proper noun

• A country in eastern Europe; population 9,500,000 (estimated 2015); capital, Minsk; official language, Belarusian.

  Formerly called Belorussia, White Russia

Belarus became a republic of the former Soviet Union in 1921. It gained independence as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991 but in 1996 signed a treaty with Russia that established a Community of Sovereign Republics. In 1999, Belarus signed another agreement with Russia for closer political and economic integration