The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and a right tributary of the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the maximum is 60 m. The banks are low (up to 0.5 m), steep in some areas (up to 1.5 m high), sandy, and the floodplain is swampy. Berezina freezes usually in the 1st half of December. Бярэзінскій раён 05

Its main tributaries are Bobr, Klyava, Ol'sa and from the left and Hayna and

Svislach Svislach or Śvislač ( be, Свiслач, ; russian: Сви́слочь, Svisloch; pl, Świsłocz; yi, סיסלעוויטש or ''Sislevitch''; lt, Svisločius) is a town in the South-West of Grodno Region, Belarus, an administrative center o ...

from the right.Березина

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

The Berezina Biosphere Preserve by the river is on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

list of Biosphere Preserves. Peat bogs cover 430 km² and thus occupy an important part of the reserve. These open peat zones have remained virtually untouched and are among Europe's largest bogs. The Berezina in Studzionka

Cities and towns on the Berezina from north to south * Dokshytsy * the village Studzionka *

Barysau Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in t ...

Babruysk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...

* Svietlahorsk

Historical significance

* Charles XII of Sweden's army crossed the Berezina on June 25, 1708, during his campaign against Peter the Great of Russia in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. (see for details) *

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's army suffered heavy losses (about 50,000) when they were crossing the Berezina in November, 1812, during the retreat from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

(see

Battle of Berezina The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating back toward Pola ...

). Since then "Berezina" is used in French as a synonym for catastrophe. Charles Joseph Minard § The map of Napoleon's Russian campaign for a visual graphic of the army's fate *Several armies in German Wehrmacht Army Group Centre were entrapped and prevented from crossing the Berezina in June 1944, during the envelopment phases of the

Bobruysk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...

and Minsk Offensives, within the closing phases of

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. *There were military actions between Germany and Russia at the Berezina River in 1917–1918. * Several battles are named after the river.

References

---- Rivers of Gomel Region Rivers of Mogilev Region Rivers of Minsk Region Rivers of Vitebsk Region Rivers of Belarus {{Belarus-river-stub