This is a list of wars and humanitarian conflicts involving the Republic of Belarus and its predecessor states (Principality of Polotsk, Belarusian People's Republic, Byelorussian SSR). Notable militarised interstate disputes are included.
| Conflict | Belarus & allies | Belarus's opposition | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| World War I/Russian Civil War (1918) |  Belarusian People's Republic  Germany |  Bolsheviks | Belarusian People's Republic exiled |
| Slutsk uprising (1920) | Nationalist forces loyal to the Belarusian People's Republic |  Russian SFSR  Byelorussian SSR | Rebellion suppressed |
| Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921) | Russian SFSR  Ukrainian SSR Byelorussian SSR  Polrewkom |  Second Polish Republic  Ukrainian People's Republic | Defeat: |
| Conflict | Belarus & allies | Belarus's opposition | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polish-Belarusian ethnic conflict (1939—1954) |  Byelorussian SSR Belarusian Collaborators | Polish people Home Army Cursed soldiers | Both Sides Claimed victory |
| World War II (1941–1944) |  Soviet Union |  Nazi Germany | Victory:
|
| Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) |  Soviet Union |   Afghan mujahideen |
|
| Conflict | Belarus & allies | Belarus's opposition | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Ivorian Civil War (2002—2007) |  Ivory Coast COJEP  Belarus (limited military support and mercenaries) | FNCI | Tentative peace agreement, followed by renewed conflict |
| First Libyan Civil War (2011) |  Libyan Jamahiriya Belarus: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
|  Anti-Gaddafi forces  Qatar Enforcing UNSC Resolution 1973: Other countries | Defeat:
|
| Russo-Ukrainian War (2022–present) |  Russian Federation  Belarus (provision of territory) Donetsk People's Republic  Luhansk People's Republic |  Ukraine | Ongoing:
|
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. Covering an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) and with a population of 9.2 million, Belarus is the 13th-largest and the 20th-most populous country in Europe. 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 Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy, however the Belarusian military does have control over some small Soviet inherited naval vessels in its rivers and lakes.
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 mass media in Belarus consists of TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and Internet-based websites/portals. The media is monopolized by the government, which owns all TV channels, most of the radio and print media. Broadcasting is mostly in Russian, and Russian media are widely present. After 2020, all independent media were pushed out of the country. The Law on Mass Media has been repeatedly amended and tightened, making it virtually impossible for independent journalists and publications to operate. European, Ukrainian and news websites were blocked in Belarus. The Constitution of Belarus guarantees freedom of speech, but this is contradicted in practice by repressive and restrictive laws. Arbitrary detention, arrests, and harassment of journalists are frequent in Belarus. Anti-extremism legislation targets independent journalism, including material considered unfavourable to the president. As of 2023, Belarus ranks 157th in the World Press Freedom Index. BBC describes the Belarusian media environment as one of the most repressive in Europe.
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is a Belarusian politician who has been the president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994. This makes him the longest-serving European president.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Byelorussia, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Belarus, or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1991 as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia and was also referred to as Soviet Byelorussia or Soviet Belarus by a number of historians. Other names for Byelorussia included White Russia or White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (PMR), is a breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldova–Ukraine border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol. Transnistria is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester or as Stînga Nistrului.
Belarus elects on national level a head of state—the president—and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 110 members elected in single-seat constituencies elected for a four-year term. The Council of the Republic has 64 members, 56 members indirectly elected and eight members appointed by the president.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 March 2006. The result was a victory for incumbent, President Alexander Lukashenko, who received 84.4% of the vote. However, Western observers deemed the elections rigged. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declared that the election "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections". In contrast, election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) described the vote as open and transparent.
Libya–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the State of Libya and the Russian Federation. Russia has an embassy in Tripoli, with Libya having an embassy in Moscow. Diplomatic contact between Russia and Libya has generally been close and productive, seeing as both countries have had and continue to see volatile relations with the United States. Former Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi was a close ally of the Soviet Union, despite his country's membership in the Non-Aligned Movement. Russia also regards Libya as one of its strongest allies in the Arab world, and has supported stabilization of the country following the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. After the outbreak of new conflict, Russia has primarily backed the Tobruk-based House of Representatives over the UN-backed Government of National Accord and various other factions.
The Belarusian opposition consists of groups and individuals in Belarus seeking to challenge, from 1988 to 1991, the authorities of Soviet Belarus, and since 1995, the leader of the country Alexander Lukashenko, whom supporters of the movement often consider to be a dictator. Supporters of the movement tend to call for a parliamentary democracy based on a Western model, with freedom of speech and political and religious pluralism.
The Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" is a former left-wing political party in Belarus that opposes the government of president Alexander Lukashenko. Until October 2009, it was known as the Belarusian Party of Communists.
The 5th Spetsnaz Brigade is a special forces brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formerly part of the Soviet Spetsnaz GRU.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly" written by Viktor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev and Mary Susan Applegate. The song was performed by Ivan, which is the artistic name of singer Alexander Ivanov. The Belarusian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where public televoting selected the winner. "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan was selected as the winner with 23,167 votes.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Belarus, when the first case of COVID-19 in the country was registered in Minsk on 28 February 2020. As of 29 January 2023, a total of 19,047,714 vaccine doses have been administered.
Azerbaijan–Libya relations refer to bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Libya. Libya has an embassy in Baku. Azerbaijan has a non resident embassy in Cairo.
Lev Leonidovich Dengov is a Russian-Belarusian entrepreneur and businessman. Chairman of the Board of the Russian-Libyan Trade House.
Belarus–NATO relations refers to relations between the Republic of Belarus and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbour in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; however, the Russian troops did not exit the country after they were supposed to finish. Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its territory, giving Russia the shortest possible land route to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. However, these forces withdrew within two months, thus ceasing land-based military operations originating from Belarus and resulting in the recapture of the Ukrainian side of the border region by Ukraine. Despite this, the situation along the border remains tense, with Ukraine closing the border checkpoints leading into Belarus, bar special cases.
