Belarus

Overview

The nation which was once part of the Soviet Union is still progressing even if not at a rate that many would prefer. It is constituted of forests, swamps, lakes and rivers with the latter two especially providing a pleasant landscape for exploration.

The many wars here have meant that historical sites apart from castles and other defensive buildings are particularly prevalent. The Brest fortress is probably the most stunning of such buildings. Unfortunately the destructions of the older buildings also occurred in the capital, Minsk. Here, however, the well planned city does still have some older examples in the Troitskoye Predmestye suburb and museums such as the Belarus National Museum of History and Culture, the Belarusian State Art Museum and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Lithuania and Poland both were the cause of some of the architecture in the pretty Hrodna which avoided a great deal of the destruction of war. In addition there is the History of Religion Museum, Stari Zamak and Novi Zamak, the Old and New Castles respectively which both have museums in their grounds. There are a number of national parks including Belovezhskaya poushcha, Narochansky and Pripiatsky, although just strolling through Vitebsk and its magnificent lake system might make a visitor forget about most things except for the dazzling beauty before them.

A region that is rather more infamous is the Gomel which was the site of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Sports facilities and locations are available in Minsk and its environs with cross...more

History

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. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.