Belarus (Great Nuclear War)

The Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Белару́сь, tr. Bielaruś; Russian: Беларусь, tr. Byelarus) is a sovereign state in Eastern Europe, formed from the former Byelrusian SSR. It is a member of the Baltic Union, which holds a joint seat in the International League. Belarus borders fellow BU member Lithuania, Novgorod and Poland.

Pre-war
Prior to the Great Nuclear War, Belarus was governed by the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of fifteen consituent republic of the Soviet Union.

Post-War
Belarus's capital, Minsk, was hit by a missile in the War, and the SSR immediatly fell into dissarray. However, in Maladzyechna, in the North-West, a democratic city state, began to annex the lands around it, including several minor city states, and by 1980 controlled much of the West, declaring a new Belarusian Republic. Indeed, in 1984, the Belarusian Military, assisted by several thousand Baltic, Polish and Ukrainian mercenaries, moved into and annexed the remaining parts of the nation under their rule, and slowly returned civilian rule. The remainder of the century was spent rebuilding infrastructure.

1987 brought contact with Lithuania, and relations immediatly showed promise. Several trade deals were soon signed, and Belarusian traders made good use of Lithuania's ports and sea access. Over the next few years, contact with Estonia and Latvia was also made, as well as Novgorod. The turn of the Millenium brought new hopes to the Belarusian peoples, with expansions and influence spread to many areas, including a joint push with Lithuania into Poland to establish order. In 1991 news entered Belarus that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Moonsund were forming a new Baltic Union, to be formed in 1992. With the Belarusian economy relying further and further upon trade with the Baltic states, in 2007 Belarus enterred a formal application to join, and in 2008 joined.