus, and establishes communist rule. 4 Catholicism in Central and Eastern Europe, meanwhile, has not experienced the same upsurge as Orthodox Christianity. 1919 - The Russian Red Army conquers Belarus, and establishes communist rule. [107][108][109][110][111] Neither is Lukashenko recognized as the legitimate president of Belarus by the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom nor the United States. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that his country will develop more intensively under a strong China, the BelTA news agency reported. The first coins of the Republic of Belarus were issued on 27 December 1996. 275-316) The Romanian Patronal System of Public Corruption (pp. On December 25, 1991, the United States recognized the independence of the Republic of Belarus, and on December 28, 1991, Belarus and the United States established diplomatic relations. 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. [203] On 2 December 2021, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada imposed new sanctions on Belarus. "People in these countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the world by authoritarian rulers who muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. [150], Neither the pro-Lukashenko parties, such as the Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party and the Republican Party of Labour and Justice nor the People's Coalition 5 Plus opposition parties, such as the Belarusian People's Front and the United Civil Party of Belarus, won any seats in the 2004 elections. The biggest of these was the Soviet Union (The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) which was made up of countries such as Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia and a number of other countries. [192], 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 Byelorussian SSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II; it remained in Nazi hands until 1944. ), 2005. [267][268], Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887. [80], The German occupation in 19411944 and war on the Eastern Front devastated Belarus. [42] Invaders from Asia, among whom were the Huns and Avars, swept through c. 400600 AD, but were unable to dislodge the Slavic presence.[43]. [75] A Belarusian organization, the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union, was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions. The Soviet Union by 1948 had installed communist-leaning governments in Eastern European countries that the USSR had liberated from Nazi control during the war. Belarus is a presidential republic. Bankers in China are being told to rectify their mindsets, clean up their "hedonistic" lifestyles and stop copying Western ways. [62][69] 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. List of Every Communist Country in the World as of 2021: China. [264], Music in Belarus largely comprises a rich tradition of folk and religious music. 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. [205] Each raion has its own legislative authority, or raion council, (Belarusian: ; Russian: ) elected by its residents, and an executive authority or raion administration appointed by oblast executive powers. [212] 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. In the 1990s some raised the estimate even higher, to 2.7 million. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. During Soviet times, present day Belarus had a communist political system that was constitutionally defined as a Marxist-Leninist single party socialist republic guided in part by the political ideas of Karl Marx, one of the fathers of historical materialism, as well as by Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin. [238] This redenomination can be considered an effort to fight the high inflation rate. . [41] The region was first permanently settled by Baltic tribes in the 3rd century. [142], Lukashenko has been frequently described as the "last dictator" in Europe in media. [178] Demographic decreases in the Belarusians of conscription age have increased the importance of contract soldiers, who numbered 12,000 in 2001. Due to the cool climate, clothes were designed to conserve body heat and were usually made from flax or wool. It also blasted Belarus for being subservient to China. The Belarusian leader pointed out that NATO was quickly building up forces on the border with Belarus in Poland and in the Baltic countries Read more Moscow-Kiev talks to begin at 12:00 Moscow . . [168] The Statutes allowed the right to own land only to noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As an OSCE member state, Belarus's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Occupied by Nazi Germany, Belarus was retaken by Stalin's Russia in 1944 and remained under Soviet control until declaring its sovereignty on July 27, 1990 and independence from the Soviet Union on August 25, 1991. It was time yesterday. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus was one of the world's most industrially developed states by percentage of GDP as well as the richest CIS member-state. 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. China and Belarus called for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine as leaders of the two countries meet in Beijing to improve their relations. Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. [244] Gomel, with a population of 481,000, is the second-largest city and serves as the capital of the Gomel Region. He garnered 45% of the vote in the first round and 80%[89] in the second, defeating Vyacheslav Kebich who received 14% of the vote. [245], Like many other Eastern European countries, Belarus has a negative population growth rate and a negative natural growth rate. [141] 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. The Head of State is the President of the Republic of Belarus. [120] Norway and Japan have joined the sanctions regime which aims to isolate Belarus from the international supply chain. ", "Snapshot of the Belarus Country Profile", "UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances", "Lukashenko blames Americans and drunks for Belarus protests", "EU imposes sanctions on Belarusian economy", "Belarus dictator threatens to 'flood EU with drugs and migrants', "Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU", "In Lithuania, Migrants Find Themselves Caught in a Geopolitical Battle", "Baltarusijos pareignai su skydais blokuoja migrant grinim: kadrai i pasienio", "Poland accuses Belarus of sending migrants over border as "living weapons" in "hybrid war", "Poland Says Belarus Is Letting Migrants Cross Border In 'Hybrid War' With EU", "Lukaenkos kerto akcija pasiek ir Latvij: i savait rykus nelegali migrant skaiiaus uolis", "US, EU, UK and Canada Announce New Belarus Sanctions", "SectionI: Principles of the Constitutional System.