[wyck]

Some fun facts about Belarus:

- 51.2% of Belarusians are employed by state-controlled companies.

- Political opponents have been violently suppressed

- Per capita income $6.8k

- A fifth of Belarusian land (principally farmland and forests in the southeastern provinces) continues to be affected by radiation fallout from Chernobyl

[jvm]

It's fairly accurate to think of it as a place that has tried as hard as possible not to move away from the Soviet economic/social/political model.