a republic in E Europe; populated by Slavic tribes from the 6th century; part of the Kievan Rus’ from 9th to 13th century; then part of the medieval Lithuanian and Polish empires before being acquired by Russia; a Soviet republic (1919–91); in 1997 formed a close political and economic union with Russia: mainly low-lying and forested. Official Languages: Belarussian and Russian. Religion: believers are mostly Orthodox Christian. Currency: rouble. Capital: Minsk. Pop: 9 468 338 (2017 est). Area: 207 600 sq km (80 134 sq miles)
Also called: Byelorussian Republic, Bielorussia, White Russia
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Be•la•rus
(byel′ə ro̅o̅s′, bel′-),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesofficial name of Byelorussia.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Belarus' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Baranovichi
- Belarussian
- Belorussia
- Berezina
- Bobruisk
- Brest
- Byelorussia
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- Dnieper
- Dvina
- Gomel
- Grodno
- Minsk
- Mogilev
- Neman
- Orsha
- Pinsk
- Pripet
- Pripet Marshes
- Sarmatia
- Vitebsk
- White Russia
- kopeck
- rouble