Belarus

Current News On the Persecuted Church



Archive: Prior Trip Prayer and News



Belarus Information

Part I of a series on Belarus:
Author: Sandra Burgess on behalf of your Missions Leadership Team

BELARUS: Where Is This Country and Why Do We Go There?

Did you know there is a Belarusian child who visits our town and church every year? His name is Maxim Novikav. He is a young boy whom the Brian and Janet Dunn family has been bringing to this country for the last seven years. Maxim is growing up in a country living with the aftereffects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that devastated the land of Belarus on April 26 1986. Chernobyl is in neighboring Ukraine, but the wind blew the worst effects over Belarus. For every summer that Brian and Janet bring him to this country, several years are added to his expected life.

The talk of Chernobyl has dwindled down, and along with it, Americans’ interest in this country that very few of us have even heard about. Make no mistake about it—though you may know little about it, this country is making history; but not in ways that many of us take notice of. Belarus sits on the western border of Russia. To its west sits Poland and to its south is Ukraine. Belarus, like many countries, has changed hands many times. The region was part of the East Slavic tribes during the 5th-8th centuries. It then became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and was then merged with Poland in 1569. It had a largely Jewish population, later decimated by the Germans during WWII. Through the 1700s all of Belarus became part of the Russian Empire. Due to the devastation of the wars between Poland and Russia and the Napoleonic invasion of 1812 much of Belarus was laid to waste. Great poverty among the Jews caused a mass emigration to the United States in the 19th century. With the battles of WWI and the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-20 most of Belarus was demolished.

In 1921 West Belarus was awarded to Poland and the rest formed the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). In 1939 the Soviets overran West Belarus and incorporated it into the SSR. During WWII Belorussia was one of the most devastated areas of the USSR.

The Republic of Belarus declared its independence on Aug 25, 1991. After the fall of Communism, Belarus was one of the original signatories to the treaty establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, the now Former Soviet Union Countries. Aleksandr Lukashenko was elected President of Belarus in July, 1994. In 1996 Russia and Belarus signed an agreement to form a Union State, to strengthen economic, cultural and political ties. A referendum held in 1996 increased Lukashenko’s power and extended his term by two years (to 2001). Once again Lukashenko was elected to power in a contest that most international observers regarded as neither free nor fair. Once again a referendum in 2004 removed the two-term limit on the presidency. Once again independent observers and polls indicated that the results were fraudulent. Relations between Poland and Ukraine became more tense as Lukashenko accused them of plotting to overthrow him. Once again with a very lopsided margin Lukashenko was elected president in March 2006.

Since then there have been many protests and demonstrations against this regime. Many opposition leaders have been arrested and jailed, including the 2006 opposition presidential candidate Aleksander Kozulin. Many evangelical Christians have been involved in the political arena, trying to win freedom for their country. Later you will read about our fellow believers in this land and why they need our help. I hope you will continue to read this series as we get to know this country and our fellow believers. Before reading the continuation of this series I ask that you take a moment to read up current church conditions in this country and the persecution believers there are facing. God willing, we hope to have one of the GAiN In-country Coordinators from Belarus visit Seaford later this year. God bless you and please continue to pray for the Belorussian church.