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Events from the year 2016 in Belarus
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Events from the year 2016 in Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) with a population of 9.1 million, The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into six regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status.
The Byelorussian SSR was one of only two Soviet republics to be separate members of the United Nations. Both republics and the Soviet Union joined the UN when the organization was founded in 1945.
Minsk is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region and Minsk District. As of 2024, it has a population of about two million, making Minsk the 11th-most populous city in Europe. Minsk is one of the administrative capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
The politics of Belarus takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic with a bicameral parliament. The President of Belarus is the head of state. Executive power is nominally exercised by the government, at its top sits a ceremonial prime minister, appointed directly by the President. Legislative power is de jure vested in the bicameral parliament, the National Assembly, however the president may enact decrees that are executed the same way as laws, for undisputed time.
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is a Belarusian politician who has been the president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, currently the longest in Europe.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times, making its debut in 2004 and having its last appearance in 2019. The Belarusian participant broadcaster in the contest was the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC). Since 1 July 2021, Belarus has been unable to participate in the contest following the suspension of BTRC's membership in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The country's first appearance in a final was in 2007, with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun, where it placed sixth; this remains Belarus' only top ten placement. Belarus also qualified for the final in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2019. More recently, the nation had planned to take part in the canceled 2020 contest and was disqualified from taking part in the 2021 contest.
Censorship in Belarus, although prohibited by the country's constitution, is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.
The Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society is an association in Belarus. The association's main activity is advocacy and promotion of the Belarusian language.
Belsat is a Polish free-to-air terrestrial and satellite television channel aimed at Belarus. The channel is a subsidiary of TVP S.A. From the outset, it has been co-funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international donors.
The Astravets Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located in the Astravyets District, Grodno Region in north-western Belarus. The power plant is built close to the Belarus-Lithuania border, being 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The plant is powered by two 1194-MW VVER-1200 units supplied by Atomstroyexport, the nuclear equipment exporter branch of the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom. The plant is owned by State Enterprise Belarusian NPP, which in turn is owned by the state-owned operator Belenergo.
The government of Belarus is criticized for its human rights violations and persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. In a testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus as one of the world's six "outposts of tyranny". In response, the Belarusian government called the assessment "quite far from reality". During 2020 Belarusian presidential election and protests, the number of political prisoners recognized by Viasna Human Rights Centre rose dramatically to 1062 as of 16 February 2022. Several people died after the use of unlawful and abusive force by law enforcement officials during 2020 protests. According to Amnesty International, the authorities didn't investigate violations during protests but instead harassed those who challenged their version of events. In July 2021, the authorities launched a campaign against the remaining non-governmental organizations, liquidating at least 270 of them by October, including all previously registered human rights organizations in the country.
Nikolai Shelyagovich is an initiator and proponent of the idea of the establishment of Polesian autonomy in Soviet Byelorussia in the 1980s. However, he and his associated received almost no support and the campaign eventually melted away. In particular, writer Nil Hilevich and some others spoke against him, claiming threat to the national integrity of Belarus, which was labelled as "Yotvingian separatism".
Tut.By was an independent news, media and service internet portal, one of the five most popular websites in Belarus in the Russian language, and the most popular news web portal in the country. After its owning company was closed down by the Minsk Economic Court in June 2022, its successor Zerkalo.io remains online as of September 2022.
West Polesian is the East Slavic dialect group spoken in southwestern Belarus, in northwestern Ukraine and adjoining regions of Poland. There is controversy regarding whether West Polesian belongs to Belarusian or Ukrainian, or is a separate microlanguage.
Anatoly Vasilyevich Bogatyrev was a Soviet and Belarusian composer and music teacher, seen as one of the leaders of the national school of Belarusian music.
Belarus competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Hilevich is a Belarusian language surname derived from the word 'гіль', bullfinch with a patronymic suffix '-ich'. It may refer to:
Alena Mikalajeŭna Anisim is a Belarusian opposition politician, linguist and former member of the House of Representatives of Belarus, the lower house of the National Assembly of Belarus. She is additionally the head of the banned Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society.
The Francysk Skaryna Medal – is a state award in the Republic of Belarus. The medal differs from the Order of Francysk Skaryna, another state Belarusian award.