BELARUS

Belarus is a landlocked nation-state in Eastern Europe, which borders Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Its capital city is Minsk, and other important cities include Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and Vitebsk.

Throughout much of history, the area which is now known as Belarus was part of various countries including Lithuania, Poland and the Russian Empire. Eventually, in 1922, Belarus became a republic in the Soviet Union as the Byelorussian SSR. The republic officially declared its sovereignty on 27 August 1990, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, declared independence as the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991. Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has been the state's president. Belarus is currently in negotiations with neighboring Russia to integrate both of their economies, among other things, in a plan called the Union of Russia and Belarus.

Location

Belarus (Belorussia) is situated along in the western Dvina and Dnieper. It is bounded in west by Poland, north by Lativa and Lithuania, East by Russia and south by the Ukraine.

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

Capital

Minsk

Population

10 million

Climate

Cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime.

Language

Balarusian (White Russian)

Monetary Unit

Balarusian Ruble

Largest Cities

Homel, Vitebsk, Brest, Mahilyou, Bobruisk, Hrodno.

Principal rivers

Inepr, Pripyat, lvina, Neman.

Places to Visit

Minsk, Homel, Brest, Bobruisk.

Air Ports

Minsk International Air Port