Belarus

The present borders of were established during the turmoil of World War II.

The former Soviet republic was occupied by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944, when it lost 2.2 million people, including most of its large Jewish population.

There are about 400,000 ethnic Poles living in the west of the country.

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It has been ruled with an increasingly iron fist since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko. Opposition figures are subjected to harsh penalties for organising protests.

In early 2005, was listed by the US as Europe's only remaining "outpost of tyranny". In late 2008, there were some signs of a slight easing of tensions with the West, though this proved to be only a temporary thaw.