• Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe.
• It shares borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, covering an area of 207,600 square kilometers and a population of 9.1 million.
• The capital and largest city is Minsk, with a hemiboreal climate, and the country is divided into six regions.
• Historically, Belarus was ruled by independent city-states before being annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for 500 years.
• It became part of the Russian Empire after the partitions of Poland-Lithuania in the late 18th century.
• Following the Russian Revolution, Belarus established the Byelorussian SSR, joining the Soviet Union in 1922.
• The country lost significant territory to Poland after the Polish-Soviet War, and its borders were reshaped post-World War II.
• Belarus suffered greatly during WWII, losing a large portion of its population and economic resources.
• In 1991, Belarus gained independence, and in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko became its first president through the only free election since independence.
• The government under Lukashenko is highly centralized and authoritarian, maintaining many Soviet-era policies, including state ownership in the economy.
• Belarus is a member of the United Nations and several regional organizations but has not pursued EU membership.
• It is one of the few European countries not part of the Council of Europe due to human rights violations and electoral malpractice, applying to join in 1993.
• Its relationship with the Council was suspended following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

List of Popular Newspapers published in Belarus.

Belarusian Newspapers:

English-language Edition:

News Agencies in Belarus: