Belarus

“ Belarus does not have to be a pariah, the embarrassment of Europe under a petty dictator. It could instead enjoy close ties to its European neighbors and North American friends. It could free itself from a subservient relationship to Russia that has ill served the Belarusian people. It could follow the course set out by the continent’s most successful democracies, including the one in which we meet today. Lithuania, like its Baltic neighbors, is the perfect example of a country whose politics, security, and economy soared after tyranny was consigned to history’s dustbin. ”

“ There, men who oppose tyranny disappear forever. Wives are assaulted in public. Dissidents are jailed, universities shuttered, visas denied. The media is state controlled, NGO activity is restricted, and political rights are systematically violated. I speak, of course, not of Burma, North Korea or Zimbabwe, but rather of Belarus – a part of Europe, whose capital stands just a three and half hour drive from where we meet today.
Belarus today blocks the road to a Europe whole, free, and at peace. ”

“ The term “Government of Belarus” means the Government of Belarus, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and any person owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Belarus;
(c) the term “noncitizen” means any person who is not a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States;
(d) the term “person” means an individual or entity ”

“ Yet while the repression in Belarus is overwhelming, and the abuses too numerous to count, there is no reason to despair. Instead, there is reason to hope. There is reason to hope because there are in Belarus individuals like those standing with us today. Aleksander Milinkevich, head of the Belarus Union of Democratic Forces, is the opposition’s unified candidate in next month’s presidential elections. ”

“ Economy ———-
Economic overview: At the time of independence in late 1991, Belarus was one of the most developed of the former Soviet states, inheriting a modern - by Soviet standards - machine building sector and robust agricultural sector. However, the breakup of the Soviet Union and its traditional trade ties, as well as the government's failure to embrace market reforms, has resulted in a sharp economic decline. Privatization is virtually nonexistent and the system of state orders and distribution persists. ”

“ But the international community must take more concrete steps to ensure that Belarus has the tools to build a functioning democracy. Other nations, especially those in the European Union, need to follow Lithuania’s lead by dedicating resources to support democracy in Europe. In this vein, the EU’s recent decision to fund broadcasts into Belarus is welcome, as is the dedication of over 1 million euros in democracy program funding.
When the opposition does triumph, it will chart a new course for Belarus’ relations with Europe and the United States. ”

“ Belarus Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad) ; Brestskaya (Brest) , Homyel'skaya (Homyel') , Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna) , Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow) , Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk) ”

“ Belarus had a significant share of the machine-building
capacity of the former USSR. It is especially noted for production of
tractors, large trucks, machine tools, and automation equipment. The soil in
Belarus is not as fertile as the black earth of Ukraine, but by emphasizing
favorable crops and livestock (especially pigs and chickens) , Belarus has
become a net exporter to the other former republics of meat, milk, eggs,
flour, and potatoes. ”

“ Address: 5 Korzha St., Soligorsk, 223710 Minsk Region/Oblast, Belarus Date of registration: 23.12.1996
Registration number: 600122610
OJSC Belaruskali is a state-owned enterprise and one of the biggest potash producers in the world, providing 20 % of global potash exports. As such, it is a major source of revenue and foreign currency for the Lukashenka regime. Aliaksandr Lukashenka described it as "a national treasure, pride, one of the pillars of Belarusian exports". ”

“ Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. ”

“ Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL) , Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL) ; three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia ”

“ As a United Nations Member, Belarus is extremely disturbed by the fact that the unlawful military action against Yugoslavia means an intentional disregard for the role and responsibility of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security. ”

“ Belarus stresses that the use of military force against Yugoslavia without a proper decision of the only competent international body, which is undoubtedly the United Nations Security Council, as well as any introduction of foreign military contingents against the wish of the Government of Yugoslavia, qualify as an act of aggression, with all ensuing responsibility for its humanitarian, military and political consequences. ”

“ In this capacity, he is responsible for mobilisation and civil defence as well as his interaction with military organisations, including at a time of joint Russian-Belarus military exercises taking place near Brest in the build-up to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine of 24 February 2022. He is therefore responsible for and actively supporting actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine. ”

“ Twenty new successor state entries replace those of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. New countries are respectively: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; and Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia. Number of nations in the Factbook rises to 188. ”

“ PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723
telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348
FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Flag description:
red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the
width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side
bears Belarusian national ornamention in red
Economy Belarus
Economy - overview:
Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still,
the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation, persistent
trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus'
largest trading partner and energy supplier. ”

“ Communist Party obtained an overwhelming majority
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) , Zenon
POZNYAK, chairman; Party of Popular Accord, Gennadiy KARPENKO; Union
of Belarusian Entreprenuers, V. N. KARYAGIN; Belarusian Party of
Communists, Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Belarus Peasant
Party, Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Socialist Party,
Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV, chairman; Belarusian Social Democrat Party
(SDBP) , Oleg TRUSOV, Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairmen; Agrarian Party
of Belarus, Aleksandr DUBKO ”

“ Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia
(Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline: 99 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m
Natural resources: peat, arable land
Land use: arable land: 35% permanent crops: 12% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 31% other: 15% (1993 est.) ”

“ The great strides that it has made in the past decade and a half testify to the universal human aspiration to live in freedom.
This testament is not silent; instead, the people of Lithuania, having achieved freedom themselves, are actively promoting the liberty of others. Through conferences like the one in which we participate today, this country leads not just by example, but by action. I can think of no more honorable role for a great nation that has endured so much. ”

“ Belarusian Independence Bloc
(unregistered) and For Freedom movement [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH] ;
Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR] ; BPF-Youth
[Andrus KRECHKA] ; Charter 97 (unregistered) [Andrey SANNIKOV] ;
Perspektiva small business association [Anatol SHUMCHENKO] ; Nasha
Vyasna (unregistered) ("Our Spring") human rights center; "Tell the
Truth" Movement [Vladimir NEKLYAYEV] ; Women's Independent Democratic
Movement [Ludmila PETINA] ; Young Belarus (Malady Belarus) [Zmitser
KASPYAROVICH] ”

“ It is an honor to be in a country filled with such patriots, and I thank you for inviting me and my colleagues to this conference. I have had a special affinity for the Baltic nations since I was a child. ”

“ Economic aid - recipient: $194.3 million (1995)
Currency: Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code: BYB/BYR
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001) , 1,531.000 (November 2001) , 876.750 (2000) , 248.795 (1999) , 46.127 (1998) , 26.020 (1997) ”

“ Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) National holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944) ; note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union Constitution: 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 ”

“ Finally, on grounds of even wider and more essential expedience, this inclusion of Lithuania and the other Russian provinces in the new state of Poland is undesirable, since it would be an anti-democratic step, based not on the will of the people, but, precisely, on the Imperialistic spirit which our armies and our navies are fighting. The mere desire of possession is all the reason that can be produced for the National Democrat claims to Minsk and Volhynia, while ownership of land, which is at the base of the plea for Lithuania, is scarcely less Imperialistic than the other. ”

“ Any one conversant with the recent Balkan history knows that Bulgaria has from the start aspired to dominate the Balkan States. When the Berlin Government struck the hour which was to throw not only Europe, but three-fourths of the universe into the worst horrors of war, has Bulgaria rallied to the defence of her weak neighbour, Servia? Has she proved any sympathy for treacherously crushed Belgium?
I emphatically declare that I would oppose Imperialism with all my might, if I thought that it is by nature a necessary producer of absolutism, of autocratic tyranny. ”

“ Whatever may seem good to Balkan controversialists, let us of the West rather try, for their sake and for ours, to bring these two people together. We have good foundations on which to build; every Bulgar will tell you that he is full of admiration of the Serbian army, and the Serbs will speak in a similar strain of the Bulgars. Also the Serbs will tell you that, no matter what else they may be able to do, they are, as compared with the Bulgars, quite incompetent in the diffusion of propaganda; while the Bulgars will explain to you that in propaganda the Serbs are immensely their superiors. ”

“ It is a double misery: we suffer with the rest, and in addition we suffer specially as a people without a country. Belgium and Serbia and Montenegro are nations with countries of their own; they cannot be annihilated, they must be restored. We envy Belgium in her misfortune, and sorely assailed Serbia; we behold the strength and health of the Polish peasant. Truly, he has been ruined for the time being, but he has his country, and though he has been driven away ten times by the fury of war he will return, and once again plant himself on his native soil, where his golden corn will grow again. ”

“ Balkan philologists to-day will tell you—and even those who are in other respects the most rabid Serbs or Bulgars—that there is really no such thing as a Serbian and a Bulgarian language, but only groups of Yugoslav dialects. And yet it pleased the Great Powers to prevent the union of the two Balkan brothers. In that region with which we are dealing the Berlin Congress attempted to draw, with very inadequate maps, a frontier line along the watershed ”

“ But now Serbia is a part of Yugoslavia, which has to deal with a greater Italy, a greater Roumania and others. And the question as to whether a certain town or district is to be Serbian or Bulgarian sinks into the background.
Fortunately, in the Balkans—where one is nothing if not personal—you can express yourself concerning another gentleman with a degree of liberty that in Western Europe would be thought unpardonable. And so, if the Serbs and the Bulgars will in the main follow the tracks of their far-sighted leaders, they need not quite suppress their criticism of each other. ”