Exploring Belarus' Unique Bordering Neighbours

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It shares its borders with five countries: Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus covers an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) and has a population of 9.1 million. Minsk is the capital and largest city, and is administered separately as a city with special status.

Belarus borders Russia to the east and northeast

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe that shares its borders with five countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. The country's total border length is 3,617 km, with the border shared with Russia in the east and northeast spanning 1,283 km.

The history of Belarus' borders is closely tied to the country's complex political past. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the territory of modern-day Belarus was controlled by different states, with the Byelorussian SSR emerging as a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. During the Polish-Soviet War (1918-1921), Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland, and it wasn't until 1939, with the Soviet invasion of Poland, that some of these lands were reintegrated into Belarus. The borders of Belarus took on their modern shape after World War II.

The border with Russia has been particularly significant in recent years, with Russia using Belarusian territory as a launching pad for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This has led to increased tensions in the region and a strengthening of military presence along the Belarus-Ukraine border.

The border between Belarus and Russia is not just a political boundary but also a cultural and linguistic divide. While Belarusians have their own distinct identity and language, Russian is widely spoken in Belarus, and the two countries share cultural similarities due to their shared history.

The impact of the border between Belarus and Russia goes beyond politics and culture, as it also affects the economic landscape of the region. Belarus and Russia have historically maintained close economic ties, with Russia being Belarus' primary economic partner. However, in recent years, there have been disputes over energy prices and trade restrictions, leading to fluctuations in their economic relationship.

Ukraine to the south

Ukraine lies to the south of Belarus, with the two countries sharing a 1,084km (674-mile) border. This border starts at the point where Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland meet and stretches to the point where Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia meet. The border passes through the Polesian Lowland, running roughly from the Western Bug river to the Dnieper river along the Pripyat river. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone lies along the Ukrainian side of the border, with the Belarusian side hosting the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve.

The border has its roots in the historical border between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland under the Union of Lublin. After the Treaty of Riga that followed World War I, the border roughly coincided with the administrative border of the Polesia and Volyn provinces of the interwar Polish Republic. The eastern portion of the border coincided with the border between the Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine. The border between the two Soviet republics was recognised by the Treaty between the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR, signed on December 12, 1990.

In recent years, tensions have risen along the Belarus-Ukraine border. In August 2024, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Belarus to withdraw troops from their border, accusing Belarus of "concentrating a significant number of personnel, including Special Operations Forces, weapons and military equipment" in the Gomel region. Ukraine warned that, in the case of a violation of its border by Belarus, it would take all necessary measures to exercise its right to self-defence. Belarus, meanwhile, has accused Ukraine of violating its airspace and sending troops to their shared border.

Poland to the west

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with no direct access to the sea. It has a land border of 2,969 kilometres (1,845 miles) shared with five countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. To the west of Belarus is Poland, with which it shares a 259.73-mile (418-kilometre) border.

The territory between Poland and Belarus underwent significant changes during the Soviet era, with Poland losing some of its land to what is now Belarus. After World War II, the borders of Belarus took on their modern shape. The border between Belarus and Poland runs from north to south, meeting Lithuania at the northernmost point and Ukraine at the southernmost point.

The two countries share 13 border points, with six on roadways and four accessible by train. Due to the large areas of undeveloped forests along the border, the governments of Poland and Belarus decided in 2015 that hikers and cyclists would not need a visa to cross the border.

In recent years, there have been discussions about the possibility of a complete border closure between the Baltic states and Poland, of which the border between Belarus and Poland would be a part.

Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest

Lithuania and Latvia are two of the five countries that share a land border with Belarus. The country's border with Lithuania is 680km (420mi) long, while its border with Latvia is much shorter at 161km.

Lithuania and Latvia are both members of the European Union, and Lithuania is the closest capital of an EU member state to Minsk. Lithuania and Belarus established diplomatic relations on 24 October 1991, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania recognised the independence of Belarus on 20 December 1991, and Belarus recognised Lithuania's independence seven days later. The two countries signed a Treaty on Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation in 1995, and the ground demarcation of the border was completed in 2007.

Latvia and Belarus established full bilateral relations on 7 April 1992, and the current border was established by an agreement on 21 February 1994. However, in May 2021, relations were de facto terminated as both countries expelled each other's diplomats. This was due to a dispute over the flag of Belarus, with Latvia insisting on using the former flag of the country, which is used by the opposition against the Lukashenko regime.

Both Lithuania and Latvia have been critical of the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant in Belarus, which is close to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. In February 2019, the Meeting of the Parties to the Espoo Convention decided that Belarus had violated the convention in choosing the construction site for the plant.

Following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, which was widely regarded as unfree and unfair, the Belarusian opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania. On 12 August 2020, Lithuania opened its borders to all Belarusians for humanitarian purposes due to the crackdown on protests. Two days later, Lithuania became the first EU state to reject the legitimacy of Lukashenko as the president of Belarus.

In June 2021, Lithuanian officials claimed that Belarus was encouraging illegal migration from Iraq and Syria to Lithuania by helping groups of refugees cross the border. In July 2021, Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to the influx of migrants from Belarus.

Border with Lithuania guarded by the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD)

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It shares its borders with five countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. The country's total border length is 2,969 kilometres (1,845 miles).

The incorporation of Western Belarus into the USSR in 1939 significantly impacted the state of protection of the border with Lithuania. Following the accession of Western Belarus to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) on October 15, 1939, the border detachments of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) of the BSSR were tasked with guarding the Belarusian section of the border with Germany. On June 21, 1940, they were also assigned to guard the Lithuanian border.

The former Soviet-Polish border was not fully dismantled, and it continued to exist until Germany attacked the Soviet Union. For internal security purposes, servicemen of the Belarusian border district maintained security along the "old border," and the local population required special passes to cross it. The NKVD played a significant role in guarding the border with Lithuania, particularly after the accession of Western Belarus to the BSSR.

During World War II, Lithuania was occupied twice by the Soviet Union (1940-1941 and post-1944) and once by Nazi Germany (1941-1944). The Soviet partisans, coordinated by the Command of the Lithuanian Partisan Movement and the Central Command of the Partisan Movement of the USSR, began sabotage and guerrilla operations against German forces immediately after the Nazi invasion of 1941. The anti-Nazi resistance in Lithuania was fragmented into various groups, including the Lithuanian Front, the Lithuanian Liberty Army, the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, Jewish partisans, and the Polish Home Army.

The Soviet occupation of Lithuania during World War II was marked by deportations, with at least 130,000 people forcibly transported to labour camps and other forced settlements in remote parts of the Soviet Union. The Rainiai massacre, carried out by the NKVD with help from the Red Army, resulted in the mass murder of between 70 and 80 Lithuanian political prisoners. This was one of many similar massacres committed by Soviet forces in Lithuania and other parts of the Soviet Union during June 1941.

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