Edited sentence: Belarus' strong relations with Russia also affect its record at the Eurovision Song Contest, as it has so far given 12 points to the Russian representation at each contest.The fact that Belarus gave 12 points to Norway in 2009 may be a result of Alexander Rybak's Belarussian background and the new rule of jury votes.This, however, changed in 2009 when, with the introduction of 50/50 jury and televoting, Russia managed to receive only 8 points