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| River view |
Belarus, like its neighbor Ukraine,
is a Slavic country much of whose history has
been subsumed into the histories of Russia and
the Soviet Union. One of the new independent states
created after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991,
Belarus remains one of the least studied and one
of the least visited of the Soviet successor states.
Situated geographically between
Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia to the west and
northwest, Russia to its east, and Ukraine to
its south, Belarus has experienced centuries of
invasion and conquest, most recently Hitler's
invasion.
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Old Vitebsk, Marc Chagall, 1914
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Although many Americans are familiar
with the early paintings of Marc Chagall--flying
cows and fiddlers on the roof--they may not realize
that these images are drawn from Chagall's memories
of village life in Vitebsk, Belarus. Many Americans
are the descendants of Jewish immigrants from
Belarus, who came to the United States in the
late 19th-early 20th centuries, bringing their
stories of Minsk and Pinsk to vaudeville stages.
For students of World War II, Belarus is associated
with the war on the Eastern front. Finally, for
some Americans, Belarus is associated with Olympic
sports--gymnastics in the summer games and ice
hockey in winter.
The Fulbright Program with Belarus, established
in 1991, has been a major conduit for international
exchange between Belarus and the United States.
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| Photo courtesy of Wallace Clift |
In 2005-06 five American scholars will lecture
in Belarus and six Belarusians will come to the
United States. American Fulbrighters in Belarus
have greatly enjoyed their Fulbright experience
and have contributed significantly to the process
of reform in the country, especially in higher
education. American Fulbrighters have lectured
in law, international relations, business, linguistics,
intercultural communication and women's studies.
One American helped create the first internet
cafe in Grodno and lectured on film and cultural
studies. Fulbright scholar Melinda
Hickman's rewarding experience teaching law
and business in Belarus is detailed in the scholar
story found on our Web site.
CIES encourages interested applicants to make
use of the following links to complement their
research into potential opportunities available
in Belarus. Please also feel free to use the contact
information at the bottom of this page to get
in touch with CIES program personnel.
U.S. Embassy in Minsk
http://minsk.usembassy.gov
Republic of Belarus
http://www.belarusembassy.org/
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus
to the United Nations
http://www.un.int/belarus/
This site has basic information about the country,
its political system, economy, culture, educational
system, etc.
AdmiNet World
http://www.adminet.com/world/
An index of Web site resources on Belarus.
A Belarus Miscellaney
http://www.belarus-misc.org/
This Web site is intended to collect and make
available as much accurate information as possible
about the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian
people--both inside and outside of the Republic
of Belarus. This site is regularly updated by
Peter Kasaty. It not only has links to dozens
of sites related to Belarus, but also has contact
information for Belarusian government offices,
universities, non-governmental organizations,
media and Internet providers. Information about
Belarus online discussion groups is also provided.
Belarusian Websites
http://www.data.minsk.by/info/belsite.html
A useful list of Belarusian Web sites. Provides
educational and university sites.
Library of Congress's Portals to the World
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
This site offers links to selective and authoritative
electronic resources, arranged by country or geographic
regions, with links for each, sorted in a wide
range of broad categories. There are also links
to the library's main resources on US education
and to worldwide organizations, such as the World
Bank and UNESCO.
Virtual Guide to Belarus
http://www.belarusguide.com/
This site is a collaborative project of "Belarusian"scientists
and professionals, including many émigrés.
abroad. The site has sections such as history,
culture, politics, geography, travel, et al.
Belarus-online
http://www.belarus-online.com/
A list of resources compiled by Belarusians and
Americans. Somewhat dated, this site has photo
albums of Belarusian cities.
CIA World Factbook Page on Belarus
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bo.html
Geography, people, government, economy, communications,
transportation, military and transnational issues
are all covered by this factbook.
North American Association for Belarusian Studies
http://www.belarusianstudies.org
American Association for the Advancement of Slavic
Studies
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/
The AAASS is the preeminent professional association
for Slavic Studies in the United States. This
site lists web resources of interest to scholars.
The East Central Europe Center at Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sipa/REGIONAL/ECE/belarus.html
This is an excellent site with information about
and links to resources on government, politics,
media, law, international organizations in Belarus,
business and economics, and education.
REESWeb
http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb/
This site provides a comprehensive index of electronic
resources on Central and East Europe and Eurasia
sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European
Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
Russian and East European Network Information
Center at the University of Texas-Austin
http://reenic.utexas.edu/reenic/index.html
This site also provides general resources on Central
and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
sponsored by the Center for Russian, East European
and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas-Austin.
School of Slavonic and East European Studies,
London.
http://www.ssees.ac.uk/belarus.htm
An excellent list of internet resources for Belarus.
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Politics, Media,
Law, Business
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BISNIS
http://www.bisnis.doc.gov/bisnis/country/wstnis.htm
Country business reports for the western NIS
Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI)
http://www.abanet.org/ceeli/
A public service project of the American
Bar Association, this site is designed to advance
the rule of law in the world by supporting the
legal reform process underway in Central and Eastern
Europe, and the former Soviet Union. CEELI Programs
gives an overview of activities in the region
and the Sites of Interest gives regional and country
information and sites on commercial, criminal,
and environmental law.
RFE/RL, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova Report
http://www.rferl.org/pbureport/
A survey of developments in Belarus, Ukraine &
Moldova by the staff of Radio Free Europe /Radio
Liberty online.
Belarus Today
http://www.belarustoday.info/
A weekly newspaper.
The Slutsk Gate
http://www.brama.cjb.net/
A gateway to Belarusian Economy, Law and News
on the Internet
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Education General
Information
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Braintrack University Index
http://www.braintrack.com
Details of Higher Education Institutions
in 139 countries.
College and University Home Pages
http://www.mit.edu/people/cdemello/univ.html
These lists contain home pages for universities
and colleges all over the world.
Yahoo University search
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges
_and_Universities/
You can search for international universities
by country on Yahoo's search engine.
Central and East European Education Directory
http://www.ceebd.co.uk/ceeed/educatio.htm
Provides an overview of the structure of Belarusian
education at all levels and degrees.
Educating the Nation
http://www.belarus.net/universi/Index.htm
This site provides information about the largest
universities in Belarus. Contains links to universities.
The university sites are rub by an independent
initiative group of students.
The list below contains links to individual institutions
with English-language Web sites that have hosted
Fulbright scholars in the past or have expressed
an interest in hosting a Fulbright scholar. Other
affiliations are possible at universities in Minsk
and other cities that do not have Web sites.
Grodno State University
http://www.grsu.by
Minsk State Linguistic University
http://www.mslu.unibel.by
Belarusian State University
http://www.bsu.by/defaultEN.asp
Belarusian State Economics University
http://www.bseu.minsk.by/
Envila Non-State Women's Institute
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/9237/
National Institute of Higher Education
http://www.nihe.niks.by
Belarusian State University - International Graduate
School of Business and Management
http://www.sbmt.bsu.by
Also see Belarusian Websites for a more complete
list of educational and University sites.
Minsk in Your Pocket Guide
http://www.inyourpocket.com/Belarus/Minsk/en/
CHEAP FLIGHTS
http://www.cheapflights.com
SMOK Travel
http://www.smoktravel.com
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