Belarus Country Brief

Overview

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe that borders the Russian Federation to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk. One-third of the country is forested, and agriculture and manufacturing are its strongest economic sectors.

Most of Belarus’s population of 9.6 million reside in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other oblast (regional) capitals. Since a referendum in 1995, the country has had two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. Belarus celebrates its National Day on 3 July.

Political overview

Belarus gained independence from the former Soviet Union on 25August 1991. It is a presidential republic. A new constitution was adopted in 1994. It has twice been amended by referendum - first in 1996, giving the President increased powers and establishing a bicameral parliamentary system; and again in 2004 to allow the President to run for more than two terms.

The parliament consists of an upper house, or the Council of the Republic, with 64 members, and a lower chamber, or House of Representatives, with 110 members. The President appoints the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and eight members of the Council (upper house). All members of the House of Representatives are elected by popular vote. The next parliamentary elections are due before October 2008.

The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The current President, Aleksandr Lukashenko, was elected in July 1994, and re-elected in September 2001 and again in March 2006. The current Prime Minister is Sergei Sidorsky.

The result of the 2004 referendum to change the constitution to enable the President to run for a third consecutive term was disputed by independent observers, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which assessed that the vote fell significantly short of international standards (the official result indicated almost 80 per cent support for the change). The result allowed President Lukashenko to run for a third term. Mr Lukashenko was subsequently returned following elections held on 19 March 2006. These were also condemned by OSCE, which criticised biased media coverage and harassment of opposition supporters. Protests following the March 2006 Presidential election were reportedly the largest seen in Belarus for over a decade.

President Lukashenko has been the target of increasingly sharp international criticism since 2001. Particular areas of concern include control of the bureaucracy, the media and the use of state security apparatus. The Government of Belarus carries a poor human rights record, and Australia, in 2006 and 2007, co-sponsored UN General Assembly resolutions which expressed deep concern at the continuing violation of human rights in Belarus.

Following the flawed 2006 Presidential elections a number of countries including the United States and EU imposed measures on Belarus including travel and financial restrictions and some restrictions on official dealings with the Belarusian government. This notwithstanding the EU, in November 2006, offered Belarus a full partnership, as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy, provided Belarus takes convincing steps towards democratisation, respect for human rights and the rule of law.

President Lukashenko has directed effort into maintaining amicable relations with friendly countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and has particularly sought to develop a closer relationship with Russia. A framework for the Union of Russia and Belarus was set out in the Treaty on the Formation of a Community of Russia and Belarus (1996), the Treaty on Russia-Belarus Union, the Union Charter (1997), and the Treaty of the Formation of a Union State (1999). The integration treaties contain commitments towards monetary union, equal rights, single citizenship, and a common defence and foreign policy.

The Belarus-Russia bilateral relationship, however, has suffered some setbacks since President Putin took office, as Russia has pursued an increasingly assertive line toward all the CIS countries, even traditionally close allies such as Belarus. In August 2002, Putin proposed that, rather than a union, Belarus be fully absorbed as a component member of the Russian Federation or, failing this, that some kind of association based on the EU be attempted. Putin publicly stated in November 2002 that in the past Russia had given too much to Belarus and that now it was time to take something back. The union was discussed during President Putin’s visit to Belarus in December 2007, but no outcomes were announced and meaningful union between the two countries appears as far away as ever.

Economic overview

Belarus had been one of the more prosperous parts of the USSR in the Soviet post-war years, but with independence came economic decline. President Lukashenko has opposed the privatisation of state enterprises and foreign investors have largely stayed away.

Belarus has seen little structural reform in its economy since 1995 when President Lukashenko embarked on a program of ‘market socialism’. Under this program the Presidential administration re-imposed state control over the large Soviet-era industrial enterprises, and over the management of private enterprise. Around three quarters of the economy is under Government control. As a result, small to medium-sized businesses and foreign investors have found it difficult to enter the market.

Over 80 per cent of agricultural land is state-owned and most agricultural land is communally farmed. Collective and state farms are heavily subsidised. Real GDP growth in 2006 was around 9.9 percent, albeit from a low base.

Belarus is dependent on Russia to meet its energy needs and it remains an important part of Russia’s gas corridor to Western Europe. The energy relationship came to a head at the end of 2006 when Moscow threatened to cut the gas supply until Belarus agreed to a deal more than doubling the price, bringing prices more in line with the international market. Belarus retaliated by threatening to block Russian gas supplies to Europe. An eleventh-hour deal averted the disruption to gas supplies.

The dependence of Belarus on Russia has yielded some benefits: some of Belarus’ energy debts to Russia have been written off and others have been met on barter terms. Belarus has also benefited from the establishment of the CIS customs union. President Putin, however, has indicated that in the future Russia will not be willing to prop up the Belarusian economy.

Bilateral relationship

Australia recognised the Republic of Belarus following its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Australia’s Ambassador in Moscow is accredited to Minsk. Belarus has no resident representation in Australia.

Bilateral economic and trade relationship

The Australia-Belarusian trade relationship is modest. Two-way merchandise trade in 2006-07 was A$34million, the large majority made up of the Australian importation of more than A$26million of rubber tyres and nearly A$5 million worth of transport vehicles. Australia exported A$108,000 of alcoholic beverages to Belarus in the same period.