From Library Journal
Belarus (formerly Belorussia) is the western-most republic in the Commonwealth of Independent States, with stronger historical ties to Europe than to Moscow, according to this new survey. It has a long history of outside government, from Poland and Lithuania, and a tradition of ethnic coexistence; these traits are reemerging after the breakup of the USSR. Zaprudnik, formerly an analyst at Radio Liberty, devotes four chapters of his survey to the history of Belarus (to 1985) and four to the conditions and prospects of the new state, covering the national and language revival, politics, economics, and foreign relations. Throughout, he is harshly critical of the Soviet government and its "ethnocidal" policies in Belarus. His bibliography is replete with specialized, non-English, sources. Not much is available in English on Belarus, and this book is a good beginning for nonspecialists.- Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New YorkCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
A native Belarusan paints a vivid picture of his country's complex past, paving the way for his analysis of the challenges now facing the republic in the wake of a disintegrating Soviet Union.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Belarus - sometimes called "the Western Gate of the Soviet Union" - has been placed by history between powerful states to the east and west. Soldiers of Muscovy and Poland, of Napoleon and Hitler, and of Alexander I and Stalin have all left their mark. Its territory has been laid claim to by both the Russians and the Poles, and religious and political echoes of their challenges continue to be heard. In this timely volume, Jan Zaprudnik - himself a native Belarusan - paints a vivid picture of the complex past of Belarus (formerly known as Belorussia), paving the way for his analysis of the challenges now facing the republic in the wake of a disintegrating Soviet Union. In recent years Belarus has been less visible to the world than the Baltic republics to the north or Ukraine to the south, yet this multiethnic republic has undergone a significant demographic, social, cultural, and political evolution since 1956. A proclamation of state sovereignty in July 1990 combined with the accelerated fragmentation of the Soviet Union to push Belarus along the uncertain road to independence - a process that culminated with a declaration of full independence in August 1991. Although perestroika has contributed to a dramatic rise in national consciousness among the people of Belarus, the nation-state has been notable in its quest for interethnic coexistence and for peaceful solutions to the problems brought about by democracy and independence.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal