Recent events have thrust Belarus into the international spotlight, but for years after declaring independence in 1991, Belarus remained a little-known republic in the West, despite its important geostrategic position between Poland and Russia, and as a conduit for Russian energy supplies to central Europe. In the late Soviet period, it was best known as a victim of the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl, which covered its territory in dangerous radionuclides of cesium, strontium, and iodine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; the unprecedented mass demonstrations after President Alexander Lukashenka declared himself the victor in his 2020 presidential race against challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the ensuing mass repression, imprisonment, and torture of civilians thrust the country into international attention. This book probes the deep background to these tumultuous events even long before the collapse of the Soviet Union and Lukashenka's merciless dictatorship. Belarus: What Everyone Needs to Know (R) explains Belarus to outsiders, tracing its development, history, and formation of a modern identity. Marples and Laputska look at its place in contemporary Europe and its relations with Russia, Ukraine, China, and other states; and argue that the image of Belarus as a Soviet theme park or offshoot of Putin's Russian World are far-fetched and misguided.

About the Author
David R. Marples is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Alberta. A leading historian in Belarusian Studies, he has previously published several books on Belarus, including Understanding Ukraine and Belarus: A Memoir (2020), "Our Glorious Past": Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War (2014), Belarus: A Denationalized Nation (1999), and Belarus: From Soviet Rule to Nuclear Catastrophe (1996). Veronica Laputska is a political scientist and media expert, author of numerous media and academic articles and several book chapters. Veronicas expertise includes democratization, elections, Jewish and gender studies as well as politics of memory.

Reviews
Marples and Laputska have written a highly readable and insightful primer on Belarus. They provide us not only with crucial historical background but a compelling account for why this country, about which we know far too little, matters a great deal. * Jeffrey Kopstein, University of California, Irvine *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197772966
Author David R. Marples
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 142mm * 18mm