ABSTRACT
In common with its neighbours Ukraine and Moldova, Belarus was relatively ill prepared for independence in 1991. In March of that year, over 82.7 per cent of the population supported the preservation of the USSR as a federation of sovereign states.1 Its political leadership was taken by surprise by the events in Moscow, and adopted independence formally on 25 August. No referendum was ever held on the question of independence (in contrast to Ukraine) and there was not even a clearly defined structure of leadership. For some time authority was divided between the Speaker of the parliament and the Prime Minister. The process of nation building had barely begun, and even the development of the state language and culture were in their infancy. Belarusian had been declared the state language only in 1990, not enough time for such a move to have a significant impact in schools, higher educational institutions, government, or business. These factors were to exert a major influence on politics during the early years of the independent state.
