Belarus

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The Republic of Belarus is a landlocked nation in Eastern Europe that borders Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. The nation's capital is Minsk, and other important cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homyel') and Vitebsk.

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Throughout much of history, the area which is now known as Belarus was a part of various countries including Lithuania, Poland, and the Russian Empire. Eventually, in 1922, Belarus became a republic in the Soviet Union as the Byelorussian SSR. The republic officially declared its independence on 27 August 1990, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since 1994, amidst allegations of human rights violations and autocracy, Alexander Lukashenko has been the nation's president. As a consequence, Belarus has been excluded from joining the Council of Europe. The country also continues to suffer from the effects of nuclear fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl accident, which took place in neighboring Ukraine. Culturally, Belarus has had problems in the past due to the Soviet plan of Russification and the gradual phasing out of the Belarusian language in favor of Russian.

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Officially, the country is known as the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: ?????????? ????????, ?acinka: Respublika Bie?aru?; Russian: ?????????? ????????, Respublika Belarus), while the short name is Belarus (????????, Bie?aru?, ????????). The earlier name "Byelorussia" (??????????) can still be found in use, although mainly in historical contexts. Some Belarusians consider the use of "Byelorussian" derogatory, as it brings back memories of Russification. The name has incorrectly been translated as "White Russia", a name that refers to a separate region.

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Landlocked: A landlocked country is one that has no coastline. There are 42 landlocked countries in the world....

Eastern Europe: Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote:...

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