Short answers, pulled from the story.
The name Belarus appears in German and Latin medieval literature with chronicles of Jan of Czarnków mentioning White Rus' in 1381. Sir Jerome Horsey used the term White Russia for the first time in the late-16th century while maintaining close contacts with the Russian royal court.
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 with defense of Brest Fortress serving as Operation Barbarossa's first major battle. During German occupation from 1941 to 1944, 209 out of 290 towns and cities were destroyed along with 85% of republic industry and over one million buildings.
Alexander Lukashenko catapulted into national prominence garnering 45% first round vote and 80% second defeating Vyacheslav Kebich receiving 14% on the 24th of June 1994 and the 10th of July 1994. Lukashenko has been president since 1994 ruling highly centralized authoritarian government described as Europe's last dictatorship.
In 1986, Byelorussian SSR contaminated with most nuclear fallout from Chernobyl power plant explosion located 16 km beyond border in neighboring Ukrainian SSR. About 70% radiation entered Belarusian territory affecting a fifth of land primarily farmland and forests in southeastern regions.
Byelorussian SSR embraced Byelorussia as part of national consciousness until 1991 when official usage shifted to Republic of Belarus. A national constitution adopted March 1994 gave prime minister functions to President of Belarus.