After over a hundred years of Russian rule, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. However, under authoritarian rule, it has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. The economy is completely dependent on Russia.
The country has not seen much structural reform in the past few years. Even though the country was the most developed republic (excluding the three Baltic states) in the former USSR, the country has a lot of remains of its socialist past, and is one of the countries with the highest poverty rate in Europe.
The country has not seen much structural reform in the past few years. Even though the country was the most developed republic (excluding the three Baltic states) in the former USSR, the country has a lot of remains of its socialist past, and is one of the countries with the highest poverty rate in Europe.