[byel-oh-ruhsh-uh, bel-oh-] 
| 1. | Official name, Belarus. Formerly, White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. a republic in E Europe, N of Ukraine: formerly a part of the Soviet Union. 10,439,916; 80,154 sq. mi. (207,600 sq. km). Capital: Minsk. |
| 2. | a region in the W part of former czarist Russia. |
Be·la·rus (běl'ə-rōōs', běl'ə-rōōs', byěl'-)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of eastern Europe east of Poland and west of Russia. Originally settled by Slavs, the region was subject to Lithuania and Poland before passing to Russia in the late 18th century. It was a constituent republic of the USSR, known as the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, from 1922 to 1991. Minsk is the capital and the largest city. Population: 9,720,000. |
Republic in eastern Europe, bordered to the northwest by Russia, Lithuania, and Latvia, to the northeast, east, and southeast by Russia, to the south by Ukraine, and to the west by Poland. Its capital and largest city is Minsk.
Note: This former member of the Soviet Union declared its independence in 1991.
Note: Belarus is also known as White Russia or Belorussia.
əˈrus
