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Country Guide > Europe > Belarus | |
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General Information Area 207,595 sq km (80,153 sq miles). Population 9,990,435 (2001). Population Density 48.1 per sq km. Capital Minsk. Population: 1,699,100 (2001). Geography Belarus is bordered by Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. It is covered largely by forests and lakes, which are rich in wildlife, and is crossed by major rivers such as the Dnieper. Government Republic since 1991. Head of State: President Aleksandr Lukashenko since 1994. Head of Government: Prime Minister Sergey Sidorsky since 2003. Language The official languages are Belarusian and Russian. Religion Christian, mainly Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic with small Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities. Time GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October). Electricity 220V, 50Hz. Adaptors are recommended. Communications Telephone IDD is available to all major cities, including Minsk (17) and Brest (162). Country code: 375. To make international calls it is necessary to dial 8, wait for a tone, then dial 10. Calls from Belarus to some countries must be booked through the international operator. Public telephones take cards. Grey booths are for internal calls and blue ones for international calls. Mobile telephone GSM 900/1800 network covers Minsk and other towns. Main operators are MTS (website: www.mts.by) and Velcom (website: www.velcom.by). Coverage is limited to main towns. Handsets can be hired at the airport (Belcel office) and in Minsk. Fax Services are available in all larger hotels in Minsk and other big cities. Faxes can also be sent from any of the state telegraph offices or from business centres. There are some public fax facilities. Internet There are a few Internet cafes in Minsk. Access is also available at some post offices. Local ISPs include Belpak (website: www.belpak.by) and Solo (website: www.solo.by). Telegram These can be sent from hotels and telephone offices. It is possible to book telegrams by telephoning 066. Post Airmail to Western Europe takes a minimum of 10 days. Larger hotels offer Poste Restante services. The Central Post Office (Minsk, near the railway station; open 0800-2000) and the Yubileynaya and Planeta hotels in Minsk offer express mail services. DHL Worldwide Express and Federal Express also have branches in Minsk. Press The English-language paper Belarus Today is published weekly. The principal dailies are Belorusskava Niva, Narodnaya Hazeta and Respublika, all printed in Belarusian and Russian. Sovetskaya Beloroussiya is printed in Russian. Zvyazda is printed in Belarusian. Most are government-controlled and government-subsidised. However, some leading privately owned newspapers survive, mainly due to popular demand. One of these if Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta, which temporarily closed in 2003 but has since resumed publication. Radio BC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |