Belarus

A landlocked country in Eastern Europe, Belarus is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest.

Capital is Minsk.

The official languages are Russian and Belarusian which is an East Slavic language.

Population, 9,440,421. Size, 207,600 km^2.

The official currency is the Belarusian Ruble.

The main religious groups are Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, and Baptists.

Major cities include Homyel, Hrondna, Mogilev, and Brest.

Draniki is the national dish which is a potato fritter/pancake. Principal crops include barley, rye, oats, and wheat, as well as potatoes, flax, rapeseed, and sugar beets.

Belarus has a temperate-continental climate with moderate features which is characteristic for Central Europe, with hot summers, long, cold winters and very distinct seasons.

Belarus is the last country in Europe where the death penalty is still applied. The first thing that tourists say when visiting Belarus is that it is green, clean, safe, and comparing to Russia and Ukraine, it has excellent roads. The territory of Belarus in 40% consists of forests, which symbolizes the green strip in the Belarusian flag. Belarusians are known to be hospitable, friendly, humble, and hard-working. Being a programmer is a very prestigious profession and the salaries of programmers are higher than in all neighboring countries. When gambling was banned in Russia, a lot of casinos were opened in Belarus, which is one the reasons so many Russians travel there. Belarus is the only country of the former USSR that has restored the Soviet flag. Belarus has an extremely low unemployment rate, less than 1%. Beggars and homeless people are also very few. Minsk has the third largest botanical garden in the world.