Belarus

Belarus (Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian: Белоруссия/Беларусь) (formerly known as Byelorussia or Belorussia - sometimes still referred to these) is a country located in eastern Europe. Belarus is bordered by Lithuania and  Latvia to the north,  Russia to the north and east,  Ukraine to the south, and  Poland to the west.

Belarus is quite popular within the fandom, known mostly to the fandom as Russia's sibling. They are mostly seen with their sibling, Russia, or their sibling, Ukraine. They can be seen as both genders, however, the most commonly drawn gender is female.

Appearance
They are usually seen with an oversized, oriental red and white patterned scarf and a green and red jumper or sweater underneath. For bottoms, they usually wear a skirt or jeans.

However, some people picture them as more feminine, wearing a red and white patterned skirt or dress.

Personality
Belarus is usually described as cheerful, playful, and warm-hearted, but can be portrayed only faking their happiness. They are fiercely loyal to Russia and Ukraine, (despite them both not getting along all the best) and they adore their family.

Belarus can also be shown more negatively, sometimes being depicted as depressed or antisocial. In reference to Hetalia, they can also be depicted as having feelings toward Russia (despite being siblings), though this is rare and not seen much throughout the fandom.

Interests
Belarus has an interest in sports. Even during the Soviet era, they participated in events, such as the Olympics, and did rather well. (They played as the Soviet Union until they declared independence.) They have a total of 52 medals, with 6 of them being gold.

Belarus also has an interest in sports such as football/soccer, ice hockey (which is the most popular national sport), tennis, and cycling. Belarus is also well known for its strong rhythmic gymnasts.

Flag meaning
The green stripe symbolizes the future. The red represents Belarus' past and the blood of the country's defenders. The Belarusian flag's decorative pattern symbolizes Belarus' rich cultural heritage, its spiritual continuity, and the unity of its people.

Etymology
Belarus is related to the phrase Belaya Rus which means White Rus, the term Rus is usually merged with its Latin form: Ruthenia and Russia, therefore Belarus is sometimes referred to as White Ruthenia or White Russia.

The Belarusian States
Between the 9th and 12th century, the Principality of Polotsk (Northern Belarus) had risen as the dominant centre of power on (modern-day) Belarusian territory, with a lesser role played by the Principality of Turaŭ (a medieval East Slavic principality and important subdivision of Kievan Rus' since the 10th century on the territory of modern southern Belarus and northern Ukraine) in the south.

It made sure to assert it's sovereignty, and it eventually had risen as the political capital and the controller of subjective territories among Baltics countries in the west.

The city built a Cathedral, (Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom) (1044–66) and it still exists today, (?) though being completely rebuilt over the course of the years. During this Polatsk period, a lot of work was established, including, transcribed books, promoted literacy and sponsored art.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Era
Eventually, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania chose to unite, thus giving birth to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Belarus was a part of it for a long time and went to war with others such as the Russian Empire and Sweden. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to an end with the Partitions of Poland, giving the Russian Empire, the Austrian Empire, and the Kingdom of Prussia a lot of new territories. Belarus was handed over to the Russian Empire, starting the Russian Empire Era

Russian Empire Era
Over time, Polish influence in Belarus was slowly dissolving Belarusian culture. Polish nationalism ignited the explosion of Belarusian self-identity. In 1830, the Litvin Catholic Szlachta began the November Uprising. After its failure, Nicholas 1 initiated a systemic policy of cracking down on Polish influence in the modern lands of Belarus that was claimed by the Russian tzars earlier. In 1839, the ruling class was eliminated, and the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church changed to Eastern Orthodoxy under Joseph Semashko. As this was happening, Belarus was studying its own language again. Belarusian literary tradition was reborn, but it often had to veil itself behind the labels as "Polish" or even "Bulgarian" because Russian censorship did not tolerate the national movement up until the Revolution of 1905.

World Wars & Soviet Era
In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union occupied Poland, sparking World War II. Much of the northern section of the invaded was added to the Byelorussian SSR and now composes Western Belarus. Statistically speaking, the Byelorussian SSR was the hardest-hit Soviet republic in World War II; it remained in Nazi hands until 1944, so, for most of the war. The population of Belarus did not recover its pre-war population until 1971 as over 1 million were have thought to be killed. It was also after this conflict that the final borders of Belarus were set by Stalin when parts of Belarusian territory were given to the newly annexed Lithuania.

In 1945, so after the war, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with/under the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR (now modernly known today as Ukraine). The parliament of the republic proclaimed the sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 25 August 1991 and changed their name to the Republic of Belarus.

Geography
Belarus is a heavily forested, flat, low-lying country. (The average elevation is 162 meters (531 ft) above sea level). It is a landlocked country with a total area of 207,600 square kilometers. It is slightly smaller than that of the United Kingdom. It borders Russia to the east and northeast, Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, and Ukraine to the south.

Belarus' population is 9.508 million. The capital is Minsk, which is Belarus' largest city. Minsk has a population of almost 2 million.

Family

 * Bosnia and Herzegovina — cousin
 * Bulgaria — brother/sister
 * Croatia — cousin
 * Czech Republic — cousin
 * Montenegro — cousin
 * North Macedonia — cousin
 * Poland — cousin
 * Russia — brother/sister
 * Serbia — cousin-husband (depends on the person)
 * Slovakia — cousin
 * Slovenia — cousin
 * Ukraine — brother/sister

Friends
Due to its strained relations with the United States and the European Union, as well as occasional high-level disputes with Russia over prices on core imported natural resources such as oil and gas, Belarus aims to develop better relations with countries in other regions like Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.
 * Russia — "great friend/business partner"
 * Mozambique — "fighting terrorism together!"
 * Ecuador — "lets me come and go as I please"
 * Azerbaijan — "stuck through the hard times with me under USSR"
 * Iran — "great partner/good friend"
 * Israel — "one of closest friends"
 * Malaysia — "repairing his military aircraft"
 * Kazakhstan — "A great friend"

Neutral

 * European Union — "Also have strained relations. Doesn't really trust me, but I guess we're okay with each other. Doesn't let me impose economic sanctions."
 * Ukraine —" We had our differences, I tried to get along with her while trying to not losing my friendship with Russia, I was stuck in between them most of the time during that, but she betrayed me, so our relations went up and down ..."

Enemies

 * United States of America — "strained relations. Not the greatest to hang out with, you meddled in my private affairs with other countries and I didn't even oblige to it..."

Russia
Russia and Belarus' relations are very close, with Belarus being Russia's biggest business partner and support, they seemingly get along much better than Ukraine and Russia. Usually, when fights break out and Russia is involved, Belarus will most likely take Russia's side. They sometimes get stuck between Ukraine and Russia's business and they still all get into arguments, but overall, they are friends.

Ukraine
Despite Ukraine and Russia's sour relations, Ukraine and Belarus used to get along perfectly fine. Belarus sometimes felt stuck in between both Russia and Ukraine and fights for both of the countries which creates conflict and confusion for themselves. Ukraine was supporting Belarus and overall, they get along. But when Ukraine betrayed Russia, Belarus considered it a betrayal of her as well, so their relations went up and down, they no longer get along as before, but things didn't get that bad.

Kazakhstan
Belarus has a very good relationship with Kazakhstan. They can be only compared to Belarus' relations with Russia. These two countries together with Belarus have always promoted the kindest relations between nations, especially after the Soviet Union dissolved. Diplomatic relations were established on September 16, 1992.