Modern Ukrainian lands used it until 1860s. ===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 (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.
Around 1840 the Statutes were banned by the Russian tsar following the November Uprising.
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 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.
Modern Ukrainian lands used it until 1860s. ===Russian Empire=== The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the Third Partition of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
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 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic.
Years earlier interrogation report of 19-year-old revolutionary Pilsudski of 10 March 1887 indicated that he called himself a "Belarusian nobleman". In 1919 a part of Belarus under Russian rule emerged as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Byelorussian SSR).
Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest. Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887.
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 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic.
The Rise and Fall of Belarusian Nationalism, 1906–1931 (University of Pittsburgh Press; 2014) 436 pages Snyder, Timothy.
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amidst the Civil War, ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian SSR, which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922.
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.
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 1918, forming the Belarusian People's Republic.
It existed from only 1918 to 1919 but created prerequisites for the formation of the state idea around the name "Belarus".
It existed from only 1918 to 1919 but created prerequisites for the formation of the state idea around the name "Belarus".
Years earlier interrogation report of 19-year-old revolutionary Pilsudski of 10 March 1887 indicated that he called himself a "Belarusian nobleman". In 1919 a part of Belarus under Russian rule emerged as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Byelorussian SSR).
The borders of the Byelorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn, in accord with the 1919-proposed Curzon Line. Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences.
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.
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.
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 aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amidst 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 a variety of delays, a disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland.
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.
A Belarusian organization, the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union, was banned in 1927, and opposition to Polish government was met with state repressions.
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.
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.
In 1935, after the death of Józef Piłsudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox churches and Belarusian schools being closed.
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. In June 1988, the archaeologist and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF Zyanon Paznyak discovered mass graves of victims executed in 1937–41 at Kurapaty, near Minsk.
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.
Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison. ===Second World War and later Soviet period=== In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.
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.
The free development of literature occurred only in Polish-held territory until Soviet occupation in 1939.
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
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 Rada. The German occupation in 1941–1944 and war on the Eastern Front devastated Belarus.
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.
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 Rada. The German occupation in 1941–1944 and war on the Eastern Front devastated Belarus.
The defense of Brest Fortress was the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa. Statistically, the Byelorussian SSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II; it remained in Nazi hands until 1944.
In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union. The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 1991.
The election process and events afterwards have been criticized by representatives of many other countries. ===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.
After Stalin's death 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." Soviet Belarusian communist politician Andrei Gromyko, who served as Soviet foreign minister (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985–1988), was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he was replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze.
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 by BelTA news agency Belarus.
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.
The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971. After the war, Belarus was among the 51 founding member states of the United Nations Charter and as such it was allowed an additional vote at the UN, on top of the Soviet Union's vote.
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. In June 1988, the archaeologist and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF Zyanon Paznyak discovered mass graves of victims executed in 1937–41 at Kurapaty, near Minsk.
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.
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. In June 1988, the archaeologist and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF Zyanon Paznyak discovered mass graves of victims executed in 1937–41 at Kurapaty, near Minsk.
In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union. The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 1991.
Some nationalists contend that this discovery is proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people, causing Belarusian nationalists to seek independence. ===Independence=== In March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR took place.
Belarus declared itself sovereign on 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 1991.
In 1994, Belarus's main exports included heavy machinery (especially tractors), agricultural products, and energy products. Economically, Belarus involved itself in the CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, and Union with Russia. In the 1990s, however, industrial production plunged due to decreases in imports, investment, and demand for Belarusian products from its trading partners.
In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union. The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 1991.
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 only used officially until 1991.
Belarus declared itself sovereign on 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 1991.
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. 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.
Central Intelligence Agency. FAO Country Profiles: Belarus Countries in Europe Eastern European countries Landlocked countries Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States Member states of the United Nations Republics Russian-speaking countries and territories States and territories established in 1991 States and territories established in the 980s
The armed forces were formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces on the new republic's territory.
The currency was introduced in May 1992 to replace the Soviet ruble and it has undergone redenomination twice since then.
Belarus applied to become a member of the World Trade Organization in 1993. The labor force consists of more than four million people, among whom women hold slightly more jobs than men.
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 post-independence, serving as president ever since.
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.
Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994.
In 1994, Belarus's main exports included heavy machinery (especially tractors), agricultural products, and energy products. Economically, Belarus involved itself in the CIS, Eurasian Economic Community, and Union with Russia. In the 1990s, however, industrial production plunged due to decreases in imports, investment, and demand for Belarusian products from its trading partners.
To show hospitality, a host traditionally presents an offering of bread and salt when greeting a guest or visitor. ===Sport=== Belarus has competed in the Olympic Games since the 1994 Winter Olympics as an independent nation.
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 first began to cooperate with NATO upon signing documents to participate in their Partnership for Peace Program in 1995.
The unemployment rate has been in decline since 2003, and the overall rate of employment is the highest since statistics were first compiled in 1995. The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble.
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.
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.
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 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.
Belarus is dependent on Russia for imports of raw materials and for its export market. The union of Russia and Belarus, a supranational confederation, 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.
GDP only began to rise in 1996; the country was the fastest-recovering former Soviet republic in the terms of its economy.
The first coins of the Republic of Belarus were issued on 27 December 1996.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 provides refueling and airspace support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
In addition to the CIS, Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Community, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the international Non-Aligned Movement since 1998, and the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
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.
In 2000, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty for greater cooperation, forming the Union State. Belarus is a developing country ranking very high in the Human Development Index.
Yet another hypothesis is based that Gudija in Lithuanian means the other and may refer to any people who do not speak common Lithuanian language. ==History== ===Early history=== From 5000 to 2000 BC, Bandkeramik cultures predominated.
The ruble was reintroduced with new values in 2000 and has been in use ever since.
From 1 July until 31 December 2016, the old and new currencies were in parallel circulation and series 2000 notes and coins can be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021.
Lukashenko was re-elected in 2001, in 2006, in 2010 and again in 2015.
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.
Demographic decreases in the Belarusians of conscription age have increased the importance of contract soldiers, who numbered 12,000 in 2001.
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.
The unemployment rate has been in decline since 2003, and the overall rate of employment is the highest since statistics were first compiled in 1995. The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble.
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.
Re-admission 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. 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.
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. Sino-Belarusian relations have improved, strengthened by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October 2005.
Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest. Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887.
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. Sino-Belarusian relations have improved, strengthened by the visit of President Lukashenko to China in October 2005.
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 provides refueling and airspace support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
In 2005, GDP increased by 9.9%; the inflation rate averaged 9.5%. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control over key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics. In 2006, Belarus's largest trading partner was Russia, accounting for nearly half of total trade, with the European Union the next largest trading partner, with nearly a third of foreign trade.
In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population was employed by industrial factories.
The unemployment rate, according to government statistics, was 1.5% in 2005.
Lukashenko was re-elected in 2001, in 2006, in 2010 and again in 2015.
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 Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats.
Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus. ===Human rights and corruption === 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 is rated as the worst country for press freedom in Europe in the 2013–2014 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Belarus 157th out of 180 nations.
In 2006, GDP amounted to 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%. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control over key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics. In 2006, Belarus's largest trading partner was Russia, accounting for nearly half of total trade, with the European Union the next largest trading partner, with nearly a third of foreign trade.
Belarus and Lithuania ratified final border demarcation documents in February 2007. ==Governance== Belarus is a presidential republic, governed by a president and the National Assembly.
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 had not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus never had an ambassador in Washington since 2008.
, 38% of Belarusian exported goods go to Russia and 56% of imported goods come from Russia. Due to its failure to protect labor rights, including passing laws forbidding unemployment or working outside of state-controlled sectors, Belarus lost its EU Generalized System of Preferences status on 2007, which raised tariff rates to their prior most favored nation levels.
The National Bank of Belarus abandoned pegging the Belarusian ruble to the Russian ruble in August 2007. 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 rubles = 1 new ruble).
In 2007, Belarus's population declined by 0.41% and its fertility rate was 1.22, well below the replacement rate.
The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus (Trafford Publishing, 2007) Rudling, Pers Anders.
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 had not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus never had an ambassador in Washington since 2008.
This led to a proposal that the Belarusian ruble be discontinued in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting as early as 2008.
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.
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.
From 1 July until 31 December 2016, the old and new currencies were in parallel circulation and series 2000 notes and coins can be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021.
Lukashenko was re-elected in 2001, in 2006, in 2010 and again in 2015.
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.
Belarus is the only European country still using capital punishment having carried out executions in 2011. The judicial system in Belarus lacks independence and is subject to political interference.
On 23 May 2011, the Belarusian ruble depreciated 56% against the United States dollar.
On 1 June 2011, Belarus requested an economic rescue package from the International Monetary Fund. ==Demographics== According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million with ethnic Belarusians constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population.
Over 99% of Belarusians aged 15 and older are literate. ===Religion and languages=== According to the census of November 2011, 58.9% of all Belarusians adhered to some kind of religion; out of those, Eastern Orthodoxy (Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church) made up about 82%.
The Last Dictatorship in Europe: Belarus under Lukashenko (Columbia University Press, 2011) Frear, Matthew.
The Belarusian Constitution forbids the use of special extrajudicial courts. In the 2012 parliamentary election, 105 of the 110 members elected to the House of Representatives were not affiliated with any political party.
Similar regulations were introduced for the forestry industry in 2012.
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.
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 Belorussian 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.
Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus. ===Human rights and corruption === 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 is rated as the worst country for press freedom in Europe in the 2013–2014 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Belarus 157th out of 180 nations.
Western governments, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have criticized Lukashenko's authoritarian style of government. Since 2014, following years of embrace of Russian influence in the country, Lukashenko has pressed a revival of Belarusian identity.
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.
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.
Our Glorious Past': Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War (Columbia University Press, 2014) Parker, Stewart.
The Rise and Fall of Belarusian Nationalism, 1906–1931 (University of Pittsburgh Press; 2014) 436 pages Snyder, Timothy.
Lukashenko was re-elected in 2001, in 2006, in 2010 and again in 2015.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Belarus Under Lukashenka: Adaptive Authoritarianism (Routledge, 2015) Korosteleva, Elena A.
The National Bank of Belarus abandoned pegging the Belarusian ruble to the Russian ruble in August 2007. 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 rubles = 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 can be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021.
From 1 July until 31 December 2016, the old and new currencies were in parallel circulation and series 2000 notes and coins can be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021.
Trade disputes, a border dispute, and a much relaxed official attitude to dissident voices are all part of a weakening of the longtime warm relationship with Russia. In 2019, Lukashenko had bilateral talks in Sochi with Russian president Vladimir Putin and declared that their two countries "could unite tomorrow, no problem." An idea backed by Putin for years, observers have labeled the potential plan a scheme by Putin to remain in power beyond 2024.
It is run by an executive committee and has been granted a charter of self-rule. ==Economy== In 2019 the share of manufacturing in GDP was 31%, over two thirds of this amount falls on manufacturing industries.
On 1 June 2011, Belarus requested an economic rescue package from the International Monetary Fund. ==Demographics== According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million with ethnic Belarusians constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population.
However, political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov explained that "Lukashenko will play tough to the public while trying to look weak in front of Putin," and the Carnegie Moscow Center's Artyom Shraibman suggested that "Moscow will most likely fail to find its base among Belarusians." Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office.
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 2020 presidential election the official result was 80% for Lukashenko again.
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". ===Administrative divisions=== Belarus is divided into six regions (вобласць, link=no|о́бласть), which are named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers: Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk, and Vitebsk.
The growth rate is much lower than for the economy as a whole—about 2.2% in 2021.
From 1 July until 31 December 2016, the old and new currencies were in parallel circulation and series 2000 notes and coins can be exchanged for series 2009 from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021.
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