Belarus

Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe and former member of the USSR. The capital of Belarus is Minsk.

The massive April 26, 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant, across the border in Ukraine, had a devastating effect on Belarus; as a result of the radiation release, agriculture in a large part of the country was destroyed, and many villages were abandoned. Resettlement and medical costs were substantial and long-term. As a matter of policy, the government is now resettling this land and promoting agricultural production in the contaminated areas. [1]

Name

Belarus is often incorrectly called "Belorussia" or "Byelorussia", and some claim that this means "White Russia". This is incorrect which one can see by looking at the Russian words for the countries of Belarus and Russia: Белоруссия and Россия (Belorussija and Rossija), respectively. The name "Belarus" is taken from ancient "Rus'", which is also known in English as "Ruthenia". Therefore, Belarus means "White Ruthenia", rather than "White Russia".