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___ Belarus

A virtual travel guide to Belarus. This page aims to give you a broad overview of Belarusian art, culture, people, environment, geography, history, economy and government.
Beside a country profile this page contains links to sources that will provide you with in-depth information about this Eastern European nation, e.g.: official web sites of Belarus, addresses of Belarusian and foreign embassies, domestic airlines, city- and country guides with travel and tourism information on accommodation, tourist attractions, events and more like weather information, maps, statistics and local newspapers from Belarus.

Minsk - capital city of Belarus
Minsk - the Capital City of Belarus
Photo: Sergej Melnik
  

Republic of Belarus | Respublika Bielarus

Country Profile



Flag of Belgium
Flag of Belarus

Background:
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. The Constitution revision by national referendum of 24 November 1996 gave presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996, revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits.
Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.


border countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine
 
where in the world is Belarus

Official Name:
Respublika Bielarus
int'l long form: Republic of Belarus
int'l short form: Belarus
formerly: Belorussia, Byelorussia

ISO Country Code: by

Time:
Time Zone: Eastern European Time
Local Time = UTC +2h (summer +3)
Actual Time: Mon-May-12  19:30

Capital City: Minsk

Other Cities: Baranovichi, Bobruysk, Brest,
Gomel, Grodno, Hrodna, Mogilev, Polotsk, Vitebsk.

Government:
Type: Republic (in fact a dictatorship)
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union).

Geography:
Location: Eastern Europe.
Area: 207 600 sq. km. (80 100 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Landlocked, generally flat with thick forests, much marshland and fields.

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

People:
Nationality: Belarusian
Population: 10 million; urban 72%; rural 28%.
Ethnic groups: Belarusian (81%), Russian (11%), Polish, Ukrainian, other (8%).
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Protestant, Autocephalous Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim) 20%.
Language: Belarusian, Russian (official).
Literacy: 98%.

Natural resources: Forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay.

Agriculture products: Grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk.

Industries: Metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators.

Exports partners: Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)

Imports partners: Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)

Currency: Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)


Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Belarus

Presidential Administration Belarus
The Presidential Administration of the Republic of Belarus.

National Centre of Legal Information
Belarus legal information exchange.



Ministry of Foreign Affaires
MOFA Belarus.


Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the UN
Permanent Mission of Belarus to the United Nations.
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
Washington D.C.
Diplomatic Representations of the Republic of Belarus
Address list of Belarusian Diplomatic Missions abroad.


Weather
meteo.by
The official weather.


Maps
Map of Belarus
Political Map of Belarus.
Google Earth Google Earth Belarus
Zoomable satellite view of Belarus.
Google Earth Google Earth Map of Minsk
Zoomable satellite view of Minsk.
to Map of Europe
Political map of Europe.
 

News

Belarusnews
Belarus News Service.
Belarus Now
News from Belarus.
Belarus Today
Daily News from Belarus.
Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA)
Official Belarusian News agency.
Delo
Monthly business magazine (in Russian)
 

 

Arts & Culture

Belarus Gallery
Artists from Belarus.
 

 

Business & Economy


National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
The Central Bank of Belarus.

Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Official pages of the Belarusian CCI (in English and Russian)


Transportation

Airline
Belarusian Airlines
Belarusian National Airlines  
 

Destination Belarus - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Belarus: accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, tourist boards, biking, skiing, hiking, climbing, cruising, diving, tours and much more.


Belintourist
The National Tour Operator of the Republic of Belarus.

great site Belarus Guide
The Virtual Guide to Belarus, an extensive compilation of information about Belarus.
Belarustourist
A Guide to Belarus.
Data
General Information about Belarus.

Cities:
Minsk
Official website of the capital city.
new Minsk city
Portal of Minsk city with interesting news about Minsk (in Belarusian).
Journey to Minsk
Minsk as it was seen by Belarusian photoartists
Minsk In The Fifties
It's like a slow timemachine.

Brest
Brest Online.

Gomel
Gomel Then and Now.

Grodno (Hrodna)
Grodno Online (in Russian).
Hrodna
Information on the City of Hrodna.

 
 Books about Travel in Belarus

US books 

Books about Belarus
   Books about Belarus
   Guide de tourisme et voyages en Bélarus (in French)
UK books  Books about Belarus
fr books  Guide de tourisme et voyages en Bélarus
German books  German Books: Reiseführer Weissrussland

Education

Belarusian State University
Minsk, founded in 1921.
Brest State University
Brest, founded in 1995.
Gomel State University
University Homepage (in Russian)
The National Academy of Sciences
Scientific research, founded in 1929.
Belarus: Science and Education
Comprehensive list of links to Belarus science and education.
 
 

Environment

BelAL - Belarus Agricultural Library
BelAL is the national information centre for agriculture, food and forestry in Belarus.
Belarusian Nature
Site with information about Belarusian Nature.
Priroda.Org - The Nature
Belarus ecology informational portal (in Russian)
 
 

History

History of Belarus
About Belarus' history by the Ministry of Foreign Affaires.
Ancient Cities of Belarus
The Ancient Cities of Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev and Polotsk.
Belarus History
Timeline of Belarus' History.
History of Belarus (Great Litva)
Comprehensive information about the History of Belarus.
History and Famous Personalities
Linklist of history recources.
 
 

Search

Belarus Online
Belarus Online presents Belarusian Internet Resources.
  Interesting WWW Sites In & About Belarus
Index of Belarus related websites.

Newsgroup of Belarus
soc.culture.belarus

Additional Information on Belarus

BBC News Country Profile: Belarus REENIC: Belarus
Russian and East European Network Information Center on Belarus
Background Notes: Belarus
Governments on the WWW: Belarus
HDR - Human development index Belarus
Open Directory Project: Belarus
Wikipedia: Belarus
The World Factbook -- Belarus
 
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The Belarus page was last modified on: Friday, 31-Aug-2007 14:38:16 CEST


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