Difference between revisions of "Belarus"

==Minsk-National capital, Belarus==

==Minsk-National capital, Belarus==

'''Minsk,''' city, capital of Belarus, and administrative centre of Minsk oblast (region). The city lies along the Svisloch River. First mentioned in 1067, it became the seat of a principality in 1101. Minsk passed to Lithuania in the 14th century and later to Poland and was regained by Russia in the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793. The city has suffered many disasters, including frequent destruction by fire, sacking by the Crimean Tatars in 1505, occupation and damage by French troops in 1812, German occupation in 1918, Polish occupation in 1919–20, and almost total destruction in World War II, especially during the Soviet advance in 1944. Nevertheless, Minsk steadily increased in importance, first as a provincial centre after 1793 and later as an industrial centre after the building of the Moscow-Warsaw and Liepaja-Romny railways through Minsk in the 1870s. In 1919 it became the capital of the Belorussian republic.

'''Minsk,''' city, capital of Belarus, and administrative centre of Minsk oblast (region). The city lies along the Svisloch River. First mentioned in 1067, it became the seat of a principality in 1101. Minsk passed to Lithuania in the 14th century and later to Poland and was regained by Russia in the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793. The city has suffered many disasters, including frequent destruction by fire, sacking by the Crimean Tatars in 1505, occupation and damage by French troops in 1812, German occupation in 1918, Polish occupation in 1919–20, and almost total destruction in World War II, especially during the Soviet advance in 1944. Nevertheless, Minsk steadily increased in importance, first as a provincial centre after 1793 and later as an industrial centre after the building of the Moscow-Warsaw and Liepaja-Romny railways through Minsk in the 1870s. In 1919 it became the capital of the Belorussian republic.

Minsk is the major industrial centre of Belarus. The economy is based on machine building, particularly the manufacture of trucks and tractors. Other products include electric motors, bearings, machine tools, radio and television equipment, refrigerators, watches, textiles, and foodstuffs. The city is also a major educational, cultural, and printing centre, with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, a university founded in 1921, and numerous other institutions of higher education. In 2006 the National Library of Belarus expanded to a visually striking diamond-shaped building that quickly became one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. Minsk has a music conservatory, a palace of winter sports, and a number of theatres, including the Belarus State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Pop. (2014 est.) 1,921,807.

Minsk is the major industrial centre of Belarus. The economy is based on machine building, particularly the manufacture of trucks and tractors. Other products include electric motors, bearings, machine tools, radio and television equipment, refrigerators, watches, textiles, and foodstuffs. The city is also a major educational, cultural, and printing centre, with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, a university founded in 1921, and numerous other institutions of higher education. In 2006 the National Library of Belarus expanded to a visually striking diamond-shaped building that quickly became one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. Minsk has a music conservatory, a palace of winter sports, and a number of theatres, including the Belarus State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Pop. (2014 est.) 1,921,807.