Belarus - Country Information
Belarus info
Minsk
Gomel
Vitebsk
Mogilev
Brest
GrodnoBelarus (Áåëàðóñü), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwes.
Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Viciebsk).
Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land, 40% of its land is covered with forests. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman, the Pripyat, and the Dnieper. The country is in the transitional zone between continental climates and maritime climates.
The name "Belarus" derives from the term "White Ruthenia" (White Rus'). One of the versions suggest that name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania mostly populated by the early Christianized Slavs, as opposed to Black Ruthenia, which to a greater extent was inhabited by predominantly pagan Balts. Another one claims that the name is explained by white clothing that was worn by the local Slavic population. One more explanation to the name origine is that this most of Belarus territory (Polatsk, Vitsiebsk and Mahilyow) were not conquered by the Tatars and were referred to as "white". Belarus was formally named "Belorussia" in the days of the Russian Empire. The term "Belorussia was only used officially until 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic decreed by law that the new independent republic should be called "Belarus" . Officially, the full name of the country is "Republic of Belarus".
Until the 20th century, the lands of modern day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Russian Empire, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian SSR. The final unification of the modern day Belarusian lands took place in 1939 when lands that were part of the Second Polish Republic were united with the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as a result of the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR. Belarus attained its independence in 1991.
Belarus is a presidential republic, governed by a president and the National Assembly. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 25 August 1991. Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus. Belarus was a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); however, recently other CIS members have questioned the effectiveness of the organization. The country is divided into six regions, which are named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers and the city of Minsk having special administrative status.
Most of the country economy is state-controlled. The country strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing. Important agricultural products include potatoes and cattle byproducts, including meat. Historically important branches of industry include textiles and wood processing. Economically, Belarus involved itself in the CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, and Union with Russia. The country relies on imports such as oil from Russia. The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble (BYR).
The population of Belarus is 9,648,533 2009 (estimate). More than 80% of the population are native Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians, Poles and Ukrainians. Since a referendum in 1995, the country has had two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. Belarus was a major center of the European Jewish population, with 10% being Jewish, but the population of Jews has been reduced by war, starvation, the Holocaust, and emigration so that today it is a very small minority of about 1% or less. The Constitution of Belarus does not declare an official religion, although the primary religion in the country is Russian Orthodox Christianity. The second most popular religion is Roman Catholicism (mostly in western regions). Sizable minorities practice Judaism and other religions.
Belarus has a long litareture tradition. Some of the first books to be printed in Eastern Europe were Belarus bibles. The 17th century Belarusian poet, Symeon of Polatsk, introduced the Baroque style of literature to Russia. Two greatest Belarusian poets, considered to be classicists of Belarusian literature are Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas.
The country has a strong musical tradition. Belarusian folk music is well known. Rock music has risen in popularity in recent years, though the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of foreign music aired on the radio in favour of traditional Belarusian music. 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. Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Belarusian cuisine consists mainly of vegetables, meat (especially pork), and breads. Foods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed. Popular drinks in Belarus include Russian wheat vodka and kvass.
Belarus has four 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).
More about Belarus at Wikipedia;
UKRAINE: Kiev Sevastopol Poltava Simferopol Nikolaev Odessa Dnepropetrovsk Vinnitsa Chernigov Kirovograd Sumy Krivoy Rog Lugansk Kherson Kharkov Mariupol Donetsk Dneprodzerzhinsk Melitopol Cherkasy Zaporozhye Yalta Kerch Yevpatoria BELARUS: Minsk Vitebsk Mogilev Grodno Gomel KYRGYZSTAN: Bishkek LATVIA: Riga MOLDOVA: Chisinau RUSSIA: Moscow Ekaterinburg Volgograd Volzhsky Saratov Gelendzhik Sochi Samara Novosibirsk St.Petersburg Ufa Penza Stavropol Kazan
[ belarus ][ russia ][ ukraine ][ latvia ][ lithuania ][ bulgaria ][ kazakhstan ][ moldova ][ kyrgyzstan ]
Our privacy policy
Russian-Women-Network.org
Reystar Online Dating
