Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mogilev and Vitebsk . Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, the lands of modern day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of... Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. As a result of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when lands that were part of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland.
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| Founded: | July 27, 1990 |
| Capital: | Minsk |
| Population: | 9,732,500 |
| Official language: | Belarusian language, Russian Language |
| Currency: | Belarusian ruble |
| GDP: | $57,680,000,000 |
| Form of government: | Presidential system, Republic |