Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe that borders Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Bobruisk. A third of the country is forested, and agriculture and manufacturing are the strongest economic sectors of Belarus.

Until the 20th century, the Belarusian nation lacked the opportunity to form their national policy, as the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. After the failure of a short-lived Belarusian People's Republic (1918–19), Belarus became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Byelorussian SSR.

The final unification of the Belarusian lands in its modern borders took place in 1939, when the ethnically Belarusian lands that were a part of interwar Poland were annexed by the USSR and attached to the Soviet Belarus. The territory and its nation were devastated in World War II as Belarus lost about a quarter of its population and more than half of its economic resources,[1] but the republic recovered in the post-war years and became one of the founding members of the United Nations. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on July 27, 1990 and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on August 25, 1991. Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994. During his presidency, Lukashenko has implemented Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of the economy, despite objections from Western governments. Belarus is negotiating with Russia to unify into a single state called the Union of Russia and Belarus.

Most of Belarus's population of 9.85 million reside in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other oblast (regional) capitals. More than 80% of the population are native Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians, Ukrainians and Poles. Since a referendum in 1995, there have been two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. The Constitution of Belarus does not declare an official religion, though the primary religion in the country is Russian Orthodox.