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Belarus THE ECONOMY
Belarus is a graphic example of the problems created
when an
industrial "colony" becomes independent. The Belorussian
SSR had
imported the bulk of its raw materials, components, and
energy
from the Soviet Union and exported most of what it
produced (much
of it for the military-industrial complex) back to the
Soviet
Union. The country's economy, which had been integrated
into that
of the Soviet Union, found itself deprived of most of the
essential components it needed to function independently
when the
Soviet system collapsed.
Independent Belarus's economy, like that of the
Belorussian
SSR, still relies on inefficient, state-supported,
industrial
facilities, which are increasingly hampered by their need
for
fuels whose prices are gradually reaching world levels
(see
fig. 8). The economic recession in Belarus intensified in 1994,
leading to Belarus's worst economic year to that point. In
1994
the net material product
(
NMP--see Glossary) had dropped
by 21
percent from 1993 (down by more than one-third from its
1989
level), which was worse than in the two previous years;
this
decline was felt across the board. Agriculture now
accounted for
36 percent of NMP, industry for 44 percent, transportation
and
communications for 3 percent, construction for 12 percent,
and
the remaining sectors for 5 percent.
Data as of June 1995
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