Country Information
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History
Early History
| Belarus was colonised by baltic and Slav tribes who slowly
developed civilisation under the influence of the Kievan Rus
principality, which was founded in 860 AD. |
| Slav culture in the region was destroyed by the invasion
of the Mongol Tartars, although much of Belarus escaped. |
| Russian civilization started a slow renaissance under the
leadership of Moscow. |
| Belarus formed part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with
its capital in Vilnius. |
| The Great Duchy of Lithuania formed a federation union with
the Polish Kingdom called Retch Paspalitaya. As a result in
the western part of Belarus Catholic and Uniate (Orthodox ritual
but Catholic controlled) communities were established. |
| Belarus became fully controlled by Russia. |
20th Century
| Following the overthrow of the Tsar and the bolshevik revolution
independence, as the belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic,
was declared in Minsk. This proved, however, to be short-lived.
|
| Under the treaty of Riga western Belarus became part of Poland.
The remainder became a part of the Soviet Union. |
| During the Second World War Belarus suffers enormously and
it is estimated 25% of its population perish. |
| Local Communist Party leader Masherov achieved great personal
popularity. His death in a mysterious car accident is blamed
on the KGb. |
| With the collapse of the Soviet Union the country declares
full independence as the Republic of Belarus. |
| First President elections were held and Alexander Lukashenko
was elected the first President of Belarus. |
| Following a referendum, a Union treaty was signed with Russia,
which anticipated closer political and economic ties leading
eventually to monetary union. |
| The Union Charter with Russia, fostering greater integration,
was signed. |
| Union treaty with Russia signed. |
Geographic description
Frontiers and Coastline
Belarus is totally landlocked, although there are river and canal
connections with the baltic and the black Sea.
To the north, Belarus borders Latvia. To the north east and east is
Russia. Ukraine lies to the south and to the west there are borders
with Poland and Lithuania.
Land Area
The land area of Belarus is 80,150 sq miles (207,600 sq km).
Administration
The country is divided into six provinces (oblasts): Brest, Vitebsk,
Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilyov.
Topography
Belarus is predominantly a country of rivers and forests with large
areas of marshland, mainly in the south of the country where the extensive
Pripyat marshes extend across the border into the Ukraine. The main
rivers are the berezina, a tributary of the Dniepr, which flows through
the Ukraine to the black Sea. The Dvina flows northwards to the baltic.
There are no large mountain chains in the country, though there are
some areas of hills.
Climate
The climate of Belarus is moderately continental and is similar to
that of Northern Russia. Average temperature in January is 20° F
(-6° C) and 64° F (18° C) in July. Annual
precipitation is 22"- 28" (559 mm - 711 mm).
Population and Demographic trends
Population
The population of Belarus in July 2001 was 9 972,9 thousand.
Since 1993 the population has been declining slowly.
During the Soviet era significant urbanisation occurred and the percentage
of rural inhabitants declined from 57% of the population in 1970 to
31% in 1995.
Belarusians make up 78% of the population and Russians 13%. More than
2 million Belarusians live in other former Soviet republics and there
is a substantial population in eastern Poland.
The increasing age of the population is shown below (%):
| Under working age |
23,9 |
23,1 |
22,0 |
| Working age |
55,4 |
55,8 |
56,7 |
| Over working age |
20,7 |
21,1 |
21,3 |
| (of which over 65) |
11,8 |
12,6 |
13,1 |
The population is highly literate and well educated. The Soviet system
put a great emphasis on education, having inherited a society where
illiteracy was widespread and higher education was not open to the
majority of the population.
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy at birth in recent years has declined. Now the average
level is 70 years.
Life expectancy at birth by sex:
| 1990 |
66,3 |
75,6 |
| 1997 |
62,9 |
74,3 |
| 1999 |
62,2 |
73,9 |
This decline is attributed to increasing poverty and consequent poor
standards of living. In 1997 it is estimated that two-thirds of the
population lived below the official poverty line.
Language
Belarus has two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. Belarusian
is closely linked to Russian and has largely died out as a spoken
language except in some rural areas. However, since Belarus became
independent, efforts have been made to encourage its use and some
official documents have been issued in the language.
The majority of all communication in Belarus is in Russian. Russian
is the normal day-to-day language of all the educated classes, particularly
in the towns and in contrast with the Ukraine, there are no parts
of the country where the use of Russian is frowned upon.
Religion
The majority (70%) of the population in Belarus belongs to the Russian
Orthodox Church, at least nominally. In the West of the country, where
Polish influence was strongest, the Uniate Church (Orthodox Ritual
but under the authority of the Roman Catholic church) is established.
Catholicism also has some adherents.
Largest Cities
Capital
The capital city, Minsk, has a population in the region of 1,7 million.
Totally destroyed in the war, it has been rebuilt partly in Soviet
style and partly in modern style, with a surprising degree of success.
The city has many open spaces and parks and although it lacks the
sophistication of Moscow it remains a pleasant regional city.
Minsk Airport is 25 miles (40 kilometres) from the city and has
good connections with the former Soviet Union and improving international
links. travel within the City is easy and there is a small subway
system.
Minsk and the Minsk region has many of the major industries of Belarus
such as dump truck and tractor production, chemicals, machines tools,
refrigerators and other light industries.
Other Major Cities
The largest cities in Belarus, their populations and principal industries
are:
- Gomel (501 000) - Oil refining, chemicals, machines tools, metallurgy
and light industry.
- Mogilyov (367 000) - Chemical fibres and machine tools.
- Vitebsk (356 000) - Radio, oil refining, chemicals and light
industry.
- Brest (277 000) - building materials, chemicals and light industry.
Brest is the main border crossing with Poland.
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