Country Information

Eastern Europe.

207,595 sq km (80,153 sq miles).

9,625,888 (2013).

46.4 per sq km.

Minsk.

Republic since 1991.

Bordered by Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Belarus is a landlocked, relatively flat country, crisscrossed by thousands of streams and major rivers such as the Dnieper. Its landscape is characterised by uplands and lowlands created by glacial movements during the last Ice Age; these are also responsible for the Belarusian ridge which runs diagonally across the country. Around one third of Belarus is covered by forests, which are rich in wildlife. Straddling the border between Belarus and Poland is Białowieża Forest, one of the last stretches of Europe's primeval forests and home to around 800 bison. The Palyessye plain, a swampy lowland in the southwest of Belarus was severely affected by the Chernobyl disaster and much of the area is off-limits as it is now part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The official languages are Belarusian and Russian. Other languages spoken in the country include Ukrainian and Polish.

Christian (majority Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic with minority Protestant), and some minority Jewish and Muslim communities.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

If meeting a stranger, shaking hands is the usual form of greeting. Hospitality is part of the tradition and people are welcoming and friendly, although Belarusians are also known for their brusqueness. If you are invited to someone's house, be sure to bring a small token as a gift. The same goes for power lunches - company gifts are well received. Avoid taking photographs of military or government installations. Take care not to use the 'thumbs up' sign to say 'OK'; in Belarus this gesture this is considered rude. You may see people spitting in public âEuro“ this is acceptable in Belarus. Belarus is quite a religious and conservative society, and homosexuality, whilst not illegal is kept very low-key so as not to invite unwanted attention.

220V, 50Hz. European two-pin plugs are used.

Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich since 2010.

President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994.

The current leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, originally came to power at the 1994 presidential election. An important element of his platform was a promise to end corruption. Unfortunately, Lukashenko’s rule became characterised by ever greater corruption, nepotism, censorship and arbitrary decision-making; it has since deteriorated further, with restrictions on religious and political assembly and, in the worst cases, the disappearance and death of prominent critics. In 1996, a dubious referendum had endorsed Lukashenko’s intention to extend both his powers and his term of office to 2001.

The Lukashenko government’s conduct has completely undermined Belarus’ relations with the West, which it had initially sought to develop. Lukashenko is now looking to Moscow and especially the integration project, under which the two countries will become united at political and economic levels, adding to an already extensive set of bilateral agreements. However, the issue of government corruption still taints Belarus. In early 2005, Belarus was listed by the USA as Europe’s only remaining outpost of tyranny. The EU extended travel restrictions on senior officials and the USA imposed sanctions. Street protests throughout 2004 have highlighted that Belarusians wish to keep these complaints at the forefront of worldwide media.

The official results of a referendum in October 2004 showed almost unanimous support for the removal of the two-term limit on Lukashenko’s rule. At parliamentary elections held at the same time, official results also showed that opposition parties failed to win a single seat. Foreign observers claim that there was widespread corruption involved with both votes, and protests on the streets followed the elections.

Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected at the March 2006 presidential elections with more than 82% of the votes. Opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich said the result was a ’fraud’ and international observers commented that the ballot ’did not meet the required international standards for free and fair elections’.