Historically, the territory of modern-day Belarus, inhabited by Slavs since seventh and sixths centuries B.C., was, by the ninth century A.D., part of Kievan Rus. After the Tatar-Mongol invasion of 1237-1240, Belorussian lands were seized by the Great Duchy of Lithuania, of which the population was 90 percent Slavonic and which was fighting off Mongols and Tatars in the east and Teutonic knights in the west. The term White Russia appears in Teutonic chronicles in the 14th century.

The Belorussian language was the state and diplomatic language of Lithuania until 1569, when Lithuania and Poland were united within a single state, Rzeczpospolita. The establishment of that state led to a stronger Polish influence in Belorussian lands in terms of culture, language, and religion. The Orthodox Church was transformed, by the Brest Unia of 1596, into the Uniate Church recognizing the supremacy of the Pope. The Polish period in the history of Belarus ended in the late 18th century, with the partitioning of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 и 1795. Belorussian lands became part of the Northwest Territory (Krai) of the Russian Empire.

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the collapse of the Russian Empire, and the occupation of Belorussian territory by the Germans toward the end of the First World War, threw Belorussia into a period of bloody turmoil. On 24 March 1918, the Belorussian People's Republic was proclaimed. After the German troops left this area in December 1918, a united Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Republic was set up. After the defeat of Soviet Russia in the brief war with Poland, Belorussia was again partitioned in 1920. Some 100,000 squ km were seized by Poland, while the territory of 107,000 squ km with a population of some five million became the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, which in 1922 was among the founding members of the USSR.

The Soviet period in Belorussia's history was marked by rapid industrialization and urbanization. Belorusssians, who had been overwhelmingly peasants, moved to urban areas, where by 1950 they outnumbered other ethnic groups such as Russians, Poles and Jews.
During World War II Belorussia suffered enormously, all its industrial enterprises were destroyed, and 2,225,000 - that is, a quarter of the entire population - perished, a great many of them civilians massacred by the Nazis for supporting Belorussian guerrilla fighters. Belorussia, along with Ukraine and the Soviet Union, was one of the signatories of the United Nations Charter in 1945.

In December 1991, following the signing of the Belovezhye Accords that formally marked the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). At present Belarus is also a member of the CIS's Collective Security Treaty Organization, of the Europe-Asia Economic Union (along with Russia and Kazakhstan), and other international associations. Since April 1997, it has been a member of the Russia-Belarus Union - a confederation of Russia and Belarus that has remained largely on paper and been mostly used by Belarusia's President Lukashenko as a means of getting cheap Russian gas and other raw materials while refusing to effect any moves (like the adoption of a single currency or permission for Russian businesses to buy into Belorussia's economy) that would lead to a real unification desired by the two country's peoples.

The legislature of the Republic of Belarus is the two-chamber National Assembly consisting of the lower chamber - the House of Representatives of 110 members, and the upper chamber - the Council of the Republic with 64 seats. On 15 March 1994 the country's legislature approved the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which proclaimed it a unitary, democratic, social, law-governed state.

Under the constitution Belarus is a presidential republic. Alexander Lukashenko was first elected to this post in 1994. The 2004 referendum removed from the Constitution of Belarus any restriction on the number of terms a single person may serve as president, and Alexander Lukashenko was allowed to run in the next election. As a result, he was re-elected president for a third time running. In fact, Lukashenko, often referred to as Europe's last dictator, does not appear to be prepared to leave his office in the foreseeable future. At any rate, one of his more often quoted bloopers was, "I am the president of the state, and the state will continue [to exist] as long as I am president."

The principal industries of Belarus are machine building, metalworking, chemical and petrochemical industries, power engineering, light and food industries, and timber and woodworking industry. The republic is a major exporter of trucks, tractors, television sets, refrigerators, chemical fiber and threads, potassium fertilizers, textiles and light-industry products.

According to expert opinion, the republic's considerable economic growth in 2004-2006 was chiefly due to certain features of the 1990s economic reform there and of special relations with Russia. On gaining independence Belarus did not carry out any large-scale privatization of major industrial enterprises. As these went joint-stock, the shares remained state property. State-run enterprises continue to dominate, accounting for at least 75 percent of GDP.

At the same time Belarus's economy has retained most of its economic ties with Russian enterprises and healthy levels of export to Russia. Thus Belarus sells 60-70 percent of its entire vehicle, machinery and equipment export to Russia. In 2005 Russia accounted for $5.7 billion of the $15.9 billion worth of Belarusian exports. Practically all of Belarus' power engineering, as well as chemical and fertilizer production rely on Russian gas, which Belarus gets at a hefty discount. The difference between the purchase price and the amount charged on industrial consumers goes to the state budget ultimately paying for various state social programs.

Links:

• Introduction (E)
• Roy's bio (E)
• Roy's bio (R)
• Articles (E&R)
• Collapse of the Colossus (E)
• Apology for the Russian Intelligentsia (R)
• Taiga Law (E)
• Taiga Law (R)
• Short Stories (E)
• Short stories (R)
• Solo on the Aral, a novel (R)
• The Cruise Beyond Yonder, a novel (R)
• Notes of an Amateur Shooter (R)
• Poetic Translations (from R into E)
• Translations. Prose
• Book Reviews
• Nature Lover's Corner