[citation needed] Since waves of unrest began in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, particularly in Poland, the countries in those regions sought independence from the Soviet Union.

[1] On 19 September 1991, the Permanent Representative of the Byelorussian SSR Hienadz Buraukin informed the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations that the country would officially henceforth be known simply as "Belarus".

In both instances, the annual parade took place at nine o'clock in the evening and included cadets form the Military Academy dressed up as Soviet-era Belarusian Partisans.

[8] For those of the Catholic faith, the religious hymn "Almighty God" (Belarusian: Magutnyj Boža) is sung at the end of mass on 3 July.

[11][12] In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus on the eve of Independence Day, attending the inauguration of the Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum.

[13] During the 2019 celebrations, Azerbaijani defense minister Zakir Hasanov, Commander Russian Western Military District Viktor Astapov, and Uzbek army chief Pavel Ergashev were in attendance.