70% of the radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fell on Belarus โ not Ukraine โ contaminating a quarter of the country's agricultural land.
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You'll explore Belarus through the Soviet-built streets of Minsk, Alexander Lukashenko's decades-long grip on power, the dramatic 2020 contested election and the protests led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the ancient Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest and its iconic European bison, the Chernobyl fallout that scarred a quarter of the country, Belarusian cultural staples like draniki potato pancakes, and surprising facts like Marc Chagall's roots in Vitebsk and how the country quietly became a gaming powerhouse.
Belarus is frequently called Europe's last dictatorship because Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994, holding power through elections widely condemned as fraudulent by international observers. Press freedom is severely restricted, political opponents are jailed or exiled, and the security apparatus โ still called the KGB โ operates largely as it did in Soviet times.
The August 2020 presidential election was widely regarded as fraudulent after Lukashenko claimed 80% of the vote. Mass protests erupted across the country, led in part by opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who had received overwhelming public support. Lukashenko responded with a violent crackdown โ thousands were arrested, beaten, and tortured. Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania, and the protests were ultimately suppressed.
No, Belarus is an independent country, though it is closely aligned with Russia. The two nations formed the Union State of Russia and Belarus in 1999, a political and economic alliance with aspirations toward deeper integration. Belarus allowed Russian troops to use its territory to launch part of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, cementing its role as a close Russian partner, but it retains its own government, currency, and sovereignty.
Last updated: March 2026