Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bounded to the north by Latvia; to the east by Russia; to the south by the Ukraine; to the west by Poland; and to the north-west by Lithuania. Its capital is Minsk - other major cities include Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev and Vitebsk.

Historically, the country was referred to in English as "White Russia", and was used to describe the areas of Ivan the Terrible's empire. It is still known as such in a number of languages, including German (Weißrussland) and Turkish (Beyaz Rusya).

During its history, parts of Belarus have been under the control of several countries, including the Duchy of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus officially declared independence on 25 August 1991.