1.
[syn: Belarus, Republic of Belarus, Byelarus, Byelorussia, Belorussia, White Russia]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Byelorussia \Byelorussia\ n.
a European country east of Poland, formerly a part of the
Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the name
was changed to Belarus.
Syn: Belarus, Belorussia, White Russia.
[WordNet 1.5]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Belarus
n 1: a landlocked republic in eastern Europe; formerly a
European soviet [syn: Belarus, Republic of Belarus,
Byelarus, Byelorussia, Belorussia, White Russia]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Belarus
Introduction 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; Belarus
has agreed on the framework for
implementation of the accord.
Geography Belarus
-----------------
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km,
Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist
summers; transitional between
continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much
marshland
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara
346 m
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small
quantities of oil and natural gas,
granite, dolomitic limestone, marl,
chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Land use: arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69%
other: 69.54% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use;
southern part of the country
contaminated with fallout from 1986
nuclear reactor accident at
Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international party to: Air Pollution, Air
agreements: Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the
Sea
Geography - note: 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
People Belarus
--------------
Population: 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579;
female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859;
female 3,643,628)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male
482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.14% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.28 years
female: 74.56 years (2002 est.)
male: 62.3 years
Total fertility rate: 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.28% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 14,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 400 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian
Ethnic groups: Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%,
Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 80%, other
(including Roman Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20%
(1997 est.)
Languages: Belarusian, Russian, other
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 97% (1989 est.)
Government Belarus
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian)
Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Respublika
Byelarus'
Government type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts')
and one municipality* (harady,
singular - horad); Brestskaya
(Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'),
Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya
(Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow),
Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk);
note - when using a place name with
the adjectival ending 'skaya' the
word voblasts' should be added to
the place name
note: voblasti have the
administrative center name following
in parentheses
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944);
note - 3 July 1944 was the date
Minsk was liberated from German
troops, 25 August 1991 was the date
of independence from the Soviet
Union
Constitution: 30 March 1994; revised by national
referendum of 24 November 1996
giving the presidency greatly
expanded powers and became effective
27 November 1996
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksandr
LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister
Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October
2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei
KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000),
Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November
1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA
September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN
(since NA September 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
election results: Aleksandr
LUKASHENKO reelected president;
percent of vote - Aleksandr
LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK
15.4%
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term;
first election took place 23 June
and 10 July 1994; according to the
1994 constitution, the next election
should have been held in 1999,
however LUKASHENKO extended his term
to 2001 via a November 1996
referendum; new election held 9
September 2001 (next election to be
held by September 2006); prime
minister and deputy prime ministers
appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or
Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of
the Council of the Republic or
Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56
members elected by regional councils
and 8 members appointed by the
president, all for 4-year terms) and
the Chamber of Representatives or
Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats;
members elected by universal adult
suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
election results: party affiliation
data unavailable; under present
political conditions party
designations are meaningless
elections: last held October 2000
(next to be held NA 2004)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed
by the president); Constitutional
Court (half of the judges appointed
by the president and half appointed
by the Chamber of Representatives)
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon
SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian
Communist Party or KPB [Viktor
CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian
Ecological Green Party (merger of
Belarusian Ecological Party and
Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA];
Belarusian Patriotic Movement
(Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR
[Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Popular Front or BNF
[Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian
Social-Democrat Party or SDBP
[Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Social-Democratic Party
or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH,
chairman]; Belarusian Socialist
Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic
Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or
CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH,
chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party
or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH,
chairman]; Party of Communists
Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN,
chairman]; Republican Party of Labor
and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy
NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat
Party of Popular Accord or PPA
[Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or
"Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA,
chairperson]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
participation: IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy
V. TSEPAKLO
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Michael
US: KOZAK
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St.,
Minsk 220002
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83
FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Flag description: red horizontal band (top) and green
horizontal band one-half the width
of the red band; a white vertical
stripe on the hoist side bears the
Belarusian national ornament in red
Economy Belarus
---------------
Economy - overview: Belarus has seen little structural
reform since 1995, when President
LUKASHENKO launched the country on
the path of "market socialism." In
keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO
reimposed administrative controls
over prices and currency exchange
rates and expanded the state's right
to intervene in the management of
private enterprise. In addition to
the burdens imposed by high
inflation and persistent trade
deficits, businesses have been
subject to pressure on the part of
central and local governments, e.g.,
arbitrary changes in regulations,
numerous rigorous inspections,
retroactive application of new
business regulations, and arrests of
"disruptive" businessmen and factory
owners. Close relations with Russia,
possibly leading to reunion, color
the pattern of economic
developments. For the time being,
Belarus remains self-isolated from
the West and its open-market
economies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $84.8
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,200
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 13%
industry: 42%
services: 45% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 5.1%
percentage share: highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini 21.7 (1998)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 46.1% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: industry and construction NA%,
agriculture and forestry NA%,
services NA%
Unemployment rate: 2.1% officially registered
unemployed (December 2000); large
number of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$180 million (1997 est.)
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools,
tractors, trucks, earthmovers,
motorcycles, television sets,
chemical fibers, fertilizer,
textiles, radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate: 5.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 24.66 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.51%
hydro: 0.08%
other: 0.41% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 26.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 300 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 4.15 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar
beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports: $7.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, mineral
products, chemicals, textiles,
foodstuffs, metals
Exports - partners: Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%,
Germany 3% (2000)
Imports: $8.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: mineral products, machinery and
equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs,
metals
Imports - partners: Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3%
(2000)
Debt - external: $770 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995)
Currency: Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code: BYB/BYR
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar -
1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000
(November 2001), 876.750 (2000),
248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998),
26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January
2000, the national currency was
redenominated at one new ruble to
2,000 old rubles
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Belarus
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,167 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: the Ministry of
Telecommunications controls all
telecommunications through its
carrier (a joint stock company)
Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a
digital metropolitan network and a
cellular NMT-450 network; waiting
lists for telephones are long; local
service outside Minsk is neglected
and poor; intercity - Belarus has a
partly developed fiber-optic
backbone system presently serving at
least 13 major cities (1998);
Belarus's fiber optics form
synchronous digital hierarchy rings
through other countries' systems; an
inadequate analog system remains
operational
international: Belarus is a member
of the Trans-European Line (TEL),
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic
line, and has access to the Trans-
Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-
optic segments provide connectivity
to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and
Ukraine; worldwide service is
available to Belarus through this
infrastructure; additional analog
lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat,
and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios: 3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 2.52 million (1997)
Internet country code: .by
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 23 (2002)
Internet users: 180,000 (2001)
Transportation Belarus
----------------------
Railways: total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge
(875 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-
weather gravel-surfaced roads)
unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are
made of unstabilized earth and are
difficult to negotiate in wet
weather) (1990)
Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive
and widely used canal and river
systems
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products
1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km
(1992)
Ports and harbors: Mazyr
Airports: 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 33
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 11 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 103
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 65 (2001)
Military Belarus
----------------
Military branches: Army, Air Force (including air
defense), Interior Ministry Troops,
Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching military males: 86,396 (2002 est.)
age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $156 million (FY98)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 1% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Belarus
----------------------------
Disputes - international: boundary demarcation with Latvia and
Lithuania is pending European Union
funding
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy
and cannabis, mostly for the
domestic market; transshipment point
for illicit drugs to and via Russia,
and to the Baltics and Western
Europe