Since the 1990s, Belarus has been actively criticized by the United States, the European Union, the OSCE and the United Nations for human rights violations and electoral fraud.
Russia remains the largest and most important partner for Belarus both in the political and economic fields.
Russia is Belarus' largest and most important economic and political partner. Both are members of various international organisations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the United Nations.
Belarus and Ukraine both are full members of the Baku Initiative and Central European Initiative. In 2020, during the Belarusian protests against president Lukashenko, the relationship between Ukraine and Belarus began to deteriorate, after the Ukrainian government criticized Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarus is dependent on Russia for imports of raw materials and for its export market. The Union State, a supranational confederation between Belarus and Russia, was established in a 1996–99 series of treaties that called for monetary union, equal rights, single citizenship, and a common foreign and defence policy.
Belarus has not joined NATO because it is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization under the auspices of Russia, and the Security Treaties with NATO regulate the exchange of classified information affecting the interests of sovereign states.
Christianity is the main religion in Belarus, with Eastern Orthodoxy being the largest denomination. The legacy of the state atheism of the Soviet era is apparent in the fact that a proportion of Belarusians (especially in the east part of the country) are not religious.
Belarusian foreign minister spokesman Andrei Savinykh rejected the idea, as did Dmitri Medojev, South Ossetia's ambassador to Moscow, who stated "Our people voted for independence in a referendum in 2006 and they do not relish the idea of becoming part of the Russian Federation."
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbour in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; however, the Russian troops did not exit the country after they were supposed to finish.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, with Vladimir Putin in 2002. Despite a number of economic disputes in the mid-2000s, Belarus has remained one of Russia's closest allies.
Considered to be the "last dictatorship in Europe," Belarus lacks the basic freedoms in public and political life and in the market place.
🌍 Only about 25% of its land lies in Europe, but this small portion holds nearly 75% of Russia's population, including major cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Tips from the U.S. embassy
The Department of State strongly urges U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to Belarus. The U.S. government cannot provide emergency or routine services to U.S. citizens in Belarus. Border crossings with neighboring countries are restricted and may close without notice.
The largest group of European nations not in NATO are those that profess their neutrality. Including nations such as Austria, Ireland, and Switzerland, some have military neutrality enshrined in their constitutions, or because of previous dealings with the great powers.
The strategic partnership between Belarus and Russia is based on the geographic location, close historic and cultural links between both countries and peoples, economic ties and cooperation between the Belarusian and Russian businesses.
The Belarusian religious landscape is dominated by the Belarusian Orthodox Church. It is represented by 1,737 communities, 15 eparchies, six religious schools, 36 monasteries and convents, 15 brotherhoods, nine sisterhoods and one mission.
When Max tells Phoebe that he and David are going to Minsk, he tells her it's in Russia. It is, in fact, the capital of Belarus. Moreover, Belarus has been independent from the Soviet Union since 1991 (three years prior to this episode).
There is no constructive interaction between Belarus and Ukraine on all tracks at the current stage due to the position of the Ukrainian side.
Belarus, landlocked country of eastern Europe. Until it became independent in 1991, Belarus, formerly known as Belorussia or White Russia, was the smallest of the three Slavic republics included in the Soviet Union (the larger two being Russia and Ukraine).
Genetic studies show that Russians are closely related to Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, as well as Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, and Finns. They were formed from East Slavic tribes, and their cultural ancestry is based in Kievan Rus'.
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making him the current longest-serving European leader.
Russia still fields a massive military, aiming for ~1.5 million active personnel with millions more reserves, but faces significant attrition in equipment (especially tanks) and experienced personnel due to the war in Ukraine, relying heavily on mobilization and volunteer recruitment to replenish losses despite heavy losses in tanks and vehicles. While possessing vast air and nuclear assets, the quality and readiness of its ground forces are challenged by high casualties, equipment depletion, and ammunition shortages, forcing reliance on Soviet-era stocks and new, complex production.
Today, an estimated 40,000 Jews live in Belarus, united in 43 registered Jewish secular communities under the Union of Belarusian Jewish Organizations and Communities. The country's registered Jewish religious communities include Chabad Lubavitch, Progressive Judaism, and Religious Jewish Congregations.
Estimates of the percentage of Muslims in Russia (the biggest group of Muslims in Europe) vary from 5 to 11.7%, depending on sources. It also depends on if only observant Muslims or all people of Muslim descent are counted. The city of Moscow is home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.
The country with the largest percentage of its population having membership in the church is Vatican City at 100%, followed by Timor-Leste at 97%. According to the World Christian Database, there are 1.272 billion Catholics worldwide as of 2025, which constitute 48.1% of 2.645 billion Christians.