List of Every Communist Country in the World as of 2021: China. USD. Local government in Belarus is administered by administrative-territorial units (Belarusian: - ; Russian: - ), and occurs on two levels: basic and primary. 1921 - The Treaty of Riga divides Belarus between Poland and Soviet Russia. The present borders of Belarus were established during the turmoil of the World War Two. 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). [210][211] The councils are elected by their residents, and have executive committees appointed by their executive committee chairs. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. In the years following the union, the process of gradual Polonization of both Lithuanians and Ruthenians gained steady momentum. [citation needed]. [248] Roman Catholicism is practiced mostly in the western regions, and there are also different denominations of Protestantism. Since his election as president in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has consolidated his rule over all institutions and undermined the rule of law through . This figure represented a staggering quarter of the prewar population. The referendum on the extension was denounced as a "fantastic" fake by the chief electoral officer, Viktar Hanchar, who was removed from the office for official matters only during the campaign. "I thought he saved us from the 'wild capitalism' of the 1990s, and I voted for him twice," said Vladislav,. While the world has just five truly communist countries, socialist countries (countries whose constitutions include statements about the protection and rule of the working class) are relatively common Examples include Portugal, Sri Lanka, India, Guinea-Bissau, and Tanzania. China and Belarus called for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine as leaders of the two countries meet in Beijing to improve their relations. Tensions between NATO and Belarus peaked after the March 2006 presidential election in Belarus. Several poets and authors went into exile after the Nazi occupation of Belarus and would not return until the 1960s. [265][bettersourceneeded], After the Second World War, music focused on the hardships of the Belarusian people or on those who took up arms in defense of the homeland. /TASS/. Overall, 48.3% of the population is Orthodox Christian, 41.1% is not religious, 7.1% is Roman Catholic and 3.3% follows other religions. The defense of Brest Fortress was the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa. [246] The average life expectancy is 72.15 (66.53 years for men and 78.1 years for women). . .., 1939.80 . i . Albania country profile 16 January Albania is a small, mountainous country in the Balkan peninsula, with a long Adriatic and Ionian coastline. [195], On 23 May 2021, Belarusian authorities forcibly diverted a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius in order to detain opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich along with his girlfriend; in response, the European Union imposed stricter sanctions on Belarus. The National Bank of Belarus abandoned pegging the Belarusian ruble to the Russian rouble in August 2007. Around the 5th century, the area was taken over by the Slavs. American taxpayers still give money to Communist China for. The self-naming of Goths was Gutans and Gytos, which are close to Gudija. Bieder, H. (2000): Konfession, Ethnie und Sprache in Weiruland im 20. info)). 4 Catholicism in Central and Eastern Europe, meanwhile, has not experienced the same upsurge as Orthodox Christianity. [234], On 23 May 2011, the ruble depreciated 56% against the United States dollar. Stalin's purges 1930s - Belarus. Its net migration rate is +0.38 per 1,000, indicating that Belarus experiences slightly more immigration than emigration. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is in the midst of a three-day visit to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping . The Belarusian church entered into a full communion with the Latin Church through the Union of Brest in 1595, while keeping its Byzantine liturgy in the Church Slavonic language. [206] The Regions are further subdivided into 118 raions, commonly translated as districts (Belarusian: ; Russian: ). Smokescreen: India's fragile batting from Delhi, Nagpur gapingly exposed in Indore Batting of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar covered the fragile nature of India's top-order batting in the first two Tests of the India-Australia series. The number of people employed in the industry is 34.7% of the working population. [141] Most non-partisans represent a wide scope of social organizations such as workers' collectives, public associations, and civil society organizations, similar to the composition of the Soviet legislature. [266] Rock music has become increasingly popular in recent years, though the Belarusian government has attempted to limit the amount of foreign music aired on the radio in favor of traditional Belarusian music. Online version: Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 20:35, Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994, "FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture", Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia, Byelorussian collaboration with Nazi Germany, Byelorussian strategic offensive operation, a staggering quarter of the prewar population, Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, election for the presidency on 24 June 1994 and 10 July 1994, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, protests following the presidential election, Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 800m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, "Generations and Gender Survey, 2020 Belarus Wave 1", "Belarus leader Lukashenko holds secret inauguration amid continuing protests", "Belarus: Mass protests after Lukashenko secretly sworn in", "GINI index (World Bank estimate) Belarus", "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Minsk, Belarus", "Icann .", "Belarus freezes migrant cooperation deal over EU sanctions", "Why Is Belarus called White Russia | Belarus Travel", "Law of the Republic of Belarus About the name of the Republic of Belarus", "Lithuania Refuses to Call Belarus as "Belarusia", "Gudas as a Historical Name of Belarusians in the Lithuanian Language: 'Goths' or 'Barbarians'? About us. [252], Belarus was once a major center of European Jews, with 10% of the population being Jewish. Many Belarusian writers of the time, such as Uadzimir yka, Kazimir Svayak, Yakub Kolas, mitrok Biadula, and Maksim Haretski, wrote for Nasha Niva, a Belarusian-language paper published that was previously published in Vilnius but now is published in Minsk. Belarus is also known for its strong rhythmic gymnasts. The Soviets invaded and annexed much of eastern Poland, which had been part of the country since the Peace of Riga two decades earlier. In 2011, Belarus suffered a severe economic crisis attributed to Lukashenko's government's centralized control of the economy, with inflation reaching 108.7%. [233] As part of the Union of Russia and Belarus, both states have discussed using a single currency along the same lines as the Euro. [241], According to the 2019 census the population was 9.41 million[242] with ethnic Belarusians constituting 84.9% of Belarus's total population. Upon the death of Kievan Rus' ruler Yaroslav I the Wise in 1054, the state split into independent principalities. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), (Joseph Juho), 1956. [190], The judicial system in Belarus lacks independence and is subject to political interference. [135] Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. Communism is a form of government most frequently associated with the ideas of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who outlined his ideas for a utopian society in The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848.Marx believed that capitalism, with its emphasis on profit and private ownership, led to inequality among citizens.Thus, his goal was to encourage a system that promoted a classless society in . [155][156] Six months later amid an unprecedented economic crisis, activists utilized social networking to initiate a fresh round of protests characterized by wordless hand-clapping. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was created in July 1920. [244] Gomel, with a population of 481,000, is the second-largest city and serves as the capital of the Gomel Region. "People in these countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the world by authoritarian rulers who muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. [57], Joseph Stalin implemented a policy of Sovietization to isolate the Byelorussian SSR from Western influences. [118][119] These include not only corporate offices and individual officers of government but also private individuals who work in the state-owned enterprise industrial sector. [60], In a Russification drive in the 1840s, Nicholas I prohibited use of the Belarusian language in public schools, campaigned against Belarusian publications and tried to pressure those who had converted to Catholicism under the Poles to reconvert to the Orthodox faith. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the constitution. [166][167] Diplomatic relations remained tense, and in 2004, the United States passed the Belarus Democracy Act, which authorized funding for anti-government Belarusian NGOs, and prohibited loans to the Belarusian government, except for humanitarian purposes. The Belarusian Constitution forbids the use of special extrajudicial courts. [246], According to the census of November 2011, 58.9% of all Belarusians adhered to some kind of religion; out of those, Eastern Orthodoxy made up about 82%: Eastern Orthodox in Belarus are mainly part of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, though a small Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church also exists. Under the 1994 constitution, the president could serve for only two terms as president, but a change in the constitution in 2004 eliminated term limits. has ruled the ex-Soviet country with an iron fist . [214], Belarus is a developing country. [217] The growth rate is much lower than for the economy as a wholeabout 2.2% in 2021. [198] Lithuanian authorities and top European officials Ursula von der Leyen, Josep Borrell condemned the usage of migrants as a weapon and suggested that Belarus could be subject to further sanctions. Belarus has competed in the Olympic Games since the 1994 Winter Olympics as an independent nation. [157], In the 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko won again with official results giving him 80% of the vote, leading to mass protests. As of 2015[update], 69.9% of Belarus's population is aged 14 to 64; 15.5% is under 14, and 14.6% is 65 or older. [101][102] Lukashenko announced a new law in 2014 that will prohibit kolkhoz workers (around 9% of total work force) from leaving their jobs at willa change of job and living location will require permission from governors. [84] In 1986, the Byelorussian SSR was contaminated with most (70%) of the nuclear fallout from the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant located 16km beyond the border in the neighboring Ukrainian SSR. The choice of name was probably based on the fact that core members of the newly formed government were educated in tsarist universities, with corresponding emphasis on the ideology of West-Russianism. The Belorussian senior group earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. [227] In 2006, GDP amounted to US$83.1 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars (estimate), or about $8,100 per capita. [183] However, Belarus cannot join NATO because it is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Published 1994, amended in 1996", "SectionV: Local government and self-government", "STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAMME", " ", " - ", " 434 20.10.1995. Open. Other large cities are Mogilev (365,100), Vitebsk (342,400), Grodno (314,800) and Brest (298,300). [62][63] Immediately afterwards, the PolishSoviet War ignited, and the territory of Belarus was divided between Poland and Soviet Russia. In the 1990s some raised the estimate even higher, to 2.7 million. [57], Under Nicholas I and Alexander III the national cultures were repressed. Ever since the emergence of statehood in the territory of Belarus and up to the end of the 18th century, the country belonged to the Western, rather than Eastern, tradition of Christianity.. At the end of the 19th century, major Belarusian cities formed their own opera and ballet companies. After the failed revolt, the Russian government reintroduced the use of Cyrillic to Belarusian in 1864 and no documents in Belarusian were permitted by the Russian government until 1905. On January 31, 1992, the U.S. Embassy . [165], Bilateral relations with the United States are strained; the United States had not had an ambassador in Minsk since 2007 and Belarus never had an ambassador in Washington since 2008. [164] Travel bans imposed by the European Union have been lifted in the past in order to allow Lukashenko to attend diplomatic meetings and also to engage his government and opposition groups in dialogue. The contested lands were divided between Poland and the Soviet Union after the war ended in 1921, and the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922. After the World War, most literature focussed on war-related topics. Angela Davis, 79, was . Sudovia, in its turn, is one of the names of the Yotvingians. A panel of US lawmakers tasked with scrutinizing Beijing held a debut hearing Tuesday overshadowed by protests from the public gallery as it focused on the "existential" threat of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.Committee chairman Mike Gallagher gave a sweeping introduction outlining "The Chinese Communist Party's Threat to America" -- the title of the hearing -- aided by a multimedia . This policy was reversed in the 1930s, and the majority of prominent Belarusian intellectuals and nationalist advocates were either exiled or killed in Stalinist purges. [203] On 2 December 2021, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada imposed new sanctions on Belarus. The Statutes were initially issued in the Ruthenian language alone and later also in Polish. Opposition parties are permitted, but they have had little electoral success. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election . [175] However, Belarus suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership program on 28 June 2021, after the EU imposed more sanctions against the country. [205] Each raion has its own legislative authority, or raion council, (Belarusian: ; Russian: ) elected by its residents, and an executive authority or raion administration appointed by oblast executive powers. [137], The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the prime minister, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on foreign and domestic policy. [262], After Belarus was incorporated into the Soviet Union, the Soviet government took control of the Republic's cultural affairs. [199] In August 2021, Belarusian officials, wearing uniforms, riot shields and helmets, were recorded on camera near the BelarusLithuania border pushing and urging the migrants to cross the European Union border. A famed Black Panther who's also a communist has faced calls to pay reparations after discovering her ancestors were white puritans who arrived in the US on the Mayflower. The welcoming ceremony also included the anthems of the two countries and the honor guard march. [197] In July 2021, Belarusian authorities launched a hybrid warfare by human trafficking of migrants to the European Union. [224], In the 1990s, however, industrial production plunged due to decreases in imports, investment, and demand for Belarusian products from its trading partners. [158], The Byelorussian SSR was one of the two Soviet republics that joined the United Nations along with the Ukrainian SSR as one of the original 51 members in 1945. [246] Over 99% of Belarusians aged 15 and older are literate. [citation needed], The union between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1795 with the Third Partition of Poland by Imperial Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The incumbent regime, steered for the past twenty years by de facto dictator Alexander Lukashenko, is arguably more centralized than the one in Moscow. The Americans and British feared. Anyone from outside the duchy gaining rights to a property would actually own it only after swearing allegiance to the Grand Duke of Lithuania (a title dually held by the King of Poland). Cuba. [104], Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election,[105] in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office. The country's folk music traditions can be traced back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Much of the northern section of this area was added to the Byelorussian SSR, and now constitutes West Belarus. An influential author who devoted his work to awakening the awareness of the catastrophes the country has suffered, was Ales Adamovich. Is Belarus in the EU? [219], The currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble. The national hockey team finished fourth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics following a memorable upset win over Sweden in the quarterfinals and regularly competes in the World Championships, often making the quarterfinals. Ella Reeve Bloor was one of the founders of the Communist Labor Party of America, a predecessor of the Communist Party of the USA, and a tireless labour organiser during the Great Depression. This is only a partial archive of certain expired general licenses likely to be of interest -- it is not an exhaustive list of every general license that may relate to OFAC sanctions programs. [228], Due to its failure to protect labor rights, including passing laws forbidding unemployment or working outside of state-controlled sectors,[229] Belarus lost its EU Generalized System of Preferences status on 21 June 2007, which raised tariff rates to their prior most favored nation levels. Typically, Belarusians eat a light breakfast and two hearty meals later in the day. [218] The national football team has never qualified for a major tournament; however, BATE Borisov has played in the Champions League. The bloc is a political and economic union, consisting of 27 member states. [50], On 2 February 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were joined in a personal union through a marriage of their rulers. so the map above is more of a modern representation of the countries that formerly made up East Europe. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the All Belarusian People's Assembly. Centered on the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilna (Lithuanian: Vilnius, Polish: Wilno), for 18 months the entity served as a buffer state between Poland, upon which it depended, and Lithuania, which claimed the area. Interaction between public authorities The state authority in the Republic of Belarus is exercised on the basis of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches. Around 1840 the Statutes were banned by the Russian tsar following the November Uprising. [267][268], Marc Chagall was born in Liozna (near Vitebsk) in 1887. [253] The Lipka Tatars, numbering over 15,000, are predominantly Muslims. MINSK, March 1. 5 Views From Belarus On The Country's Political Crisis. As an OSCE member state, Belarus's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Belarus offers a distinct case of post-communist development, remaining Eastern Europe's most authoritarian state to this day. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. (ed. [222], Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control over key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics. [67] After a variety of delays, a disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed to Poland. Vietnam. The former Soviet republic was occupied by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944, when it lost 2.2 million. However, it was short-lived as the communist rule and later the Nazi occupation of Belarus would suppress the freethinking writers of Belarus and force many into leave the country. ), 2005. Receiving heavy sponsorship from the government, ice hockey is the nation's second most popular sport after football. But since the mid-20th century, the number of Jews has been reduced by the Holocaust, deportation, and emigration, so that today it is a very small minority of less than one percent. [219] In 2005, nearly a quarter of the population was employed by industrial factories. MOSCOW Not so long ago, the image of Belarus was of a peaceful, if tightly controlled, former Soviet republic, squeezed between Poland and Russia. [272], Belarusian cuisine consists mainly of vegetables, meat (particularly pork), and bread. Belarus appeared to be the Prussia of the Soviet Union. 1919 - The Russian Red Army conquers Belarus, and establishes communist rule. Belarus is a presidential republic. [90], Mass protests erupted in April 1991 and became known as the 1991 Belarusian strikes. While the freedom of worship is granted in the same article, religious organizations deemed harmful to the government or social order can be prohibited. Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic) North Korea. The Romanian Patronal System of Public Corruption (pp. NATO used to be much smaller, and it is only since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the break up of the Warsaw pact, the communist equivalent to NATO, that the organisation swelled its. [71][citation needed][72] After an early period of liberalization, tensions between increasingly nationalistic Polish government and various increasingly separatist ethnic minorities started to grow, and the Belarusian minority was no exception. [126], The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90m (295ft).