Culture

Dress

Traditional two piece Belarusian dress originated from the time of Kievan Rus, and continues to be worn today at special functions. Due to the cool climate of Belarus, the clothes were made out fabrics that provided covering and warmth. The outfits were designed with either many threads of different colours woven together or were adorned with symbols called ornaments. The Belarusian nobles usually had their fabrics imported and chose the colours of red, blue or green. Males wore a shirt and trousers adorned with a belt and the females wore a longer shirt, a wrap-around skirt called a "paniova", and a headscarf. The outfits also were also influenced by the dress worn by Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and other European nations and have changed over time due to

Music and Dance

In the field of music, the first major composition by a Belarusian was the opera Faust by Radzivill. In the 17th century, Polish composer Stanislau Maniushka resided in Belarus, composing many opera and chamber pieces while in Minsk. During his stay, he worked with Belarusian poet Vincent Dunin-Marcinkevich and created the opera Sialianka (Peasant Woman). At the end of the 19th century, the major cities in Belarus were forming their own opera and ballet companies. During the Soviet era, early music saw the creation of the ballet Nightingale by M. Kroshner.

After the Great Patriotic War, the music focused on the hardship of the Belarusian people or on the Belarusians who took up arms in defence of the homeland. This was also the time period that A. Bogatyryov, the creator of the opera "In Polesye Virgin Forest", served as the 'tutor' of Belarusian composers.

After independence, ballet is still important culturally to Belarus. The National Academic Theatre of Ballet, in Minsk, was awarded the Benois de la Dance Prize in 1996 as the top ballet company in the world.

Modern music has seen a rise in popularity and creation among Belarusians. Famous rock bands from the country include NRM, Neurodubel, Ulis, Nowaje Nieba, and Krama. Several Belarusian acts perform in Poland and Lithuania, where the population of Belarusian speakers are very high. Poland is also the host of the Belarusian alternative music festival Basowiszcza. Since 2004, Belarus has been sending artists to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Religion

In Article 16 of the Constitution of Belarus, there is no official religion established by the government. While the freedom of worship is granted in the same article, religions that are deemed harmful to the government or social order of the country can be prohibited.

Belarus has historically been a Russian Orthodox country with minorities practicing Catholicism, Judaism and other religions. The Belarusians were converted to the Russian Orthodox Church after Belarus was taken from Poland after the Partitions of Poland. Belarus' Roman Catholic minority, which makes up perhaps 10% of the country's population and is concentrated in the western part of the country, especially around Hrodna, is made up of a mixture of Belarusians and the country's Polish and Lithuanian minorities. A small minority (about 1%) belong to the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church. Belarus was also about 10% Jewish until World War II, being a major centre of European Jewry, but during the war Jews were reduced by war, starvation, and the Holocaust to a tiny minority of about 1% or less. Emigration from Belarus is also a cause for the shrinking number of Jewish residents.

Sport

From the 1952 Helsinki Games until the end of the Soviet era, Belarus competed in the Olympic Games as part of the Soviet Olympic squad. During the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Belarus competed as part of the Unified Team. The nation's athletes competed in an Olympic Games as Belarusians for the first time during the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Belarus has won a total of 52 medals: 6 gold, 17 silver and 29 bronze. The first Olympic medal for the Soviet Union was won by Belarusian Mikhail Krivonosov at the 1956 Summer Games held in Melbourne, Australia.

Ice hockey is the nation's most popular sport. Team Belarus finished a surprising fourth in overall competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Belarusian players have become commonplace in the NHL and international competitions.