Belarus Travel Guide

Full Name

Republic of Belarus

Former Name

Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Capital City

Minsk

Government Type

republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

Climate

cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime

Geography

landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay

Languages

Belarusian, Russian, other

History

After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.

Currency

Belarus Ruble (BYR)