Since 1991 the city of Minsk has been the capital of Belarus. It is also the administrative center of Minsk oblast (province) and of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Minsk is situated in the central part of the nation. It lies on gently hilly terrain on both banks of the Svisloch River, which flows southeast through the region. The climate is continental. Winters are quite cold, but summers are warm. CityscapeBecause so much was destroyed in World War II, Minsk today has the look of a modern city. There are broad boulevards and large complexes of modern high-rise residential, administrative, and public buildings. The city's modern attractions include the main post office, the Palace of Sports, and the Ice Sports Palace complex. The Holy Spirit Cathedral, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Bernardine Church—all from the 17th century—are among the few buildings that survive from before 1900. Minsk is the home of Belarus State University, which was founded in 1921 under Soviet rule. The city also has a polytechnic academy and various specialized research institutes. It is the seat of the nation's Academy of Science and has several museums of art and history, including the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (World War II). Minsk is the home of a theater of opera and ballet, a theater of music and comedy, and a puppet theater. EconomyThe administration of the oblast, the nation, and the Commonwealth contribute to the city's economy. Minsk also was developed by the Soviets as a manufacturing center with both light and heavy industry. Its major products include buses and trucks, tractor and other farm equipment, machinery and motors, and watches. Food processing also is an important industry. Minsk is also a transportation center. It has an international airport and is a busy junction on the Brest-Moscow Highway and the Moscow-Warsaw Railway. HistoryMinsk was already in existence as a Slavic village in 1067, when it was first mentioned in records. In 1101 it became the seat of a principality. In 1326 Lithuania gained control of the city. When Lithuania and Poland joined forces in 1569, Minsk came under Polish rule. In 1793, the second partition of Poland put the city in Russian hands. The Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was established in 1919, with its capital at Minsk. In 1922 Belorussia became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. In 1084 the prince of a rival town left Minsk in ruins. Since then the city saw widespread death and destruction many times. Catastrophic fires struck on several occasions. Tatar invaders from the Crimea sacked the city in 1505. Napoleon Bonaparte's French troops occupied it in 1812. In 1918 it was held by Germany, and in 1919–20 by Poland. However, the worst was yet to come. At the start of World War II at least one third of the city's people were Jewish. The German army overran Minsk in 1941, and very few of the city's Jews survived the persecutions that followed (see Holocaust). Soviet forces reestablished control in 1944, but the city was almost totally destroyed in the fighting. With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rebuilt city became capital of the new nation of Belarus. As headquarters for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Minsk stands at the center of an association of former Soviet republics (see Independent States, Commonwealth of). (See also Belarus.) Population (2001), 1,699,000. |