Belarus

GENERAL INFORMATION

Official Name: Republic of Belarus

Independence Date: August 25, 1991

Government: Republic

Capital: Minsk

Surface area: 207,600 Km²

Population: 9 million 463 thousand (February 2012)

Average Life Span: 70 years

Literacy Rate: 99.6%

Official Language: Belarusian and Russian

Major Cities: Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk, Grodno, Brest

Ethnic Status: Belarus 81,2%, Russian 11,4%, Polish 3,9%, Ukrainian 2,4%

Currency Unit: Belarus Rubles (official rate for March 2016: 1 USD = 20.219 BYR)

Time belt: Gmt + 2

International Organizations: BSEC, CBSS, CEI, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM , IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Official Holiday: 1 January New Year, 7 January Orthodox Christmas, 8 March Women’s Day, 15 MarchConstitution Day (Acceptance of the First Constitution of the Country), 1 May Labor Day, 6 May  Radunitsa, 9 May  Victory Day II. End of World War 3 July Independence Day Country Germany’s Invasion of Salvation, 7 November October Revolution Day, 25 December Christmas Holiday

Natural Resources: Forests, marsh coal, petroleum and natural gas, granite, clay

POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

The first Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted on March 15, 1994, and Alexander Lukashenko was elected President in July of the same year. A. Lukashenko has been serving as President since that date. The constitution of the Parliament which resulted in a referendum on November 24, 1996 was amended and a “National Assembly” was formed. In addition, the current flag of the country was accepted in the referendum and to the Russian language was given the second official language status. The “Representatives Assembly”, which is the lower chamber of the Parliament, consists of 110 members. The “Republic Council”, which is the upper chamber, has 64 members and 8 members are appointed directly by the President. Apart from the situations expressed in the Constitution, the draft laws are first discussed by the House of Representatives then negotiated in the Republican Council. In order to enact the draft of the law, only a majority of the votes on both chambers need to be provided. Parliament’s term of office is 4 years and the last general elections were held in September 2008. The executive office in the country is fulfilled by the President, the Presidential Administration, the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers and the State Committees. The last presidential election was held on December , 2014, and A. Lukashenko received 79.7 percent of the votes, and this referendum was elected for the fourth period. The Minsk City Economic Court, regional economic courts, the Higher Economic Court and specialized economic courts (bankruptcy, tax, land, etc.) operate in the economy. As an administrative structure, the country consists of 6 provinces (oblast): Minsk, Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno, Gomel and Mogilev. There are 15 cities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants in Belarus with 118 cities and 110 towns.

Belarus is a former USSR country known internationally. It is located in northern Europe. The capital is Minsk. Neighbors are: Poland on the west, Lithuania on the north, Latvia on the north, Russian on the east, Ukraine on the south. Belarus is the closest one to Moscow among other CIS countries.

Between the 6th and 8th centuries the tribes of White Russians who came from Siberia settled in these lands. Later on, the Russians have become Slavs.

Up to the 19th century a country called Belarus had no administration. Russia established Belarus Administration. Then it declared its freedom by the dissolution of the USSR. Belarus is now Russia’s closest ally.

The population is about 80% Belarussians; about 11% of the Russian part is made up of Polish citizens and Ukrainians.

Apart from the Soviets, other former Russian states, which are Belarus’s border neighbors, are members of the European Union, while Belarus is not. Only the people who have studied and learned languages ​​know different foreign languages here in Belarus. English is not such a common second language. The only language spoken in daily life is Russian.

There are 54 universities and higher education institutions in Belarus. The country (99%) is noted as literate. It covers all the faculties from jewelry economics, engineering branches to law. Most of the universities of the country are located in the capital, Minsk.

80% of the population is orthodox. The remaining part is the Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jews. Almost all of the people speak Russian. The language of education is Russian. The elderly people speak Belarusian. Unemployment is almost zero. BELARUS is a country that has a high level of prosperity and is comfortable envied by vocal entertainment cultures.