Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe.

Its capital is Minsk; other major cities

include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty
percent of its 207,600 km2 (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors
are agriculture and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, the lands of modern day Belarus belonged
to several countries. The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on 27
July 1990, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence on 25
August 1991. Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994. Under his lead
and despite objections from Western governments, Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of
the economy, have been implemented. Most of Belarus's population of 9.85 million reside in the
urban areas surrounding Minsk and other voblast (regional) capitals. More than 80% of the
population are ethnic Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians, Poles and Ukrainians. Since a
controversial 1995 referendum, Russian has been an official language alongside Belarusian.

More featured articles More...

edit
In this month

 1 January 2006 – University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic

Sciences started, when it and the College of Earth and Energy were spun off of the old College
of Geosciences
 12 January 2001 – National Geographic Channel launched in the United States
 25 January 1983 – Creation of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía (pictured) in Mexico
 27 January 1888 – Formation of the National Geographic Society
More anniversaries...
edit
Did you know...

 ...that Lady Isle (pictured), a small Scottish island in the Firth of Clyde, is Britain's first seabird
reserve?
 ... that the Syrian city of Tell Rifaat dates back to the Iron Age when it was
an Aramaean settlement known as "Arpad"?
 ... that a grey sandstone wall is all that remains of Caludon Castle in Coventry, whose history
stretches back to pre-Norman times?

More did you know More...

edit
Things you can do
 Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

 Article requests : See Requested articles/Social sciences/Geography, cities, regions and named
places and Missing articles about Locations
 Assess : Tag related article talk pages with {{WikiProject Geography}} . To help assess the
quality and importance of geography articles, please see: Unassessed geography
articles and Unknown-importance geography articles.
 Cleanup : See Geography articles needing attention
Geography
Geography of China
Holarctic
Philosophy of geography
Valley

 Copyedit : Geographical feature

Glossary of geography terms
List of world map changes
Regions of North America (See Regions of Africa)
Regions of Oceania
Regions of South America
Demographics of Asia (See Demographics of Africa)
Outer Continental Shelf
Tied island

 Deletion sorting : Listed at Geographic related deletion discussions

 Expand : List of geographers
 Geographical coordinates : See Articles missing geocoordinate data by country
 Infobox : See Geography articles needing infoboxes
 Map : See Wikipedia requested maps
 Notability : See Geography articles with topics of unclear notability
 Photo : See Wikipedia requested photographs of places
 Stubs : See Geography stubs
edit
Featured biography

Sylvanus Morley was an American archaeologist, epigrapher and Mayanist scholar who made
significant contributions towards the study of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in the early 20th
century. He is particularly noted for his extensive excavations of the Maya site of Chichen Itza. He
also published several large compilations and treatises on Maya hieroglyphic writing, and wrote
popular accounts on the Maya for a general audience. To his contemporaries he was one of the
leading Mesoamerican archaeologists of his day; although more recent developments in the field
have resulted in a re-evaluation of his theories and works, his publications (particularly
on calendric inscriptions) are still cited. Overall, his commitment and enthusiasm for Maya studies
would generate the interest and win the necessary sponsorship and backing to finance projects
which would ultimately reveal much about the Maya of former times. In his role as director of various
projects sponsored by the Carnegie Institution, he oversaw and encouraged many others who later
established notable careers in their own right. His involvement in clandestine espionage activities at
the behest of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence was another, surprising, aspect of his career,
which came to light only well after his death.

More featured biographies More...

edit
Categories

▼ Geography
► Geography by place
► Geographers
► Geography-related lists
► Geography awards
► Branches of geography
► Geographic classifications
► Geography conferences
► Geography education
► Environmental studies
► Exploration
► Geocodes
► Geographic data and information
► Geographical superlatives
► Geographical zones
► Geography competitions
► History of geography
► Land systems
► Landscape
► Music by geography
► Musicians by geography
► Navigation
► Geography organizations
► Places
► Geographical regions
► Surveying
► Geographical technology
► Geography terminology
► Time zones
► Works about geography
► Geographic images
► Geography stubs
edit
WikiProjects

Parent project
  WikiProject Geography
Descendant projects
 Caves
 Cities
 Countries
 Country subdivisions
 Demographics
 Deserts
 Former countries
 Geographical coordinates
 Glaciers
 Islands
 Lakes
 Maps
 Mountains
 Protected areas
 Rivers
 Subdivisions of former countries
 Tropical cyclones
 Urban studies and planning
 Volcanoes
 Waterfalls
Related projects

 WikiProject Globalization
What are WikiProjects?
edit
Featured picture

Credit: Murdockcrc

A view of the High Engadin valley in Switzerland, from Muottas Muragl. The Engadin follows the
route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into
Austria 100 km (62 mi) downstream. The Engadin is protected by high mountains on all sides and is
famous for its sunny climate, beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities.
More featured pictures More...
edit
Selected quote

“
I look at the geological record as a history of the world imperfectly kept, and written in a
changing dialect; of this history we possess the last volume alone, relating only to two or
three countries. Of this volume, only here and there a short chapter has been preserved; and
of each page, only here and there a few lines. Each word of the slowly-changing language,
more or less different in the successive chapters, may represent the forms of life, which are
entombed in our consecutive formations, and which falsely appear to have been abruptly
introduced. On this view, the difficulties above discussed are greatly diminished, or even
disappear. ”
— Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1902 edition, Part Two (1902)
More selected quotes