- Capital – Minsk
- Official Languages -Belarusian , Russian
- Area -207,597 km2
- Population – 9.490.376
- Religion -Exports: Machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles.
- Industry: Metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers
- Agriculture: Grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets; beef
- Exports: Machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles.
Lukashenko has described himself as having an “authoritarian ruling style”.Western countries have described Belarus under Lukashenko as a dictatorship; the government has accused the same Western powers of trying to oust Lukashenko.The Council of Europe has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for undemocratic voting and election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections.The Belarusian government is also criticized for human rights violations and its persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. In a testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus as one of the world’s six “outposts of tyranny”. In response, the Belarusian government called the assessment “quite far from reality”. The Viasna Human Rights Centre lists 11 political prisoners currently detained in Belarus.
Cuisine
Belarusian cuisine consists mainly of vegetables, meat , and bread. Foods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed. Typically, Belarusians eat a light breakfast and two hearty meals, with dinner being the largest meal of the day. Wheat and rye breads are consumed in Belarus, but rye is more plentiful because conditions are too harsh for growing wheat. To show hospitality, a host traditionally presents an offering of bread and salt when greeting a guest or visitor
If You are thinking about visiting Belarus
Tickets to Belarus are about 900 $ Round trip from NY
