Geography Of Belarus
IEW > Events
Ambassador Richard Miles delivered a keynote address at the graduation ceremony of the U.S.-funded Georgia Institute of Public Affairs. The U.S.-funded institution, the Caucasus School of Business, held their third annual Career Fair. The school invited students and graduates from all Georgian educational institutions to participate. The Public Affairs Section held a week-long workshop for 36 Georgian government and NGO spokespersons. IREX-Tbilisi organized an "ECA Alumni Fair" for alumni of programs sponsored by the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Exchanges. American Councils organized a "WWW Tournament" quiz bowl on Americana for Tbilisi State University students and an online "Jeopardy Tournament" for exchange program participants and alumni in Georgia and the U.S. An alumna of the Excellence in Teaching Awards (TEA) Progr ... [Read More]
Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control and Nonproliferation Agreements and Commitments
IRANIran became a State Party to the BWC in March 1975. Irans biological warfare program began during the Iran-Iraq war. Hashemi-Rafsanjanithen Acting Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Speaker of the Majlis was reported to have announced during an October 1988 speech: We should fully equip ourselves both in the offensive and defensive use of chemical, bacteriological, and radiological weapons. From now on, you should make use of the opportunity and perform this task. The United States believes Iran has endeavored to follow through on Rafsanjanis direction. Iran has a growing biotechnology industry, significant pharmaceutical experience and the overall infrastructure to support its biological warfare program. Iran has expanded its efforts to seek considerable dual-use biotechnical materia ... [Read More]
Lithuania (06/05)
Until mid-1988, all political, economic, and cultural life was controlled by the Lithuanian Communist Party (LCP). The political and economic crisis that began in the U.S.S.R. in the mid-1980s also affected Lithuania, and Lithuanians as well as other Balts offered active support to Gorbachev's program of social and political reforms. Under the leadership of intellectuals, the Lithuanian reform movement "Sajudis" was formed in mid-1988 and declared a program of democratic and national rights, winning nationwide popularity. Inspired by Sajudis, the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet passed constitutional amendments on the supremacy of Lithuanian laws over Soviet legislation, annulled the 1940 decisions on proclaiming Lithuania a part of the U.S.S.R., legalized a multi-party system, and adopted a number of other important decisions. A large number of LCP members also supported the ideas of Sajudis, and with Sajudis support, Algirdas Brazauskas was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee o ... [Read More]
The Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (e-PINE)
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the invitation to testify today on the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe, or e-PINE. E-PINE is an exciting initiative that reflects Secretary Powell's emphasis on developing productive relationships with our international friends in order to achieve common objectives. [Also see testimony of other witnesses.] The Nordic Baltic region, as we define it in the State Department, is made up of eight countries. Reading from northwest to southeast, they are Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Six of the eight are members of NATO, six will be members of the European Union following EU expansion on May 1. All eight are good friends of the United States with whom we share common values and ... [Read More]
Latvia (05/05)
Between 55.40 and 58.05 latitude and 20.58 and 28.14 longitude, Latvia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform. About 98% of the country lies under 200m elevation (640 ft.). The damp climate resembles New England's. With the exception of the coastal plains, the Ice Age divided Latvia into three main regions: the morainic Western and Eastern uplands and the Middle lowlands. Latvia holds over 12,000 rivers, only 17 of which are longer than 60 miles, and over 3,000 small lakes, most of which are eutrophic. Woodland, more than half of which is pine, covers 41% of the country. Other than peat, dolomite, and limestone, natural resources are scarce. Latvia holds 531km (329 mi.) of sandy coastline, and the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils provide important warm-water harbors for the Baltic littoral, although the Bay of Riga itself is rather polluted. ... [Read More]
USIA: Request for Proposals (RFPs)
(1) RFP - Highlights key program components, proposal guidelines, and information about the projected time sequence for awards, including proposal submission due date. (2) Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) - A required component of all Bureau solicitations. The PSI contains standard Bureau guidelines, technical instructions, and required certifications/forms to be returned as part of the proposal submission. (3) Program Objective, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) -Elaborates on the program guidelines outlined in the RFP, providing more specifics to assist in program development. Normally, B ... [Read More]
U.S. Department of State FOIA Electronic Reading Room--Post Reports
1 Quick Jump AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbados [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
There are opportunities for meeting and socializing with host-country nationals. Russian language skills are necessary for most contact beyond the diplomatic community, although English speakers do exist in the business, academic, and arts communities. Official Functions Nature of FunctionsLast Updated: 11/28/2003 11:30 AM Embassy officers have frequent contacts with the diplomatic community. The frequency of contacts with Belarusian officials varies based upon the overall political relationship. Official entertaining usually involves receptions, dinners, cocktail parties, and celebrations of respective National Days. Although junior officers have fewer socia ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Belarus
The Constitution provides for freedom of association; however, the authorities severely restricted this right in practice. The Government continued to employ an elaborate system of laws and regulations governing the registration of organizations for the purpose of restricting the ability of individuals to form associations that might be critical of, or not susceptible to manipulation by, the Government. All NGOs, political parties, and trade unions are required to register with authorities, and it is illegal to act on behalf of an unregistered organization. Legislation on the registration of public associations remains extremely strict; registration procedures are costly and onerous, requiring the number of founders to be specified, their names, and a legal address for the organization, which is in a nonresidential building. Individuals listing themselves as members are vulnerable to retribution. More important, the refusal of the Government to rent premises to organizations of which i ... [Read More]
Belarus (10/04)
Russia is the largest partner for Belarus in the economic and political fields. In terms of trade, two-thirds of Belarusian exports go to Russia. Due to the structure of Belarusian industry, Belarus relies heavily on other CIS countries and Russia in particular both for export markets and for the supply of raw materials, energy, and components. The introduction of free trade between Russia and Belarus in mid-1995 led to a spectacular growth in bilateral trade, which was only temporarily reversed in the wake of the financial crisis of 1998. The framework for the Russia-Belarusian Union was set out in the Treaty On the Formation of a Community of Russia and Belarus (1996), the Treaty on Russia-Belarus Union, the Union Charter (1997), and the Treaty of the Formation of a Union State (1999). The integration treaties contain commitments to monetary union, equal rights, single citizenship, and a common foreign and defense policy. They also have established a range of institutions modeled aft ... [Read More]
|