Belarus
The Republic of Belarus, formerly known by its Russian name Byelorussia or Belorussia, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. With a population of 9,5 million, over 40% of its 80,200 square miles is forested. The The official languages are Belarusian and Russian.
Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus. In the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Belarus declared independence as the Belarusian People's Republic. The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922 and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Byelorussian SSR). Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland after the Polish-Soviet War. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland, and were finalized after World War II. During WWII, military operations devastated Belarus. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. Belarus declared independence on 25 August 1991. Alexander Lukashenko has served as the country's first president since 1994. Belarus has been labeled "Europe's last dictatorship" by some Western journalists, on account of Lukashenko's self-described authoritarian style of government.
The highest award is the title of the Hero of Belarus and was established on April 13, 1995. The title is awarded for extreme acts of bravery or unwavering commitment and service benefiting the Republic of Belarus. Unlike the previous Hero Of The Soviet Union title, this title can only be awarded to a recipient once. Since its creation, the title has been awarded to ten people.
Orders, decorations and medals of Belarus, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders,_decorations,_and_medals_of_Belarus
State Awards and Prizes, President of the Republic of Belarus, http://president.gov.by/en/awards_en/
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