Belarus [SEP] named after
pagan Balts.
An alternate explanation for the name comments on the white clothing worn by the local Slavic population. A third theory suggests that the old Rus' lands that were not conquered by the Tatars (i.e., Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev) had been referred to as "White Rus'".
The name "Rus" is often conflated with its Latin forms "Russia" and "Ruthenia", thus Belarus is often referred to as "White Russia" or "White Ruthenia". The name first
Union Shield – 2011
Union Shield – 2011 () is a joint Russian-Belarusian military exercise, which took place from Sep 16 until Sep 22, 2011.
Background.
Russian Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov officially announced that the joint military exercise "Union Shield" is to take place in September 2011 after the meeting with his counterparts - Mykhailo Yezhel (the Ukrainian Defence Minister) and Yuri Zhadobin (the Defence Minister of the Republic of Belarus), which was held in Minsk, April, 2011.
Exercise