Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region ( voblast) and Minsk District ( raion). As of January 2021, its population was 2 million, making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. Minsk is one of the administrative capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). First documented in 1067, Minsk became the capital of the Principality of Minsk before being annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242. It received town privileges in 1499. From 1569, it was the capital of the Minsk Voivodeship, an administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, Minsk was the capital of the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, in the Soviet Union. Minsk, June 2011

Etymology and historical names

The

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

name of the town was Мѣньскъ (i.e. ''Měnsk'' < Early Proto-Slavic or Late Indo-European ''Mēnĭskŭ''), derived from a river name ''Měn'' (< ''Mēnŭ''). The resulting form of the name, ''Minsk'' (spelled either Минскъ or Мѣнскъ), was taken over both in Russian (modern spelling: Минск) and Polish (''Mińsk''), and under the influence of Russian this form also became official in Belarusian. The direct continuation of the name in Belarusian is Miensk (, ), which some Belarusian-speakers continue to use as their preferred name for the city. When Belarus was under Polish rule, the names Mińsk Litewski ("Minsk of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

") and Mińsk Białoruski ("Minsk of Belarus") were used to differentiate this place name from Mińsk Mazowiecki 'Minsk in Masovia'. In modern Polish, ''Mińsk'' without an attribute usually refers to the city in Belarus, which is about 50 times bigger than Mińsk Mazowiecki; (cf.

Brest-Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

and Brześć Kujawski for a similar case).

History

Early history

The area of today's Minsk was settled by

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

in the 9th and 10th centuries AD. The

Svislach River The Svislach or Svislač ( be, Свіслач, ), or Svisloch (russian: Свислочь), is a river in Belarus, a right tributary of the river Berezina. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Krivichs and Dregovichs. By 980, the area was incorporated into the early medieval Principality of Polotsk, one of the earliest East Slavic principalities of Kievan Rus'. Minsk was first mentioned in the name form ''Měneskъ'' (Мѣнескъ) in the

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

for the year 1067 in association with the Battle on the River Nemiga. 1067 is now widely accepted as the founding year of Minsk. City authorities consider the date of 3 March 1067 to be the exact founding date of the city, though the town (by then fortified by wooden walls) had certainly existed for some time by then. The origin of the name is unknown but there are several theories. In the early 12th century, the Principality of Polotsk disintegrated into smaller fiefs. The Principality of Minsk was established by one of the Polotsk dynasty princes. In 1129, the Principality of Minsk was annexed by

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, the dominant principality of Kievan Rus'; however in 1146 the Polotsk dynasty regained control of the principality. By 1150, Minsk rivalled Polotsk as the major city in the former Principality of Polotsk. The princes of Minsk and Polotsk were engaged in years of struggle trying to unite all lands previously under the rule of Polotsk.

Late Middle Ages

Minsk escaped the Mongol invasion of Rus in 1237–1239. In 1242, Minsk became a part of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It joined peacefully and local elites enjoyed high rank in the society of the Grand Duchy. In 1413, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland entered into a union. Minsk became the centre of Minsk Voivodship (province). In 1441, as Grand Duke of Lithuania, Casimir IV included Minsk in a list of cities enjoying certain privileges, and in 1499, during the reign of his son, Alexander I Jagiellon, Minsk received town privileges under Magdeburg law. In 1569, after the Union of Lublin, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland merged into a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the middle of the 16th century, Minsk was an important economic and cultural centre in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was also an important centre for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Following the Union of Brest, both the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Roman Catholic Church increased in influence. In 1655, Minsk was conquered by troops of

Tsar Alexei Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...

of Russia. Russians governed the city until 1660 when it was regained by John II Casimir, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. By the end of the

Polish-Russian War Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Russia (including the Soviet Union) include: Originally a Polish civil war that Russia, among others, became involved in. Originally a Hungarian revolution b ...

, Minsk had only about 2,000 residents and just 300 houses. The second wave of devastation occurred during the Great Northern War, when Minsk was occupied in 1708 and 1709 by the army of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

and then by the army of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

. The last decades of the Polish rule involved decline or very slow development, since Minsk had become a small provincial town of little economic or military significance.

Russian rule

Minsk was annexed by Russia in 1793 as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. In 1796, it became the centre of the Minsk Governorate. All of the initial

street names A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as hodonyms (from Greek ‘road’, and ‘name’). The street name usually forms part of the address (th ...

were replaced by Russian names, though the spelling of the city's name remained unchanged. It was briefly occupied by the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

during

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

in 1812. Throughout the 19th century, the city continued to grow and significantly improve. In the 1830s, major streets and squares of Minsk were cobbled and paved. A first public library was opened in 1836, and a fire brigade was put into operation in 1837. In 1838, the first local newspaper, ''Minskiye gubernskiye vedomosti'' ("Minsk province news") went into circulation. The first theatre was established in 1844. By 1860, Minsk was an important trading city with a population of 27,000. There was a construction boom that led to the building of 2 and 3-story brick and stone houses in ''Upper Town''. Minsk's development was boosted by improvements in transportation. In 1846, the Moscow- Warsaw road was laid through Minsk. In 1871, a railway link between Moscow and Warsaw ran via Minsk, and in 1873, a new railway from Romny in Ukraine to the Baltic Sea port of Libava ( Liepāja) was also constructed. Thus Minsk became an important rail junction and a manufacturing hub. A municipal water supply was introduced in 1872, the telephone in 1890, the horse tram in 1892, and the first power generator in 1894. By 1900, Minsk had 58 factories employing 3,000 workers. The city also boasted theatres, cinemas, newspapers, schools and colleges, as well as numerous monasteries, churches, synagogues, and a mosque. According to the 1897 Russian census, the city had 91,494 inhabitants, with some 47,561 Jews constituting more than half of the city population.

20th century

In the early years of the 20th century, Minsk was a major centre for the worker's movement in Belarus. The

1st Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 1st Congress of the RSDLP (Russian: Российская социал-демократическая рабочая партия, РСДРП) was held between 13 March – 15 March (1 March–3 March O.S.) 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire (now ...

, the forerunner to the Bolsheviks and eventually the CPSU, was held there in 1898. It was also one of the major centres of the Belarusian national revival, alongside Vilnius. However, the First World War significantly affected the development of Minsk. By 1915, Minsk was a battlefront city. Some factories were closed down, and residents began evacuating to the east. Minsk became the headquarters of the Western Front of the Russian army and also housed military hospitals and military supply bases. The

had an immediate effect in Minsk. A Workers' Soviet was established in Minsk in October 1917, drawing much of its support from disaffected soldiers and workers. After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, German forces occupied Minsk on 21 February 1918. On 25 March 1918, Minsk was proclaimed the capital of the Belarusian People's Republic. The republic was short-lived; in December 1918, Minsk was taken over by the Red Army. In January 1919 Minsk was proclaimed the capital of the Belorussian SSR, though later in 1919 (see Operation Minsk) and again in 1920, the city was controlled by the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

during the course of the Polish-Bolshevik War between 8 August 1919 and 11 July 1920 and again between 14 October 1920 and 19 March 1921. Under the terms of the Peace of Riga, Minsk was handed back to the Russian SFSR and became the capital of the Belorussian SSR, one of the founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. A programme of reconstruction and development was begun in 1922. By 1924, there were 29 factories in operation; schools, museums, theatres and libraries were also established. Throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, Minsk saw rapid development with dozens of new factories being built and new schools, colleges, higher education establishments, hospitals, theatres and cinemas being opened. During this period, Minsk was also a centre for the development of Belarusian language and culture. RIAN archive 137811 Children during air raid

RIAN archive 137811 Children during air raid

Before the Second World War, Minsk had a population of 300,000 people, but this had fallen to around 50,000 by 1944. The Germans captured Minsk in the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, as part of Operation Barbarossa; after it had been devastated by the Luftwaffe. However, some factories, museums, and tens of thousands of civilians had been evacuated to the east. The Germans designated Minsk the administrative centre of '' Generalbezirk Weißruthenien''. Communists and sympathisers were killed or imprisoned, both locally and after being transported to Germany. Homes were requisitioned to house invading German forces. Thousands starved as food was seized by the German Army and paid work was scarce. Minsk was the site of one of the largest Nazi-run ghettos in the Second World War, temporarily housing over 100,000 Jews (see Minsk Ghetto). Some anti-Soviet residents of Minsk, who hoped that Belarus could regain independence, did support the Germans, especially at the beginning of the occupation, but by 1942, Minsk had become a major centre of the Soviet partisan resistance movement against the invasion, in what is known as the '' German-Soviet War''. For this role, Minsk was awarded the title ''

Hero City Hero City may refer to: * Hero City (Soviet Union), awarded 1965–1985 to cities now in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine * Hero City of Ukraine, awarded 2022 * Hero Cities of Yugoslavia, awarded 1970–1975 * Leningrad Hero City Obelisk, a monument ...

'' in 1974. Minsk was recaptured by Soviet troops on 3 July 1944 in Minsk Offensive as part of Operation Bagration. The city was the centre of German resistance to the Soviet advance and saw heavy fighting during the first half of 1944. Factories, municipal buildings, power stations, bridges, most roads, and 80% of the houses were reduced to rubble. In 1944, Minsk's population was reduced to a mere 50,000. Gates of Minsk (2016)

Nacyjanalny akademičny teatar imia Janki Kupały

The historical centre was replaced in the 1940s and 1950s by

Stalinist architecture Stalinist architecture, mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style () or Socialist Classicism, is the architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, between 1933 (when Boris Iofan's draft for the Palace ...

, which favoured grand buildings, broad avenues and wide squares. Subsequently, the city grew rapidly as a result of massive industrialisation. Since the 1960s Minsk's population has also grown apace, reaching 1 million in 1972 and 1.5 million in 1986. Construction of Minsk Metro began on 16 June 1977, and the system was opened to the public on 30 June 1984, becoming the ninth metro system in the Soviet Union. The rapid population growth was primarily driven by mass migration of young, unskilled workers from rural areas of Belarus, as well as by migration of skilled workers from other parts of the Soviet Union. To house the expanding population, Minsk spread beyond its historical boundaries. Its surrounding villages were absorbed and rebuilt as ''mikroraions'', districts of high-density apartment housing.

Recent developments

Niezaliežnasci avenue (Minsk), November 2019 p8

Throughout the 1990s, after the fall of Communism, the city continued to change. As the capital of a newly independent country, Minsk quickly acquired the attributes of a major city. Embassies were opened, and a number of Soviet administrative buildings became government centres. During the early and mid-1990s, Minsk was hit by an economic crisis and many development projects were halted, resulting in high unemployment and underemployment. Since the late 1990s, there have been improvements in transport and infrastructure, and a housing boom has been underway since 2002. On the outskirts of Minsk, new '' mikroraions'' of residential development have been built. Metro lines have been extended, and the road system (including the Minsk BeltWay) has been improved. In recent years Minsk has been continuously decentralizing, with a third line of the Minsk Metro opening in 2020. More development is planned for several areas outside the city centre, while the future of the older neighborhoods is still unclear.

Geography

Minsk is located on the southeastern slope of the Minsk Hills, a region of rolling hills running from the southwest (upper reaches of the river Nioman) to the northeast– that is, to Lukomskaye Lake in northwestern Belarus. The average altitude above sea level is . The physical geography of Minsk was shaped over the two most recent ice ages. The

Svislach River The Svislach or Svislač ( be, Свіслач, ), or Svisloch (russian: Свислочь), is a river in Belarus, a right tributary of the river Berezina. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .urstromtal'', an ancient river valley formed by water flowing from melting ice sheets at the end of the last Ice Age. There are six smaller rivers within the city limits, all part of the Black Sea basin. Minsk is in the area of mixed forests typical of most of Belarus. Pinewood and mixed forests border the edge of the city, especially in the north and east. Some of the forests were preserved as parks (for instance, the Chelyuskinites Park) as the city grew. The city was initially built on the hills, which allowed for defensive fortifications, and the western parts of the city are the most hilly. In 5 km from the northwestern edge of city lies large

Zaslawskaye reservoir Zaslawskaye reservoir ( be, Заслаўскае вадасховішча, russian: Заславское водохранилище) is a water reservoir in the . It is the second largest artificial lake in Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively ...

, often called the Minsk sea. It is the second largest reservoir in Belarus, constructed in 1956.

Climate

Minsk has a warm summer humid continental climate ( Köppen ''Dfb'') though unpredictable many a times, owing to its location between the strong influence of the moist air of the Atlantic Ocean and the dry air of the Eurasian landmass. Its weather is unstable and tends to change relatively often. The average January temperature is , while the average July temperature is . The lowest temperature was recorded on 17 January 1940, at and the warmest on 8 August 2015 at . Fog is frequent, especially in the autumn and spring. Minsk receives annual precipitation of , of which one third falls during the cold period (as snow and rain) and two-thirds in the warm period. Throughout the year, most winds are westerly and northwesterly, bringing cool and moist air from the Atlantic. 2019 07 17 16 41 IMG 4786

Ecological situation

The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Centre of Radioactive and Environmental Control. Minsk after snow and freezing fog (8216065783) (2)

Minsk after snow and freezing fog (8216065783) (2)

During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400

tons Tons can refer to: * Tons River, a major river in India * Tamsa River, locally called Tons in its lower parts (Allahabad district, Uttar pradesh, India). * the plural of ton, a unit of mass, force, volume, energy or power :* short ton, 2,000 poun ...

. The change from gas as industrial fuel to

mazut Mazut is a low-quality heavy fuel oil, used in power plants and similar applications. In the United States and Western Europe, by using FCC or RFCC processes, mazut is blended or broken down, with the end product being diesel. Mazut may be used ...

for financial reasons has worsened the ecological situation. However, the majority of overall air pollution is produced by cars. Belarusian traffic police ''DAI'' every year hold operation "Clean Air" to prevent the use of cars with extremely polluting engines. Sometimes the maximum normative concentration of formaldehyde and ammonia in air is exceeded in Zavodski District. Other major contaminants are

Chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

-VI and nitrogen dioxide. Zavodski, Partyzanski and Leninski districts, which are located in the southeastern part of Minsk, are the most polluted areas in the city.

Demographics

Population growth

Ethnic groups

During its first centuries, Minsk was a city with a predominantly Early East Slavic population (the forefathers of modern-day

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

). After the 1569

Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian ...

, the city became a destination for migrating Poles (who worked as administrators, clergy, teachers and soldiers) and Jews ( Ashkenazim, who worked in the retail trade and as craftsmen, as other opportunities were prohibited by discrimination laws). During the last centuries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, many Minsk residents became polonised, adopting the language of the dominant Poles and assimilating to its culture. After the second partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1793, Minsk and its larger region became part of the Russian Empire. The Russians dominated the city's culture as had the Poles in the earlier centuries. At the time of the 1897 census under the Russian Empire, Jews were the largest ethnic group in Minsk, at 52% of the population, with 47,500 of the 91,000 residents. Other substantial ethnic groups were Russians (25.5%), Poles (11.4%) and Belarusians (9%). The latter figure may be not accurate, as some local Belarusians were likely counted as Russians. A small traditional community of

Lipka Tatars The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...

had been living in Minsk for centuries. Between the 1880s and 1930s, many Jews, as well as peasants from other backgrounds, emigrated from the city to the United States as part of a

Belarusian diaspora The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants. According to different researchers, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 million Belarusian descendants living outside the territory of the Rep ...

The high mortality of the First World War and the Second World War affected the demographics of the city, particularly the destruction of Jews under the Nazi occupation of the Second World War. Working through local populations, Germans instituted deportation of Jewish citizens to concentration camps, murdering most of them there. The Jewish community of Minsk suffered catastrophic losses in the Holocaust. From more than half the population of the city, the percentage of Jews dropped to less than 10% more than ten years after the war. After its limited population peaked in the 1970s, continuing anti-Semitism under the Soviet Union and increasing nationalism in Belarus caused most Jews to emigrate to Israel and western countries in the 1980s; by 1999, less than 1% of the population of Minsk was Jewish. In the first three decades of the post-war years, the most numerous new residents in Minsk were rural migrants from other parts of Belarus; the proportion of ethnic

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

increased markedly. Numerous skilled Russians and other migrants from other parts of the Soviet Union migrated for jobs in the growing manufacturing sector.Zimmerman (2004), ''Poles, Jews, and Politics'' In 1959 Belarusians made up 63.3% of the city's residents. Other ethnic groups included Russians (22.8%), Jews (7.8%), Ukrainians (3.6%), Poles (1.1%) and Tatars (0.4%). Continued migration from rural Belarus in the 1960s and 1970s changed the ethnic composition further. By 1979 Belarusians made up 68.4% of the city's residents. Other ethnic groups included Russians (22.2%), Jews (3.4%), Ukrainians (3.4%), Poles (1.2%) and Tatars (0.2%). According to the 1989 census, 82% percent of Minsk residents have been born in Belarus. Of those, 43% have been born in Minsk and 39% – in other parts of Belarus. 6.2% of Minsk residents came from regions of western Belarus (Grodno and Brest Regions) and 13% – from eastern Belarus (Mogilev, Vitebsk and Gomel Regions). 21.4% of residents came from central Belarus (Minsk Region). According to the 1999 census, Belarusians make up 79.3% of the city's residents. Other ethnic groups include Russians (15.7%), Ukrainians (2.4%), Poles (1.1%) and Jews (0.6%). The Russian and Ukrainian populations of Minsk peaked in the late 1980s (at 325,000 and 55,000 respectively). After the break-up of the Soviet Union many of them chose to move to their respective mother countries, although some families had been in Minsk for generations. Another factor in the shifting demographics of the city was the changing self-identification of Minsk residents of mixed ancestry – in independent Belarus they identify as Belarusians. The Jewish population of Minsk peaked in the early 1970s at 50,000 according to official figures; independent estimates put the figure at between 100,000 and 120,000. Beginning in the 1980s, there has been mass-scale emigration to Israel, the US, and Germany. Today only about 10,000 Jews live in Minsk. The traditional minorities of Poles and Tatars have remained at much the same size (17,000 and 3,000 respectively). Rural Poles have migrated from the western part of Belarus to Minsk, and many Tatars have moved to Minsk from Tatarstan. Some more recent

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

communities have developed as a result of immigration. The most prominent are immigrants from the Caucasus countries – Armenians,

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...

and

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

each numbering about 2,000 to 5,000. They began migrating to Minsk in the 1970s, and more immigrants have joined them since. Many work in the retail trade in open-air markets. A small but prominent Arab community has developed in Minsk, primarily represented by recent economic immigrants from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, etc. (In many cases, they are graduates of Minsk universities who decide to settle in Belarus and bring over their families). A small community of

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, numbering about 2,000, are settled in suburbs of north-western and southern Minsk.

Languages

Chinese sinage, Main Railway Station, Minsk, Belarus

Throughout its history Minsk has been a city of many languages. Initially most of its residents spoke Ruthenian (which later developed into modern

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

). However, after 1569 the official language was Polish. In the 19th-century Russian became the official language and by the end of that century it had become the language of administration, schools and newspapers. The Belarusian national revival increased interest in the Belarusian language – its use has grown since the 1890s, especially among the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

. In the 1920s and early 1930s Belarusian was the major language of Minsk, including use for administration and education (both secondary and tertiary). However, since the late 1930s Russian again began gaining dominance. A short period of Belarusian national revival in the early 1990s saw a rise in the numbers of Belarusian speakers. However, in 1994 the newly elected president Alexander Lukashenko slowly reversed this trend. Most residents of Minsk now use Russian exclusively in their everyday lives at home and at work, although Belarusian is understood as well. Substantial numbers of recent migrants from the rural areas use Trasyanka (a Russo-Belarusian mixed language) in their everyday lives.

Religion

There are no reliable statistics on the religious affiliations of those living in Minsk, or among the population of Belarus generally. The majority of Christians belong to the

Belarusian Orthodox Church The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; be, Беларуская праваслаўная царква, russian: Белорусская православная церковь) is the official name of the Belarusian Exarchate ( be, Беларуск� ...

, which is the exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus. There is a significant minority of

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

As of 2006, there are approximately 30 religious communities of various denominations in Minsk. The only functioning monastery in the city is St Elisabeth Convent; its large complex of churches is open to visitors.

Crime

2020 Belarusian protests — Minsk, 30 August p0023

Minsk has the highest crime rate in Belarus – 193.5 crimes per 10,000 citizens. 20–25% of all serious crimes in Belarus, 55% of bribes and 67% of mobile phone thefts are committed in Minsk. However, attorney general Grigory Vasilevich stated that the homicide rate in Minsk in 2008 was "relatively fine". The crime rate grew significantly in 2009 and 2010: for example, the number of corruption crimes grew by 36% in 2009 alone. Crime detection level varies from 13% in burglary to 92% in homicide with an average 40.1%. Many citizens are concerned for their safety at night and the strongest concern was expressed by residents of Chizhovka and Shabany microdistricts (both in Zavodski District).Рейтинг всех служб и подразделений ГУВД Мингорисполкома вырос
''National Law Portal of Belarus'' (10 February 2006). The SIZO-1 detention center, IK-1 general prison, and the KGB special jail called "''Amerikanka''" are all located in Minsk. Alexander Lukashenko's rivals in the 2010 presidential election were imprisoned in the KGB jail along with other prominent politicians and civil activists.

Ales Michalevic Ales (Alaksiej) Anatoljevich Michalevic ( be, Але́сь Мiхале́вiч, Aleś Michalevič, Ales Mikhalevich, born 15 May 1975 in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR) is a Belarusian public figure and politician, candidate in the 2010 Belarusian presid ...

, who was kept in this jail, accused the KGB of using torture. On 15 November 2020, more than 1,000 protesters were arrested during an anti-government protest. Protesters took to the streets in the capital, Minsk, following the death of an opposition activist, Roman Bondarenko. The activist died after allegedly being beaten up by the security forces. The protesters put flowers at the site where he was detained before succumbing to his injuries. 2020 Belarusian protests — Minsk, 30 August p0017

2020 Belarusian protests — Minsk, 30 August p0017

Economy

Minsk is the

economic capital In finance, mainly for financial services firms, economic capital (ecap) is the amount of risk capital, assessed on a realistic basis, which a firm requires to cover the risks that it is running or collecting as a going concern, such as market r ...

of Belarus. It has developed industrial and services sectors which serve the needs not only of the city, but of the entire nation. Minsk's contributions form nearly 46% of Belarusian budget. According to 2010 results, Minsk paid 15 trillion BYR to state budget while the whole income from all other regions was 20 trillion BYR. In the period January 2013 to October 2013, 70.6% of taxes in the budget of Minsk were paid by non-state enterprises, 26.3% by state enterprises, and 1.8% by individual entrepreneurs. Among the top 10 taxpayers were five oil and gas companies (including two

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...

's and one

Lukoil The PJSC Lukoil Oil Company ( stylized as LUKOIL or ЛУКОЙЛ in Cyrillic script) is a Russian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petrol ...

's subsidiaries), two mobile network operators ( MTS and A1), two companies producing alcoholic beverages (Minsk-Kristall and Minsk grape wines factory) and one producer of tobacco goods. In 2012, Gross Regional Product of Minsk was formed mainly by industry (26.4%), wholesale (19.9%), transportation and communications (12.3%), retail (8.6%) and construction (5.8%). GRP of Minsk measured in Belarusian rubles was 55 billion(€22 billion) or around 1/3 of Gross domestic product of Belarus. Minsk city has highest salaries in Belarus. As of July 2022 average gross salary in Minsk was 2,265 BYN per month or around €900 per month.

Industry

Minsk is the major industrial centre of Belarus. According to 2012 statistics, Minsk-based companies produced 21.5% of electricity, 76% of trucks, 15.9% of footwear, 89.3% of television sets, 99.3% of washing machines, 30% of chocolate, 27.7% of distilled alcoholic beverages and 19.7% of tobacco goods in Belarus. Today the city has over 250 factories and plants. Its industrial development started in the 1860s and was facilitated by the railways built in the 1870s. However, much of the industrial infrastructure was destroyed during World War I, especially during World War II. After the last war, the development of the city was linked to the development of industry, especially of R&D-intensive sectors (heavy emphasis of R&D intensive industries in urban development in the USSR is known in Western geography as 'Minsk phenomenon'). Minsk was turned into a major production site for trucks, tractors, gears, optical equipment, refrigerators, television sets and radios, bicycles, motorcycles, watches, and metal-processing equipment. Outside machine-building and electronics, Minsk also had textiles, construction materials, food processing, and printing industries. During the Soviet period, the development of the industries was linked to suppliers and markets within the USSR. The break-up of the union in 1991 led to a serious economic meltdown in 1991–1994. However, since the adoption of the neo-Keynesean policies under Alexander Lukashenko's government in 1995, much of the gross industrial production was regained. Unlike many other cities in the CIS and Eastern Europe, Minsk was not heavily de-industrialised in the 1990s. About 40% of the workforce is still employed in the manufacturing sector. Major industrial employers include: *

Minsk Tractor Plant Minsk Tractor Works ( be, Мінскі трактарны завод, Minski traktarny zavod; russian: Минский тракторный завод; MTZ) is a Belarusian agricultural machinery manufacturer with headquarters in Minsk, Belarus. M ...

– specialised in manufacturing tractors. Established in 1946 in eastern Minsk, is among major manufacturers of wheeled tractors in the CIS. Employs about 30,000 staff. * Minsk Automobile Plant – specialising in producing trucks, buses, and mini-vans. Established in 1944 in south-eastern Minsk, is among major vehicle manufacturers in the CIS. *

Minsk Refrigerator Plant ) – closed joint-stock company , industry = Household appliances , founded = in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR , founder = Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian SSR , hq_location_city = Minsk , hq_location_country = Belarus , key_people = Vik ...

(also known as Atlant) – specialised in manufacturing household goods, such as refrigerators, freezers, and recently also of washing machines. Established in 1959 in the north-west of the city. *Horizont – specialised in producing TV-sets, audio and video electronics. Established in 1950 in north-central Minsk.

Unemployment

In 2011 official statistics quote unemployment in Minsk at 0.3%.Сколько реально безработных в Минске?
During the 2009 census 5.6% of Minsk residents of employable age called themselves unemployed. The government discourages official unemployment registration with tiny unemployment benefits and obligatory public works. Until 2018 there was an 'unemployment tax' taken from those who were suspected of loitering.

Government and administrative divisions

2020 Belarusian protests — Minsk, 23 August p0034

Minsk is subdivided into nine '' raions'' (districts): # , russian: link=no, Центральный), or "Central District" # , russian: link=no, Советский, Sovetsky), or " Soviet District" # , russian: link=no, Первомайский, Pervomaysky), named after

1 May Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. * 1169 &ndas ...

# , russian: link=no, Партизанский, Partizansky), named after the Soviet partisans # , russian: link=no, Заводской, Zavodskoy), or "Factory district" (initially it included major plants, Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ) and Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), later the Partyzanski District with MTZ was split off it) # , russian: link=no, Ленинский, Leninsky), named after Lenin # , russian: link=no, Октябрьский, Oktyabrsky), named after the October Revolution # , russian: link=no, Московский, Moskovsky), named after Moscow # , russian: link=no, Фрунзенский, Frunzensky), named after Mikhail Frunze In addition, a number of residential neighbourhoods are recognised in Minsk, called microdistricts, with no separate administration.

Culture

Minsk is the major cultural center of Belarus. Its first theatres and libraries were established in the middle of the 19th century. Now it has 11 theatres and 16 museums. There are 20 cinemas and 139 libraries.

Churches

*The Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is actually the former church of the

Bernardine Bernardine is a Latinate diminutive of the given name " Bernard". It can be applied to men, notably Saint Bernadine, but is now much more often a female name. Bernadine and Bernadene are variant spellings of the female name. The nickname '' ...

convent. It was built in the simplified

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style in 1642–87 and went through renovations in 1741–46 and 1869. *The Cathedral of Saint Mary was built by the Jesuits as their principal church in 1700–10, restored in 1951 and 1997; it overlooks the recently restored 18th-century city hall, located on the other side of the Liberty Square; *Two other historic churches are the cathedral of

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, formerly affiliated with the Bernardine monastery, built in 1644–52 and repaired in 1983, and the fortified church of Sts. Peter and Paul, originally built in the 1620s and recently restored, complete with its flanking twin towers. *The impressive Neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic Red Church (Cathedral of Sts. Simeon and Helene) was built in 1906–10 immediately after religious freedoms were proclaimed in Imperial Russia and the tsar allowed dissidents to build their churches; *The largest church built in the Russian imperial period of the town's history is dedicated to St.

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

; *Many Orthodox churches were built after the dissolution of the USSR in a variety of styles, although most remain true to the Neo-Russian idiom. A good example is St. Elisabeth's Convent, founded in 1999. File:Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.jpg, Church of Sts. Peter and Paul (Russian Orthodox). File:Belarus-Minsk-Church of Mary Magdalene-8.jpg, Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Russian Orthodox). File:Belarus-Minsk-Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross-8.jpg, Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Roman Catholic). File:Belarus-Minsk-Holy Trinity Church-1.jpg, Church of

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

(Saint Rochus) (Roman Catholic). File:Vsekh svyatykh sobor 1998.jpg, Church of All Saints (Russian Orthodox). File:Евфросиниевская церковь.jpg, Church of St.Yevfrosinya of Polotsk (Russian Orthodox). File:St Elizabeth Monastery 1997 1.jpg, Church of St. Elisabeth Convent (Russian Orthodox) File:Красный костёл - panoramio (1).jpg, The Red Church (Roman Catholic). File:Костёл Святого Иосифа ночью - panoramio.jpg, Church of St.Joseph (formerly Uniate, used as an archive). File:Miensk-Archikatedralny kaścioł Imia Najśviaciejšaj Panny Maryi-7.jpg, Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic). File:Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk.jpg, Minsk Cathedral of the Holy Spirit ( Russian Orthodox).

Cemeteries

* Kalvaryja (Calvary Cemetery) is the oldest surviving cemetery in the city. Many famous people of Belarus are buried here. The cemetery was closed to new burials in the 1960s. * Military Cemetery * Eastern Cemetery * Čyžoŭskija Cemetery * Northern Cemetery

Theatres

Major theatres are: * National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus Theatre opera&ballet, Minsk

* Belarusian State Musical Theatre (performances in Russian) *

Maxim Gorky National Drama Theatre Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

(performances in Russian) * Janka Kupala National Theatre (performances in

)

Museums

Major museums include: * Belarusian National Arts Museum National Arts Museum of the Republic of Belarus 2019

* Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum *

Belarusian National History and Culture Museum Belarusian National History and Culture Museum is a museum in Minsk, Belarus. The leading Museum of the historic profile of the Republic of Belarus is the biggest collection of the monuments of material and spiritual culture of the Belarusian peo ...

* Belarusian Nature and Environment Museum * Maksim Bahdanovič Literary Museum *

Old Belarusian History Museum Old Belarusian History Museum is a museum in Minsk, Belarus. The museum was founded in 1977 as a center for the study and promotion of the Belarusian artistic heritage. The basis of the museum collection includes unique exhibits collected for m ...

* Art galleries include: *

Ў gallery The Ў Gallery (Y Gallery) ( be, Галерэя Ў - ''Gallery Short U'') was an art gallery of contemporary art located in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The Gallery Ў consised of the exhibition space, wine bar Ў, design-shop and Literary House ...

Recreation areas

* Chelyuskinites Park * Children's Railroad * Gorky Park (Minsk) *

Yanka Kupala Park Janka Kupała Park is a park in Minsk, Belarus located along Śvisłač river. This park is named after Janka Kupała, one of the classics of Belarusian literature of early 20th century. Before World War II World War II or the ...

Tourism

There are more than 400 travel agencies in Minsk, about a quarter of them provide agent activity, and most of them are tour operators.

Sports

Football

* FC Dinamo Minsk *

FC Minsk FC Minsk ( be, ФК Мінск) is a professional football club based in Minsk, Belarus. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the highest tier of Belarusian football. Their colours are red and navy blue. History The club was establishe ...

FC Energetik-BGU Minsk FC Energetik-BGU Minsk is a Belarusian football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most ...

* FC Krumkachy Minsk

Ice hockey

* HC Dinamo Minsk * HC Yunost Minsk

Handball

* SKA Minsk

Basketball

BC Tsmoki-Minsk Basketball Club Minsk ( be, Мінск) is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Minsk, Belarus. They play in the Belarus Premier League and the VTB United League. The team plays its home games at the Minsk Arena. Establis ...

International sporting events

In 2013, Minsk hosted the European Junior Rowing Championships at the Republican Center of Olympic Training for Rowing And Canoeing to the north-west of the city. Minsk hosted the

2014 IIHF World Championship The 2014 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Belarus in its capital, Minsk, held from 9–25 May 2014. Sixteen national teams were competing in two venues, the Minsk-Arena and Chizhovka-Arena. It was the first time Belarus hosted the tourname ...

at the Minsk Arena. In January 2016, the

2016 European Speed Skating Championships The 2016 European Speed Skating Championships were held in Minsk, Belarus, from 9 to 10 January 2016. Skaters from 17 countries participated. Sven Kramer and Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands were the defending champions. Kramer successfully defende ...

were held in the Minsk Arena. Minsk Arena is the only indoor speed skating rink in Belarus. Minsk hosted the

2019 European Games , translation: Time for bright victories! , nations participating = 50 , athletes participating = 4,082 , events = 200 in 15 sports , opening ceremony = 21 June , closing ceremony = 30 June , officially opened ...

in June. The

2019 European Figure Skating Championships The 2019 European Figure Skating Championships took place in Minsk, Belarus. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and ice dancing. Records The following new ISU best scores were set during this ...

were held in the Minsk Arena from the 21 to 27 January.

Transportation

Local transport

Minsk has an extensive public transport system. Passengers are served by 8 tramway lines, over 70 trolleybus lines, 3 subway lines and over 100 bus lines. Trams were the first public transport used in Minsk (since 1892 – the horse-tram, and since 1929 – the electric tram). Public buses have been used in Minsk since 1924, and trolleybuses since 1952. AKSM E321 electrobus in Minsk 4

All public transport is operated by Minsktrans, a government-owned and -funded transport

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

company. As of November 2021, Minsktrans used 1,322 buses (plus 93 electric buses), 744 trolleybuses and 135 tramway cars in Minsk. The Minsk city government in 2003 decreed that local transport provision should be set at a minimum level of 1 vehicle (bus, trolleybus or tram) per 1,500 residents. The number of vehicles in use by Minsktrans is 2.2 times higher than the minimum level. Public transport fares are controlled by the ''city's executive committee'' (city council). Single trip ticket for bus, trolleybus or tramway costs 0.75 BYN (≈ USD 0.3),Тарифы / Минсктранс
0.80 BYN for metro and 0.90 BYN for express buses. Monthly ticket for one kind of transport costs 33 BYN and 61 BYN for all five. Commercial marshrutka's prices varies from 1.5 to 2 BYN.

Rapid transit

Minsk is the only city in Belarus with an underground metro system. Construction of the metro began in 1977, soon after the city reached over a million people, and the first line with 8 stations was opened in 1984. Since then it has expanded into three lines: Maskoŭskaja, Aŭtazavodskaja, and Zielienalužskaja which are long with 15, 14 and 4 stations, respectively. On 7 November 2012, three new stations on the Moskovskaya Line were opened and another on 3 June 2014.. Construction of the third line began in 2011 and the first stage opened in 2020. Some layout plans speculate on a possible fourth line running from Vyasnyanka to Serabranka micro-rayons. Trains use 243 standard Russian metro-cars. On a typical day Minsk metro is used by 800,000 passengers. In 2007 ridership of Minsk metro was 262.1 million passengers, in 2017 ridership of Minsk metro was 284,1 million passengers, making it the 5th busiest metro network in the former USSR (behind Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv and Kharkiv). During peak hours trains run each 2–2.5 minutes. The metro network employs 3,200 staff. Most of the urban transport is being renovated to modern standards. For instance, all metro stations built since 2001 have passenger lifts from platform to street level, thus enabling the use of the newer stations by disabled passengers.

Railway and intercity bus

Stadler Astra train, Minsk train station, Belarus, pic

Minsk is the largest transport hub in Belarus. Minsk is located at the junction of the Warsaw-Moscow railway (built in 1871) running from the southwest to the northeast of the city and the Liepaja-

Romny Romny ( uk, Ромни́, ) is a city in northern Ukraine, Ukrainian Sumy Oblast. It is located on the Romen (river), Romen River. Romny serves as the administrative centre of Romny Raion. It is administratively incorporated as a City of region ...

railway (built in 1873) running from the northwest to the south. The first railway connects Russia with Poland and Germany; the second connects Ukraine with Lithuania and Latvia. They cross at the Minsk-''Pasažyrski'' railway station, the main railway station of Minsk. The station was built in 1873 as '' Vilenski vakzal''. The initial wooden building was demolished in 1890 and rebuilt in stone. During World War II the Minsk railway station was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1945 and 1946 and served until 1991. The new building of the Minsk-''Pasažyrski'' railway station was built during 1991–2002. Its construction was delayed due to financial difficulties; now, however, Minsk boasts one of the most modern and up-to-date railway stations in the CIS. There are plans to move all

suburban rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

traffic from Minsk-''Pasažyrski'' to the smaller stations, Minsk- ''Uschodni'' (East), Minsk-''Paŭdniovy'' (South) and Minsk-''Paŭnočny'' (North), by 2020. There are three intercity bus stations that link Minsk with the suburbs and other cities in Belarus and the neighboring countries. There are frequent services to Moscow, Smolensk, Vilnius,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Kyiv and Warsaw.

Cycling

According to the 2019 survey of 1934 people, Minsk had around 811,000 adult bicycles and 232,000 child and adolescent bicycles. In Minsk there is one bike for every 1.9 people. The total number of bicycles in Minsk exceeds the total number of cars (770,000 personal automobiles). 39% of Minsk residents have a personal bike. 43% of Minsk residents ride a bicycle once a month or more. As of 2017, the level of bicycle use is about 1% of all transport movements (for comparison: 12% in Berlin, 50% in Copenhagen). Vieladarožka, Minsk, Belarus - panoramio (14)

Vieladarožka, Minsk, Belarus - panoramio (14)

Since 2015, an annual bicycle parade / bicycle carnival is held in Minsk, during which vehicles are blocked for several hours along Pobediteley (Peramohi) Avenue. The number of participants in 2019 was more than 20,000 and the number of registrations was about 12,000. In 2017, the European Union funded the project "Urban cycling in Belarus" at a cost of €560,000, within the framework of which the public association Minsk Cycling Society together with the Council of Ministers created the regulatory document National Concept for the Development of Cycling in Belarus. In 2020, Minsk entered the top 3 most cycling cities in the CIS – after Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Airports

Minsk National Airport Minsk National Airport, formerly known as Minsk-2 (, ; russian: Национальный аэропорт Минск), is the main international airport in Belarus, located 42 km (26 mi) to the east of the capital Minsk, geographica ...

is located to the east of the city. It opened in 1982 and the current railway station opened in 1987. It is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

with flights to Europe and the Middle East. Prior to 1982, the main airport was

Minsk-1 Airport Minsk-1 Airport was a Belarusian airport located within the city limits of Minsk, just a few kilometres south from the centre. History Minsk-1 was built in 1933. It was the major airport of Minsk until the new airport ''Minsk-2'', now named ...

, opened in 1933 a few kilometres to the south of the historical centre. In 1955 it became an international airport and by 1970 served over 1 million passengers a year. After 1982, it mainly served domestic routes in Belarus and short-haul routes to Moscow, Kyiv and Kaliningrad. Minsk-1 was closed in December 2015 because of the noise pollution in the surrounding residential areas. The land of the airport is currently being redeveloped for residential and commercial real estate, branded as Minsk-City, as well as the new Zelenaluzhskaya line of the Minsk Metro.

Minsk Borovaya Airfield Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

(UMMB) is located in a suburb north-east of the city, next to Zaliony Luh Forest Park, housing

Aero Club Minsk Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Po ...

and

Minsk Aviation Museum Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Education

Minsk has about 451 kindergartens, 241 schools, 22 further education colleges, and 29 higher education institutions, including 12 major national universities.

Major higher educational institutions

* Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus. The Academy was established in 1991 and it acquired the status of a presidential institution in 1995. The Academy has 3 institutes: ''Institute of Administrative Personnel'' which has 3 departments, ''Institute of Civil Service'' which has 3 departments and ''Research Institute of the Theory and Practice of Public administration''. * Belarusian State University. Major Belarusian universal university, founded in 1921. In 2006 had 15 major departments (Applied Mathematics and Informatics; Biology; Chemistry; Geography; Economics; International relations; Journalism; History; Humanitarian Sciences; Law; Mechanics and Mathematics; Philology; Philosophy and Social sciences; Physics; Radiophysics and Electronics). It also included 5 R&D institutes, 24 Research Centres, 114 R&D laboratories. The University employs over 2,400 lecturers and 1,000 research fellows; 1,900 of these hold PhD or Dr. Sc. degrees. There are 16,000 undergraduate students at the university, as well as over 700 PhD students. In 2018

Olga Chupris Olga Chupris (''бел. Чупрыс Вольга Іванаўна'') is a Belarusian lawyer, deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus (since 2019). She is also a Doctor of Law, and a professor. Chupris is the first female vice ...

was the first female Vice-Rector appointed to the institution (Academic Work and Educational Innovations). *

Belarusian State University of Agricultural Technology The Belarusian State Agrarian Technical University (BSATU) is a university in Minsk, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Бе ...

. Specialised in agricultural technology and agricultural machinery. * Belarusian National Technical University. Specialised in technical disciplines. * Belarusian State Medical University. Specialised in Medicine and Dentistry. Since 1921 – Medicine Department of the Belarusian State University. In 1930 becomes separate as ''Belarusian Medical Institute''. In 2000 upgraded to university level. Has six departments. * Belarusian State Economic University. Specialised in Finance and Economics. Founded in 1933 as ''Belarusian Institute for National Economy''. Upgraded to university level in 1992. * Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University. Specialised in teacher training for secondary schools. *

Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics The Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, also known as BSUIR ( be, Беларускі дзяржаўны ўніверсітэт інфарматыкі і радыёэлектронікі), is a public Higher Education ...

. Specialised in IT and radioelectronic technologies. Established in 1964 as ''Minsk Institute for Radioelectronics''. *

Belarusian State University of Physical Training Belarusian State University of Physical Culture is a university in Minsk, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь ...

. Specialised in sports, coaches and PT teachers training. * Belarusian State Technological University. Specialised in chemical and pharmaceutical technology, in printing and forestry. Founded in 1930 as ''Forestry Institute'' in Homel. In 1941 evacuated to Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg. Returned to Gomel in 1944, but in 1946 relocated to Minsk as ''Belarusian Institute of Technology''. Upgraded to university level in 1993. Has nine departments. * Minsk State Linguistic University. Specialised in foreign languages. Founded in 1948 as ''Minsk Institute for Foreign Languages''. In 2006 had 8 departments. Major focus on English, French, German and Spanish. * Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. Specializes in

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

, visual and Performing Arts. Founded in 1975 as ''Minsk Institute of Culture''. Reorganized in 1993. * International Sakharov Environmental Institute. Specialised in environmental sciences. Established in 1992 with the support from the United Nations. Focus on study and research of radio-ecological consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster in 1986, which heavily affected Belarus. *

Minsk Institute of Management Minsk Innovation University ( be, Мінскі інавацыйны ўніверсітэт) was established in 1991. The university is situated in Minsk, Belarus. The founder of the institute is Nikolay Susha, a permanent rector of the university ...

. The largest private higher educational institution in Belarus. Established in 1991. Specializes in Economics, Management, Marketing, Finance, Psychology and Information technology.

File:MSLU Minsk 2006.JPG, Minsk State Linguistic University. File:Ул.Бобруйская - panoramio.jpg,

Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University The Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University ( be, Факультэт міжнародных адносін) was founded in 1995. The faculty trains specialists in the following areas: international relations, internat ...

. File:Belarus-Minsk-BSU-Rector's Office-2.jpg, Belarus State University rector's office.

Honors

A minor planet

3012 Minsk 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh in 1979 is named after the city.

Notable residents

* Andrei Pavlovich Ablameyko (born 1970) Belarusian Greek Catholic priest *

Anton Adamovič Anton Adamovič (, 26 June 1909 – 12 June 1998) was a literary critic, novelist, publicist and historian. Adamovič was born in Minsk into a middle-class family. He finished a local teachers college and in 1928 enrolled at the Literature and Li ...

(1909 -1998), literary critic, novelist, publicist and historian * Angelica Agurbash (born 1970), Belarusian singer, Eurovision participant *

Viktar Babaryka Viktar Dzmitryevich Babaryka ( be, Віктар Дзмітрыевіч Бабарыка or Viktor Dmitryevich Babariko; born 9 November 1963) is a Belarusian banker, philanthropist, public and opposition political figure who intended to become a ...

(born 1963), Belarusian public and opposition political figure, political prisoner * Maksim Bahdanovič (1891 – 1917), poet, considered one of the founders of modern Belarusian literature * Raman Bandarenka (1989–2020), designer killed during the protests against the

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in offi ...

* Masha Bruskina (1924–1941) World War II partisan * Veronika Cherkasova (1959 – 2004), Belarusian journalist * Illia Chrenaǔ (nom de guerre "Litvin") (1994 – 2022), Belarusian volunteer killed in action defending Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion *

(born 1969) first female Vice Rector of the Belarusian State University * Avraham Even-Shoshan (1906–1984), Israeli linguist and lexicographer * Sophie Fedorovitch (1893–1953) ballet, opera and theatre designer, birthplace * Ella German (born 1937), girlfriend of Lee Harvey Oswald * Moisei Ginzburg (1892–1946) constructivist architect * Marina Gordon (1917–2013) soprano, birthplace * Gennady Grushevoy (1950-2014) academic, politician, human rights and environmental activist, winner of the 1999 Rafto Prize * Alés Harun (1887 – 1920), poet, writer and journalist * Anatol Hrytskievich (1929 – 2015), Belarusian historian * Irma Jaunzem (1897–1975), mezzo-soprano singer and folk song specialist *

Hienadź Karpienka Dr. Hienadź Karpienka ( be, Генадзь Карпенка, ; russian: Геннадий Карпенко, Gennady Karpenko, September 17, 1949 – April 6, 1999) was a Belarusian scientist and an important politician in opposition to president ...

(1949 – 1999), Belarusian scientist and politician *

Uładzimir Katkoŭski Uładzimir Katkoŭski ( be, Уладзімір Каткоўскі, June 19, 1976, Minsk – May 25, 2007) was a Belarusian blogger, web designer and website creator. Biography Katkoŭski took a degree in computer science at the American Unive ...

(1976 – 2007), one of the founders of the Belarusian Wikipedia * Boris Khaykin (1904–1978) conductor * Jauhien Kulik (1937 - 2002), Belarusian artist and graphic designer who designed the 1991-1995 Coat of Arms of Belarus, which was a version of the medieval symbol Pahonia * Pavel Latushka (b.1973), Belarusian politician and opposition leader * Maryna Linchuk (born 1987) a fashion model * Ivan Lubennikov (born 1951) Russian painter, birthplace * Janka Lučyna (Jan Niesłuchowski (1851 – 1897), poet *

Leanid Marakou Leanid Marakou ( be, Леанід Маракоў; russian: Леонид Моряков; April 15, 1958 in Minsk – December 17, 2016) was a Belarusian journalist, writer. Biography Marakou ( Belarusian: Леанід Маракоў, Russian: ...

(1958 – 2016), Belarusian journalist, writer * Valery Marakoǔ (1909 – 1937), Belarusian poet and translator, victim of Stalin’s purges *

Yan Matusevich Father Yan Matusevich ( be, Ян Матусевіч, Jan Matusievič, 24 July 1946 – 2 September 1998) was a bi-ritualist Belarusian Catholic priest, and the first dean of the modern Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, " hichrevival n the late 20 ...

(1946 – 1998) Belarusian Catholic priest, and dean of the

Belarusian Greek Catholic Church The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church ( be, Беларуская грэка-каталіцкая царква, ''Bielaruskaja hreka-katalickaja carkva'' BHKC; la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Belarusica) sometimes called in reference to its By ...

* Louis B. Mayer (1884–1957) American film producer, one of the founders of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer * Bronislava Nijinska (1890–1972) ballerina and choreographer of the Ballets Russes, birthplace * Lee Harvey Oswald (1939–1963) assassin of US President John F Kennedy, resided in Minsk from January 1960 to June 1962 * Alexander Rybak (born 1986), winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 for Norway, birthplace * Źmicier Sidarovič (1965 – 2014), Belarusian musician * Vitali Silitski (1972 – 2011), political scientist, analyst, the first director of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies *

Aliaksiej Skoblia Aliaksiej Mikalajevič Skoblia ( be, Аляксей Мікалаевіч Скобля, 14 March 1990 – 13 March 2022), nom de guerre "Tur" (, "Bison"), was a Belarusian soldier who was deputy commander of the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion un ...

(nom de guerre Aliaksiej "Tur") (1990 – 2022), Belarusian fighter-volunteer of the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion posthumously awarded the title “Hero of Ukraine” * Vanda Skuratovich (1925–2010) Roman Catholic activist * Stanislav Shushkevich (1934 -2022), Belarusian politician and scientist, the first head of state of independent Belarus * Stefaniya Stanyuta (1905 – 2000), Belarusian theater and movie actress *

Alexander Taraikovsky Alexander Taraikovsky ( be, Аляксандр Тарайкоўскі; 26 March 1986 – 10 August 2020) was a demonstrator who died in Minsk, Belarus, during the 2020 Belarusian protests in which the police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and ...

(1986 – 2020) entrepreneur killed during the protests against the

Barys Tasman Barys Tasman ( be, Барыс Тасман) (13 November 1954 – 25 June 2022), was a Belarusian journalist, sports reporter and sports analyst. Tasman was born in a Jewish family in Minsk. He graduated from the Belarusian State University ...

(b. 1954), journalist, sports writer * George Tsisetski (b. 1985), film director, screenwriter, dramatist and visual artist * Lavon Volski (b. 1965), Belarusian musician * Rachel Wischnitzer (1885–1989) architect and art historian * Jazep Jucho (1921-2004), lawyer, historian and writer and a leading Belarusian authority on the laws of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Simcha Zorin (1902–1974) World War II partisan

Sport

* Andrei Arlovski, grew up and lived in Minsk before moving to the US to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship * Victoria Azarenka, former World No. 1 tennis player and 2012 and 2013 Australian Open winner, born in Minsk moving to Arizona at 16 * Yuri Bessmertny, kickboxer * Svetlana Boginskaya, gold medal-winning gymnast at the 1988 and

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 ...

, birthplace * Isaac Boleslavsky, chess grandmaster * Darya Domracheva, gold (4 times) and bronze medal-winning biathlete at the 2010 and

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

* Boris Gelfand (born 1968), Israeli chess Grandmaster * Max Geller (born 1971), Israeli Olympic wrestler * Alexei Ignashov, kickboxer, multiple Muay Thai and K-1 world champion * Oleg Karavayev, wrestler and Olympic champion * Viktar Kuprejčyk (1949 – 2017), Belarusian chess grandmaster * Isaak Mazel (1911-1945), chess master * Max Mirnyi, tennis player * Artsiom Parakhouski (born 1987), basketball player * Yulia Raskina, individual rhythmic gymnast, won the All-Around Silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics *

Roman Rubinshteyn Roman Rubinshteyn (; born August 22, 1996) is a Belarusian-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard and point guard positions. Early life Rubi ...

(born 1996), Belarusian-Israeli basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Yegor Sharangovich Yegor Alexandrovich Sharangovich ( be, Ягор Аляксандравіч Шаранговіч, Jahor Alaksandravič Šaranhovič, russian: Егор Александрович Шарангович; born 6 June 1998) is a Belarusian professional ...

(born 1998), ice hockey player * Yuri Shulman (born 1975), Belarusian-American chess grandmaster * Mark Slavin (1954-1972), Israeli Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler and victim of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics *

Anna Smashnova Anna Smashnova ( he, אנה סמשנובה, russian: Анна Смашнова; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high single ...

(born 1976), Belarusian-born Israeli tennis player *

Roman Sorkin Roman Sorkin ( he, רומן סורקין, ; born August 11, 1996) is a Belarusian-born Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for th ...

(born 1996), Belarusian-born Israeli basketball player in the

Diana Vaisman Diana Vaisman (or Weissman,https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/07/05/sprinter-diana-weissman-breaks-46-year-womens-100-meter-record/ be, Диана Вейсман, he, דיאנה ויסמן; born 23 July 1998) is a Belarusian-born Israeli trac ...

(born 1998), Belarusian-born Israeli sprinter

Twin towns – sister cities

Minsk is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates (2007) * Ankara, Turkey (2007) * Bangalore, India (1986) * Beijing, China (2016) *

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

, Kyrgyzstan (1997) * Bonn, Germany (1993) *

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

, China (1992) * Chişinău, Moldova (2000) * Detroit, United States (1979) * Dushanbe, Tajikistan (1998) *

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Gaziantep, Turkey (2018) * Hanoi, Vietnam (2004) * Havana, Cuba (2005) *

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, Vietnam (2008) * Islamabad, Pakistan (2015) *

Kaluga Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...

, Russia (2015) * Murmansk, Russia (2014) * Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (2017) * Nottingham, England, UK (1986) *

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, Russia (2012) *

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

, Russia (2018) *

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

, Japan (1973) * Shanghai, China (2019) * Shenzhen, China (2014) * Tbilisi, Georgia (2015) * Tehran, Iran (2006) * Ufa, Russia (2017) * Ulyanovsk, Russia (2015)

Significant depictions in popular culture

* In the Don Bluth animated film, An American Tail the protagonist Fievel Mousekewitz (voiced by Phillip Glasser) is told of a mythical being known as the "Giant Mouse of Minsk" in all his bedtime stories by his father (voiced by Nehemiah Persoff); in said stories, the powerful mouse was a giant who drove out both cats and Communist invaders. These stories would inspire him to take up the mantle as he rallies the other mice in New York to construct a huge mechanical mouse as a secret weapon to drive off the mafia cats who rule the city. * Minsk is one of the starting towns of

in the turn-based strategy game Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms. * In the American sitcom

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

, recurring-character David "the Science Guy" (played by Hank Azaria) has a romance with Phoebe Buffay, one of the main characters, in the first season of the series, but breaks her heart when he decides to leave for Minsk on a three-year research trip. In the show, Minsk is incorrectly referred to as being located in Russia, despite taking place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. * In the science fiction franchise

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

, the

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

character Worf is raised by human parents from Minsk, and spends some of his early life there. He regards it as one of his favorite places on Earth, and suggests that Chief Miles O'Brien move his family there. * In

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

there are repeated references to a film and later play titled "Rochelle, Rochelle" the subtitle is "A young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk."

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

34mag
city guide">34mag">34mag
city guidea city guide for Minsk
Minsk city
on the official website of Belarus
Why Minsk Is Not Like Other Capitals.

Lost In Translation In Minsk – The "Real Belarus" Travel Tips.

The Minsk Herald online magazine in English
*

{{Authority control Capitals in Europe">Minsk"> Capitals in Europe Cities in Belarus Magdeburg rights Minsky Uyezd Minsk Voivodeship Polochans Populated places established in the 11th century Populated places in Minsk Region Subdivisions of Belarus 1069 establishments in Europe