Belarus Map

Description: This map shows governmental boundaries of countries; regions, region capital cities, and major cities and towns in Belarus.

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. It covers about 207,600 square kilometres. Minsk is the capital and largest city. The 2019 census recorded a population of about 9.4 million. The country is divided into six regions (voblasts) and the city of Minsk, which has special status.

The name comes from the Belarusian words for "white" (bely) and "Rus'". It is often translated as "White Ruthenia" or "White Russia".

History

In the Middle Ages, the lands of present-day Belarus belonged to several East Slavic principalities. The most important of these was the Principality of Polotsk, which was first mentioned in written sources in 862. In the 13th and 14th centuries, these territories became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Ruthenian, an ancestor of modern Belarusian, was widely used there as an official language. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, the region was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Russian Empire absorbed it through the three partitions of the Commonwealth between 1772 and 1795.

The Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed in 1918 but did not last. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was established on 1 January 1919 and became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union in 1922. Under the 1921 Peace of Riga, the western part of the territory went to Poland. It was joined to the Byelorussian SSR in 1939.

During the Second World War, German forces occupied the territory from 1941 to 1944. The republic suffered some of the heaviest losses of any Soviet region. Estimates suggest that between a quarter and a third of its population died. In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations.

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster in neighbouring Ukraine caused severe radioactive contamination in southeastern Belarus, especially in the Gomel and Mogilev regions.

Belarus declared state sovereignty on 27 July 1990 and independence on 25 August 1991. In December 1991, the leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine signed the Belovezha Accords at Viskuli. The agreement formally dissolved the Soviet Union and created the Commonwealth of Independent States. A new constitution was adopted in 1994. Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential election held that year and has remained in office ever since. Large protests followed the disputed presidential election of August 2020.

Geography

Most of Belarus is flat and low-lying. The highest point, Dzyarzhynskaya Hara, is 345 metres above sea level. Forests cover about 40 percent of the land. The country has thousands of lakes, and Narach is the largest. The main rivers are the Dnieper, the Neman, the Pripyat and the Western Dvina. The Polesia region in the south has large wetlands. The climate is moderately continental, with cold winters and warm summers.

Belarus and Poland share Białowieża Forest, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the last remaining parts of the primeval lowland forest that once covered much of Europe.

Politics

Belarus is a presidential republic. The parliament, called the National Assembly, has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. Constitutional amendments approved in a 2022 referendum gave constitutional status to the All-Belarusian People's Assembly. Belarus is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union. It became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2024. It also has a close political and economic relationship with Russia through the Union State, which was established by treaty in 1999.

Economy

The state controls a large share of the economy. Important industries include machine building, chemicals, oil refining and food processing. Belarus is one of the world's major producers of potash fertilisers. It is also known for manufacturing tractors, trucks and heavy mining dump trucks. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant near Astravets began commercial operation in the early 2020s. The national currency is the Belarusian ruble.

Demographics and culture

According to the 2019 census, Belarusians make up about 85 percent of the population. Russians, Poles and Ukrainians are the largest minorities. Belarusian and Russian are both official languages, but Russian is the language most commonly used in daily life. Most religious believers are Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholics form the largest minority.

The country's UNESCO World Heritage Sites include the Mir Castle Complex, the architectural, residential and cultural complex of the Radziwiłł family at Nesvizh, and part of the Struve Geodetic Arc.