Nonetheless, Washington has taken steps to improve its diplomatic relationship with Minsk in recent times. Insulting the president is punishable by up to five years in prison, and criticizing Belarus abroad is punishable by up to two years behind bars. Market data provided by Factset. Nevertheless, between 50% and two-thirds of people are believed to still favour the practice. .css-8h1dth-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-8h1dth-Link:hover,.css-8h1dth-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. ... has been given rare access to the country often described as Europe’s "last dictatorship". Because there are two official languages spoken in Belarus: Belarusian and Russian. If you ever visit Belarus, you might want to purchase a metal detector and go treasure hunting! "Their concern isn't external aggression, but internal suppression of its people," noted Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, a Defense Priorities expert analyst.

He, like all the others, was never told where he was going, said his daughter, Alexandra. She has extensively reported from war zones including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and Latin America investigates global conflicts, war crimes and terrorism around the world. But unlike classical authoritarian places that govern other regions of the world, there are no state-sanctioned presidential posters and statues or billboards erected on buildings on the independence square in Lukashenko's likeness. "If you want to see what the USSR was like, go to [its capital] Minsk. Nights are spent in bars with vodka pairings, summers in forest homes known as "dachas," and winters gliding through ice-skating rinks – now one of the most popular recreational activities, coupled with ice hockey, considered a personal favorite pastime of Lukashenko. "It's on the way towards abolition and we hope it'll be sooner rather than later.". Facts about Dictatorship 10: Mobutu Sese Seko.

"They're treated as if they're already dead.". "Obama made a mistake when he pointed an empty gun at Russia during the Ukraine crisis. About nine million people live there.

An interesting fact about Belarus is that it is estimated that over a thousand treasures have been found in Belarus over the past two centuries. © 2020 BBC.

", Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a news conference in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. There is no road rage nor voracious car-honking. Most colleges and universities charge money, and a lot of it. The whole procedure is said to last some two minutes. Those convicted, usually for homicides with aggravating circumstances, are kept in one of the high-security cells in the basement of Pre-trial Detention Centre 1, a jail set up in the building of a 19th Century castle, now partially collapsed, in the centre of the capital Minsk.

This erosion caused by glacial action is also responsible for the elevated number of lakes and rivers that are found in the Belarusian territory.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'factsking_com-leader-2','ezslot_11',135,'0','0'])); However, tourists visiting Belarus will be surprised to find mountain-like elevations on a land that is technically supposed to be flat. For the 10 months he spent on death row, Gennady Yakovitsky could only tell whether it was day or night by the dim light filtering through the protective cover on the window of his cell, where the white lamps stayed on even while he slept. According to DHS officials at the time, the department conducted a global review of countries last year and deemed several – of which Belarus was named – a public safety threat. "He is called the last dictator in Europe because Belarus has basically continued to be a Soviet-style state. About 40% of its 80,000 square miles long territory is covered by primeval forests, including the famous Białowieża Forest, which is known to be one of the oldest forests in the world, an interesting fact about Belarus.
These lakes and rivers were all formed many years ago due to the melting of an important glacier in the region.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'factsking_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_9',131,'0','0'])); There aren’t many countries across the globe offering free higher education for students. Only weeks or even months later are their relatives informed. Putin reportedly has his sights on the country and wants to annex it into Russia. Gennady Yakovitsky, who lived in Vileyka, a town about 100km (60 miles) from Minsk, had been accused of killing his 35-year-old partner in their flat after two days of drinking with friends in July 2015, according to reports by human rights groups. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Belarus is one of the European countries that we rarely hear about. The inmates are blindfolded and taken to a specially-arranged room where access is restricted only to those allowed by the prosecutor: never a member of the public, according to accounts from former agents.

Pompeo also sought to ease rising tensions between Minsk and Moscow, although Belarus is seemingly on the wish list of Russian President Putin. All rights reserved. His personal life, too, is a topic of private whispers – his high school sweetheart and wife, Galinka, has long been living on a farm far from the capital. Until then, Belarus is likely to remain the only European country outside the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights watchdog. "Ultimately Belarus will have to choose the way it's going to abolish the death penalty," said Tatiana Termacic, from the Council's Human Rights and Rule of Law Directorate. I hope that this article on Belarus facts was helpful! Meanwhile, a group in parliament is now discussing what can be done, but observers say it may take some time before any decision is taken. Belarus boasts four world heritage sites, including two castles at Mir Nezvizh, brought to life in the 16th century. Last month, the European Union extended an arms embargo and asset freeze on Belarus through to 2021. "More and more people are speaking against the death penalty," said Andrei Paluda, co-ordinator of the campaign Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus. Hollie McKay has a been a Fox News Digital staff reporter since 2007. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He was held in isolation, any walk outdoors was forbidden. Belarus has some peculiar and interesting facts about it that are certainly worth it getting to know. But how much longer Lukashenko will rule the country is unclear. Read about our approach to external linking. "If a country doesn't issue modern, electronic passports; report loss or theft of their nationals' passports to Interpol or to the U.S.; shares on request, other identity information the U.S. can use to validate the identity of a passport holder, it can be deemed deficient," she explained. But wedged between Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, Belarus is also a growing technology center. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Then stick with us and let’s go on this knowledge journey together! MINSK, Belarus – It has been dubbed by critics as the "last dictatorship" in Europe and for decades has been one of the world's most closed countries. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @holliesmckay. "The guards said sarcastically: 'You still have a little time left'.". Some European countries, like Sweden and Germany, offer full-time free higher education for all students.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'factsking_com-leader-1','ezslot_1',132,'0','0'])); Belarus, in turn, offers free higher education for all of the students that enroll in their state-owned higher education institutions, however, only 50% of the participants that perform better in their admission exams get to have free education. But its history is one with tragedy and bloodshed. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! On one of her eight visits, Alexandra, then 27, complained to him about the long time it was taking to receive a new passport. The U.S. did impose sanctions on nine state-owned entities and 16 individuals – including Lukashenko – in 2006 in the wake of a presidential election much of the international community considered to be contrived. However, that doesn’t mean that Belarusians can’t have fun with water activities.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'factsking_com-banner-1','ezslot_8',130,'0','0'])); This country has several water bodies other than the ocean. Yet the former Soviet nation has no recent history of terror attacks. "The conditions are appalling," said Aisha Jung, Amnesty's campaigner on Belarus, who worked for a decade on the country's executions. Yakovitsky had already been sentenced to death for murder in 1989, but this was commuted to a 15-year jail term. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The country was overtaken by Nazi occupation between 1941 and 1944, bringing about the absolute destruction of more than two-thirds of its cities and decimating its Jewish population. Do you remember that at the beginning of this text we mentioned that Belarus was crucial to the environment? Its intelligence unit is still called the KGB.