== one of the highest GNP per capita == 

 What is the ground of claim that: Economically however, this allowed Belarus to bypass severe economic hardships and criseses that the former Soviet Union countries encountered. Even today the country has one of the highest GNP per capita of all the former USSR nations. ? 
 It seems that the countries with the highest GNP per capita in ex-USSR are Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. While Belarus is their immediate neighbour, it is way behind.