The Republic of Belarus

The Geographic Outline. Belarus, a generally flat country situated practically in the center of Europe, occupies an area of 207, 600 square kilometers. Its area is more than the combined size of Greece, Belgium and Denmark. Its neighbors are Russia to the east and northeast, Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, and Ukraine to the south. The population is more than 10 million inhabitants.

Belarus mostly level terrain is broken by the Belarus Range, the highest point being 346-meter mount Dzerzhynskaya. In the south, about one-third of the territory around the Pripyat River is taken up by the low-lying swampy plain of the Polesye.

One third of the country territory is covered with forests. Conifers forests dominate in the north, with stands of spruce and pine. While deciduous forests dominate in the south, with stands of oak, beech, birch, and alder.

Belarus' 3, 000 streams and 10, 000 lakes are major features of the landscape and are used for floating timber, shipping, and power generation. Major rivers are the west-flowing Zapadnaya Dvina and Nieman, and the south-flowing Dnieper with its tributaries, the Berezina, the Sozh, and the Prypyat.

There are six forest reserves in Belarus: The National Park Belavezhckaya Puscha, The National Park Pripyatsky, The National Park Narochansky, The National Park Braslav Lakes, The Berezinsky Biospere Reserve, and The Polessky Radiadion Ecological Reserve.

The Political System. According to the new Constitution, Belarus is a presidential republic where the role of the President is quite strong. He is the head of the state and the executive power, guarantor of the Constitution and civil rights.

Like any country, Belarus has its own constitution, anthem, and state symbols. Constitution is the main document in the state. The new Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted by the Supreme Soviet on March 15, 1994 and Constitution consists of a preamble and nine chapters: 1. Principles of the Constitutional System. 2. The Individual, Society, and the State. 3. Electoral System. Referendum. 4. The President, Parliament, Government, the Courts. 5. Local government and self-government. 6. The Procurator's office. The State Supervisory Committee. 7. Financial and Credit System of the Republic of Belarus. 8. The application of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the procedure for amending the Constitution. 9. Final and transitional clauses.

The Parliament, i. d. the National Assembly comprises two houses - the House of Representatives (110 deputies and Supreme House) and the Council of the Republic (64 deputies). It is the legislative body of power.

The Government (Council of Ministers and a number of Ministries and Committees) is working with current issues of a day-to-day basis, thus exercising executive powers. It exercises the executive power.

Judicial power is exercised by General Courts (Supreme Court, plus regional, district, and town courts) and by Economic Courts (Supreme Economic, plus regional, district, and town economic courts). A Constitutional Court controls correspondence of the laws with the Constitution. The Procurator-General supervises the precise and uniform execution of laws, decrees, and other regulatory enactments by all state government bodies, local Soviets and other judicial and physical persons.

The National Flag and the National Emblem of the Republic of Belarus are symbols of state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.

The National Flag is a rectangular cloth consisting of two longitudinal stripes: red upper stripe and green lower stripe that are two-thirds and one-third of the flag width respectively. A vertical red-on- white Belarusian decorative pattern was introduced in 1917 by Matrena Markevich to show local plants and flowers.

Economy of Belarus. Belarus has a well-developed economy. Approximately 5. 3 million people contribute to the economy of Belarus.

Natural Resources. The country has small reserves of petroleum and natural gas. About one-third of the republic is covered in forest. Among the other minerals recovered are salt, building materials chiefly limestone, quartz sands and small deposits of gold and diamonds.

Industry. The country is known for its heavy-duty trucks, transport vehicles, and tractors. Belarus also manufactures computers, engineering equipment, metal-cutting tools, and such consumer goods as clocks and watches, motorcycles, bicycles, refrigerators, radios, television sets and others. Forests yield many wood products, including furniture, matches, plywood, and paper goods. Chemical industry produces chemical fibers, mineral fertilizers, petrochemicals, plastics, soda ash, and synthetic resins. The chief chemical product is potassium fertilizer.

Heavy industry is the most highly developed sector of the economy. Machine-building industry makes various types of tractors, heavy-duty trucks, other heavy machinery and electrical equipment.

Energy. Belarus generated only about 12% of its own energy needs. Nearly all electricity is generated at thermal power stations, using piped oil and natural gas; however, there is some local use of peat, and there are a number of low-capacity hydroelectric power plants.

Agriculture. Belarus has a large amount of farmland. But a short growing season and a lack of fertile soil make farming difficult. Most of Belarus has soils of only moderate fertility. Most of the country has mixed crop and livestock farming, with a strong emphasis on flax growing. The country's principal crops are potatoes, grains (especially wheat, barley, oats and rye), flax, fruits, sunflowers, vegetables, and sugar beets. Nearly 60% of the country's total land area is cultivated.

Services. Most service-industry workers were poorly trained and underpaid. Many individuals and families are starting small businesses such as restaurants, barbershops, dry cleaners, and taxi services.

Finance. The republic introduced its own currency, the Belarusian ruble, in 1994. It has been the official national currency since January 1995, when circulation of Russian rubles ceased.

Foreign Trade. Belarus proper consumes only 13% of the goods produced. A great amount of goods produced by Belarusian industries and agriculture is oriented towards the CIS countries' markets. Russia, Poland, and Ukraine remain the republic's main trading partners, with trade increasing with Germany and Italy. Belarus also conducts trade with Austria, China, Great Britain, Lithuania, Switzerland, the United States and other countries.