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Belarus, Country, eastern Europe. Area: 80,166 sq mi (207,629 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 9,119,000. Capital: Minsk. The population is mainly Belarusian, with Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian minorities. Languages: Belarusian, Russian (both official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Eastern Orthodox; also Roman Catholic), though about one-half of the people are nonreligious or atheist. Currency: Belarusian rubel. The northern part of the country is crossed by the Western Dvina (Dzvina) River; the Dnieper (Dnyapro) flows through eastern Belarus; the south has extensive marshy areas along the Pripet (Prypyats’) River; the upper course of the Neman (Nyoman) flows in the west; and the Bug (Buh) forms part of the boundary with Poland in the southwest. The chief cities, in addition to Minsk, are Homel, Mahilyow, and Vitsyebsk. Agriculture, once the linchpin of the Belarusian economy, has diminished in importance, while manufacturing and the service sector have grown. Belarus is a republic with two legislative houses. Its president is the head of state and effectively the head of government; the prime minister is nominally the head of government but actually is subordinate to the president. Although Belarusians share a distinct identity and language, they never enjoyed political sovereignty before the country’s independence in 1991, except during a brief period in 1918. The territory that is now Belarus underwent partition and changed hands often; as a result, its history is entwined with its neighbours’. In medieval times the region was ruled by Lithuanians and Poles. Following the Third Partition of Poland, all of Belarus was ruled by Russia. After World War I the western part was assigned to Poland, and the eastern part became Soviet territory—the Belorussian S.S.R. After World War II the western portion was taken from Poland and integrated into the Belorussian S.S.R. Much of the area suffered radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which forced many to evacuate. Belarus declared its independence in 1991 and later joined the Commonwealth of Independent States. Amid increasing political turmoil in the 1990s, it moved toward closer union with Russia but continued to struggle economically and politically at the start of the 21st century.
Soviet Union, former northern Eurasian empire (1917/22–1991) stretching from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (S.S.R.’s): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia (now Belarus), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgiziya (now
Europe, second smallest of the world’s continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia (the great landmass that it shares with Asia) and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world’s total land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic
