Major dates in history

• 862 AD – the town of Polotsk was first mentioned in chronicles as a center of local tribes
  
• 10th century, second half – the Polotsk Principality was created
  
• 10th century, end – the Turov Principality was founded
  
• 1230 – Belarus was incorporated into the Great Duchy of Lithuania
  
• 1569 – Belarus was incorporated into Rzecz Pospolita
  
• 1772–1795 – Rzecz Pospolita together with Belarus were annexed to the Russian Empire
  
• 1918 – the Belarusian People’s Republic was proclaimed
  
• 1919 – the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the USSR
  
• 1941–1945 – Belarus together with the USSR participated in the World War II
  
• 1945 – Belarus became one of the founding members of the United Nations
  
• 1990 – Belarus became a sovereign state
  
• 1994 – Belarus adopted Constitution and elected its first President