Narodnaja Volya is an independent opposition newspaper founded by Iosif Siaredzich.
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.
A four-question referendum was held in Belarus on 14 May 1995, alongside parliamentary elections. The four issues were the possibility of giving the Russian language equal status with Belarusian, whether new national symbols should be adopted, whether there should be economic integration with Russia and changes to the constitution that would allow early elections if Parliament systematically violated the constitution. According to official results, all four were approved by at least three-quarters of voters, with a turnout of 64.8%.
A seven-question referendum was held in Belarus on 24 November 1996. Four questions were put forward by President Alexander Lukashenko on changing the date of the country's independence day, amending the constitution, changing laws on the sale of land and the abolition of the death penalty. The Supreme Council put forward three questions on constitutional amendments by the Communist and Agrarian factions, local elections and the national finances.
Leanid Arturavič Zejdel-Volski, better known as Lavon Volski, is a Belarusian musician, writer, painter, and founder of the Belarusian rock groups Mroja, N.R.M., Zet, and Krambambula.
Anton Ivanavič Luckievič was a leading figure of the Belarusian independence movement in the early 20th century, an initiator of the proclamation of the independence of Belarus, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Belarusian Democratic Republic persecuted by the Soviet authorities. He was a brother of Ivan Luckievič.
Ludvika Sivickaja-Vojcik, known by her pen name Zośka Vieras, was a Belarusian writer and one of the initiators and active participants of the Belarusian national revival.
Tuzin.fm is a private non-profit Belarusian web-portal, which was created in 2003 to cover musical creativity in Belarus. Among its objectives, the site promotes music written in Belarus and motivates to listen to Belarusian songs as large an audience as possible. It initiates and implements music projects and is the information partner of the most significant events of the Belarusian independent music scene. Independently determining its information policy, the nature and content of the information, advertising, audio, and video materials, in 2009 the mass media had more than 50 thousand monthly visitors who downloaded more than 80 thousand songs.
Be Free was a Belarusian rock festival that took place in Ukraine since 2007. Bands from Poland, Ukraine, and France participated in the festival too.
The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.
OMON or AMAP is a Belarusian law enforcement force under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus (MUS).
Alexander Taraikovsky was a demonstrator who died in Minsk, Belarus, during the 2020 Belarusian protests in which the police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades against peaceful protestors. He was the first victim whose death was officially confirmed.
Raman Bandarenka was an aspiring Belarusian designer, and shop manager. His death is associated with the protests against the 2020 Belarusian presidential election. Raman Bandarenka died after reportedly being beaten by security forces. Police forces said they found him unconscious and called an ambulance.
Brestskaya Gazeta is a non-governmental newspaper from Brest, Belarus. Its first number came on November 18, 2002. The main language of the newspaper and its website is Russian, but some stories are written in Belarusian. Its latest issue is dated December 30, 2020.
Katsyaryna Andreeva is a journalist from Belarus. She worked for the television channel Belsat TV. She broadcast the event from the Square of Changes in Minsk where Raman Bandarenka was beaten to death in 2020. She was arrested on site on November 15, 2020.
Darya Chultsova is a journalist from Belarus. She worked for the television channel Belsat TV. She broadcast the event from the Square of Changes in Minsk where Raman Bandarenka was beaten to death in 2020. She was arrested on site on 15 November 2020.
"Mahutny Boža" is a famous Belarusian hymn, based on a poem by Natallia Arsiennieva and music by Mikola Ravienski. It was translated into English by Vera Rich.
Propaganda in Belarus is the practice of state directed communication in order to promote patriotism and acceptance of Lukashenko's rule. Propaganda is distributed through state media, such as Belarus-1, which are owned by Belteleradiocompany, but also educational institutions are used for it.
The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.
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.
