Editing History of Belarus (section)

==Republic of Belarus==
{{see also|Politics of Belarus}}
===Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new Treaty===
{{Main|Parade of sovereignties|War of Laws|New Union Treaty}}
On 27 July 1990, Belarus declared its national sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the Soviet Union. Around that time, [[Stanislav Shushkevich]] became the chairman of the [[Supreme Soviet]] of Belarus, the top leadership position in Belarus.
=== Soviet coup attempt, the Transition Period and the end of the Soviet Union ===
{{Main|1991 Soviet coup attempt|Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union|Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union}}
On 25 August 1991, after the failure of the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August Coup]] in Moscow, Belarus declared full independence from the USSR by granting the declaration of state sovereignty a constitutional status that it did not have before.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus_independence_day_that_wasnt/24307926.html Belarus And The Independence Day That Wasn't] - by Tom Balmforth, [[Radio Free Europe]], 25 August 2011</ref>
=== Independent country and the Commonwealth ===
{{main|Belovezha Accords|Alma-Ata Protocol|Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Military of the Commonwealth of Independent States}}

On 8 December 1991, Shushkevich met with [[Boris Yeltsin]] of Russia and [[Leonid Kravchuk]] of Ukraine, in [[Belavezhskaya Pushcha]], to formally declare the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] and the formation of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].

[[Post-Soviet countries]] have signed a [[Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union|series of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union]] multilaterally and bilaterally.
===Lukashenko era===
[[File:Budapest-memorandum-signatures.png|thumb|Signatures on the Budapest Memorandum for security assurances to Belarus in exchange for national denuclearization]]
A new [[Constitution of Belarus|Belarusian constitution]] enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential election on 23 June and 10 July. [[Alexander Lukashenko]] was [[1994 Belarusian presidential election|elected president of Belarus]]. Having assumed the rights and responsibilities of the Soviet Union on the territory of Byelarus,<ref name="lisbon">{{cite news |title=Protocol To The Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics On The Reduction And Limitation Of Strategic Offensive Arms |url=http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf |publisher=US Department of State |date=23 May 1992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112175900/http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/27389.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2008}}</ref> in December 1994 Lukashenko signed the [[Budapest Memorandum]] along with [[Russia]], the United Kingdom and the United States acting as guarantors and thereby denuclearized the nation.<ref name="treaty50069">{{cite news |title=Registration Number - 50069; Title - Memorandum of Security Assurances in connection with Accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280338ba9 |publisher=treaties.un.org |date=3 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="mfaby13">{{cite news |title=On the Participation of Belarus Delegation in the Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference within the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons |url=https://www.mfa.gov.by/en/press/news_mfa/b8176c7c5ce33383.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus |date=24 April 2013 |quote=In particular, it was pointed out that Belarus considers the NPT as a fundamental legally binding international instrument in the framework of the existing architecture of international security. The Belarusian party is in favor of further strengthening the Treaty and balanced implementation of all its provisions. It was emphasized that the Budapest memorandum of 1994 has a particular importance for our country. This document contains trilateral security assurances provided in connection with the Belarusian accession to the NPT and voluntary refusal of Belarus from the right to possess with nuclear weapons. Budapest Memorandum registered in the UN as an international treaty.}}</ref><ref name="yost15">{{cite journal |last1=Yost |first1=David |title=The Budapest memorandum and Russia's Itervention in Ukraine |journal=International Affairs |date=May 2015 |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=505–538 |doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12279 |url=https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/57105/Yost_The_Budapest_Memorandum.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="potter95">{{cite journal |last1=Potter |first1=William C. |title=The Politics of Nuclear Renunanciation: The Cases of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine |journal=Occasional Papers |date=April 1995 |issue=22 |url=http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://stimson.org/wp-content/files/file-attachments/Occasional%20Paper%20No.%2022%20April%201995.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=The Henry L. Stimson Center}}</ref>

The [[1996 Belarusian referendum|1996 referendum]] resulted in amendments to the constitution that removed key powers from the parliament.

In 1999 opposition leaders [[Yury Zacharanka]] and [[Viktar Hanchar]] [[Forced disappearance|disappeared]] and were presumably killed. In 2001,  [[2001 Belarusian presidential election|Lukashenko was re-elected as president]] in elections described as undemocratic by Western observers. At the same time, the west began criticizing him as [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]]. In 2006, Lukashenko was [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|once again re-elected]] in presidential elections again criticized as flawed by most [[European Union]] countries.

In 2010, Lukashenko was [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|re-elected once again]] in presidential elections which were again described as falsified by most EU countries and organizations such as the [[OSCE]]. A peaceful protest against the electoral flaws turned into a riot when demonstrators tried to storm a government building. The police used batons to quell the riot. Seven presidential candidates and hundreds of rioters were arrested by [[State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus|KGB]].<ref name="bbc100s">{{cite news |title='Hundreds of protesters arrested' in Belarus |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12037486 |publisher=BBC |date=20 December 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Rally in support of Tsikhanouskaya in Minsk (30 July 2020) - 42.jpg|thumb|[[2020–21 Belarusian protests]]]]
Lukashenko's disputed victory in the country's [[2020 Belarusian presidential election|2020 presidential election]] led to widespread allegations of [[vote rigging]], which strongly amplified [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests|anti-government protests]], the largest during his rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53637365|title=Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko under fire|website=BBC News|date=11 September 2020}}</ref> Protesters have faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by the [[United Nations Human Rights Office]] on 1 September cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E |title=UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances |date=1 September 2020 |access-date=1 September 2020 |website=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]}}</ref> Several [[List of deaths related to the 2020 Belarusian protests|protesters were killed]]. Following the contested election, Lukashenko is not recognized by the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United States as the legitimate president of Belarus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 August 2020 |title=El Pais interview with HR/VP Borrell: "Lukashenko is like Maduro. We do not recognize him but we must deal with him" |url=https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/84346/el-pais-interview-hrvp-borrell-%E2%80%9Clukashenko-maduro-we-do-not-recognize-him-he-must-deal-him%E2%80%9D_en |publisher=eeas.europa.eu}}</ref><ref name=axios>Dave Lawler, [https://www.axios.com/us-lukashenko-president-belarus-353ed235-98f7-446f-919a-6a6cdab81975.html U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus], ''Axios'' (24 September 2020).</ref>

On 23 May 2021, [[Ryanair Flight 4978]] was diverted by the [[Belarusian government]] to [[Minsk National Airport]], where two of its passengers, opposition activist and former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel [[Nexta]] [[Roman Protasevich]] and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belarus opposition says government forced Ryanair plane to land to arrest journalist|date=23 May 2021|website=Deutsche Welle|access-date=23 May 2021|url=https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523122730/https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-opposition-says-government-forced-ryanair-plane-to-land-to-arrest-journalist/a-57635240|url-status=live}}</ref> In summer of the same year, Belarusian authorities organized the [[2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis]] consisting of an influx of tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, to [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], and [[Poland]] via those countries' borders with Belarus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitmore |first1=Brian |title=Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/ |website=[[Atlantic Council]] |date=30 June 2021 |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=5 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805193633/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/belarus-dictator-weaponizes-illegal-migrants-against-eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Belarus allowed its territory to be used by the Russian army in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] to stage and launch forces from the north into Ukraine.<ref name="belanw">{{cite news |title=Putin Ally Lukashenko Faces Revolt From Officers Against Ukraine War |url=https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-lukashenko-faces-revolt-officers-against-ukraine-war-1723224 |publisher=Newsweek Digital LLC |date=10 July 2022}}</ref>