3rd July: Belarus Independence Day

Belarus celebrates Independence Day today. Here are 10 things you might not know about Belarus:

1. The name Belarus means "White Russia" and is derived from the fact that the Slavic people who lived there wore white clothing.
2. The capital and largest city is Minsk, which is home to the third largest botanical garden in Europe (after Kew Gardens in London and the park in Madrid). The city gets 67 days of fog per year, beating London, which only gets 45.
3. The President, as of 2015, is Alexander Lukashenko, who has been President since 1994, making him one of the longest ruling heads of state in Europe. He is also the only head of state in the world to head his country's National Olympic Committee.
4. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman, the Pripyat, and the Dnieper. The largest lake in Belarus is Lake Naroch.
5. The highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill) at 345 metres (1,132 ft), and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90 m (295 ft).
6. Belarus bore the brunt of the fallout from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. 70% of the radiation ended up there, affecting about a fifth of the farmland. Clean-up operations continue to this day as the United Nations and other agencies try to reduce the level of radiation through the use of caesium binders and growing rapeseed which are meant to decrease soil levels of caesium-137.
7. The national animal of Belarus is the European Bison, which is the heaviest living land mammal in Europe.
8. The national bird is the white stork.
9. The flag is red and Green with a red and white strip of an ornamental pattern at the hoist end. The pattern was designed in 1917 by Matrena Markevich, is a traditional one, derived from local plants and flowers. Patterns like it are used in traditional garments and towels.
10. Famous people from Belarus include Menachem Begin, the Israeli politician and artist Marc Chagall. Of Berlarusian descent are the US actors Kirk and Michael Douglas.