Belarus Facts & Worksheets

Premium

Download the Belarus Facts & Worksheets

Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home.

Download This Worksheet

This download is exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!

Sign Me Up

Already a member? Log in to download.

Download

Edit This Worksheet

Editing resources is available exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members.
To edit this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start editing!

Sign Up

Already a member? Log in to download.

Edit

This worksheet can be edited by Premium members using the free Google Slides online software. Click the Edit button above to get started.

The official name of Belarus is simply, the Republic of Belarus. It is a landlocked country, a country surrounded by land without any bordering seas, in the eastern part of Europe. Belarus has a Russian former name, which is Byelorussio or Belorussia.

See the fact file below for more information on the Belarus or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Belarus worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GENERAL FACTS

• The design of Belarus’ flag features the colors red and green, with a white ornament placed at the flag’s hoist or end.
• The current design for the flag of Belarus was introduced in 2012.
• The flag was a modification of a 1951 flag used while Belarus was still a part of the Soviet Union.
• The capital city of Belarus is the city of Minsk, which also happens to be Belarus’s largest city.
• The city of Minsk resides between the Svislach and Nyamiha rivers.
• Minsk is the 11th most populous city in Europe.
• A city as large as Minsk required a special administrative status in Belarus.
• Minsk is the administrative center of the Minsk Region and Minsk District.
• Belarus has two official languages: Belarusian and Russian.
• Belarusian is an East Slavic language native to Belarusians, or people who reside in Belarus.
• The Belarusian language is also spoken in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine.
• In Belarus, there are three recognized minority languages: Polish, Ukrainian, and Yiddish.
• While Belarusians compose the majority of ethnic groups living in Belarus, other ethnic groups like Russians, Poles, and Ukrainians inhabit the country as well.
• Citizens of Belarus are called Belarusians.
• Worldwide, there are over 9.5 million people proclaiming Belarusian ethnicity.
• In Belarus, there are about 7.95 million Belarusians.
• Belarus is governed as a unitary presidential republic.
• The current president of Belarus is Alexander Lukashenko.
• The current prime minister of Belarus is Roman Golovchenko.
• The laws of Belarus are legislated by a national assembly.

ETYMOLOGY

• Belaya Rus was the term closely related to the name Belarus; it means “White Rus’.” It is the archaic term referring to the cities of Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev, which are parts of present-day Belarus.
• The name was believed to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The slavs in this part of land were Christianized early.
• And so, it was called White Ruthenia or White Rus’, as opposed to Black Ruthenia, which was inhabited by Balts practicing paganism.

GEOGRAPHY

• To the northeast side of Belarus, Russia borders the country.
• Ukraine is Belarus’ southern border.
• To the west, Poland borders Belarus.
• Lithuania and Latvia reside to the northwestern border of Belarus.
• Over 40% of Belarus is forested, which equates to 207,600 square kilometers of land.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Principality of Polotsk (987-1397)
  • Also known as Duchy of Polotsk or the Polotskian Rus.
  • It was a principality of the early Slavic people in Eastern Europe that existed in the medieval times.
  • It was believed to have been established by the tribal union of Krivichs in the ancient town of Polotsk, which is now Polatsk, Belarus.
  • The Principality of Polotsk is now a part of present day Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia.
• Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1236-1795)
  • A state founded by Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group or tribe that originated from Aukštaitija, a region of Lithuania.
  • The state operated in a hereditary monarchy from 1230 until 1572.
  • From 1572 until the state’s dissolution, the state’s monarch was elected.
  • Their first king was Mindaugas.
  • Their last monarch was Stanislaw August Poniatowski.
• Russian Empire (1795-1918)
  • The third partition of Poland began in 1795, done by the Russian Empire, Prussia, and Austria.
  • Under the reign of Catherine II, Belarusian land was acquired by Imperial Russia.
  • Ethnic cultures were repressed and Russification drives were done.
  • The Belarusian People’s Republic was established on March 25, 1918, as Belarus declared independence over German occupation.
• Belarusian People’s Republic (1918-1919)
  • The attempt to create the Belarusian People’s Republic didn’t succeed as Belarusian land was still occupied by the German Imperial Army.
• Republic of Central Lithuania & Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR (1920-1922)
• The Republic of Central Lithuania served as a buffer state for Poland.
  • The republic was created after the 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division of the Polish Army rebelled.
  • The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic also emerged in 1919, and merged to form the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.
  • In 1922, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
• Independence (December 26, 1991)
  • Belarus declared itself as sovereign on July 27, 1990.
  • On August 25, 1991, Belarus changed its name to the Republic of Belarus.
  • On December 8, 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was declared.

Belarus Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Belarus across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Belarus worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Belarus which is a landlocked country, a country surrounded by land without any bordering seas, in the eastern part of Europe. Belarus has a Russian former name, which is Byelorussio or Belorussia.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• Belarus Facts
• Mapping Belarus
• Belarus or Bluff
• History Review
• Flag-Inspired Symbol
• Belarusian Cuisine
• Cities of Belarus
• Illustrated Itinerary
• Born in Belarus
• One Pic, Two Captions
• Belarus Acrostics

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Belarus Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 4, 2020