History of Belarus (1991–present)
Republic of Belarus Рэспубліка Беларусь | |||||||||
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| 1991–present | |||||||||
| Anthem: Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь (Belarusian) Dziaržaŭny himn Respubliki Biełaruś "State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus" | |||||||||
Belarus in green. | |||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Minsk 53°55′N 27°33′E / 53.917°N 27.550°E | ||||||||
| Official language and national language | Belarusian Russian (since 1995) | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups (2019) |
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| Religion (2020) |
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| Demonym | Belarusian | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic (1991–1994) Unitary semi-presidential republic
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| Chairman of the Supreme Council/President | |||||||||
• 1991–1994 | Stanislav Shushkevich | ||||||||
• 1994 | Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (acting) | ||||||||
• 1994 | Myechyslaw Hryb | ||||||||
• 1994– | Alexander Lukashenko | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1991–1994 | Vyacheslav Kebich (first) | ||||||||
• 2025–present | Alexander Turchin (current) | ||||||||
| Legislature | Supreme Council (1991–1996) National Assembly (1996–present) | ||||||||
| Council of the Republic (1996–present) | |||||||||
| House of Representatives (1996–present) | |||||||||
| Independence from the Soviet Union | |||||||||
| March–May 1990 | |||||||||
• BSSR sovereignty | 27 July 1990 | ||||||||
• Independence | 25 August 1991 | ||||||||
• Renamed | 19 September 1991 | ||||||||
| 8 December 1991 26 December 1991 | |||||||||
| 15 March 1994 | |||||||||
| 23 June – 10 July 1994 | |||||||||
| 20 July 1994 | |||||||||
| 14 May 1995 | |||||||||
| 24 November 1996 | |||||||||
| 27 February 2022 | |||||||||
| 9 August 2020 – present | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 207,600 km2 (80,200 sq mi) (including swamps) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 2025 estimate |
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• Density | 43.9/km2 (113.7/sq mi) (130th) | ||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $221.186 billion (73rd) | ||||||||
• Per capita | $24,016 (71st) | ||||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $68.864 billion (74th) | ||||||||
• Per capita | $7,477 (82nd) | ||||||||
| Gini (2019) | 25.3 low inequality (65th) | ||||||||
| HDI (2023) | 0.824 very high (52nd) | ||||||||
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYN) | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+3 | ||||||||
| Calling code | +375 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | BY | ||||||||
| Internet TLD | |||||||||
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| Today part of | Belarus | ||||||||
| History of Belarus |
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| Belarus portal |
The modern history of Belarus began with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The new Belarusian country struggled with many problems, including post-Soviet debt, nuclear arsenal, and inflation. These factors contributed to the current history of the Republic of Belarus, especially to the current leadership under Alexander Lukashenko, under whom the country's democracy backslided and later turning into a full authoritarian dictatorship.