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Weird.
Belarus or Bielarus
is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered
by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south,
Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the
north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include
Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mahilyow (Mahilou)
and Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of the country
is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are
agriculture and manufacturing.
Until the 20th century, the Belarusians lacked the opportunity
to create a distinctive national identity because for
centuries the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to
several ethnically different countries, including the
Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the short-lived
Belarusian People's Republic (1918–19), Belarus
became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the
Byelorussian SSR...
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