Eastern Europe · Europe

Belarus

Discover Belarus - a landlocked Eastern European nation of vast primeval forests, Soviet-era architecture, and one of the last European bison habitats.

Where Is Belarus?

Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe. Its capital is Minsk.

Where Belarus isEastern Europe · Capital Minsk

Capital Minsk
Population 9.09M
Area 207,600 km²

Belarus is the country most Europeans can't place on a map, and that's kind of the point. Sandwiched between Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, this landlocked nation of about 9 million people has stayed remarkably under the radar. It's sometimes called "Europe's last dictatorship" and sometimes "the country that time forgot" - and honestly, both descriptions have some truth to them.

What Belarus does have is nature on a scale that's almost extinct in Western Europe. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha is one of the last remaining sections of the primeval forest that once covered the entire European Plain, and it's home to the continent's largest population of European bison. Minsk, the capital, was almost entirely rebuilt after World War II in monumental Soviet style and has a strange, grand emptiness to its boulevards. The country produces world-class tractors, has surprisingly good IT talent, and takes its borscht extremely seriously.

At a glance

Language

Belarusian, Russian

Currency

Belarusian Ruble (BYN)

Calling Code

+375

Drives On

Right

Internet

.by

Timezone

MSK (UTC+3)

Script

Cyrillic

Government

Presidential Republic

Independence

1991

By population

Largest cities in Belarus

Minsk

The capital, almost entirely rebuilt after WWII in grand Soviet style with wide boulevards and monumental architecture

2,009,000

Gomel

Second-largest city in the southeast, known for the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace and proximity to the Chernobyl exclusion zone

536,000

Mogilev

Historic city on the Dnieper River, served briefly as a wartime capital during WWI

383,000

Vitebsk

Marc Chagall's birthplace and host of the annual Slavianski Bazaar international arts festival

378,000

Grodno

One of the few Belarusian cities not destroyed in WWII, with well-preserved historical architecture near the Polish border

373,000

People

Famous people from Belarus

Marc Chagall
Art
Pioneering modernist artist born in Vitebsk, known for dreamlike, fantastical paintings with vivid colors
Svetlana Alexievich
Literature
Won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature for her oral history works documenting Soviet and post-Soviet life
Max Mirnyi
Sport
Tennis doubles specialist who won multiple Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold for Belarus
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Politics
Born in what is now Belarus, led uprisings in Poland and fought in the American Revolutionary War
Zhores Alferov
Science
Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose semiconductor work enabled fiber optics, LEDs, and modern electronics

Food

Traditional cuisine of Belarus

Draniki: Crispy potato pancakes served with sour cream, the undisputed national dish of Belarus
Machanka: Rich pork stew served with thick pancakes (blinchiki), a hearty traditional breakfast or dinner
Kalduny: Stuffed dumplings filled with meat, mushrooms, or potato - Belarus's answer to pierogi
Borscht: Beetroot soup served hot or cold, every Belarusian family has their own fiercely defended recipe
Babka: Dense grated potato casserole baked until crusty on top, comfort food at its most fundamental
Sashni: Cottage cheese pancakes fried golden and served with sour cream and jam

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Belarus

Belovezhskaya PushchaForest: UNESCO-listed primeval forest shared with Poland, one of the last remnants of the vast European lowland forest, home to European bison
Braslav LakesLake: National park with over 30 glacial lakes, known as the Blue Necklace of Belarus
Pripyat RiverRiver: Major tributary of the Dnieper flowing through the Polesie wetlands, one of Europe's largest floodplains
Narochansky National ParkNational Park: Home to Lake Naroch, the largest lake in Belarus, a popular recreation area surrounded by pine forests
Berezinsky Biosphere ReserveForest: UNESCO biosphere reserve protecting pristine bogs, forests, and rivers with bear, lynx, and beaver populations

Sport

Sports in Belarus

Ice Hockey: Hosted the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, ice hockey is by far the most popular sport
Biathlon: Darya Domracheva won three Olympic gold medals, becoming one of the greatest biathletes in history
Rhythmic Gymnastics: Consistent medal contenders at Olympics and World Championships
Tennis: Victoria Azarenka reached world No. 1 and won two Australian Open titles

Facts

Did you know?

Belarus is home to one of the last populations of European bison, which were nearly hunted to extinction
The country has more tractors per capita than almost any other nation - Belarus brand is famous worldwide
Minsk's metro has some of the deepest stations in the world, doubling as nuclear bomb shelters
Belarus still officially celebrates the October Revolution on November 7th
The Belarusian IT sector is surprisingly large - World of Tanks and Viber were both developed in Minsk
The country is one of the flattest in Europe, with the highest point at just 346 meters