Belarus

From The D Archives

Belarus (Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian: Беларусь, Transliteration: Byelarus') is a landlocked country in 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.

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. 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. Belarus is currently in negotiations with Russia to unify into a single state: the Union of Russia and Belarus.

Belarus is also the only European nation that has been formally barred from joining the Council of Europe because of human rights violations and for conducting elections that do not meet democratic standards.