THE PLANE THE PLANE...(Name that tela-v-series) Belarus (i/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-rooss; Belarusian; officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe[5] bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Hrodna (Grodno), Homiel (Gomel), Mahilyow (Mogilev) and Vitsebsk (Vitebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing.[6] Brief independence (1918-19) During the negotiations of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Belarus first declared independence under German occupation on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian Peoples Republic.[49][50] Immediately afterwards, the Polish–Soviet War ignited, and Belarus found itself torn between resurgent Poland and Soviet Russia. Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1991) Further information: Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic A part of Belarus under Russian rule emerged as the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919. Soon thereafter it merged to form the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The contested lands were divided between Poland and the Soviet Union after the war ended in 1921, and the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922.[49][51] The western part of modern Belarus remained part of Poland.[52][53][53] In the 1920s, agricultural reforms that culminated in the Belarusian phase of Soviet collectivization were set in motion. In the 1930s, the implementation of the Soviet five-year plans for the national economy led to rapid industrialization. In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Poland, marking the beginning of World War II. Much of northeastern Poland, which had been part of the country since the Peace of Riga two decades earlier, was annexed to the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, and now constitutes West Belarus.[7][8][9][54] The Soviet-controlled Belarusian People Council officially took control of the territories, whose populations consisted of a mixture of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews, on 28 October 1939 in Białystok. Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The Brest Fortress, which had been annexed in 1939, at this time was subjected to one of the most destructive onslaughts that happened during the war. Statistically, BSSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II and remained in Nazi hands until 1944. During that time, Germany destroyed 209 out of 290 cities in the republic, 85% of the republics industry, and more than one million buildings.[10] Casualties were estimated to be between two and three million (about a quarter to one-third of the total population), while the Jewish population of Belarus was devastated during the Holocaust and never recovered.[10][55] The population of Belarus did not regain its pre-war level until 1971.[55] It was also after this conflict that the final borders of Belarus were set by Stalin when parts of Belarusian territory were given to recently annexed Lithuania.[54] After the war, Belarus was among the 51 founding countries of the United Nations Charter and as such it was allowed an additional vote at the UN, on top of the Soviet Unions vote. Vigorous postwar reconstruction promptly followed the end of the war and Belorussian SSR became a major center of manufacturing in western USSR, creating jobs and attracting ethnic Russians.[56] The borders of Belorussian SSR and Poland were redrawn and became known as the Curzon Line.[57] Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Belorussian SSR from Western influences.[55] This policy involved sending Russians from various parts of the Soviet Union and placing them in key positions in the Belorussian SSR government. The official use of the Belarusian language and other cultural aspects were limited by Moscow. After Stalins death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev continued his predecessors cultural hegemony program, stating, The sooner we all start speaking Russian, the faster we shall build communism.[55] In 1986, the Belorussian SSR was significantly exposed to nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in neighboring Ukrainian SSR.[58] In June 1988, archaeologist and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF Zyanon Paznyak discovered mass graves of victims executed in 1937–41 at Kurapaty, near Minsk.[58] Some nationalists contend that this discovery is proof that the Soviet government was trying to erase the Belarusian people, causing Belarusian nationalists to seek independence.[59] Post Soviet era (1991-) In March 1990, elections for seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian SSR took place. Though the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front took only 10% of the seats, the populace was content with the selection of the delegates.[60] Belarus declared itself sovereign on 27 July 1990 by issuing the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. With the support of the Communist Party, the countrys name was changed to the Republic of Belarus on 25 August 1991.[60] Stanislav Shushkevich, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, met with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine on 8 December 1991 in Belavezhskaya Pushcha to formally declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.[60] A national constitution was adopted in March 1994 in which the functions of prime minister were given to the president of Belarus. Two-round elections for the presidency on (24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994)[61] catapulted the formerly unknown Alexander Lukashenko into national prominence. He garnered 45% of the vote in the first round and 80%[60] in the second, defeating Vyacheslav Kebich who received 14% of the vote. Lukashenko was re-elected in 2001, in 2006 and again in 2010.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:57:42 +0000
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