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.
Minsk is the capital and 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).
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and to date, only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making him the current longest-serving head of state in Europe.
Interstate relations between the United States and Belarus began in 1991 upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, of which Belarus had been a part. However, the relations have turned negative due to accusations by the United States that Belarus has been violating human rights. Belarus, in turn, has accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs.
The Minsk Metro is a rapid transit system that serves Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Opened 29 June 1984, it presently consists of 3 lines and 33 stations, totaling 40.8 kilometres (25.4 mi). In 2013, the system carried 328.3 million passengers, which averages to a daily ridership of approximately 899,450. In 2023, the system carried 233.9 million passengers, which averages to a daily ridership of approximately 640,800.
Minska is a station on Kyiv Metro's Obolonsko–Teremkivska Line. The station was opened on 6 November 1982 in the Obolonskyi Raion of Kyiv. It was designed by I.L. Maslenkov, T.A. Tselikovska, and F.M. Zaremba. The station takes its name from the Minskyi Raion in which it is situated.
Belarus and Ukraine both are full members of the Baku Initiative and Central European Initiative. In 2020, during the Belarusian protests against president Lukashenko, the relationship between Ukraine and Belarus began to deteriorate, after the Ukrainian government criticized Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. In the waning days of 2021, the relationship between both countries rapidly deteriorated, culminating in a full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Belarus has allowed the stationing of Russian troops and equipment in its territory and its use as a springboard for offensives into northern Ukraine but has denied the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. Even though part of the Russian invasion was launched from Belarus, Ukraine did not break off diplomatic relations with Belarus, but remain frozen. In July 2024, Lukashenko described Ukraine as an enemy.
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 2011 Minsk Metro bombing took place on 11 April 2011 when 15 people were killed and 204 were injured when a bomb exploded within the Minsk Metro, Belarus. The explosion happened at the central Kastryčnickaja station at 17:55 local time.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Minsk, Belarus.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August.
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.
Kavaĺskaja Slabada is a Minsk Metro station. It is located at the intersection of Žukoŭskaha and Varanianskaha streets. The station was opened 6 November, 2020 as the southern terminus of the line.
A constitutional referendum was held in Belarus on 27 February 2022. The referendum was ordered by President Alexander Lukashenko in January 2022. According to political analysts, changes to the Belarusian constitution were intended to solidify the power of Lukashenko's regime after the mass protests in 2020 and 2021, which challenged his rule and was brutally suppressed by police. More than 35,000 people were arrested, 1,070 of whom are acknowledged political prisoners. The changes to the Constitution allow Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035 and empower the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, an extra-parliamentary body dominated by government supporters. The changes also renounced Belarus's nuclear-free zone status, allowing Belarus to host nuclear weapons for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union; the lead-up to the referendum occurred as Russia amassed its troops in both Russia and Belarus in the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the election itself was held several days after Russia began its military offensive into Ukraine.
Nexta is a Belarusian media outlet that is primarily distributed through Telegram and YouTube channels. The YouTube channel was founded by then 17-year-old student Stsiapan Putsila. The channel's headquarters are located in Warsaw, Poland, after its founder went into exile.
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.
Aeradromnaya is a Minsk Metro station on Zelenaluzhskaya line. It was opened on 30 December 2024 by Alexander Lukashenko as a part of three-station extension of the line from Kavalskaya Slabada to Slutski Hastsinets. The adjacent stations are Kavalskaya Slabada and Nemarshanski Sad.
Nemarshanski Sad is a Minsk Metro station on Zelenaluzhskaya line. It was opened on 30 December 2024 by Alexander Lukashenko as a part of three-station extension of the line from Kavalskaya Slabada to Slutski Hastsinets. The adjacent stations are Aeradromnaya and Slutski Hastsinets.
Slutski Hastsinets is a Minsk Metro station on Zelenaluzhskaya line. It is the southern terminus of the line. It was opened on 30 December 2024 by Alexander Lukashenko as a part of three-station extension of the line from Kavalskaya Slabada to Slutski Hastsinets. The adjacent station is Nemarshanski Sad.
