Belarus literally means "white Russia," a color associated in Slavic culture with freedom, and a reference to the fact that the country was never conquered by the Mongol Golden Horde. Devastated in World War II, and with few resources other than agriculture, Belarus only reluctantly became independent of Moscow in 1991, and President AleksandrLukashenka has maintained close links with Russia. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine in 1986 has had lasting effects on the environment and the health of Belarussians.

Only 2% of the population is non-Slav and there is little ethnic tension. Under a law passed in 1992, the entire population has an automatic right to Belarussian citizenship. Most people speak Russian, and only 11% of the population are fluent in Belarussian, which is used mainly in rural areas. A 1995 referendum and 1998 legislation declared that both languages have equal status.

Strengths

Low unemployment combined with relative social stability. Potential of forestry and agriculture.

Weaknesses

Lack of economic restructuring; support for outmoded businesses. Few natural resources. Dependence on Russia for energy and raw materials. Cleanup costs of Chernobyl.

Profile

After 1991, Belarus adopted a slower pace of economic reform than other former Soviet states. Attempts to move more quickly to a market economy were thwarted by the largely conservative parliament. Upon election in 1994, Lukashenka suspended privatization moves, resuming them only halfheartedly in 1995, under a policy of "market socialism." Traditional industries continued to receive big subsidies, as the government printed money to increase production. A currency crisis in 1998, and rampant inflation, combined with two successive bad harvests in 1998–1999. Inflation receded in 2000–2001, but the rate of economic growth also slowed.

Under the 1994 constitution, amended in 1996, Belarus has a bicameral parliament and a directly elected president.

Profile

Belarus, by far the slowest of the former Soviet states to implement political reform, has struggled to find an identity since 1991. A post-Soviet constitution was not adopted until 1994, and only in 1995 was the first fully fledged post-Soviet parliament elected, dominated by the PKB and its Agrarian Party ally. There is no strong pluralist culture to check authoritarian moves by the president.

Aleksandr Lukashenka was unexpectedly elected as Belarus's first president in 1994. In 1996 a new constitution significantly strengthened his powers. Pro-Lukashenka deputies then voted to replace the Supreme Council with a new House of Representatives. Lukashenka has also extended his own term of office. The opposition contests the legitimacy of this, as does the EU. A clampdown on political opponents effectively invalidated parliamentary elections in late 2000/early 2001, and Lukashenka's reelection in late 2001 was immediately condemned by observers.

Main Political Issues

Relationship with Russia

In 1994 an accord (reinforced in 1999 and 2000) was signed on future monetary union with Russia. Lukashenka has sought ever closer relations leading toward a joint presidency. A union treaty was signed in late 1999, but is more symbolic than practical. With Russian reticence prevailing over Belarus's enthusiasm for the union, the treaty has produced no significant developments toward joint state institutions or economic programs.

The environment

The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster continues to cast a shadow. The cleanup operation is slow and laborious and will take decades. It is a major drain on state finances, accounting for 25% of spending. A "Chernobyl tax" is levied on businesses.

Relations with Russia are paramount. Numerous bilateral agreements were signed after independence in 1991. Ties have been strengthened further by the pro-Russian president Aleksandr Lukashenka, although many in Russia fear that closer links will drain Moscow's resources for little strategic gain.

In mid-1998 diplomats were evicted from many official residences. The USA, the EU, and others temporarily withdrew their ambassadors in protest. The March 2001 clampdown on political opponents ended moves to relax EU sanctions, introduced four years previously over authoritarian changes in the constitution.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus briefly adopted a policy of neutrality. It also committed itself to disposing of its inherited nuclear capability. Tactical nuclear weapons were removed by 1993 and strategic nuclear weapons by 1996.

Despite joining the CIS collective security agreement in 1993, Belarus joined NATO's Partnerships for Peace program in 1995. Lukashenka has not developed NATO ties further, preferring to establish stronger military links with Moscow, including a 1997 Treaty on Military Cooperation and a 1999 agreement on joint procedures for arms exports. Belarus bears some of the costs of Russian troops stationed on its territory.

Belarus has no significant strategic resources and is heavily dependent on the Russian Federation for fuel and energy supplies. Small quantities of oil and natural gas exist close to the Polish border.

The massive leak from Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986 released a huge cloud of radiation. 70% of the fallout fell on Belarus, including Minsk; 2.3 million people were immediately affected, and cases of leukemia and cancer continue to emerge. Farmland, forests, and water were all contaminated, including underwater streams feeding rivers in eastern Poland. Some areas in the fallout zone are still being farmed. The cleanup program swallows 25% of government finances, despite substantial Western aid.

The Belovezha primeval forest, on the border with Poland, is Europe's largest nature reserve. It is also home to the European bison or wisent.

Belarus has no direct access to the sea, but is close to the Baltic ports. Railroad communications are good.

Belarus's health service, hitherto adequate, was placed under enormous strain after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. A Chernobyl tax funds assistance for victims of the accident. The number of cancer and leukemia cases has soared, and extra wards and specialist units have had to be built. Many Belarussian doctors are being trained in the latest bone-marrow techniques in Europe and the USA.

HIV/AIDS is a growing problem; as at end-2001, 0.3% of the adult population were estimated to be infected.

Education is officially compulsory for nine years, and teaching is mainly in Russian. Activists complain of inadequate provision for the teaching of Belarussian because of political bias. University education – taught in Russian – is of a fairly high standard.

As elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, economic hardship and a general breakdown in order have resulted in a significant rise in crime. The prison population exceeds the intended capacity of 40,000. Belarus has become a transshipment point for illegal narcotics destined for western Europe, while locally produced opium supplies the internal market.

The deteriorating economic situation has resulted in an overall drop in living standards. Wealth is concentrated among a small, communist elite which is opposed to market mechanisms. Now that they have the upper hand, they have strengthened their grip on the state's resources. Thus far Belarus has not seen the expansion of entrepreneurial activity found in Poland or Russia.

Wage increases in 2001 – an election year – brought salaries to unaffordable levels, affecting enterprise profitability and investment.

Belarus has fewer tourists than its neighbors. Many of its historic buildings were destroyed during World War II. Minsk was totally flattened, and is now characterized by Stalinist and other high-rise buildings. There is little of mass appeal on which to build a tourist industry.

After forming part of medieval Kievan Rus, Belarus experienced rule by three of its neighbors – Lithuania, Poland, and Russia – before incorporation into the USSR.

• 1918 Belarussian Bolsheviks stage coup. Independence as Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR).
• 1919 Invaded by Poland.
• 1920 Minsk retaken by Red Army. Eastern Belorussia reestablished as Soviet Socialist Republic.
• 1921 Treaty of Riga – Western Belorussia incorporated into Poland.
• 1922 BSSR merges with Soviet Russia and Ukraine to form USSR.
• 1929 Stalin implements collectivization of agriculture.
• 1939 Western Belorussia reincorporated into USSR when Soviet Red Army invades Poland.
• 1941–1944 Occupied by Germany during World War II.
• 1945 Founding member of UN.
• 1965 K. T. Mazurau, Communist Party of Belorussia (PKB) leader, becomes first deputy chair of Soviet government.
• 1986 Radioactive fallout after Chernobyl accident affects 70% of country.
• 1988 Evidence revealed of mass executions (over 300,000) by Soviet military between 1937 and 1941 near Minsk. Popular outrage fuels formation of nationalist Belorussian Popular Front (BPF), with Zyanon Paznyak as president. PKB authorities crush demonstration.
• 1989 Belarussian adopted as republic's official language.
• 1990 PKB prevents BPF from participating in elections to Supreme Soviet. BPF members join other opposition groups in Belorussian Democratic Bloc (BDB). BDB wins 25% of seats. PKB bows to opposition pressure and issues Declaration of the State Sovereignty of BSSR.
• 1991 March, 83% vote in referendum to preserve union with USSR. April, strikes against PKB and its economic policies. August, independence declared. Republic of Belarus adopted as official name. Stanislau Shushkevich elected chair of Supreme Soviet. December, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine establish CIS.
• 1992 Supreme Soviet announces that Soviet nuclear weapons must be cleared from Belarus by 1999. Help promised from USA.
• 1993 Belarussian parliament ratifies START-I and nuclear nonproliferation treaties.
• 1994 New presidential constitution approved; Aleksandr Lukashenka defeats conservative prime minister Vyacheslav Kebich in elections. Monetary union (reentry into rouble zone) agreed with Russia.
• 1995 First fully fledged post-Soviet parliament elected.
• 1996 Referendum approves constitutional changes strengthening Lukashenka's powers.
• 1997 Belarus and Russia ratify union treaty and Charter.
• 1998 Western ambassadors withdrawn over eviction from embassies.
• 1999 Union treaty with Russia.
• 2000–2001 Disputed parliamentary elections; clampdown on political opponents.
• 2001 Lukashenka reelected. Observers label the election seriously flawed.