[265][bettersourceneeded], After the Second World War, music focused on the hardships of the Belarusian people or on those who took up arms in defense of the homeland. In January 1919 a part of Belarus under Bolshevik Russian control was declared the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB) for just two months, but then merged with the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) to form the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (SSR LiB), which lost control of its territories by August. Since his election as president in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has consolidated his rule over all institutions and undermined the rule of law through . [79] Most of Western Belarus became part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland in 1941, but in 1943 the German authorities allowed local collaborators to set up a client state, the Belarusian Central Council. [143], Belarus has often been described as "Europe's last dictatorship" by some media outlets, politicians and authors due to its authoritarian government. Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. [183] However, Belarus cannot join NATO because it is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. 5 Views From Belarus On The Country's Political Crisis. [203] On 2 December 2021, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada imposed new sanctions on Belarus. [269][270], The traditional Belarusian dress originates from the Kievan Rus' period. Foods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed. [136] The National Assembly is a bicameral parliament comprising the 110-member House of Representatives (the lower house) and the 64-member Council of the Republic (the upper house). [184], Belarus's Democracy Index rating is the lowest in Europe, the country is labelled as "not free" by Freedom House,[185] as "repressed" in the Index of Economic Freedom, and in the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Belarus is ranked 153th out of 180 countries for 2022. For criminal cases, the highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court. [154] Many of the candidates, including Sannikov, were sentenced to prison or house arrest for terms which are mainly and typically over four years. [126], The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90m (295ft). At the basic level are 118 raions councils and 10 cities of oblast subordination councils, which are supervised by the governments of the oblasts. [67] After a variety of delays, a disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Belarusian language was banned in schools while in neighboring Samogitia primary school education with Samogitian literacy was allowed. Lukashenko won the election with 80% of the vote; the Russian Federation and the CIS deemed the vote open and fair[152] while the OSCE and other organizations called the election unfair. [262], After Belarus was incorporated into the Soviet Union, the Soviet government took control of the Republic's cultural affairs. . The number of people employed in the industry is 34.7% of the working population. [128] Belarus has an average annual rainfall of 550 to 700mm (21.7 to 27.6in). [127] The climate features mild to cold winters, with January minimum temperatures ranging from 4C (24.8F) in southwest (Brest) to 8C (17.6F) in northeast (Vitebsk), and cool and moist summers with an average temperature of 18C (64.4F). These articles were aimed to defend the rights of the Lithuanian nobility within the duchy against Polish and other nobles of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. [200] Following the granting of humanitarian visas to an Olympic athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and her husband, Poland also accused Belarus for organizing a hybrid warfare as the number of migrants crossing the BelarusPoland border sharply increased multiple times when compared to the 2020 statistics. [148][149] Re-admission of the country into the council is dependent on the completion of benchmarks set by the council, including the improvement of human rights, rule of law, and democracy. According to Article 16 of the Constitution, Belarus has no official religion. KHATYN, Belarus Even by Soviet standards, the massive memorial complex near Minsk to the victims of Nazi atrocities stands out for its immense scale and ambition.Spread across half a million . [122] About 40% of Belarus is covered by forests. [54] However, the Ruthenian peasants continued to speak their native language. Incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania resulted in an economic, political and ethno-cultural unification of Belarusian lands. [44] The Battle on the Nemiga River in 1067 was one of the more notable events of the period, the date of which is considered the founding date of Minsk. For the past few years, the Hungarian government under authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn has overtly courted the American right, wooing the kinds of anti-democratic forces buoying former. [189] Belarus is the only European country still using capital punishment having carried out executions in 2011. Under the 1994 constitution, the president could serve for only two terms as president, but a change in the constitution in 2004 eliminated term limits. [76] Belarusian leadership was sent to Bereza Kartuska prison.[77]. THE DECISION by Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, to force a passenger flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk, his country's capital, in order to arrest a journalist on. 2 min read. [243] Minsk, the nation's capital and largest city, was home to 1,937,900 residents in 2015[update]. People with old Belarusian national flags shout during an opposition rally in August in Minsk, Belarus. 275-316) Lszl Nndor Magyari ( ).-, 1940. On December 25, 1991, the United States recognized the independence of the Republic of Belarus, and on December 28, 1991, Belarus and the United States established diplomatic relations. [223] [159] Belarus and Russia have been close trading partners and diplomatic allies since the breakup of the Soviet Union. MINSK, March 1. Most major Belarusian banks are also under restrictions. [170] Belarus also has strong ties with Syria,[171] considered a key partner in the Middle East. List of Every Communist Country in the World as of 2021: China. The United States supports a sovereign, independent Belarus which respects the rights and voices of the Belarusian people. The present borders of Belarus were established during the turmoil of the World War Two. Haley said that she will cut foreign aid to countries that dislike the US and launched her #CutEveryCent campaign. Until it became independent in 1991, Belarus, formerly known as Belorussia or White Russia, was the smallest of the three Slavic republics included in the Soviet Union (the larger two being Russia and Ukraine). The Romanian Patronal System of Public Corruption (pp. Beltelecom is the only operator licensed to provide commercial VoIP services in Belarus. For other uses, see. Pay Up. Local government in Belarus is administered by administrative-territorial units (Belarusian: - ; Russian: - ), and occurs on two levels: basic and primary. Policies of Polonization[58] changed by Russification,[59] which included the return to Orthodox Christianity of Belarusian Uniates. Belarus offers a distinct case of post-communist development, remaining Eastern Europe's most authoritarian state to this day. [62][63] Immediately afterwards, the PolishSoviet War ignited, and the territory of Belarus was divided between Poland and Soviet Russia. The games will feature 57 medal events in ten sports. The Zarubintsy culture later became widespread at the beginning of the 1st millennium. [107][108][109][110][111] Neither is Lukashenko recognized as the legitimate president of Belarus by the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom nor the United States. [103] Around the same time the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing occurred in which 15 people were killed and 204 were injured. Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus", "Belarus: Window of Opportunity (see Table 15, page 66)", "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm", "The United Nations and Chernobyl The Republic of Belarus", "Ecological reservation in Belarus fosters new approaches to soil remediation", "Country Report: Belarus Borders: Borders and policy in Belarus", "SectionIV:The President, Parliament, Government, the Courts", "Deputy Prime Ministers of the Republic of Belarus", "Interview with Belarus President Lukashenko", "Analysis | Can people power topple Europe's 'last dictator'? The judges of national courts are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the constitution. [233] As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, both states have discussed using a single currency along the same lines as the Euro. The national hockey team finished fourth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics following a memorable upset win over Sweden in the quarterfinals and regularly competes in the World Championships, often making the quarterfinals. [49], The Muscovites, led by Ivan III of Moscow, began military campaigns in 1486 in an attempt to incorporate the former lands of Kievan Rus', specifically the territories of modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Lukashenko was officially re-elected in 2001, in 2006, in 2010, in 2015 and again in 2020, although none of those elections were considered free or fair nor democratic.[91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100]. [101][102] Lukashenko announced a new law in 2014 that will prohibit kolkhoz workers (around 9% of total work force) from leaving their jobs at willa change of job and living location will require permission from governors. [267][268], Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887. [194] In an interview from September 2020 Lukashenko claimed that detainees faked their bruises, saying, "Some of the girls there had their butts painted in blue". Washington CNN The US and NATO believe that Belarus could "soon" join Russia in its war against Ukraine, US and NATO officials tell CNN, and that the country is already taking steps to do. Belarus is not in the European Union (EU). From manipulated elections, to a centrally planned economy, Vietnam. Communism is a form of government most frequently associated with the ideas of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who outlined his ideas for a utopian society in The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848.Marx believed that capitalism, with its emphasis on profit and private ownership, led to inequality among citizens.Thus, his goal was to encourage a system that promoted a classless society in . Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest. The first one was the 2004 RussiaBelarus energy dispute when Russian energy giant Gazprom ceased the import of gas into Belarus because of price disagreements. [144][145][146][147] The Council of Europe removed Belarus from its observer status since 1997 as a response for election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. so the map above is more of a modern representation of the countries that formerly made up East Europe. [130][131], Belarus borders five countries: Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, Russia to the north and the east, and Ukraine to the south. After the war, it was estimated that 2.2 million local inhabitants had died and of those some 810,000 were combatantssome foreign. It was the last Soviet republic where the communist economic system worked and it was also the most militarized. An influential author who devoted his work to awakening the awareness of the catastrophes the country has suffered, was Ales Adamovich. [35][36] In Russia, the usage of Belorussia is still very common. With the support of the Communist Party, the country's name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991. [231], The labor force consists of more than four million people, among whom women hold slightly more jobs than men. [266] The National Academic Theatre of Ballet in Minsk was awarded the Benois de la Dance Prize in 1996 as the top ballet company in the world. The Belarusian government sponsors annual cultural festivals such as the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk,[257] which showcases Belarusian performers, artists, writers, musicians, and actors. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. [219] In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population was employed by industrial factories. [180], Belarus has not expressed a desire to join NATO but has participated in the Individual Partnership Program since 1997,[181] and Belarus provided refueling and airspace support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with the capital Minsk. The Nordic countries perform best overall, but the West's two major challengers do poorly in the cultivation of human and humane values. . . . This policy was reversed in the 1930s, and the majority of prominent Belarusian intellectuals and nationalist advocates were either exiled or killed in Stalinist purges. While Russia is no longer communist, its president, Vladimir Putin, considers the fall of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" and is currently (as of. The chairs of executive committees for raions and city of oblast subordinations are appointed by the regional executive committees at the level above; the chairs of executive committees for towns of raion subordination, settlements and villages are appointed by their councils, but upon the recommendation of the raion executive committees. [81] The Jewish population of Belarus was devastated during the Holocaust and never recovered. Around 1840 the Statutes were banned by the Russian tsar following the November Uprising. [139], The government includes a Council of Ministers, headed by the prime minister and five deputy prime ministers. Online version: Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 20:35, Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994, "FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture", Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia, Byelorussian collaboration with Nazi Germany, Byelorussian strategic offensive operation, a staggering quarter of the prewar population, Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, election for the presidency on 24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, protests following the presidential election, Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 800m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, "Generations and Gender Survey, 2020 Belarus Wave 1", "Belarus leader Lukashenko holds secret inauguration amid continuing protests", "Belarus: Mass protests after Lukashenko secretly sworn in", "GINI index (World Bank estimate) Belarus", "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Minsk, Belarus", "Icann .", "Belarus freezes migrant cooperation deal over EU sanctions", "Why Is Belarus called White Russia | Belarus Travel", "Law of the Republic of Belarus About the name of the Republic of Belarus", "Lithuania Refuses to Call Belarus as "Belarusia", "Gudas as a Historical Name of Belarusians in the Lithuanian Language: 'Goths' or 'Barbarians'? The Belarusian church entered into a full communion with the Latin Church through the Union of Brest in 1595, while keeping its Byzantine liturgy in the Church Slavonic language. [60], In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I prohibited use of the Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under the Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. On January 31, 1992, the U.S. Embassy . Anyone who remembers Ukraine in 1989. The national football team has never qualified for a major tournament; however, BATE Borisov has played in the Champions League. Now the country's pro-democracy leaders are. It was time yesterday. Employment is also high in agriculture, manufacturing sales, trading goods, and education. Opposition parties are permitted, but they have had little electoral success. [135] Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. The Belorussian senior group earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. "I thought he saved us from the 'wild capitalism' of the 1990s, and I voted for him twice," said Vladislav,. Formerly Communist countries (by current name): Formerly part of the Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. [276], Belarus has four UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Mir Castle Complex, the Nesvizh Castle, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland), and the Struve Geodetic Arc (shared with nine other countries). [196] In May 2021, Lukashenko threatened that he will flood the European Union with migrants and drugs as a response to the sanctions. [122], Natural resources include peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomite (limestone), marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. The Neman flows westward towards the Baltic sea and the Pripyat flows eastward to the Dnieper; the Dnieper flows southward towards the Black Sea. Many early Rus' principalities were virtually razed or severely affected by a major Mongol invasion in the 13th century, but the lands of modern-day Belarus avoided the brunt of the invasion and eventually joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. [275] She also won the gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Max Mirnyi, who holds ten Grand Slam titles in doubles. Belarus "fully agrees with and supports China's position and proposals on a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, which is of great significance to resolving the crisis," CCTV quoted . A two-round election for the presidency on 24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994[36] catapulted the formerly unknown Alexander Lukashenko into national prominence. [256] Belarusian, although not as widely used as Russian, is the mother tongue of 53.2% of the population, whereas Russian is the mother tongue of only 41.5%.[255]. "Red was the colour . When opposition protesters took to the streets in Minsk, many people, including some presidential candidates, were beaten and arrested by the riot police. By one hypothesis the word derives from the Old Prussian name Gudwa, which, in turn, is related to the form udwa, which is a distorted version of Sudwa, Sudovia. The unemployment rate has been in decline since 2003, and the overall rate of employment is the highest since statistics were first compiled in 1995. [157], In the 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko won again with official results giving him 80% of the vote, leading to mass protests. [266] Rock music has become increasingly popular in recent years, though the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of foreign music aired on the radio in favor of traditional Belarusian music. Despite significant efforts, the state ceased to exist, primarily because the territory was continually dominated by the German Imperial Army and the Imperial Russian Army in World War I, and then the Bolshevik Red Army. Jahrhundert. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), (Joseph Juho), 1956. [90], Mass protests erupted in April 1991 and became known as the 1991 Belarusian strikes. Several state holidays, such as Independence Day and Victory Day, draw big crowds and often include displays such as fireworks and military parades, especially in Vitebsk and Minsk. [48] During this time, the duchy was involved in several military campaigns, including fighting on the side of Poland against the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410; the joint victory allowed the duchy to control the northwestern borderlands of Eastern Europe. The former Soviet republic was occupied by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944, when it lost 2.2 million. The US has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Zimbabwe, a country with one of the most anti-American voting records in the UN. Much of the northern section of this area was added to the Byelorussian SSR, and now constitutes West Belarus. Sudovia, in its turn, is one of the names of the Yotvingians. The Belarusian team . [209] At the primary level are 14 cities of raion subordination councils, 8 urban-type settlements councils, and 1,151 village councils. [165], Bilateral relations with the United States are strained; the United States had not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus never had an ambassador in Washington since 2008. The National Bank of Belarus abandoned pegging the Belarusian ruble to the Russian rouble in August 2007. " BYN -- - - ", " - ", "Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom Belarus", " ", "International Programs: International Data Base", "Religion and denominations in the Republic of Belarus", "Belarusian Religion statistics, definitions and sources", "Belarus, Roman Catholic Church may ink cooperation agreement", "Population classified by knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages by region and Minsk City", "The Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk amazes with its artistic atmosphere, popular artistes, hundreds of events and thousands of reasons to enjoy", "Belarus entry to the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest", " : , ", Cultures Profile Project Eating the Belarusian Way, "Queen Victoria takes the throne determined to court further success", Bibliography of the history of Belarus and Byelorussia, "The European Union and Belarus: Democracy Promotion by Technocratic Means? The first coins of the Republic of Belarus were issued on 27 December 1996. . .., 1939. Not surprisingly, it took time for perestroika and glasnost to take root there, leaving the Communist establishment strong. [274] Tennis player Victoria Azarenka became the first Belarusian to win a Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in 2012. eligowski later in his memoir which was published in London in 1943 condemned the annexation of the Republic by Poland, as well as the policy of closing Belarusian schools and general disregard of Marshal Jzef Pisudski's confederation plans by Polish ally.[68]. [73][74] The polonization drive was inspired and influenced by the Polish National Democracy, led by Roman Dmowski, who advocated refusing Belarusians and Ukrainians the right for a free national development. In: Zeitschrift fr Slawistik 45 (2000), 200214. As of March 2022, countries or regions subject to U.S. sanctions (either unilaterally or in part) include Afghanistan, the Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic. [225] GDP only began to rise in 1996;[226] the country was the fastest-recovering former Soviet republic in the terms of its economy. Published 1994, amended in 1996", "SectionV: Local government and self-government", "STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAMME", " ", " - ", " 434 20.10.1995. Receiving heavy sponsorship from the government, ice hockey is the nation's second most popular sport after football. Open. [139] The armed forces were formed in 1992 using parts of the former Soviet Armed Forces on the new republic's territory. [122] The average elevation of Belarus is 160m (525ft) above sea level. ", "No Job? [153], After the December completion of the 2010 presidential election, Lukashenko was elected to a fourth straight term with nearly 80% of the vote in elections. Belarus, a country of about 9.5 million people which gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has a troubled record on human rights that has complicated its relationships with the U.S. and the EU for almost all its independence. We give money to Belarus, which is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's closest ally. Prezydent Biaorusi chce zakaza kochonikom odchodzi z pracy", "In chase of upgrade: serfdom for woodworkers? In 2011, Belarus suffered a severe economic crisis attributed to Lukashenko's government's centralized control of the economy, with inflation reaching 108.7%. MOSCOW Not so long ago, the image of Belarus was of a peaceful, if tightly controlled, former Soviet republic, squeezed between Poland and Russia. Under Lukashenko, Belarus has been considered an autocracy where power is ultimately concentrated in the hands of the president, elections are not free and judicial independence is weak. [141] Most non-partisans represent a wide scope of social organizations such as workers' collectives, public associations, and civil society organizations, similar to the composition of the Soviet legislature. ", "Snapshot of the Belarus Country Profile", "UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances", "Lukashenko blames Americans and drunks for Belarus protests", "EU imposes sanctions on Belarusian economy", "Belarus dictator threatens to 'flood EU with drugs and migrants', "Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU", "In Lithuania, Migrants Find Themselves Caught in a Geopolitical Battle", "Baltarusijos pareignai su skydais blokuoja migrant grinim: kadrai i pasienio", "Poland accuses Belarus of sending migrants over border as "living weapons" in "hybrid war", "Poland Says Belarus Is Letting Migrants Cross Border In 'Hybrid War' With EU", "Lukaenkos kerto akcija pasiek ir Latvij: i savait rykus nelegali migrant skaiiaus uolis", "US, EU, UK and Canada Announce New Belarus Sanctions", "SectionI: Principles of the Constitutional System. [261], The last major revival of Belarusian literature occurred in the 1960s with novels published by Vasil Byka and Uladzimir Karatkievich. Along with neighbouring and mainly. ", "The Russo-Polish Historical Confrontation", "Belarusian": UCLA Language Materials Project, , "Europe's Last Dictatorship Is Opposed by the Oldest Exiled Government in the World", "War, Population Displacement and State Formation in the Russian Borderlands 19141924", "Stosunki polsko-biaoruskie pod okupacj sowieck (19391941)", Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, "Andrei Gromyko Dies, Was Soviet Diplomat for 50 Years", "Belarus: Five things you may not know about the country", Republic of Belarus Presidential Election 19 March 2006: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report, "Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions", "Standing up for Free and Fair Elections in Belarus", Belarus election 'neither free nor fair,' says UN human rights expert, "Belarus poll workers describe fraud in Aug. 9 election", "Lukashenka vs. democracy: Where is Belarus heading? The unemployment rate, according to government statistics, was 1.5% in 2005. At first, a policy of "Belarusianization" was followed in the newly formed Byelorussian SSR. [104], Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election,[105] in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office. The Statutes were initially issued in the Ruthenian language alone and later also in Polish. It was published in Prague and Vilnius sometime between 1517 and 1525, making it the first book printed in Belarus or anywhere in Eastern Europe. [82], After the war, Belarus was among the 51 founding member states of the United Nations Charter and as such it was allowed an additional vote at the UN, on top of the Soviet Union's vote. [citation needed]. [216], In 2019 the share of manufacturing in GDP was 31%, over two-thirds of this amount falls on manufacturing industries. Darya Domracheva is a leading biathlete whose honours include three gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. [73][74] In 1935, after the death of Pisudski, a new wave of repressions was released upon the minorities, with many Orthodox churches and Belarusian schools being closed. The victims were hospitalized with intramuscular bleeding of the rectum, anal fissure and bleeding, and damage to the mucous membrane of the rectum. [246] Over 99% of Belarusians aged 15 and older are literate. "[82], Soviet Belarusian communist politician Andrei Gromyko, who served as Soviet foreign minister (19571985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (19851988), was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he was replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze. Bieder, H. (2000): Konfession, Ethnie und Sprache in Weiruland im 20. Then Came the Crackdown", "Modest Advances in US-Belarus Relations", "Belarus Democracy Act Will Help Cause of Freedom, Bush Says", "China's Xi promises Belarus $1 billion in loans", "China, Belarus agree to upgrade economic ties", "Syria and Belarus agree to promote trade", "Belarus-Syria report substantial progress in trade and economic relations", "Membership of the Republic of Belarus in International Organizations", "Growth in United Nations membership, 1945present", "Military Development and the Armed Forces of Belarus", "NATO Council adopted individual partnership program with Belarus", "Nato and Belarus: partnership, past tensions and future possibilities", "Lukashenka promises "serfdom" in villages", "Paszczyzna u ukaszenki.