Abstract
Belarus was fully integrated with Russia until the Gorbachev reforms of the mid-1980s encouraged demands for greater freedom. On 25 Aug. 1991 Belarus declared its independence and in Dec. it became a founder member of the CIS. The Communists retained power in Belarus despite formidable opposition and it was not until a new constitution was adopted in March 1994 that the economic reformers began to influence events. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elected president in July 1994. By 1996, only 11% of state enterprises had been privatized and the government remains pro-Russian, striving for eventual unification with Russia within the Russia-Belarus Union. A referendum held over 9–24 Nov. 1996 extended the President’s term of office from three to five years and increased his powers to rule by decree. The last two parliamentary elections have been criticized by the OSCE for a lack of transparency.
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Further Reading
Balmaceda, Margarita M., Independent Belarus: Domestic Determinants, Regional Dynamics and Implications for the West. Harvard Univ. Press, 2003
Korosteleva, Elena, Contemporary Belarus: Between Democracy and Dictatorship. Routledge Curzon, London, 2002
Marples, D. R., Belarus: from Soviet Rule to Nuclear Catastrophe. London, 1996
White, Stephen, Postcommunist Belarus. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2004
Zaprudnik, J., Belarus at the Crossroads in History. Boulder (CO), 1993
National Statistical Office: Ministry of Statistics and Analysis of the Republic of Belarus, 14 Partizansky Avenue, Minsk 220070.
Website: http://www.belstat.gov.by
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© 2008 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2008). Belarus. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-74027-7_125
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-74027-7_125
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-9278-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-74027-7
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