🇧🇾 Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked Eastern European country of 9.2 million, often called "Europe's last dictatorship" under Alexander Lukashenko, who's held power since 1994. GDP is around $73 billion, and the economy retains a Soviet-style structure — about 70% of industry is state-owned. The country served as a staging ground for Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, resulting in Western sanctions that have further isolated it. Minsk is a surprisingly clean, orderly capital with wide Soviet boulevards and almost no visible poverty. Belarus has some of Europe's last primeval forests, including the Białowieża Forest shared with Poland.

Potash fertilizer is the big export earner — Belarus was the world's second-largest producer before sanctions disrupted trade. Refined petroleum products (from Russian crude), machinery, and food products round out exports. Russia accounts for about 50% of trade and provides energy at below-market rates, effectively subsidizing the economy. GDP contracted after 2022 sanctions but has partially recovered through trade rerouting via Russia and Central Asia.

Belarus has one of the highest rates of IT workers per capita in Europe — the country's Hi-Tech Park in Minsk was home to companies like EPAM and Wargaming (creators of World of Tanks) before many relocated post-2020. The Białowieża Forest contains Europe's largest population of European bison, brought back from near-extinction.

Belarus is increasingly a satellite state of Russia, with limited economic sovereignty. The IT talent exodus after 2020 and sanctions have hollowed out the most dynamic sector of the economy. The trajectory is downward without political change.