Belarus

Belarus (formerly known as Byelorussia or Belorussia.) is 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 her sibling, Russia, or their sibling, Ukraine. They can be seen as both genders, however, the most commonly drawn gender is female.

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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.

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 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.

Early history
Early Belarus was formed by several tribes consisting of the Kryvians, Drehovians, Radzimians, and many smaller Baltic tribes. These East Slavs had a thriving economy which traded game, honey, amber, agriculture and more. During the 9th and 10th centuries, Scandinavian vikings established a rich trade route from Scandinavia through the East Slav territories to the Byzantine Empire, allowing them to gradually take rule over the East Slavs, but only enough so to improve trade.

Later, the Rus' allied with the Bulgars to invade the Byzantine Empire, therefore opening the country for Christianization and acculturation from the Byzantine Empire. The Kievan Rus' then set a loose trade network through the preexisting trade routes, with Novgorod (now Russia), Polatsk ( in Belarus), and Kiev (now Ukraine) being the major centers.

Because of the boost the trade routes gave Polotsk, it became the dominant power in Belarus territory, with Turau to the south playing a lesser role. It repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over other Rus' centers and became a political capital. At this time, much famous art, like the national treasure "Cross of Euphrosyne" was created, and religious reforms took place

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 sparked 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 tthe labels as "Polish" or even "Bulgarian" because Russian censorship did not tolerate the national movement up until the Revolution of 1905.

In the 1860's, the pro- Russian and pro-Polish parties noticed that the role of decision in upcoming conflicts was turning more and more to the peasantry. Therefore, a large amount of propaganda targeted at the peasantry appeared.

BNR and LBSSR Era
Minsk was taken by the Germans on February 21, 1918. At the end of WW1, when Belarus was still controlled by Germany, Belarus was declared part of the German Mitteleuropa plan. On December 3, 1918, the Germans withdrew from Minsk, and on December 10, Soviet troops recaptured it. In January, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia was declared, but on February 17, it was disbanded. Part of it was taken into the Russian SFSR, and part was taken to form the LBSSR (Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, also called "Litbel").

When the capital, Vilnius, was captured by Polish troops on April 17, 1919, the puppet state was moved to Minsk. On July 17 of the same year, Lenine dissolved Litbel because Polish forces were advancing from the West. They then captured Minsk on August 8, 1919.

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 kilometres. 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 - (brother/sister)
 * Bulgaria - (brother/sister)
 * Croatia - (brother/sister)
 * Czech Republic - (brother/sister)
 * Montenegro - (brother/sister)
 * North Macedonia - (brother/sister)
 * Poland - (brother/sister)
 * Russia - (brother/sister)
 * Serbia - (brother/sister)
 * Slovakia - (brother/sister)
 * Slovenia - (brother/sister)
 * Ukraine - (brother/sister)
 * USSR - (father/mother)

Friends

 * Russia - great friend/business partner
 * Ukraine - best friend and great support
 * 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

Neutral

 * America - not the greatest to hang out with, you meddled in my private affairs with other countries...

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 get along perfectly fine. Belarus sometimes feels stuck in between both Russia and Ukraine and fights for both of the countries which creates conflict and confusion for themselves. Ukraine seems to support Belarus and overall, they get along.