BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
27/09/2008
Belarus election facts and figures: The difficult path to democracy
Key facts and figures in the history of Belarus
By Colin Freeman in Minsk
* Belarus literally means "White" or "Pure" Russia, a phrase believed variously to be a reference to its inhabitants' fair skin, their white traditional folk costumes, or the fact that its population avoided the 13th century Mongol ravages.
* Bordered by Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, and Poland and the Baltics to the north and west, it was originally both linguistically and culturally separate, but was steadily absorbed into Russia from the 1800s onwards.
* Its population today is 9.7 million, of whom 81 per cent are ethnic Belarussians, 11 per cent are Russians, 4 per cent Poles, and 2.5 per cent Ukrainians.
* Its heavy industries made it one of the most prosperous parts of the Soviet Union, but the erosion of Belarussian language and identity during Russification bequeathed it little distinctive to cling to after communism's collapse, making the path to democracy more difficult than elsewhere.
* It has been independent since 1991, although Belarussian and Russian citizens have reciprocal work rights in each others' countries. Belarussian gross national income was $10,740 per capita last year, compared with $14,400 in Russia and $42,740 in Britain.
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