Some words about Minsk.....

Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus, is an ancient city with   rich history. It is 930 years in 1997 since the city was first described in the Story of Bygone Years chronicle as fortress of the Polotsk Principality associated with   feudal battle on the Nemiga river in 1067. Minsk is the country's major industrial and cultural centre and one ofitsmost beautiful places. Just take   walk in the centre of the city or go to the residential areas on the outskirts and you will see it for yourself. The city has acquired its peculiar look and colouring thanks to the well-planned avenues and squares, to the green ofthe parks and gardens stretching along the Svisloch river, to the historical monuments and the newly-built underground stations. Today's appearance ofthe city has developed due to many historical factors. Indeed, Minsk is situated right on the way from the West to the East. It has been many   time destroyed by invaders and devastating fires and had to be rebuilt practically from scratch. It remembers the sanguine feudal wars, invasions of Mongol nomads and Tatar hordes whose ancestors had lived on the Belarus territory.

The Upper Town - a vast area of the old Minsk with the centre in Cathedral Square which was the city's most important part, was built in the 16th century. The City Hall, the men's and women's St Bernard and St Basil monasteries, the 17th - 18th centuries jesuitical Catholic Church and the dwelling houses of the 18th - 20th centuries were all situated there. The ancient monuments that have survived till today all fit well in the modern urban architecture and lend charm to the postwar quarters.

Let us take   walk along the streets and lanes of the old town and plunge into the atmosphere of the past. The recently restored mansion in Internatsionalnaya Street that once belonged to the artist V.Vankovich now is   a part of the National Fine Arts Museum. The Rakov and St Trinity townships date back to still older times. At the corner of Nemiga and Rakov Streets the Cathedral of Peter and Paul is found. It is an architectural monument ofthe 17th century. The old survivor buildings also make part ofthe renovated Rakov, Osvobozhdenia and Zamkovaya Streets.

An old block has survived in the St Trinity Township in Bogdanovich and Starovilenskaya Streets. In the '80s it was rebuilt and modernized to make   single historical and architectural ensemble of the old Minsk with its typical 19th century buildings.

Yet, let's go back to history again. In line with the second division ofthe Rzeczpospolita, Minsk became   regional centre and developed according to   new regular plan providing for   rectangular architecture with straight streets. One of the streets called Zakharievskaya linked the Borisov highway with the Warsaw road and became the city's main thorough-fare which today bears the name of Francisk Skorina. In the middle of it   square now called Oktiabrskaya and Alexandrovski mini-park (now Tsentralny park) were set up. A bigger park now named after M.Gorki was planted along the Svisloch river valley. In 1890   city theatre was erected in the corner of the Alexandrovski mini-park.

Minsk turned into an important railway junction after the Moscow-Brest and Libava-Romno railroadswere laid across the town. By the beginning ofthe 20th century Minsk had become  city with over 90,000 population.

Before 1941 Minsk grew into the country's capital and consequently   whole range of important public buildings that constituted the core ofits future architecture were raised in the city. Among them are the Houses ofGovernment, the building of the Central Party Committee, the Red Army Palace, the National Library, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Academy of Sciences and others.

Minsk had very hard times during World WarII. Its centre with all the buildings was completely ruined. All factories and shops, as well as 80 percent ofthe housing were destroyed.

After the war, it took the people a lot of heroic effort to put the city back to life. But it was eventually raised from the ruins becoming one ofthe most beautiful cities ofthe former Soviet Union. The people of Minsk are very proud with the giant industrial enterprises that were constructed during the postwar years: the lorry and tractor factories, the automated assembly lines and gear producing works and others.

A lofty monument commemorating the war victory was erected in Victory Square in 1954.

An architectural ensemble comprising Independence, Victory, Yakub Kolas and Kalinin squareswas formed on Lenin Avenue in the course ofthe postwar decades. All the buildings lining the Avenue are the acme ofthe Belarusian civil engineering.

Prospect Skorina avenue today is the city's busiest street. Its architectural look with rows ofhandsome dwelling houses, educational establishments and public institutions is pleasing to the eye.

After the war the population of Minsk and its industrial potential grew rapidly. After the city's liberation in 1944 its population was about 50,000. By 1972 it had reached   million, 1,700,000 people living in Minsk today.

The city's second largest avenue Prospect Masherov with its numerous public buildings and dwelling blocks rising along the water-and-park Svisloch river artery was chiefly built in the '70s - '80s. The multi-storeyed hotels "Planeta" and "Yubileinaya", the House of Trade Unions and Central Design Institute were among the first to grow up here. In 1985, the Minsk - Hero City monument was erected in the Victory Park. The multi-storeyed residential blocks area, the engineering shop of the refrigerator factory and the originally shaped Minsk-EXPO exhibition pavilion do not spoil the architectural design of the entire district.

The new residential areas on the outskirts ofthe city have been made just as convenient for the people to live in as the residential blocks in the centre are.

The pride ofthe city are its parks - the Gorki Park, the Cheluskintsy Park, the Central Botanical Gardens and the water-and-park Svisloch reserve. In the '80s   water-and-park reserve that stretches along the Slepianka creek was added to them.

Minsk is the country's centre of science and culture. A great number of research institutes, Academy of Sciences institutes, design and engineering institutions function in Minsk.

Republic's specialists are trained at Minsk's 20 higher educational establishments.

There are 6 professional theatres and many museums in Minsk.

Minsk today is the capital of  sovereign, independent state which means that broad possibilities for development are open before the city. Embassies, banks, business centres, offices and other public and private institutions have been springing up in the city.

The people ofMinsk have been living through   spiritual renaissance. Sermons are now heard in the numerous restored temples of the orthodox, catholic, muslim and other confessions.

Minsk is growing and prospering. Life in the capital is acquiring new qualities, becoming nicer and easier with every passing year.