ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the case of Belarus, focusing primarily on developments in its financial sector and its strategy of integration into the global economy. It reviews the initial shocks that all transition economies face at the beginning of transformation and describes patterns of transition. The chapter discusses the political reasons for introducing financial repression in Belarus and the subsequent politicization of economic-policy making in Belarus. It looks at the divergent post-communist pathway of Belarus by investigating its strategy of integration into the global economy, and outlining further perspectives on the development of the country. Under the Soviet system Belarus was the country’s ‘industrial assembly plant’ specializing in the production of assembled goods, rather than the production of raw materials or services. A two-tier banking system was established at the end of 1990 with the enacting of both the ‘Act on the National Bank of Belarus’ and the ‘Act on Banks and Banking Activity in the Republic of Belarus’.
