| I | INTRODUCTION |
Belarus, officially Respublika Belarus
(Republic of Belarus), landlocked republic in east central Europe, bordered by
Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and the Baltic
republics of Latvia and Lithuania to the northwest. Belarus has a generally flat
terrain with many forests, lakes, and marshes. Nearly 80 percent of its people
are ethnic Belarusians, and about three-quarters of its population live in urban
centers. Belarus has a centrally planned economy dominated by state-controlled
heavy industry. Its government is a presidential republic in which the executive
is the chief authority. The capital and largest city is Minsk, located in the
center of the country.
Since medieval times Belarusian territory was
under foreign rule, and in the 18th century it was annexed by the Russian
Empire. Belarusian national and cultural development made major strides only
from the mid-19th century. Belarus was established in 1919 as the Belorussian
Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), which in 1922 became one of the four founding
republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In August 1991
Belarus declared its independence, contributing to the collapse of the USSR in
December.
| II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The total area of Belarus is 207,595 sq km
(80,153 sq mi). Generally level terrain is disrupted by a series of highlands
that run from northeast to southwest. Belarus has four additional discernible
geographic regions: an area of lakes, hills, and forests in the north; an
agricultural region with mixed-conifer forests in the west; a broad elevated
plain in the east; and the Poles’ye (also called the Pripet Marshes), a lowland
of rivers and swamps that extends into Ukraine, in the south. The country’s
highest point, Mount Dzyarzhynskaya (346 m/1,135 ft), is located in an upland
area just southwest of Minsk.
| A | Rivers and Lakes |
The Dnieper (known as the Dnyapro in
Belarus) is the largest river in Belarus; it flows southward, almost the entire
length of the country in the east, passing through the city of Mahilyow. Its
important tributaries are the Pripyat’ in the south and the Berezina in the
central region. Another major river is the Daugava (Western Daugava), which
flows westward from Russia through the northern tip of the republic. The Neman
(known as the Nyoman in Belarus), also a west-flowing river, links the western
part of Belarus with Lithuania. The Bug, a northward-flowing river along the
country’s southwestern border with Poland, is linked at the city of Brest to a
canal that connects with the Pripyat’ and subsequently the Dnieper. Belarus has
thousands of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Narach in the northwest.
| B | Plant and Animal Life |
Peat bogs and marshland cover about 25
percent of the country, while the soil of about 70 percent of Belarusian
territory is podzolic (acidic with fairly large amounts of iron oxides).
The forest region, though extensive, is not contiguous. Coniferous forests
predominate, with pine the principal tree; spruce, oak, birch, alder, and ash
trees also are found. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Puszcza Białowieska) Reserve in
the southwest is part of the oldest existing European forest and the sanctuary
of the virtually extinct European bison, or wisent. Belarus has more than 70
mammal species, including deer, fox, wild pig, wolves, and the common squirrel.
There are 280 bird species, including doves, kestrels, wrens, bullfinches, and
woodpeckers. Forests contain grass snakes and vipers, while rivers are the
habitat of fur-bearing animals such as mink and otter.
| C | Natural Resources |
Belarus is relatively poor in terms of
natural resources. It has plentiful peat deposits, which are used for fuel and
as a mulching material in agriculture. In the southwest there are small reserves
of hard coal, brown coal, and petroleum, but they are not easily accessible and
remain undeveloped. Belarus also has deposits of potassium salt, limestone, and
phosphates. About one-third of the republic is covered in forest.
| D | Climate |
Belarus has a temperate continental
climate, with cool temperatures and high humidity. Average annual precipitation
is between 550 and 700 mm (22 and 30 in), with the highest amount occurring in
the central region. Generally in Belarus there is precipitation every two days,
in the form of either rain or snow. In January the average temperature is -6°C
(21°F), and in July it is 18°C (64°F). Extreme temperatures are sometimes
experienced in the north, where frosts of below -40°C (-40°F) have been
recorded.
| E | Environmental Issues |
The cities of Belarus are heavily polluted,
especially industrial centers such as Salihorsk and Navapolatsk, largely because
of the development of heavy industries in the years following World War II
(1939-1945). Automobile exhaust is now the source of about half the air
pollution in the cities. While Belarus was a part of the USSR, government
controls on industrial pollution were virtually nonexistent. In recent years the
government has turned its attention to the problem, although somewhat belatedly.
Energy conservation and recycling have yet to be implemented in any sustained
manner.
The most serious environmental problem in
Belarus is the contamination from the April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl’
nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, 16 km (10 mi) south of the Belarusian
border. More than 60 percent of the high-level radioactive fallout of cesium,
strontium, and plutonium that was spewed into the atmosphere landed in Belarus,
affecting about one-fifth of its territory and more than 2 million of its
people. The explosion initially posed its greatest threat in the air, as winds
immediately carried the radioactive plume over Belarus. Long-lived radioisotopes
then settled in the soil, posing a long-term danger to groundwater, livestock,
and produce. More than 160,000 Belarusians were evacuated from their homes in
the most heavily contaminated regions of Homyel’, Mahilyow, and Brest. In the
villages in the contaminated zones, food and other goods are now in short supply
and radiation-linked diseases are on the rise.
Belarus is an extensively wooded country,
with pine, fir, and birch dominant in the north, and oak, elm, and white beech
prevalent in the south. Little of the country’s woodland is protected, however;
in total, 4.2 percent of Belarus’s land area is protected. Biodiversity, soil
pollution, and other related issues are areas of concern. Another area of
concern is the number of threatened species. For example, wisents were once
plentiful in Belarus but are now endangered and protected by government decree.
The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to
air pollution, biodiversity, environmental modification, and ozone layer
protection.
| III | THE PEOPLE OF BELARUS |
In the last complete census conducted in
the Soviet Union in 1989, the population of Belarus was 10,151,806; a 2008
estimate was 9,685,768, giving the country a population density of 47 persons
per sq km (121 per sq mi). The most notable demographic trend since the 1950s
has been the steady migration of the population from the villages to urban
centers, and the correspondent aging of the population remaining in the rural
areas. In 1959 urban residents accounted for 31 percent of the population; in
1979 they accounted for 55 percent; and in 2005 they accounted for about 72
percent. The most populated cities are Minsk, the capital and largest city;
Homyel’; Mahilyow; Vitebsk; Hrodna; and Brest. All of these cities are
industrial centers. Minsk, Homyel’, and Hrodna have universities.
| A | Ethnic Groups and Languages |
The people of Belarus are composed of
mainly five ethnic groups. In the 1989 census, people of Belarusian descent
comprised 77.9 percent of the population. Russians were the largest minority
group with 13.2 percent of the population. Other minorities included Poles,
Ukrainians, and Jews (considered both an ethnic and a religious group). No
significant tensions exist between these groups, and many residents of Belarus
feel some cultural affinity to Russia.
In 1990 Belarusian was designated the
official state language. In 1995, after a national referendum on the subject,
Russian also was elevated to a state language. Belarusian and Russian, along
with Ukrainian, form the eastern branch of the Slavic languages of the
Indo-European language family. More than 90 percent of the population has native
fluency in Russian, which was promoted by the state during the Soviet period.
Belarusian is commonly spoken in rural areas, but in urban centers it is rarely
heard.
| B | Religion |
Many Belarusians follow the Eastern
Orthodox religion, though there are large enclaves of Roman Catholics,
particularly in the Hrodna region of western Belarus. Smaller groups adhere to
the Eastern (Uniate) Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim faiths, among
others. The government has adopted the Eastern Orthodox faith as the official
state religion. Church services are well attended, particularly Easter services,
for which there are three separate holidays.
| C | Education |
Education is free and compulsory for
children between the ages of 6 and 14. Higher education institutions include
three universities, the largest of which is the Belarusian State University
(founded in 1921) in Minsk. There also are a number of specialized academies and
institutes for studies in technical arts, agriculture, medicine, economics, and
other fields. The literacy rate is 100 percent.
While the current literacy rate is high,
only about 30 percent of the population was literate in 1919. The Soviet regime
emphasized compulsory education and claimed to have eliminated illiteracy by the
1950s. At the same time, after the 1920s there was little provision for
education in the Belarusian language. In the post-World War II years, and
especially in the 1960s and 1970s, the culture of the republic was thoroughly
Russified through government policies that emphasized the Russian language.
Schools that taught in the Belarusian language were closed, primarily in rural
areas. The process of Russification was reversed somewhat between 1985 and 1991,
when Mikhail Gorbachev was leader of the USSR, and in the early 1990s. Since the
mid-1990s, however, the government has attempted to put an end to the revival of
the Belarusian language by advocating Russian as the language of education,
particularly in higher institutions. The government has also reviewed all school
textbooks for content, denouncing those with anti-Soviet viewpoints and planning
for the return of some Soviet texts.
| D | Way of Life |
The population remains deeply influenced
by the Soviet period, retaining its heroes and legends. Belarusians generally
revere the past, and former Soviet government leaders tend to dominate society,
living in superior apartments and using personal chauffeurs. There also is a
small new business-oriented elite with similar privileges. Movements for civil
rights and women’s liberation have barely penetrated the social fabric.
Belarusians are fond of sports and excel
in gymnastics and rowing. Soccer, basketball, and ice hockey are also popular.
Belarus maintains cultural facilities in Minsk and other cities. Such amenities
are not available in rural areas, where social occasions tend to be
family-centered. The people of Belarus generally hold close family
contacts.
| E | Social Issues |
The post-Soviet period has been marked by
a dramatic drop in the standard of living for the majority of the population.
Wages have been distributed erratically and have not kept pace with the rising
cost of living. Food supplies, though plentiful, are priced beyond the reach of
many. Poverty has now embraced more than half the population, and difficult
economic times appear to have exacerbated the degree of alcoholism. Meanwhile,
much of the country’s new business of the early 1990s was first impeded by high
taxation and customs duties and subsequently taken over by organized crime
elements.
Many city residents live in dilapidated
apartment blocks that were constructed mostly in the 1950s and 1960s. The health
care system has attracted international attention because of the ramifications
of the Chernobyl’ disaster, but hospitals still lack basic equipment,
pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. Infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and
diphtheria, are common, and the infant mortality rate is about double the United
States average. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of thyroid
gland cancer among children since the Chernobyl’ disaster. Most of the cases
reported each year are among children who were living in the Homyel’ or Brest
regions at the time of the explosion. Since 1995 the government has increased
restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and
religions. In 1995 and 1996 there were frequent and violent clashes between
those opposing the president’s policies—particularly members of the main
opposition movement, the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF)—and the militia.
Repression of all government criticism continued in 1997 and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) set up an office in Minsk to
monitor human rights issues.
| IV | CULTURE |
Belarusian culture developed most notably
from the mid-19th century. In the late 1920s, the Soviet regime began to control
cultural expression by imposing the dogma of socialist realism, which required
all artists and writers to depict only the positive aspects of Soviet society.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, state control of the arts has continued
in Belarus. The Ministry of Culture carries out oversight functions such as the
screening of written works prior to publication. Studies of Belarusian national
culture have been hindered since the mid-1990s because of the state’s reversion
to Russian-oriented cultural activities.
| A | Literature |
In the early 1900s, poets Yanka Kupala and
Yakub Kolas promoted the literary use of the Belarusian language, which was
banned within the Russian Empire until 1905. Their works are considered the
classics of Belarusian literature. Many Belarusian writers were prominent in the
1920s, including Mitrofan Donvar-Zapolsky and Ales’ Harun. By the 1930s
“national” literature, which promoted the idea of Belarusian nationhood, was
largely displaced by Soviet literature dedicated to the glorification of the
regime. This development was particularly marked during and after World War II,
when socialist realism was blended with patriotic accounts of the partisans and
events of the war.
The main literary figures of Belarus today
can be demarcated along generational lines. A senior group of writers includes
those who experienced the war, including Vasil Bykov, author of numerous novels
about that era and a pioneer of the East European variant of literary
existentialism. This group also includes Yanka Bryl, an essayist and author
whose works focus more on Western Europe. The middle generation includes poets
Rygor Borodulin and Nila Gilevicha and dramatist Aleksey Dudarev. The younger
group of literary figures includes poet Leonid Dran’ko-Maysyuk, and Vladimir
Orlov and Pyotr Vasyuchenko, who write historical and experimental prose,
respectively.
| B | Music, Dance, and Theater |
Belarus’s opera and ballet companies have
long-standing reputations. Their primary venue, the Opera and Ballet Theater
(founded in 1932) in Minsk, holds regular and well-attended performances. The
popular Theater of Musical Comedy (1970) is also located in the capital, as is
the Belarusian Musical Academy (1932). Of the many orchestras in the country,
the most prominent are the Belarusian State Philharmonic and the Belarusian
State Symphony Orchestra. The state musical repertoire is under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Culture.
The leading drama theater in Belarus is
the Yanka Kupala Belarusian State Academic Theater (1920), located in Minsk.
Other major theaters include the Gorky Russian Theater (1932) in Babruysk, and
the Yakub Kolas Belarusian State Academic Theater (1925) in Minsk. The
avant-garde Minsk theater Vol’naya Stsena (Free Stage) opened in 1990 to
focus on Belarusian drama and classics.
| C | Libraries and Museums |
The National Library of Belarus, noted for
its selection of Belarusian literature, is the country’s largest library. This
and other large libraries are located in Minsk. In addition, there are about
5,500 smaller libraries in the country.
Museums in Belarus include the Museum of
the Great Patriotic War, the Belarus State Art Museum, and the National Museum
of the History and Culture of Belarus, all located in Minsk. Several museums are
dedicated to renowned writers such as Yakub Kolas, and others focus on
Soviet-era political figures such as Petr Masherov. A small museum in Minsk
denotes the meeting place of the First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic
Labor Party (RSDLP) in 1898; after a split into two factions, the Bolshevik wing
of this group eventually evolved into the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union.
| V | ECONOMY |
Reforms toward a market economy have been
suspended since 1994 in a government effort to maintain Soviet-style
centralization. Most industries, including manufacturing and farming, are state
owned and operated. In 1996 the private sector’s share of the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP) was estimated at 15 percent, the lowest of all Eastern
European countries.
High average annual rates of inflation
between 1991 and 1996 severely impeded economic growth and drove up prices for
food and services. In the same period annual output declined in almost all
sectors of the economy. The 2006 GDP of Belarus was an estimated $36.9 billion.
Trade and other services accounted for 49 percent of GDP; industry, including
mining and manufacturing, 42 percent; and agriculture and forestry, 9 percent.
Approximately 4.8 million people contribute to
the economy of Belarus. Of the labor force, 35 percent are employed in industry;
21 percent in agriculture and forestry; and 40 percent in services such as trade
and transportation. Unemployment is officially estimated at 3 percent, but
underemployment and irregular wage patterns are common.
| A | Manufacturing |
Manufacturing contributes most of the
country’s industrial output. The most important manufactured products are
tractors, transport vehicles, motorcycles, refrigerators, television sets, and
metal-cutting machines. An increase in the cost of fuel from Russia and a
decrease in demand for Belarus’s industrial products, especially military
supplies, facilitated a steady decline in gross industrial output between 1991
and 1995. Industry in Belarus mainly developed in the Soviet period,
particularly in the 1930s. After World War II, industry in Belarus was
significantly modernized, and the country maintained high production levels for
many years. Today the country’s industry suffers from inefficiency and outdated
equipment.
| B | Agriculture |
Collective and state farms established
during the Soviet period remain the dominant forms of agricultural production in
Belarus. The principal crops are potatoes, grains (especially barley and rye),
and sugar beets. Cultivated land accounts for 26 percent of the country’s land
use. The 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl’ nuclear power station in Ukraine
contaminated much of the soil in southern Belarus, reducing the country’s total
area of arable land by more than 10 percent.
| C | Forestry |
Although Belarus possesses valuable stands
of forest, the forestry industry is underdeveloped, with forest and woodland
contributing a negligible amount of the country’s land use. The timber-producing
areas and most sawmills are located in the Minsk, Brest, and Homyel’ regions.
Forestry products include furniture and plywood.
| D | Services |
During the Soviet period, the service
industry employed only about 5 percent of the workforce. This sector of the
economy remains largely underdeveloped. State-owned stores offering relatively
low-quality goods predominate, although new supermarkets are opening at an
increasing rate. Private stores are limited mainly to small kiosks, or
free-standing merchandise booths, on the sidewalks. The number of restaurants in
the major cities has risen markedly only in Minsk. The first McDonald’s
fast-food restaurant opened in Minsk in December 1996, but investment by Western
firms has generally been limited.
| E | Energy |
Belarus generates only about 12 percent of
its own energy needs. It is heavily reliant on oil and gas supplies from Russia.
These fuel imports reach Belarus via two major pipelines: the Friendship
Pipeline carrying oil, and the Natural Lights Pipeline carrying natural gas. The
price of these resources has risen considerably since 1991, and Belarus has
carried a debt to the Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom, despite reducing its import
quantity by about half. The country has two oil refineries, at Mazyr and
Polatsk.
| F | Transportation and Communications |
Belarus has an extensive road and rail
network with some 5,498 km (3,416 mi) of railroads and 93,310 km (57,980 mi) of
roads. The system is geared primarily to former Soviet republics and Eastern
European countries. The major railroad, which was built in the 1860s to connect
Moscow and Warsaw, runs through Belarus via Minsk and Brest. The best-quality
road in Belarus is that which links Moscow with Warsaw.
Belarus has four international airports,
the largest of which is Minsk-2, located about 50 km (about 30 mi) east of
Minsk. Although Minsk-2 serves airlines from Germany, Austria, Poland,
Scandinavia, and other countries, the airport operates well below capacity.
Belarus derived a national airline, Belavia, from the former Soviet Aeroflot
planes it inherited when the USSR was dissolved.
The state owns and operates all principal
daily newspapers and the National State Television and Radio Company, as well as
nearly all the country’s printing and broadcasting facilities. Since taking
office in 1994, the president of Belarus has replaced editors of several
state-owned newspapers with his own appointees and placed the legislature’s
newspaper under the control of the executive branch. In 1996 the government
restricted freedom of the press in an attempt to stifle political opposition.
Though some small independent weekly newspapers still publish in Minsk, all of
the large dailies are organs of the Council of Ministers and reflect the views
of that government body.
| G | Foreign Trade |
Belarus exports transport equipment (mainly
tractors), machinery, chemicals, and foodstuffs. Imports include fuel, natural
gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, and sugar. Fuel is Belarus’s largest
import expenditure. Russia, which supplies most of the country’s fuel imports,
is the most important trading partner. Other customers for the exports of
Belarus are Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan; sources for
imports in addition to Russia are Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Lithuania. In
1992 Belarus became a member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (World Bank), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 1996, however, the
World Bank and the IMF suspended aid because of the government’s decision to
halt privatization reforms.
| H | Currency and Banking |
The unit of currency is the new Belarusian
ruble (26,500 rubles equal U.S.$1; 1997), introduced in August 1994 and
equivalent to ten old rubles. It has been the official national currency since
January 1995, when circulation of Russian rubles ceased. In April 1994 Belarus
and Russia agreed to the eventual merger of their monetary systems, but Russia
has delayed the merger because of the high inflation and other economic problems
in Belarus. In early 1998 the Belarusian ruble plunged in value, partly because
of the government printing money to lend inefficient state enterprises. The
central bank is the National Bank of Belarus in Minsk.
| VI | GOVERNMENT |
Belarus adopted its first post-Soviet
constitution in 1994. Under the constitution, a popularly elected president
replaced the chairperson of the unicameral (single-chamber) legislature, called
the Supreme Soviet, as head of state. The president had the power to dismiss the
prime minister and members of the Council of Ministers but not to dissolve the
legislature or other elected governing bodies. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka,
who was elected in the first presidential election of 1994, called a referendum
in 1996 on a proposal to broaden his presidential authority (including the power
to dissolve the legislature), extend his term from five to seven years, and
create a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature. According to official tallies,
more than 70 percent of voters approved the proposed changes. Despite widespread
allegations of vote fraud, Lukashenka immediately dissolved the opposition-led
Supreme Soviet and created a new legislature composed of his supporters. He also
signed the changes into law as constitutional amendments. All citizens have the
right to vote from the age of 18.
| A | Executive |
Under the constitution a president is the
head of state of Belarus. The president appoints the prime minister, who is the
head of government, with the approval of the lower house of the legislature, the
House of Representatives. The president also appoints and dismisses the
ministers who make up the government. Presidential appointments also largely
determine the members of the judiciary and the Central Electoral Commission.
Amendments to the constitution in 1996 invested the president with the power to
dissolve the legislature. In 2004 a constitutional amendment abolished a
provision limiting the president to two consecutive terms in office.
| B | Legislature |
Under the 1994 constitution, Belarus was
to have a unicameral legislature (Supreme Soviet) of 260 members elected by
universal adult suffrage for a term of five years. Under the constitutional
amendments of 1996, the Supreme Soviet was replaced by a bicameral National
Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the
Council of the Republic (upper house). The 110 members of the House of
Representatives are directly elected by the people. The Council of the Republic
is made up of 64 members; 56 are chosen by regional councils and 8 are appointed
by the president. The term of office for members of both houses is four
years.
| C | Judiciary |
The judicial system of Belarus consists of
three high courts: the Supreme Court, the Economic Court, and the Constitutional
Court. The latter court is charged with protecting the constitution, and its
decisions are not subject to appeal. It has the power to review the
constitutionality of presidential edicts and the regulatory decisions of the
other two high courts. As amended in 1996, the constitution allows the president
to appoint 6 of the 12 members of the Constitutional Court, including its
chairperson; the Council of the Republic appoints the remaining members. The
president also appoints judges to all other courts of the republic, including
the Supreme Court and Economic Court.
| D | Local Government |
Belarus is divided administratively into
six oblasts, which have the same names as their largest cities. The
Minsk, Hrodna, Homyel’, Mahilyow, Vitebsk, and Brest oblasts are each divided
into smaller administrative districts, called rayony. The oblasts have
their own councils for the administration of regional affairs. In addition, the
president has appointed a plenipotentiary, or diplomatic agent, in each oblast
to report local affairs to the executive.
| E | Political Parties |
The political opposition has little voice
in Belarus. Parties supporting President Lukashenka dominate government and the
legislature. Opposition parties have had little success in elections, which have
drawn international criticism for failing to meet the standards of a democracy.
Pro-government parties include the Agrarian Party, the Communist Party of
Belarus, the Belarusian Patriotic Party, and the Liberal Democratic Party of
Belarus. Opposition parties include the BPF-Revival (formerly the Belarusian
Popular Front, founded as a pro-reform movement in 1988), the Belarusian Social
Democratic Party (National Assembly), the Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly,
the United Civic Party, and the Party of Communists of Belarus.
| F | Social Services |
Health care in Belarus is state operated
and free of charge. Hospitals are generally undersupplied by Western standards,
and pharmaceuticals are scarce. Higher-quality medical facilities can be found
in hospitals and clinics under city jurisdiction. The Chernobyl’ disaster’s
impact on the health of the population has severely strained the country’s
limited health-care system.
| G | Defense |
Military service is compulsory for all
males for 18 months beginning at the age of 18. In 2004 the army was composed of
29,600 troops and the air force had 18,170 troops. There is no navy. In addition
to the regular army, Belarus maintains a border guard with about 8,000 members.
Belarus inherited more than 500 strategic
and tactical nuclear warheads when the USSR was dissolved in 1991. In 1992
Belarus signed a protocol in which it agreed to implement the first Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) and to adhere to the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty. In December 1996 Belarus completed the process of deporting its nuclear
warheads to Russia, where they were to be dismantled.
| H | International Organizations |
Belarus is a member of approximately 50
international organizations, most notably the United Nations (UN), the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the
World Health Organization (WHO). In early 1995 Belarus joined the Partnership
for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a plan
designed to promote military cooperation between NATO and non-NATO states.
| VII | HISTORY |
Human settlement in Belarusian territory
dates to prehistoric times, but there is no consensus among scholars on the
origins of the Belarusian state. The three early Slavic tribes from which the
Belarusians are believed to have derived are the Krivichi, Dregovichi, and
Radimichi, who between the 6th and 8th centuries settled first on the Daugava
(Western Daugava) River and later in the vicinity of the Pripyat’ and Sozh
rivers. The medieval period of Belarusian history dates most notably from the
last quarter of the 10th century, when Prince Rogvold ruled the local
principality of Polotsk (Polatsk). In the late 10th century Polotsk was annexed
into Kievan Rus, the first significant East Slavic state. At least three
principalities—Smolensk, Polotsk, and Turov-Pinsk—existed on what later became
Belarusian territory. The Tatar invasions that destroyed Kievan Rus and the city
of Kiev (Kyiv) in 1240 left Belarusian territory relatively unscathed.
In the 14th century Belarusian territory
became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with its capital at Vilnius. Slavs
heavily outnumbered the titular nation and retained privileges, and state
business was for a time conducted in the Belarusian language. By the 16th
century a Slavic culture had begun to emerge, symbolized by the translation of
the Bible into the Belarusian language by Frantsysk Skaryna in 1517. In 1569,
however, the Grand Duchy formed a political union with Poland by the Union of
Lublin, forming the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) and making the sovereign of
Poland also the grand duke of the Lithuanian kingdom. In this period,
Belarusians faced pressure from the Poles to convert from Eastern Orthodoxy to
Roman Catholicism. The union lasted until the late 18th century, by which time
the lands of Belarus had fallen under the control of the Russian Empire as a
result of the partitions of Poland that took place in 1772, 1793, and 1795.
| A | Rule of the Russian Empire |
The period of imperial Russian rule has
been widely perceived as one of repression of cultural and political initiatives
on Belarusian territory. In 1839 the Eastern Catholic (Uniate) Church in the
Polotsk region was dissolved, and the Lithuanian statute of 1588 that codified
civil rights was prohibited. In 1863 the young Belarusian Kastus Kalinovsky
played a prominent role in the widespread Polish uprising against the Russian
Empire; he was publicly executed after his capture by the imperial authorities
in March 1864. Belarusian culture nevertheless made great strides in the 19th
century, and during this period the concept of a Belarusian nation first truly
emerged.
The vast majority of ethnic Belarusians
were villagers at the turn of the century. Although industrial development had
progressed rapidly in the late 19th century, Belarus lagged behind most
territories of the Russian Empire. The major Belarusian urban centers—such as
Vilnius, Minsk, Homyel’, and Mahilyow—contained Jewish majorities, with Poles
and Russians constituting the largest minorities. In 1905 the Russian Empire
permitted Belarusians to publish newspapers and books in their native language,
and national activities became more widespread. The most prominent publication
was the newspaper Nasha Niva (Our Cornfield), which was the main
Belarusian cultural publication in Vilnius until 1915.
| B | The Soviet Period |
The Russian Revolution of 1917 overthrew
the Russian monarchy in February (or March, in the Western, or Gregorian,
calendar), and the Belarusian Socialist Hramada (Assembly) called for the
reorganization of the Russian Empire as a federation. Later in the same month,
all Belarusian political groups united to form the Belarusian National
Committee, which was later renamed the Central Rada (Council). In the
October (or November) phase of the revolution, the Bolsheviks (militant
socialists) seized power in Russia. In Minsk, an All-Belarusian Congress took
place in December to establish a democratic, multiparty government, but the
Bolsheviks disbanded it by force of arms before it could complete its
deliberations. In March 1918 most of Belarus came under German control by the
terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which was the result of the Bolsheviks’
negotiations with Germany to end Russia’s involvement in World War I
(1914-1918). Belarusian nationalists took the opportunity to declare the
creation of the Belarusian People’s (National) Republic, and Germany guaranteed
the new state’s independence. The republic proved short-lived, however, because
of Germany’s defeat in the war in November. Red Army invasions secured the
Bolshevik regime on January 1, 1919, and the Belorussian (or Byelorussian)
Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was proclaimed. In March 1921 the Treaty of
Rīga, which formally ended a war between Russia and Poland, divided the eastern
and western portions of Belorussia’s territory between the two countries. In
December 1922 the Belorussian SSR, then only a fraction of its former size,
became a constituent, founding republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR). In the 1920s the Belorussian republic incorporated most of the
ethnic Belarusian territories that had been annexed into Russia. By the terms of
a nonaggression treaty between the USSR and Germany, the Hrodna, Brest, and
western part of Minsk provinces were annexed from Poland in September 1939,
nearly doubling the size of Belorussia. Vilnius and its surrounding region were
ceded to Lithuania.
The Belorussian republic was permitted to
develop culturally through the 1920s. Beginning in the late 1920s, however, the
Soviet regime became increasingly oppressive under USSR dictator Joseph Stalin.
In the late 1930s, Stalin masterminded a massive, violent purge of the
population—targeting especially intellectuals and political opponents—throughout
the Soviet Union, carried out by the Soviet secret police. In the worst known
incident in Belorussia, approximately 250,000 people were rounded up and
executed in the Kuropaty Forest near Minsk. In addition, countless thousands
were exiled to labor camps in Siberia. During this period, national development
ended in Belorussia, and Russian language and culture were promoted by the
state.
| C | World War II |
In 1941, during World War II, the Nazi
German army invaded Belorussia as part of a major offensive against the Soviet
Union. The Nazis occupied the republic, imposing a brutal regime in which an
estimated 2 million people perished. Jews, who at the time were the
second-largest ethnic group in Belorussia, were especially targeted for
imprisonment and mass executions in the Nazi death camps (see Holocaust).
By the summer of 1942 the republic became the location of an extensive partisan
movement, directed from Moscow, which played a major role in undermining the
Nazi regime. In 1944 the Soviet Red Army drove out Nazi forces.
In the postwar years, Belorussia
developed into one of the Soviet Union’s most modern manufacturing regions. The
republic became the major Soviet center for the production of tractors and
automobiles and an important base for chemicals and other products.
Concurrently, the postwar years were marked by rapid urbanization. Minsk
developed as the major center of economic, cultural, and political life and the
largest urban center with a quarter of the republic’s urban residents. Communist
Party loyalists dominated the leadership from the mid-1950s through 1980, with
first Kiryl Mazurov and then the popular Petr Masherov leading the Soviet
republic through a period of relative prosperity. Underlying this evident
progress was a rigorous Soviet policy of promoting the Russian language and
culture, resulting in a thorough Russification of the non-Russian
population.
| D | The Collapse of Soviet Rule |
In 1986 Belorussia was devastated by the
explosion at the Chernobyl’ nuclear power station in Ukraine. More than
one-fifth of the republic was contaminated with high-level radioactive fallout,
and many of its residents were exposed. Also during the 1980s, USSR president
Mikhail Gorbachev introduced his political and economic reforms,
perestroika (Russian for “restructuring”) and glasnost
(“openness”), which encouraged a cultural rebirth in Belorussia. In October 1988
the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) was formed, dedicated to the revival of the
Belarusian language and to catalyzing the slow progress of de-Stalinization, or
the reversal of repressive Stalinist policies, in the Belorussian SSR. In
January 1990 Belarusian was made the sole official language of the republic.
Later in 1990 relatively open elections were held to the Supreme Soviet,
although the Communist Party won most seats and continued to dominate the
legislature.
In 1990 Belorussia was one of several
republics to declare sovereignty from the central government of the USSR.
Although a largely symbolic act, it took on new significance when Communist
hardliners attempted a coup of the Soviet government in mid-August 1991. The
coup attempt, which failed abjectly, precipitated the disintegration of the
USSR. Following the lead of several other republics, Belarus declared its
independence on August 25.
In the following month, the Supreme
Soviet of Belorussia elected as its chairperson a respected former
vice-chancellor of Belarus State University, Stanislau Shushkevich, and changed
the name of the state to the Republic of Belarus. The former state flag of the
short-lived Belarusian People’s Republic of 1918 was resurrected, along with a
state insignia displaying a knight on horseback (the former symbol of the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania). In December a high-level meeting between Shushkevich,
Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk
resulted in the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a
loosely structured alliance open to all Soviet republics, with Minsk as its
headquarters. Most republics joined the CIS, and the Soviet Union was formally
dissolved in late December.
| E | Belarus Since Independence |
In 1992 the BPF attempted to force new
parliamentary elections by collecting signatures from the public, but the
attempt was rejected by the Communist-dominated legislature. Hardline forces
thereafter regained control of political life. Shushkevich, long opposed by his
prime minister, Vyacheslau Kebich, was ousted on trumped-up corruption charges
in January 1994. As the economy deteriorated, Communist leaders sought closer
ties with Russia, demanding among other things a military-security union. The
first presidential election took place in July 1994 and resulted in an
unexpected defeat for Kebich. A virtually unknown young politician, Alyaksandr
Lukashenka, swept to victory with more than 80 percent of the vote in the final
runoff.
| E1 | Power Struggles in Government |
Lukashenka, a former state farm
manager, immediately began to circumvent the constitution to assert his powers
over the Supreme Soviet. In May 1995 he held national referenda that resulted in
the removal of the state flag and emblem and their replacement by a flag nearly
identical to that of the Belorussian SSR. Frequent demonstrations were held
against the president’s policies. In April 1996 the largest of these protests,
involving about 70,000 people, resulted in numerous arrests and police-inflicted
injuries. The BPF leader, Zyenon Poznyak, was granted political asylum in the
United States. In September the government shut down the only independent radio
station and froze the bank accounts of at least five independent weekly
newspapers.
By late 1996 a power struggle had
developed between Lukashenka and an intra-party majority in the Supreme Soviet.
The president demanded a new referendum to extend his term in office and provide
him with authority to dissolve the legislature, while the Supreme Soviet, led by
chairman Semyon Sharetsky, sought to impeach the president. The referendum,
which passed with more than 70 percent of the vote amid widespread allegations
of vote fraud, resulted in a dramatic victory for Lukashenka. Russian prime
minister Viktor Chernomyrdin played the role of intermediary and tried,
unsuccessfully, to have the results of the referendum declared nonbinding.
Lukashenka immediately signed its provisions into law as amendments to the
constitution, despite an earlier ruling by the Constitutional Court that the
results were to be used only for advisory purposes. Lukashenka dissolved the
Supreme Soviet and created a new legislature, the National Assembly, composed
entirely of his supporters. As president, Lukashenka combines genuine
popularity, especially in rural regions, with a repressive regime that openly
emulates the Soviet past.
| E2 | Ties with Russia |
In foreign affairs, Lukashenka pursued
his long-held goal of unifying Belarus with Russia. In April 1996 Lukashenka and
Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a preliminary union treaty that proposed
closer political and economic ties between the two countries. Earlier agreements
already established their military cooperation and the stationing of Russian
military units in Belarus. Lukashenka continued to push for full unification,
but liberal Russian officials urged Yeltsin to agree to only a limited
integration, largely due to Belarus’s authoritarian government structure. In
April 1997 the two leaders signed a union treaty that called for economic,
political, and military cooperation but fell short of creating a single state.
In December 1998 Yeltsin and Lukashenka signed an accord for the two countries
to eventually merge their currencies, customs regulations, and tax collection
systems.
| E3 | Recent Elections |
Legislative elections in October 2000
were boycotted by the political opposition and reinstated a National Assembly
mostly loyal to Lukashenka. In September 2001 Lukashenka was reelected
president. However, the election was marred by arrests and harassment of
political opponents, a strong bias against opposition candidates in state-run
media, and widespread allegations of vote rigging.
The 2004 legislative elections
resulted in the complete exclusion of opposition parties from the National
Assembly. International election observers said the election was seriously
flawed due to widespread vote tampering in favor of pro-Lukashenka candidates,
who won all the seats. In addition, a concurrent referendum on a constitutional
amendment lifted the two-term limit on the presidency and gave Lukashenka the
option to run for two additional terms.
Presidential elections were held in
March 2006. Lukashenka claimed victory with more than 86 percent of the vote.
International observers and Western nations again denounced the election as
seriously flawed. The controversy prompted mass public demonstrations, leading
to at least 1,000 arrests. One of the two main opposition candidates was
arrested for helping direct the demonstrations and speaking out against
Lukashenka, who insisted that the elections were fair.
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