Romania’s Incredible Rise (And Belarus’ Missed Chance)

In this video, we compare two post-Soviet countries that began from similar starting points — but ended up worlds apart. Romania and Belarus both entered the 1990s with chaos, inflation, and collapsing industries. Yet one embraced reform, opened to the world, and surged ahead, while the other remained tightly controlled and economically stagnant. We trace Romania’s path from dictatorship to EU membership, foreign investment, and rapid economic growth through the 2000s and 2010s. We also examine why Belarus stalled, struggling with devaluation, dependency on Russia, and limited political freedom. This is the story of how two nations diverged — and why it matters for Europe today. Support the Channel: 💁‍♂️ Patreon:   / eumadesimple   ☕ Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/EUMadeSi... 📷 Youtube:    / theeumadesimple   Website: https://eumadesimple.eu/ Social Media: 📷   / eu_made_simple   𝕏:   / eu_made_simple   📹   / eumadesimple   👥 Discord:   / discord   Other Languages: 🇬🇧 English:    / @eumadesimple   🇩🇪 German:    / @eumadesimpledeutsch   🇫🇷 French:    / @luesimplifiee   🇮🇹 Italian:    / @ueinmodosemplice   🇷🇴 Romanian:    / @ueinmodsimplu   🇧🇬 Bulgarian:    / @ЕСОпростен   🇬🇷 Greek:    / @ee_apla   Sources: https://static.heritage.org/index/pdf... https://www.macrotrends.net/global-me... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflati... https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/bela... https://www.marxists.org/history/etol... https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Roma... https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Bela... https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/... https://www.rri.ro/en/news-and-curren... https://ec.europa.eu/commission/press... https://www.timedoctor.com/blog/avera... https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024 https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Econo...