Belarus
Syllabification: (Be·la·rus)
Pronunciation: /ˌbeləˈro͞os, ˌbā-/
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Definition of Belarus
- a country in eastern Europe; population 9,648,500 (est. 2009); capital, Minsk; official language, Belorussian. Formerly called Belorussia, White Russia.
Belarus became a republic of the former Soviet Union in 1921. It gained independence as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991 but in 1996 signed a treaty with Russia that established a Community of Sovereign Republics. In 1999, Belarus signed another agreement with Russia for closer political and economic integration