बेलारुस: Difference between revisions

Historically, the country was referred to in [[English language|English]] as "[[White Russia]]". Although this is not exactly correct – the correct translation is "White [[Ruthenia]]," which either describes the area of Eastern Europe populated by Slavics or the various states that occupied the area.[http://www.halgal.com/ruthenian.html] Despite this, the practice of using the term White Russia continues as of 2006 with the following languages: "Weißrussland" in [[German language|German]], "Beyaz Rusya" in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] or "Λευκορωσία" (Leukorosía) in [[Greek language|Greek]] (see [[wiktionary:Belarus]] for the full list). <!-- Please don't insert any other languages' translations of Belarus; they belong on the [[White Russia]] page. Thanks! --> The first known use of "White Russia" to refer to Belarus was in the late 16th century by Englishman Sir [[Jerome Horsey]]. He used the term to describe the areas of [[Ivan IV|Ivan the Terrible's]] empire. During the 17th century the Russian tsars used "White Ruthenia", asserting that they were trying to recapture their heritage from the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. After the Commonwealth broke up, the lands that now make up Belarus were officially referred to as "Belarus" and "Belarusi", instead of the then-banned terms of "Litwa" and "Licwiny."<ref name="name">Belarus Gudie [http://www.belarusguide.com/history1/belname.html Nomen?... -"Litva","Belaja Rus'"?...]</ref>

In 2002, an informal survey was conducted by the website [http://pravapis.org/ pravapis.org] to see which version of the name was used on a majority of websites. By using Google, the website looked up various terms and it found that "Belarus", the official short form of the name, was used on 93% of websites checked. Spellings "Belorussia", "Bielorussia" and "Byelorussia" were used in 1%–2% of cases.<ref name="spelling">{{cite web| url=http://www.pravapis.org/art_belarus_name.asp| title=The 21 Names of Belarus| accessdate=2006-03-26}}</ref>

On [[February 2]] [[1386]], [[Grand Duke]] of Lithuania [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Jogaila]] was crowned King of Poland, and allied the Grand Duchy with [[Poland]] in a [[personal union]] under one monarch. This personal union eventually resulted in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], a new state created in 1569. However, by 1795, the state was divided and annexed by [[Imperial Russia]], [[Prussia]] and [[Austria]] in the course of the [[Partitions of Poland|Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Belarus territories remained part of the Russian Empire until being occupied by [[Imperial Germany|Germany]] during [[World War I]]. Belarus first declared independence on [[25 March]] [[1918]], forming the [[Belarusian National Republic|Belarusian People's Republic]]. The Republic, however, was short-lived, and the regime was overthrown soon after the German withdrawal. In 1919 Belarus became the [[Byelorussian SSR|Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (BSSR), and after Russian occupation of eastern Lithuania merged into the [[Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]]. After the [[Polish-Soviet War]] ended in 1921, Byelorussian lands were split between Poland and the recreated Byelorussian SSR, which became a founding member of the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] in 1922. [http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/belarus/belarus.history.html] In September 1939, the Soviet Union annexed the Polish-held Byelorussian land as a result of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]]. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/nazsov/addsepro.htm]

In 1986, a section of Belarus was affected by the fallout from the [[Chernobyl]] power plant [[Chernobyl accident|accident]] in neighboring [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]]. When Soviet premier [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] began pushing through his [[Perestroika]] plan, the Belarusian people delivered a petition to him in December of 1986 explaining the loss of their culture. This event has been coined by historians as the "cultural Chernobyl".<ref name="Gorby">{{cite web| url=http://countrystudies.us/belarus/12.htm| title=Country Studies - Belarus - Perestroika| accessdate=2006-03-26}}</ref> In June of 1988, [[mass graves]] were discovered at the city of [[Kurapaty]]. The graves allegedly contained about 250,000 of Stalin's victims. Some contend that this discovery was proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people and caused some to seek independence.<ref name="massgraves">{{cite web| url=http://www.district87.org/staff/gordonr/russia/belarus.htm| title=Belarus Backgrounder| accessdate=2006-03-26}}</ref><ref name="Gorby"/> Belarus declared itself sovereign on [[27 July]] [[1990]], and the BSSR formally became the Republic of Belarus on [[25 August]] [[1991]], attaining full independence. Around that time, [[Stanislav Shushkevich]] became Chairman of the [[Supreme Soviet]] of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus. Shushkevich, along with [[Boris Yeltsin]] of Russia and [[Leonid Kravchuk]] of [[Ukraine]] met on [[December 8]] [[1991]] in [[Belavezhskaya Pushcha]] to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. Since 1994, the country has been led by [[Alexander Lukashenko]], who has been criticized by Western governments, [[Human Rights Watch]], and other Western [[NGO]] for his Soviet-style domestic policies.

As of 2005, there appears to be a movement in Belarus towards reuniting with [[Russia]]. In November 2005, a draft constitution was sent to both [[Vladimir Putin]] and Lukashenko for approval.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051114-102844-6237r.htm|title=Belarus union moves forward| first=Michael| last=Mainville| journal=The Washington Times| month=November 15| year=2005}}</ref> This move, along with others, is part of the 1996 plan created by Lukashenko and former Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]] to create a [[Union of Russia and Belarus|union between the two nations]].

Belarus is a [[republic]], governed by a [[Leaders of Belarus|President]] and a [[bicameral]] [[parliament]]—the [[National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus|National Assembly]]—comprising a lower house, the 110 member [[House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus|House of Representatives]], and an upper house, the 64 member [[Council of the Republic of Belarus|Council of the Republic]]. The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the Prime Minister of Belarus, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister and make suggestions on the foreign and domestic policy of Belarus. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president and the ability to accept or reject the bills passed from the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the [[Constitution of Belarus]]. The President—since 1994, [[Alexander Lukashenko]]—is the [[head of state]]. The government is a [[Council (government)|Council]] of Ministers, headed by a [[Prime Minister of Belarus|prime minister]]; the members of the Council of Ministers need not be members of the legislature, and are appointed by the President. The judiciary comprises the [[Supreme Court of Belarus|Supreme Court]] and various specialized courts, such as the [[Constitutional Court of Belarus|Constitutional Court]], which deal with specific issued related to the constitution or business law. The judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic.

In Belarus, while there are [[political party|political parties]] that either support or oppose President Lukashenko, the majority of the seats in the National Assembly are filled by those not affiliated with any political parties ("non-partisans"). However, there are three political parties who hold seats in the House of Representatives: the [[Communist Party of Belarus]] (8 seats), the [[Agrarian Party of Belarus]] (3 seats), and the [[Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus]] (1 seat). The other two parties that pledged their support to Lukashenko, the [[Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party]] and the [[Republican Party of Labour and Justice]], did not secure any seats in October 2004 election. Opposition parties, such as the [[Belarusian People's Front]] and the [[United Civil Party of Belarus]] did not gain any seats. The UCPB and the BPF are some of the parties that comprise the [[People's Coalition 5 Plus]], a group of political parties who oppose Lukashenko. Several organizations, including as the [[OSCE|Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE)]], declared the election un-free due to opposition parties negative results and the bias of the Belarusian media in favor of the government.<ref name="OSCE">{{cite web| url=http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2004/12/3951_en.pdf| format=PDF| title=OSCE Report on the October 2004 parliamentary elections| year=December 2004| accessdate=2006-03-26}} - 404 error as of last access date</ref> However, in constitutional as well as political terms, the House is of marginal importance. At the 2000 election, it took four rounds of voting before all the seats were filled; in the end, 86% of the elected deputies were independents, and the remainder were the representatives of parties traditionally loyal to the president (OSCE, 2000). The [[Belarusian presidential election, 2006|next round of elections]] took place on March 19th, 2006, and this election also included selecting the President. Lukashenko was opposed in the election by [[Alexander Milinkevich]], a candidate representing a coalition of oppositional parties. Another opposition candidate, [[Alaksandar Kazulin]] of the Social Democrats was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the Lukashenko sponsored event, the [[All Belarusian People's Assembly]]. This event, among others, have caused for concern that the 2006 elections had irregularities.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4766024.stm| year=2 March 2006| title=Belarus rally marred by arrests| publisher=BBC News| accessdate=2006-03-26}}</ref> The President won a landslide victory, over 80% of the vote. It was however deemed unfair by the [[OSCE]]. (See [[Belarusian presidential election, 2006]]).

Belarus is divided into six [[province]]s ("[[voblast]]s"), named after the cities that serve as their administrative centers. The city of Minsk, located in the Minsk province, has the special status of being a national subordinate as it isn't included in any voblast. Subdivision into ''voblasts'' is inherited from the Soviet era. Voblasts are further subdivided into ''[[raion]]s'' (commonly translated as "[[district]]s" or "regions"). Local legislative authorities (''raisovet'', "raion council") are elected by the raion's residents; local executive authorities (''raion administration'') are appointed by higher executive authorities. In the same way, each voblast has its own legislative authority (''oblsovet''), elected by residents, and an executive authority (''voblast administration''), whose leader is appointed by the President.

Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005 was $79.13 billion (estimate), which equates to an annual income of approximately $7,700 dollar per head. In 2005 [[gross domestic product|GDP]] increased by about 8-9%, with the inflation rate averaging about 8%. According to the [[United Nations|UN]], average monthly income grew from 20 [[United States dollar]]s to 225 USD during the last 10 years.

* [http://www.idei.by/ Business internet resource of Belarus]

[[pam:BelarusBielorusya]]