Belarus

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

• landlocked;
• glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes;
• the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.5 male(s)/female

total population:

0.88 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

noun:

Belarusian(s)

adjective:

Belarusian

conventional long form:

Republic of Belarus

conventional short form:

Belarus

local long form:

Respublika Byelarus'

local short form:

none

former:

Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

• 15 March 1994;
• revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996;
• revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits

chief of state:

President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994;
• according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum;
• new election held 9 September 2001;
• October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006;
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%

• Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
• Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)

Pro-government parties:

• Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA];
• Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA];
• Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman];
• Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH];
• Social-Sports Party [leader NA];
• Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA];
• Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman];
• Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman];
• United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO];
• Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman];
• Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]

note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV

chancery:

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-1604

FAX:

[1] (202) 986-1805

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador George A. KROL

embassy:

46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002

mailing address:

PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723

telephone:

[375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348

FAX:

[375] (17) 234-7853

• red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band;
• a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamention in red

lowest 10%:

5.1%

highest 10%:

20% (1998)

general assessment:

the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly

domestic:

• local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network;
• waiting lists for telephones are long;
• local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor;
• intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998);
• Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems;
• an inadequate analog system remains operational

international:

• country code - 375;
• Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL);
• three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine;
• worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure;
• additional analog lines to Russia;
• Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations

total:

5,512 km

broad gauge:

5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)

standard gauge:

15 km 1.435-m (2004)

total:

79,990 km

paved:

69,351 km

unpaved:

10,639 km (2002)

• 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security;
• boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004

• limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market;
• transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe;
• a small and lightly regulated financial center;
• new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards;
• few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities