Minsk is the capital of Belarus and, in a sense, its opposite. If
usually Belarus is associated with something small, chamber, cozy
and even rural, then Minsk at first sight amazes with its
spaciousness, the width of the streets and the majestic scope of
buildings. The city was wiped off the face of the earth during the
Great Patriotic War, after which it was rebuilt in a completely new
style. Now it is one of the best ensembles of Stalinist
architecture, which is accompanied by several remarkable monuments
of Soviet constructivism, the old town recreated from scratch with
several nice churches, and also a small but very beautiful river,
numerous parks and that same space. Minsk allows you to see the city
from afar, which makes the most boring and banal buildings, if not
beautiful, then at least spectacular.
Beautiful and clean
(especially in the center) city. Minsk was badly damaged during the
Great Patriotic War. After it was restored, many buildings were
built in Stalin's time, including in the Stalinist Empire style. As
a first trip, you can go for 2-3 days or a weekend.
Minsk is,
in a way, an example of victorious socialism: many elements of the
long-gone Soviet era, such as, for example, the state department
stores TsUM and GUM with the corresponding interiors, are adjacent
to the almost universal introduction of not just terminals for
paying with bank cards, but a version with the possibility of
contactless payment. You can pay with a bank card even at a
newsstand. At the same time, it is problematic to find a grocery
store after 22:00. The same Soviet supermarkets are equipped with
new escalators, and the lobbies of metro stations are equipped with
elevators for the disabled. The train station has escalators on
every platform, and the building itself looks more like an airport
than a train station.
Being the capital of a secular state,
Minsk does not impose any religious requirements on its residents
and guests. At the same time, believers of some religions have the
opportunity to perform rituals and ceremonies in places of worship.
The most widespread religion is Christianity (many Orthodox and
Catholic buildings, as well as a number of Baptist ones), there is a
Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque.
Tourist Information
Center, Revolyutsionnaya st., 13. The tourist office is atypically
hidden in the yards, and it looks more like an office. It's worth
coming here if you need a free map, a guided tour, or, for example,
a ticket for the red City bus. If all this is not necessary, then it
will be a great pleasure to whisper your secrets into the Ear of
Desires, which is located nearby.
Trinity Suburb , Maxim Bogdanovich Street. It got its
name from the name of the mountain, which is located a little higher and
to the right. It was built up simultaneously with the Upper City. Here
began the Starovilensky tract and the road to Storozhevka. Renovated in
the 80s of the XX century, in the 2010s a high-rise building in the
style of postmodern eclecticism was built directly behind the suburb.
City Hall. The building of the town hall of Minsk was built in the first
half of the 16th century, and it was made of wood. Archaeologists never
found its remains, but it was located in the same place where the City
Hall still stands today - on Freedom Square, the former Cathedral
Square.
Archcathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (opposite the
Town Hall). It was built in 1710 as a church attached to a Jesuit
monastery. In 1773, under pressure from the secular authorities of
European countries, the order was temporarily banned by Pope Clement
XIV. In 1798, the Minsk diocese was created, and the temple changed its
status, becoming the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Holy
Spirit Cathedral. The building of the cathedral was built in 1633-1642
as the main temple of the Catholic convent of the Bernardines. At the
same time, a U-shaped monastery building was built on the north side of
the temple. The main entrance to the monastery was originally located on
the opposite side of the temple. The builders of the Bernardine
monastery erected it exactly on the spot where until the beginning of
the 17th century there was an Orthodox monastery in the name of Saints
Cosmas and Damian. During the 18th-19th centuries, the temple and the
monastery building adjacent to it were repeatedly rebuilt before taking
on the current architectural appearance.
Cathedral of Peter and Paul,
Rakovskaya st., 4 (actually located on Nemiga st.). The oldest church in
the city, operating, Orthodox. The cathedral was built in the 1620s in
the Baroque style and was rebuilt several times. Also known as
Catherine's Church (one of the renovations was during the time of
Catherine II). After the complete restructuring of Nemiga Street in the
1970s, modern high-rise residential buildings and shopping centers
became the backdrop for the cathedral. On the other hand, the cathedral
now has a good view from above, from the pedestrian bridge over Nemiga
(to the main facade) and from the automobile bridge of Pobediteley
Avenue (to the apse). The main façade has two characteristic towers and
a small high pediment between them. From all sides you can see high
arched windows, as if recessed walls. The cathedral is stretched along
the unpreserved section of Rakovskaya Street, at an angle to Nemiga.
The ensemble of the former monasteries of the Bernardines and
Bernardines. - transformed into the Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy
Spirit of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Pishchalovsky Castle (Volodarka), st. Volodarsky. Pishchalovsky Castle
(aka Detention Facility No. 1, popularly referred to as "Volodarka"): a
prison, an early classicist building erected in 1825 on a mountain in
the Romanovsky suburb (designed by the architect Pishchala, in whose
honor it was christened Pishchalovsky Castle). For 200 years of
existence, the building was used for its intended purpose. The color of
the Belarusian nation was serving sentences in prison: the rebels of
1830-31 and 1863-64, led by the “father of the Belarusian dramaturgy”
Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich, the revivalist poets Karus Kaganets and
Ales Harun, Yakub Kolas, the revolutionary Ivan Pulikhov, who attempted
to assassinate Governor-General Kurlov.
Church of Saints Simon and Helena It was built in
1908-1910. The main contribution to the construction of the church was
made by the nobleman and magistrate Eduard Voynilovich. The church is
named "In the name of St. Simeon and Elena", in memory of the children
of Voynilovicha, who died at an early age.
Government House, pl.
Independence. Built in the early 1930s by the architect Iosif Langbard
in the advanced constructivist style. Until today, it remains one of the
largest structures in the country. It is located on Independence Square
in the city center. The building has a memorable facade with continuous
glazing of flights of stairs and two symmetrical wings of complex shape.
In the late 1930s, on the basis of this building, Langbard made a
project for a new government building for Mogilev, where it was planned
to transfer the capital of the BSSR from the border Minsk. By 1940, a
smaller copy of the Minsk Government House with a more traditional
facade was built in Mogilev.
Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater (Subway:
Kupalovskaya). The oldest theater in Belarus is rightfully the First
Stage of the Republic. The grand opening of the country's first state
theater took place on September 14, 1920. The building of the Minsk
Provincial Theater, built according to the project of architects Karal
Kozlovsky and Konstantin Uvedensky in 1890 with the help of donations
from citizens, has an even longer history. In 2013, the reconstruction
of the theater will be completed with the restoration of the facade as
close as possible to the original, but with increased office space.
Obelisk of Victory (Subway: Victory Square). A thirty-eight-meter
granite obelisk topped with a three-meter image of the Order of Victory
is installed on Victory Square in Minsk. On the pedestal at the base of
the obelisk is the sacred sword of Victory. The obelisk on Victory
Square in Minsk was erected on July 4, 1954 in memory of Soviet soldiers
and partisans during the Great Patriotic War.
Memorial "Pit", Zaslavskaya st. / st. Mill. Monument
at the place where prisoners of the Minsk ghetto were executed.
Particularly expressive here is the sculptural group "The Last Way"
(2000) with a column of people going to their deaths completed by a
violinist, but in historical terms, a black obelisk of 1947 with
inscriptions in two languages (Russian and Yiddish) and a direct mention
of Jews, rather than generalized "Soviet citizens" is more interesting.
". The obelisk was erected in that short post-war period, when the topic
of Jewish nationalism had not yet become taboo in the Soviet Union.
National Library, 116 Independence Avenue ( Subway: Vostok). The
National Library of Belarus is one of the largest repositories of
Russian-language literature (according to 2011 data, almost 9 million
units of printed matter), but is better known for an unusual building
opened in 2006 on the outskirts of Minsk. A rare example of modern
Belarusian architecture, the building has the shape of a regular
polyhedron (resembles a huge, well-cut crystal) and a flat glass
surface, on which a simple light show is arranged in the evenings.
Despite the primitiveness of the images, the illuminated building looks
impressive in the surrounding darkness, and in general it looks good on
a spacious, almost undeveloped area. An observation deck is equipped on
the roof (12.00-23.00, 30,000 BYR (2016), rise from the side opposite
from the main entrance), which is somewhat unsuccessful - only a general
panorama of the city is visible from here, and the center merges into a
small point on the horizon. Below the observation deck is a cafe with
panoramic views. You can enter the library itself only on the first
floor, where the spacious and technologically advanced central hall is
located - then you need to get a library card or book a tour (they are
held three times a day, except Monday).
Park of stones, Uruchcha-2.
Aviation Museum, pos. Borovaya, Minsk (from the Moskovsky bus station or
by car along the Logoisk tract, right after the Moscow Ring Road, turn
right). Aviation Museum of the Central Aeroclub DOSAAF named after S.
Gritsevets, at the time of opening (2009) - 25 exhibits.
Beautiful places for photos on the embankment near the station. m.
"Nemiga". Lots of parks and museums.
1 Art Museum of the
Republic of Belarus , st. Lenina, 20 ( Kastrychnitskaya). 🕑 Mon–Sun
11:00–19:19. 8 BYR (2018).
2 Gallery "Art-Belarus", st. Kozlova, 3
( Ploshcha Peramogi). ☎ +375 (17) 284-88-88. 🕑 Tue–Sun 11:00–20:00. 5
BYR (2018).
3 Zoo (Minsk zoo), Tashkent street, 40. ☎ +37517
340-23-97, +37517 345-32-65, fax: +37517 340-21-75. 🕑 Mon–Sun
10:00–21:00. 9 BYR (2018), children under 5 years old - free of charge.
Over 300 kinds of animals. On the contact area you can pet goats and
pigs. There is also a terrarium with a separate entrance fee. There is a
dolphinarium on the territory of the zoo. Entrance is paid separately
4 Botanical Garden (Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of
Sciences of Belarus), st. Surganova, 2v (from May 1 to October 31, the
main entrance from the side of Independence Avenue is open). ☎ +37517
294-14-84. 🕑 In the summer: Tue–Sun 10:00–20:00, the rest of the year
check the page for visitors. 7 BYR (2018); amateur photo and video
shooting 25 BYR (2018). One of the largest in Europe (9 thousand items
in the collection, an area of 153 hectares), a year-round greenhouse, a
lake with waterfowl.
Beaches on the Tsnyanskoye reservoir, the Minsk
Sea and Komsomolskoye Lake.
Over 30 pools.
17 cinemas, including 9
with stereoscopic capabilities, one drive-in cinema, one night cinema.
Tickets can be purchased online.
5 Auto cinema (Avtokino), Minsk
region, Ozertso village, Menkovsky tract, 2. ☎ Answering machine +375 17
507-62-48. 🕑 Sessions 21:00 and 23:00. 45 000 BYR. Located in the
parking lot of the car market "Ring". 500 parking spaces. Screen area
144 sq.m. The sound is transmitted at a frequency of 103.3 FM
6
Night cinema (Cinema room), st. Melezha, 1. ☎ +375 29 5-484-100. 🕑
Sessions 16:00 to 08:00. 87,000 BYR for one hour of renting a hall (from
09:00 to 16:00), 174,000 BYR for one hour of renting a hall (from 16:00
to 09:00). Located on the first floor of the Parus business center,
separate entrance. 7 rooms with TVs, leased by the minute. Up to 4
visitors. Select movies to watch on TV. You can bring your own food and
drinks, your own movie CDs.
Mass skating:
7 Minsk-Arena,
Pobediteley Avenue, 111. ☎ +37544 780-85-01; +37517 279-07-00. 28,000
rubles, children under 16: 14,000 rubles, rental of one pair of hockey,
figure skates only on the security of a certificate: 15,000 rubles.
Advance sale and booking of tickets is not carried out.
8 Minsk Ice
Palace of Sports, st. Pritytskogo, 27 ( Sports). ☎ Answering machine
+37517207-26-87; administrator +37517 252-88-37. Session 45 min.: 17,000
rubles, children under 14: 12,000 rubles, rental of a pair of skates
only on the security of a document with a photo of the owner - 12,000
rubles. 1 or 2 mass skating sessions per day.
9 Circus (Belarusian
State Circus), Independence Avenue, 32 (between metro station
Oktyabrskaya and metro station Pobeda Square). ✉ ☎ +37517 327-78-42,
+37529 312-13-13, fax: +37517 327-23-36. from 30,000 to 300,000 rubles.
Was renovated in 2010. The program is updated regularly (local and
visiting artists). Children under three years of age enter for free.
10 Waterpark (Waterpark Lebyazhy) , Pobediteley Avenue, 120 (Minsk
ring road, northwest). 🕑 Opening hours 11:00 to 23:00. from 210 000
BYR. Works since 2014. Pools and water attractions, a SPA center with 7
types of baths, a universal gym, a phytobar.
Minsk hosts such
festivals as:
urban waves.
Godskitchen Urban Wave.
Global
Gathering.
crossfield.
freedom music.
mayday.
Magnificence.
and others. Some events, except for the main summer festival (Global
Gathering), are held 2 times a year.
Public holidays are
celebrated on a grand scale with concerts, processions and festive
trade:
May 9 - Victory Day: military parade, fireworks.
July 3 -
Independence Day: solemn parade, fireworks.
Second Saturday of
September - City Day: festivities, fireworks.
By plane
Minsk-2 is the base airport of the Belavia airline, which
has an extensive route map, many of which are operated, however, no more
than 2-3 times a week. The main directions are Russia, Ukraine, Europe
and the CIS countries. The most regular connections are with Moscow
(about 12 flights a day), Kiev (5-6 flights a day), St. Petersburg (4
flights a day) and Kaliningrad (2 flights a day). Foreign companies fly
to Minsk relatively rarely: Lufthansa (Frankfurt, 1-2 times a day),
Austrian Airlines (Vienna, 1-2 times a day), LOT (Warsaw, 5 flights a
week), Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) have connections , once a day) and
Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi, once a day).
Usually tickets to Minsk
are expensive. Locals sometimes fly through Vilnius, which is easily
accessible by train. You can go even further and fly via Moscow or
Warsaw, but this will mean an extra night on the road and significant
costs for train tickets. On the Moscow–Minsk route, an air ticket costs
no more than a ticket in a compartment, so many travelers prefer a plane
to a train.
Minsk-2 International Airport (IATA:MSQ). +375 (17)
279-13-00, +375 (17) 279-17-30 (reference). It is officially called
“Minsk National Airport” and is indeed a national, and moreover, the
only airport in the whole country with regular passenger traffic. It is
located in an open field 35 km northeast of the city. The airport
consists of one large and lightly loaded terminal, which has been
refurbished and modernized to match the comfort of an average regional
airport in Europe. The arrival and departure zones are divided into
"internal" (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan) and international parts. Next
to the inner zone (before security control) there is the Liner
restaurant (9:00–21:00) with an extensive menu and average prices for
Minsk, as well as its own wardrobe (!). In addition to the restaurant,
there are two Prime Coffee coffee shops in the terminal. In the open
area there are shops, a post office and a branch of Sberbank, where the
currency is exchanged at the usual rate for the city, but the bank is
open only during the daytime (Mon–Sat 9:00–19:00). In the basement on
the side of domestic flights (arrivals, gates 5-6) there is a 24-hour
luggage room (4 BYN/day). In the sterile zone, there are several "upper
category" bars of the same type with moderate prices, but without any
serious food, at the service of passengers. Next to the business lounge
there are sleeping cabins available for €5/h. There is paid Wi-Fi
throughout the building from Beltelecom, you can pay by credit card, but
you will need authorization through a mobile phone number. Access cards
are sold at the service center and at the newsstand (3rd floor).
Since the airport is located in an open field, there are no hotels
around it, and there are none at all anywhere within a radius of 20 km
from the airport. In the terminal itself there are guest rooms - rooms
without amenities with a shared toilet and shower, 45 Bel. rub. for a
single room (2016), tel. +375 (17) 279-18-17.
Transport: if you
still flew to Minsk, it is not difficult to get to the city. From the
bus stop in front of the terminal (exits 5-6), buses No. 300E or
identical minibuses depart every 20-30 minutes, following to the Central
bus station. On the way 45-60 minutes, cost 4 bel. rub. (2017). On the
way, there is usually a stop at the Uruchcha metro station (half an hour
from the airport), the fare to it costs 3 bel. rub. (2017). If it is not
in the schedule, then the bus goes through the Mogilevskaya metro
station. Buses run from 5 am to midnight, and also a couple of times at
night, see the schedule. In the opposite direction, you can go from the
bus station, or you can get on the bus to Uruchcha (exit from the first
carriage, to the right along the transition, the bus stop with suburban
routes is the farthest from the center). Tickets are sold by the driver.
You can take them in advance at the ticket office of the bus station,
and if you don’t take a ticket and the seats run out, you won’t be put
on the bus, and this also happens, although more often the buses run
half empty.
There is no official taxi stand at the airport. There
are many private traders, who, however, are less intrusive than at
Moscow airports. The cost of a trip to the city varies widely, starting
from 35 bel. rub. (2016). When ordering at the counter in the arrivals
hall, you will pay €25, private traders can name exorbitant amounts: be
careful.
By train
Trains come to Minsk from all over Belarus.
Among international destinations, there are most trains to Moscow (10
times a day, mostly overnight, on the way from 8 to 12 hours), St.
Petersburg (3 times a day, on the way 14-16 hours), Vilnius (6-7 times
per day, including daytime with sit-down cars) and Warsaw (3-4 times a
day, 9-10 hours, only sleeping cars). There are many other routes to the
cities of Russia and Ukraine.
The sit-down trains of the
Belarusian and Lithuanian railways go to Vilnius independently of each
other. The former use old and not very comfortable trains made in Riga,
the latter use more modern air-conditioned carriages. In the Belarusian
train, the cars are divided into three classes. First class has wide
seats, some facing each other and separated by tables. In the second
class, there are two chairs in a row, but there is less space, there are
no tables at all. The third class resembles an electric train with
benches, but instead of benches there are soft sofas. Most trains go
through Belarusian passport control on the way, and Lithuanian - at the
Vilnius station, which reduces travel time to 2.5 hours.
There is
only one railway station in Minsk, where all long-distance trains and
fast regional trains ("business class") arrive. However, if you want to
use conventional trains, the situation becomes somewhat more
complicated, since trains have several base stations and sometimes do
not even pass through the central station.
Station
"Minsk-Passenger", Bobruiskaya st. 4 (Lenin Square). The station is a
large modern building with a labyrinth of underground passages. If you
come by metro, you immediately find yourself in this labyrinth, after
which only carefully following the signs will help you get out. The
station itself has four floors, not counting the very complex and
branched underground passage under it. On the ground floor there is a
large hall, where you get from the street; on both sides of it are cash
halls. On the second floor there is a waiting room for superior comfort,
as well as a post office with an Internet access point (24 hours), but
you can get there only through a narrow spiral staircase from the right
cash hall. On the third floor there are several cafes and a public
waiting room, which is a few rows of chairs. Finally, the fourth floor
is given over to billiards and a cinema. In the underground passages
there is a 24-hour luggage room, 1 BYN/day (2017). As usual, keep an eye
out for a challenging regime of technological and other breaks. Wi-Fi -
paid from Beltelecom and free from the Belarusian Railway.
The
food situation is pretty dismal. In cafeterias, you will be offered only
dubious pies and drinks - mostly alcoholic. Cafe Novy Vek (3rd floor,
left, 09:00-23:00) is a cafeteria with distribution, a disgusting smell,
and equally disgusting food. Slightly better and only slightly more
expensive is the Rusalka bar (3rd floor: on the right, next to the
waiting room, 10:00–22:00), where it is quiet and there are aquariums
with fish, but the food is warmed up. You will find increased comfort in
the waiting room "Club SV" (7:00 AM - 11:00 PM) with beautiful new
furniture, its own toilet and bar. This pleasure costs 26,500 BYR for
the first 3 hours + 9,000 BYR/h (2013), drinks separately. There is a
Burger King in the waiting room. In the labyrinth of underground
passages, there is an unnamed buffet of the second mark-up category
(8:00 AM - 11:00 PM) with warmed up food and a cafe "On the road" (8:00
AM - 11:00 PM) with distribution - both look pretty decent. The prices
are relatively low (10,000–25,000 BYR for hot dishes, 2013), the quality
is the same. Outside the station, on the opposite side of the square,
McDonalds is waiting for you with sandwiches and burgers (9:00–23:00,
about 2 BYN per sandwich), in the arch of the glass building of the
Maestro Bistro (9:00–23:00, about 6 BYN for lunch) a decent-looking
Orient Express restaurant (9:00–23:00, from 60,000 BYR). Stalls and
grocery stores are found everywhere. There are also many exchangers,
although not all and not always work.
There are no rest rooms at
the station - their function is performed with varying degrees of
success by the Express Hotel in a neighboring building, but the rooms in
it are rented only by the day. You can go to the superior lounge for a
few hours, but you are not allowed to lie down and sleep there.
Ticket offices are located at several points in the station. Ticket
halls on the ground floor often gather queues, which can be avoided by
going to a separate building to the right of the station, where
international ticket offices used to be (Bobruyskaya st. 2). Inside it
is very beautiful and just as deserted, and international tickets are
now sold at the 24-hour ticket office on the other side of the square
(Kirov St., 2) - there is also an interesting antique interior, but
there are no people at all.
Electric trains (that is, "regional
economy trains") often come to the central station of Minsk, but there
are several other key stations:
Station "Institute of Culture"
(Institute of Culture), Moskovskaya st. (Metro: Institute of Culture).
The exit from the metro leads to an underground passage, from where, in
turn, there is a staircase to a lonely platform. From here, electric
trains run east towards Borisov and Orsha, as well as west towards
Baranovichi and Brest. Ticket offices are located right in the passage.
Station "Minsk-Vostochny" (Metro: Minsk Uskhodni), Smolenskaya st.
(Metro: Proletarskaya). All electric trains go east towards Borisov and
Orsha here, but they leave either from the central station, or from the
“Institute of Culture” mentioned above, or directly from
Minsk-Vostochny, so if you want to go east, this is the best place.
Contrary to the name, the Minsk-Vostochny station is not related to the
Vostochny bus station.
Station "Minsk-Severny"
(Minsk-Paunkochny), Kalvariyskaya st. (Metro: Youth). Like the Institute
of Culture, the underground passage connects the exit from the metro
with the railway station, but there are two platforms, so it is not
always obvious which one to go to: platform 1 is for trains towards the
central station, platform 2 - towards Molodechno. There are no other
trains.
By bus
Minsk is connected by direct bus service to
most cities in Belarus. International routes to Vilnius (7-8 times a
day) and other Lithuanian cities, Riga (2 times a day), Moscow (3 times
a day), Kiev (1-2 times a day), Warsaw (1-2 times a day) day). Buses to
the Czech Republic and Germany depart several times a week.
There
is a bus station and several other bus stations in Minsk:
Central
bus station, Bobruiskaya st. 6 (Metro: Lenina Square). 24/7, break
2:00–3:45. The bus station is built into a huge shopping center. Its
“centrality” lies in its location, but not in the size of the bus
station itself or the route network: it is just a large bus stop on the
lower floor of a shopping center, a small waiting room with an
unattractive cafeteria (7:00 AM–7:00 PM) and a cash hall. Luggage
storage is located in a separate building a little further down
Bobruyskaya Street, open 8:00–20:00, break 13:00–14:00, 1,250 BYR
(2013). For food, explore the options around the railway station and
especially the dining room located across the road from the bus station.
Bus station "Avtozavodskaya", Partizansky pr. 148 (Metro:
Mogilevskaya). ☎ +375 (17) 243-46-40. 6:00–21:45. suburban routes.
Bus station "Yugo-Zapadnaya", st. Zheleznodorozhnaya, 41/1 ( Metro:
Mikhalovo). ☎ +375 (17) 226-31-88. 5:45 – 21:30. suburban routes.
The route network is very chaotic. Intercity buses usually depart
from the Vostochny bus station and sometimes (but not always!) Pass
through Centralny. Be sure to check the schedule before your trip.
By car
Minsk stands at the intersection of the main Belarusian
highways: M1 (Moscow 714 km, Brest 355 km), M3 (Vitebsk, 270 km), M4
(Mogilev, 200 km), M5 (Gomel, 300 km), M6 (Grodno, 290 km) , M7
(Vilnius, 190 km) and is surrounded by the Minsk ring road M9 (MKAD). In
the city, highways turn into wide avenues with impressive urban
development, so entering Minsk is easy and pleasant. The M1 highway
bypasses the city from the south in a wide loop: when moving from the
east, you need to turn onto M2 or M4, and when moving from the west,
onto P1.
Metro
The Minsk metro consists of two lines, officially called
Moskovskaya and Avtozavodskaya, and colloquially known as blue and red,
or the first and second. The blue line runs from southwest to northeast
along Dzerzhinsky Avenue and Independence Avenue. The route of the red
line is a little more difficult, but mainly runs along Partizansky
Prospekt in the southeast and Pritytsky and Kalvariyskaya streets in the
west. Interchange station Kupalovskaya-Oktyabrskaya (Kastrychnitskaya)
on Oktyabrskaya Square.
The stations are shallow and, unlike the
Moscow metro, decorated without frills, but almost every one has its own
style and thematic design. The most interesting are the national motifs
on Yakub Kolas Square, the images of Moscow on Moskovskaya, and the old
lanterns on Pushkinskaya. In general, the Minsk subway is typical of the
post-Soviet space: there are no open lines, the noisy trains of the
Mytishchi plant run, the platforms are mostly island. All stations are
announced in the Belarusian language, the main signs are made in it, so
it should be borne in mind that Oktyabrskaya is Kastrychnitskaya, Vostok
is Ushkhod, Victory Square is Peramogi Square. Since 2014, announcements
have been duplicated in English.
The fare is paid with tokens (65
bel. kopecks, 2018) or plastic cards (subscription). Tokens and cards
are sold at the box office located at each station. The metro operates
from 5:30 am to 00:40 am. The interval of movement in the daytime is 3-4
minutes, in the evening - 5-7 minutes, after 23:00 - about 10 minutes.
There are usually a lot of people.
Ground transport
Ground
public transport is represented by trams, trolleybuses, buses and
fixed-route taxis. There are relatively few trams. On the contrary,
there are a lot of buses and trolleybuses and they run frequently. Look
for the timetable, traffic patterns and route planner on the official
website. A few minibuses serve the outskirts and are not needed to move
around the center. The final stops are often named after the numbers of
microdistricts and look mysterious to the traveler: for example,
"Serebryanka-9" or "Angarskaya-4". Transport runs from 5 am to midnight.
In the center of Minsk, bus number 100 is most useful, the route of
which is simple and understandable. The bus runs every 8-10 minutes, on
weekends - 10-15 along Independence Avenue along the blue metro line -
from the former airport Minsk-1 and Nezavisimosti Square to the
Moskovskaya metro station (and further to the five-story building area).
You need to pay for the fare using a transport card or coupon, which
are sold at metro ticket offices or in special kiosks at major stops.
Composters print the fare payment time, mode of transport, route and
vehicle number. If you buy a ticket at a kiosk at the bus stop, the fare
will be 75 kopecks, and in express buses - 90 bel. cop. (2018). The
driver's ticket will cost 5 kopecks more. There are travel cards: for 1
day for 3.71 Bel. rub., for 2 days for 6.55 Bel. rub. and for 3 days for
9.03 Bel. rub., but they are in demand very limited. Minibuses are more
expensive than regular transport, but on some routes you can get to the
nearest metro stations for half the price (you need to know the relevant
routes in advance).
Another option is to use bicycle rental,
there are plenty of them in Minsk, including robotic rental: if you see
a yellow bicycle or an electric scooter standing by nobody, you can scan
its QR and enjoy the ride. Is it hard to pedal? Electric bikes are also
available for rent. Minsk is about 10 kilometers in diameter, the
cycling infrastructure is well developed, there are bike paths with
beautiful views.
Taxi
Taxis are relatively inexpensive: the
price per kilometer is from 40 to 85 bel. kopecks, the minimum cost of a
trip is from 2.50 to 6 bel. rub. (2018).
Orientation
Although
Minsk looks almost round on the map, thanks to the ring road (MKAD),
inside the city there is not even a hint of a ring layout. The main
highway - the majestic Independence Avenue - enters the city from
Moscow, crosses the Svisloch River, two central squares (Oktyabrskaya
and Nezalezhnosti), and then the railway, where it abruptly loses its
splendor and turns into Moskovskaya Street (after the name of the nearby
Moskovsky- Brest railway). The city center is located around the avenue,
from the south it is limited by the railway and Ulyanovsk street, from
the west - by another railway, from the east - by the river, and from
the north it is not limited by anything specific and gradually
disappears in the area of Yubileynaya Square and Masherova avenue. Other
major thoroughfares are Nemiga Street, which runs almost parallel to
Independence Avenue, but a little to the north, as well as Lenin Street,
which runs north from Oktyabrskaya Square and, after crossing with
Nemiga, becomes Pobediteley Avenue. At the beginning of the 21st
century, Pobediteley Avenue becomes the second main thoroughfare of the
city: high-rise buildings, "elite" residential, office, shopping and
sports centers, administrative buildings are being built here, military
parades are held. Outside the center, there are a variety of districts:
from large-scale Stalinist buildings and stylish post-Soviet quarters to
rural outskirts.
Maps of Minsk are found in Russian and English,
sold in bookstores and newsstands. The regularly updated atlas "Streets
of Minsk" is ideal in size and content (albeit a little expensive).
Main shopping centers:
1 Shopping Center "Capital" ,
Independence Ave., 3-2 (underground shopping center on Independence
Square). 🕑 10.00-22.00. souvenirs, cosmetics, Belarusian knitwear
2 SEC "Galleria Minsk" (Gallery Minsk), Pobediteley Ave., 9. ☎ +37517
309-81-81. 🕑 10.00-22.00. On the lower level there is a Euroopt
supermarket, open 9:00–23:00.
There is a food court on the 6th floor,
opening hours 10:00–22:00.
The mall often hosts various
entertainment events.
3 SEC "Galileo" (Galileo) , st.
Bobruiskaya, 6. 10.00-22.00. The Galileo shopping center presents
leading brands of fashionable clothes, shoes, accessories, as well as
children's goods and cosmetics, there is a cinema, a Sosedi supermarket,
and several restaurants.
4 Shopping Center "Castle" , Pobediteley
Ave., 65. 10.00-22.00. The shopping center has a hypermarket "Korona"
(opening hours 9.00-02.00), an ice rink, a cinema, several restaurants.
5 Shopping center "Dana Moll" (Dana Mol), st. Mstislavtsa, 11.
10.00-23.00. Here you will find Zara, Zara home, Stradivarius, Bershka,
Pull&Bear, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Nelva, Milavitsa, Mark Formelle,
Colin’s and more than 100 international and Belarusian brands, a cinema
with 7 halls, a cafe and a food court.
SEC "Expobel" , the
intersection of the Logoisk tract and the Moscow Ring Road. 10.00-23.00.
The first shopping center of the European format in Belarus.
Here is
the BIGZZ hypermarket, open 08.00-24.00. A
State Stores
Shops
on Nezavisimosti Avenue have preserved Soviet interiors and can be
visited even just for sightseeing.
6 TSUM, Nezalezhnosti Ave., 54
( Subway: Yakub Kolas Square). Five-story 1980s building with retained
interior and 1980s department store feel, signage, perfume smell, and
cash booths. There is a grocery department, a free restroom, a large
counter with souvenirs on the second floor.
7 Central supermarket,
Nezalezhnosti Ave., 23 (Subway: Oktyabrskaya). Despite the central
name, the store used to occupy a relatively small area on the ground
floor of a 1950s house. In the 1980s, an extension was made to it, in
which the grocery trade was transferred, and the entire first floor is
occupied by a cafeteria. You can eat while standing and look at the rich
interior of the 1950s with chandeliers and paintings.
8 GUM Wikidata item, Nezavisimosti Ave., 21 ( Subway: Oktyabrskaya).
Large store on the main avenue with a feel of the ongoing Soviet Union
inside. It makes sense to walk about the building. Pay attention to the
display of goods on street windows. From the side stairs you can take a
picture of Independence Avenue from above.
9 TD "On Nemiga", st.
Nemiga, 8 (Subway: Nemiga). A large project of a modern shopping street
that took a long time to build in the 1970s and 1980s. Part of the
street is arranged as a two-story street: from below - cars and parking
lots, from above, on reinforced concrete floors, a pedestrian part with
entrances to shops and concrete stairs.
10 Department store
"Belarus", Zhilunovicha street, 4 ( Subway: Partizanskaya).
Cheap
Restaurant-bistro "LIDO". ✉ Soups from 1.5 BYN, hot dishes
from 1.8 BYN, hot drinks from 0.6.BYN (2015). Self-service restaurant
with national cuisine. The Latvian network "Lido" is an option for a
quick and inexpensive meal, but, unfortunately, many dishes are not hot
enough. The avenue is always crowded, there are few people on Kuhlman.
Beautiful interior. There is delivery.
Nezalezhnosti Ave., 49 (
Yakub Kolas Square). ☎ +375 (29) 302-59-59. 🕑 Mon–Fri 8:00–23:00,
Sat–Sun 11:00–23:00.
st. Kulman, 5a ( Yakub Kolas Square). ☎ +375
(29) 3-686-686. 🕑 Sun–Tue 9:00–21:00, Wed–Sat 9:00–23:00. Live music on
Thu, Fri, Sat from 20:00.
st. Nemiga, 5 ( Nemiga). ☎ +375 (29)
3-686-686. Sun–Tue 9:00–21:00, Wed–Sat 9:00–23:00.
Cafe El Tomatoro.
Hot dishes: 20,000–30,000 BYR (2013). As they say on the website,
“modern urban cuisine” is the uncompromising slogan of the welcoming
cafe El Pomidoro. Anything is cooked here: national cuisine, pizzas,
rolls. Visitors are rather satisfied, although they note the low quality
of service.
st. Kirova, 6 ( Lenin Square). 9:00–23:00.
Cafe
"Aquarium", Nezalezhnosti Ave., 23 (TSUM, Oktyabrskaya). 9:00–23:00.
Hot dishes: about 10 thousand Bel. rub (2011). A tiny cafe adjoining the
cafeteria on the first floor of the Central Department Store. Simple but
tasty and satisfying food. The cafeteria itself is one of the most
popular places in the city. Here they sell cheap alcoholic drinks, which
local drunks are happy to consume. Everyone else can try delicious
Soviet-style cakes and not hopeless coffee from plastic cups.
McDonalds, Nezalezhnosti Ave., 23 (Oktyabrskaya metro station), Nemiga,
12, st. Pritytskogo, 28 (metro station "Pushkinskaya"), st. Surganova,
63 (Bangalore Square), Dzerzhinsky Ave., 96 (metro station
"Petrovshchina"), st. Shugaeva, 2 (metro station "Uruchie").
Canteen
of the Minsk City Executive Committee, 8 Independence Ave. (opposite the
Red Church, Lenin Square). Lunches from 20 000 BYR (2013) £. Entrance
from the yard. For third-party visitors it is open from 13.15 on
weekdays. Delicious and inexpensive food.
Cafeterias in supermarkets.
Every large supermarket, especially a Soviet-built one, contains a
cafeteria - a separate space where they sell tea, sandwiches and pies.
Average cost
fresh cafe. Hot dishes: 60,000–100,000 BYR (2013).
Nice cafe with slow service but nice environment and delicious food. The
menu has signs of internationalism, although there are many dishes of
Belarusian cuisine.
42, Independence Ave. (Subway: Victory Square). ☎
+375 (17) 284-54-04. 10:00–1:00. Free WiFi.
Nezalezhnosti Ave., 75
(Subway: Academy of Sciences). ☎ +375 (17) 292-10-94. 10:00–23:00.
Cafe-bar "Graf Cafe", Nezalezhnosti Ave., 116 (National Library of
Belarus, 22nd floor). ☎ +375 (17) 266-37-22. 12:00–23:00. Hot dishes:
from 35,000 BYR (2013). A good cafe that serves pizza, omelettes, potato
pancakes and a couple of meat dishes. Large selection of hot drinks and
desserts, draft beer. You can get only through the entrance to the
observation deck, that is, the entrance, in fact, is paid. From the
windows there is a good view of the city - however, exactly the same as
from the roof of the National Library. Free WiFi. There are souvenirs
for sale.
Cafe Vasilki. Hot dishes: 50,000–100,000 BYR (2013).
Perhaps one of the most national cafes of national cuisine: it has a
fairly regular rustic interior, and the Belarusian style is maintained
in food without signs of foreign influence. There are breakfasts in the
morning.
16, Independence Ave. (Subway: Oktyabrskaya). ☎ +375 (29)
706-44-52. 8:00–23:00.
Nezalezhnosti Ave., 89 (Subway: Chelyuskintsy
Park). ☎ +375 (17) 280-06-24. 11:00–23:00.
st. Yakub Kolas, 37
(Subway: Academy of Sciences). ☎ +375 (29) 706-70-34. Sun–Thurs
11:00–23:00, Sun–Thurs 11:00–2:00.
Cafe-restaurant "Birch", pl.
Victory ( Subway: Victory Square). ☎ +375 (44) 764-66-46. 11:00–23:00.
Hot dishes: about 100,000 BYR (2013). Unmemorable cafe with typical
cuisine. It is quite acceptable for those who are not in a hurry. Paid
Wi-Fi from byfly.
Coffee house "My English grandmother", st. Karl
Marx, 36 (Subway: Oktyabrskaya). ☎ +375 (17) 227-22-24. 9:00–24:00. Hot
dishes: about 100,000 BYR (2013). It is not clear what the coffee house
and grandmother have to do with it, and if grandmother, then why
English, but the cuisine and wine list are quite up to par. Cozy
interior, quiet music. Free WiFi.
Restaurant "Kamyanitsa", st.
Pervomaiskaya, 18 (Subway: Victory Square, Oktyabrskaya). ☎ +375 (17)
294-51-24. 12:00–23:00. Hot dishes: about 100,000 BYR (2013). One of the
first restaurants of Belarusian cuisine in Minsk. Visitors note that it
is beautiful, tasty and not very expensive, but it takes a long time to
cook food, and there may not be any places.
Meadow. Not bad, although
the choice is not rich.
Old Town, in the Trinity Suburb, corner of
st. Bogdanovich and Y. Kupala.
Restaurant "Yangtze", pl. Freedom, 8
(Subway: Nemiga). ☎ +375 17 328-53-32, +375 29 123-66-88. 11.00 - 23.00.
Chinese restaurant in the very center of the city, near the town hall,
on the corner of Gostiny Dvor. Relatively expensive for its quality, but
overall quite pleasant. There are two halls, upper and lower. Decorated
in the appropriate style, strictly.
Expensive
Restaurant La
Crete d'or (Golden Scallop), st. Lenina, 3 (Subway: Oktyabrskaya). ☎
+375 (29) 105-05-03, +375 (17) 227-32-04. 🕑 11:00–23:00. A French
restaurant with a Belarusian chef, a ridiculous name and a menu missing
from the website. However, it consistently garners the most positive
reviews. Visitors also recommend going to the coffee house of the same
name, where there are many French desserts and cakes at reasonable
prices.
Restaurant Falcone, st. King, 9 ( Subway: Frunzenskaya). ☎
+375 (17) 377-77-76. 12:00–2:00. Hot dishes: from 200,000 BYR (2013).
Restaurant of high Italian cuisine. In other words, risotto and pasta
are the “firsts” here, and the main emphasis is on expensive and gourmet
dishes. A huge wine list and for some reason a hookah.
Restaurant-brewery "Rakovsky brovar", Vitebskaya st. 10 ( Subway:
Nemiga). ☎ +375 (17) 328-64-04, +375 (44) 733-93-39. 12:00–24:00. Hot
dishes: from 100,000 BYR (2013). A large brasserie with the right
ambiance, noise and live music in the evenings. Sometimes it positions
itself as a restaurant of national cuisine, but in terms of meaning it
is rather an expensive pub.
Restaurant "Talaka", st. Rakovskaya, 18
(Subway: Nemiga, Rakovskoe suburb). ☎ +375 (17) 203-27-94. 10:00–6:00.
Hot meals: from 250,000 bel. rub. Cozy cafe in national style.
Everything is made of wood - even the cover of the menu, and the bill is
brought in a huge chest, and also, of course, wooden. The tables are
decorated with old sewing machines, wheelbarrows and other funny devices
- however, it is not very comfortable to sit at such. A good selection
of national dishes, but the prices are even higher than in Rakovskiy
Brovar next door.
Restaurant "Expedition", st. Greenhouse, 50
( Subway: Moscow, on the outskirts). ☎ +375 (17) 267-06-76. Restaurant
of "northern cuisine", owned by the Expedition chain, which sells
tourist equipment in Russia. The food is surprisingly varied - from the
"Geologist's Ration" dish (stew with buckwheat, served in a tin can) to
uniform delicacies like king crab, venison dishes or red deer meat.
Expensive, but unusual and interesting.
Coffee houses
Bistro
de Luxe, st. City Val, 10 (Subway: Lenin Square). ☎ +375 (44)
789-11-11. Mon–Fri 8:00–24:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–24:00. Cafe in European
style. Visitors praise.
Coffee Inn, st. Internatsionalnaya, 23
( Subway: Oktyabrskaya, Nemiga). ☎ +375 (17) 227-40-41. 8:00–24:00.
Quite an ordinary coffee shop. However, it is cozy and has a large
selection of everything from hot drinks to alcoholic drinks. Free WiFi.
Coffee On, st. Surazhskaya, 4 (Subway: Institute of Culture). ☎ +375
(44) 555-02-74. Mon–Sat 7:30–23:00, Sun 10:00–22:00. A very democratic
institution. From food only desserts and sandwiches. Free WiFi.
News
Cafe, st. Karl Marx, 34 (Subway: Kupalovskaya, Oktyabrskaya). ☎ +375
(29) 103-11-11. Mon–Fri 8:00–24:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–24:00. The cafe is
popular among foreigners. Locals speak of it with less enthusiasm, but
still recommend it for breakfast or a cup of coffee, although there is
also a full menu for lunch or dinner. Newspapers in assortment. WiFi.
Coffee house La Crete d'or (Golden Scallop), st. Lenina, 3 (Subway:
Oktyabrskaya). ☎ +375 (29) 105-05-03, +375 (17) 227-32-04. 🕑
9:00–23:00. Delicious and inexpensive French cakes, good coffee.
Minsk calms down at night and the city dies out. There are several
convenience stores and cafes throughout the capital. Vibrant activity
only in nightclubs and casinos.
1 Night club "Dozari", 58
Independence Ave. ☎ +375 (29) 345-22-33. Wed–Sun 22:00–6:00. Entrance
fee for girls is 80-100 thousand BYR, for boys 120-200 thousand BYR.
Admission is free for girls until 1:00. A lot of pathos and not the best
music.
2 Night club "Overtime", Pobediteley Ave., 4 (Subway:
Nemiga). ✉ ☎ +375 (29) 141-44-14. Mon–Sun 21:00–6:00. Entrance fee for
girls is 50-100 thousand BYR, for boys 100-150 thousand BYR. Girls until
0:00 admission is free. Pop music and a minimal touch of glamour.
3 Rock club "TNT Rock Club" , st. Revolutionary, 9 ( Subway:
Nemiga). ✉ ☎ +375 (29) 655-55-55. Sun–Thursday 12:00–00:00, Fri–Sat
12:00–5:00. One of the most atmospheric places in Minsk. For lovers of
rock and live music.
4 Hookah No. 1 , st. Karl Marx, house 33. ☎
+375 (17) 2222707. 10:00– ??:??. BYR. Very atmospheric place. They
position themselves as a lo-fi establishment. Actually, it gives the
impression of some kind of underground rasta club. People take off their
shoes and reclining on sofas, smoking a hookah. Decent hookahs, good
drinks.
5 Craft House, Yakub Kolas street, 37. ☎ +375 (29) 3103737.
10:00– ??:??. BYR. One of the few bars in Minsk with truly craft beer.
It’s not very good with craft in Belarus at all, since drinks with a
strength of more than 7% are considered strong, they have a different
excise tax, and therefore no one wants to get involved. But in general,
here you can find good varieties To Øl, Mikeller, De Molen, as well as
lesser-known Russian brands. There is food, strong alcohol. Feb 2016
edit
6 Restaurant-brewery "Friends" , st. Kulman, 40. ☎ +375 (29)
396-58-58; +375 (33) 636-58-58; +375 (17) 396-58-58. Sun–Thu
12:00–02:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–03:00. The range is similar to Kraft House.
There are 48 hotel complexes and 5 hostels in Minsk. After the 2014
Ice Hockey World Championship, the city now has no problems choosing
accommodation.
It is better not to stay in hotels of the era of
the Soviet Union, but to choose a modern hotel. All foreign citizens
(except citizens of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine) must be
registered if the period of stay in the country is more than 5 days (the
hotels themselves apply for registration).
Cheap
1 Sputnik
Hotel 3*, st. Brilevskaya, 2 (Subway: "Institute of Culture", 15
minutes on foot). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 220-36-19. Single room 60 BYN, double
room 67 BYN. A 1962 hotel with a 2012 renovation. The rooms do not have
air conditioning. The center is 3.2 km away. At low temperatures it is
cold in the rooms. Free parking and Wi-Fi.
2 Hostel "Viva" (Viva),
st. Zhukovsky, 4 (Subway: Institute of Culture, 800 meters). ✉ ☎ +375
(29) 627-11-33, hostelviva.by. 10-bed room 6 EUR/person, 5-bed room 10
EUR/person, 4-bed room 12 EUR/person The hostel has been operating since
2012. 800 meters to the railway station. 4-bed room has a washbasin and
a balcony. Free parking and Wi-Fi.
3 Hostel Trinity , st.
Starovilenskaya, 12 ( Subway: "Nemiga", 200 meters). ✉ ☎ +375 (29)
311-27-83, hosteltraveler. 6-bed room 20 BYN/person, 4-bed room 25
BYN/person, double junior suite from 50 BYN. Trinity Suburb area. Works
since 2012. Good wifi.
Average cost
4 Hotel complex "Tourist"
3* , Partizansky Ave., 81 ( Subway: Partizanskaya, 20 meters). ✉ ☎ +375
(17) 295-40-31, tourist.hotel1. Single room 92 BYN, double room 106 BYN.
1972 hotel with Soviet heritage, renovated in 2011. The center is 4.9 km
away. Near the department store "Belarus", a green area in the form of a
park of the 50th anniversary of October. Nice view from the rooms on the
upper floors. Many rooms are smoky. Good soundproofing. Parking is paid
- 5 BYN per day. Free Wi-Fi in the rooms.
5 Hotel complex
"Yubileiny" 3* , Pobediteley Ave., 19 (Subway: "Nemiga", 10 minutes
walk). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 226-90-37, yubileiny_hotel. Single room 90 BYN,
double room 110 BYN. Hotel from 1968, renovated in 2011. Parking 6 BYN
per day. Wi-Fi is free (1 card per 1 device). For the persistent spirit.
6 ABB Hotel 3* (IBB Hotel) , 11 Pravda newspaper avenue (
Petrovshchina, 10 minutes walk). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 270-39-94. Single and
double room 110 BYN, room for the disabled 85 BYN. Hotel from 1994 at
the Johannes Rau Educational Center, renovated in 2014. To the center 6
km. Free Wi-Fi, poor signal on upper floors. Near the German consulate
and McDonald's.
7 Hotel "IT Time" 2* ("IT Time") , st. Kuprevicha,
4 (Subway: "Vostok", 3.3 km). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 269-66-00. Single room 45
BYN, double room 65 BYN. Hotel in 2014. Not far from the shopping center
"Korona", the Park of High Technologies and the green park area "Museum
of Boulders".
8 Hotel "Belarus" 3* , st. Storozhovskaya, 15
(Subway: Nemiga, 1.1 km). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 209-71-06. Single room 1.2
million BYR, double room 1.36 million BYR. One of the most famous
buildings in Minsk. Hotel from 1987, renovated in 2014. Near the Church
of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene and the river Svisloch. Good
fitness room and pool with slides.
9 Hotel "Bonhotel" 3*
(BonHotel) , st. Pritytskogo, 2 (Subway: "Pushkinskaya", 350 meters).
✉ ☎ +375 (17) 389-73-88. Single and double room 1.2 million BYR. Opened
in 2014. Far from the center, to the subway 5-7 minutes on foot.
European level. Price quality. There are rooms for business ladies,
which include a set of cosmetics, ergonomic mattresses, additional
mirrors.
10 Hotel "Garni" 3* , st. Internatsionalnaya, 11
(Subway: Nemiga, 5 minutes walk). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 229-76-00. Single room
1.15 million BYR, double room 1.25 million BYR. Works since 2012.
Located in the historical center of the city.
11 Green City Hotel,
st. Pritytskogo, 15b (Subway: "Stone Hill", 5 minutes on foot). ✉ ☎
+375 (17) 240-27-07, greencityhotel. Single room 705 thousand BYR,
double room 970 thousand BYR. New hotel in a residential area of the
city. For stays over 7 nights 10% discount.
12 Planet Hotel 3* ,
Pobediteley Ave., 31 (Subway: Nemiga, 10 minutes walk). ✉ ☎ +375 (17)
203-85-87. Single room 780 thousand BYR, double room 1 million BYR. The
hotel was opened for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and renovated in 2005
and 2011. The center is 2.3 km away. Near the modern museum of the
history of the Great Patriotic War. SPA. Free parking and Wi-Fi.
13
Hampton by Hilton Hotel 3* (Hampton by Hilton), st. Tolstoy, 8 (from the
south of the railway station). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 215-40-00. Double room 165
BYN. Brand new hotel in 2015, 5-7 minutes walk from the train and bus
stations.
14 Hotel "Orbita", Pushkin Avenue, 39 ( "Pushkinskaya"). ☎
+375 (17) 206-7781. 2000 rub. for a single room (2018). Large hotel a
stone's throw from the metro station. Despite the modest appearance,
inside you will find all the necessary amenities from private parking to
Wi-Fi. It has its own restaurant, cafe and bar. For an additional fee
(500 rubles) you can also get breakfast. 200 meters from the hotel there
is a 24-hour department store with grocery and manufactured goods
departments.
Expensive
15 Monastyrsky Hotel Complex 3* st.
Cyril and Methodius, 6 ( "Nemiga", "October"). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 329-03-02.
Single room 1.7 million BYR, double room 2.1 million BYR. Breakfast
included. Until January 31, 15% discount on accommodation. Located in
the historical center of the city. The former monastic building with
cells is now a hotel with comfortable rooms. Atmospheric place.
16 Boutique Hotel Buta , st. Myasnikova, 7. ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 366-55-55.
Double room 179 BYN. A hotel without a category, positioning itself as a
boutique hotel.
17 Victoria Hotel 4* , Pobediteley Avenue, 59. ✉ ☎
+375 (17) 239-77-77. Single room 200 BYN, double room 250 BYN. One of
the best price / quality options. There are often discounts.
18 Crown Plaza Minsk Hotel 5* (Crowne Plaza Minsk), st. Kirova, 13 (
"Lenin Square"). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 200-93-53. Double room 3.2 million BYR.
The first international hotel in Belarus opened in 2008.
19 Hotel
"Minsk" 4*, Independence Avenue, 11 ( "Lenin Square"). ✉ ☎ +375 (17)
209-90-62/74/75. Single room 154 BYN, double room 172 BYN. 10% discount
for accommodation from July 1 to August 22, 2016. The hotel in the style
of Stalinist classicism was opened in 1959. In 2002, the reconstruction
was carried out and for the first time in Belarus the category "4 stars"
was assigned. Located near Independence Square. Near the railway
station. The rooms are small if facing the avenue - noisy.
20 Renaissance Hotel 4* (Renaissance Minsk), Dzerzhinsky Avenue, 1e (
Grushevka, 2 km). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 309-90-90. Double room 233 BYN. The
Marriott hotel opened in 2014. Original design. The main disadvantage of
the hotel is its location. The railway station is 1 km away. There is a
trolleybus stop in front of the hotel. Sad view from windows.
Very expensive
21 Hotel "Europe" 5*, st. Internatsionalnaya, 28 (
Nemiga, Oktyabrskaya, 5 minutes walk). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 229-83-39. Single
room up to 291 BYN, double room 415 BYN. The hotel has a rich history,
but was completely destroyed during the Second World War. Newly built as
the country's first atrium-type hotel and opened in 2007. Located in the
city center near the city hall. The hotel is expensive, the rooms are
old, the interior is an amateur, but everywhere is clean and at the
level of service. Very small pool, noisy air conditioning.
22 Hotel
"Beijing" 5* , st. Krasnoarmeiskaya, 36 ( "Pervomaiskaya"). ✉ ☎ +375
(17) 329-77-77. Double room 245 BYN. The 2014 hotel is located in a park
area on the banks of the Svisloch River. Chinese style. Oriental massage
services. There is a swimming pool (free for guests, saunas, jacuzzi), a
children's room. During the summer, the river view rooms have a problem
with midges.
23 President Hotel 5*, st. Kirova, 18 (
"Kupalovskaya"). ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 229-70-00. Double room from 155 USD,
breakfast not included. The 2013 hotel is located in the historical part
of the city.
Mobile connection
There are three mobile operators in Belarus:
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS)
Velcom
life:)
Almost throughout
the city, including metro stations, there is a 4G connection. To
connect, you need a passport and the signing of an agreement, in
addition, you are required to take a picture. Without registration in
Belarus, the MTS Smart Guest tariff plan from the MTS operator is
available.
Fixed line
Fixed telephone numbers in Minsk have
seven-digit numbers, in the international format - +375 (17) XXX-XX-XX,
where 17 is the code of Minsk.
Internet
There are many Wi-Fi
points around the city, but most of them are paid and serviced by
Beltelecom (ByFly). Payment with access cards, which are sold in service
centers, and sometimes just in newsstands or cafes / hotels. The cards
are very cheap and unlimited in terms of the number of connections: 1
day for 2.35 BYN, 3 days for 3.15 BYN and 5 days for 4.4 BYN (2016)
completely solve the problem of Internet access, however, access speed
may fluctuate.
Free Wi-Fi is available in almost every hotel and
in most bars and restaurants.
Mail
Branches of Belpochta are
located throughout the city.
Main Post Office, Independence Ave.,
10. ☎ +375 (17) 293-59-10. Mon-Sat 08:00-20:00 Sun 10:00-17:00.
It is safe in the center of Minsk at any time of the day, including
at night. But at night you can meet rare companies of drunk people, with
whom it is better not to mess with.
Useful phone numbers (the
dialing is the same for both mobile and landline phones):
101, 112
Fire Rescue Service, Ministry of Emergency Situations
102 Police
103 Ambulance
105 Rail transport information
Streets must be
crossed at marked pedestrian crossings, in this case, according to the
traffic rules, drivers are required to stop, letting pedestrians through
(almost always they will). Many crossings are equipped with traffic
lights, sometimes you need to press a button to turn on the green light
(pay attention to the signs under the traffic lights).
Embassy of
the Russian Federation, st. Novovilenskaya, 1a. ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 233-35-90
(round the clock). Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00.
Embassy of Ukraine , st.
Starovilenskaya, 51. ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 283-19-91, +375 (25) 603-11-84 (call
only in case of a threat to life or death of citizens of Ukraine).
Mon-Thu 09:00-18:00 Fri 09:00-16:45.
Embassy of the Republic of
Kazakhstan , st. Kuibyshev, 12. ☎ +375 (17) 288-10-26. Mon-Thu
10:00-12:00 (by appointment).
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania ,
st. Zakharova, 68. ✉ ☎ +375 (17) 217-64-91. Mon-Thu 09:00-18:00 Fri
09:00-17:00.
To the northwest
1 Zaslavl. May 2018 edit
2 Historical and
cultural complex "Stalin's Line" , Minsk district, village. Loshany. ✉ ☎
+37517 503-20-20, +37517 503-23-43. From 10.00 to 18.00 Day off -
Monday. The open-air museum is located 20 km from Minsk. Various types
of fortifications and the most complete collection of military equipment
in Belarus are presented.
On North
3 Republican ski center
"Silichi", Logoisk district, Silichi village (32 km from Minsk). ✉ ☎
+375 (1774) 50-227. Winter and summer types of recreation. Hotel. 4 snow
tracks, half-pipe, jumps, children's track, skating rink, tennis courts,
karting, paintball, saunas and many other entertainments. Developed
infrastructure for the provision of services.
4 Khatyn. A
village in Belarus destroyed on March 22, 1943 by a punitive detachment
as revenge for the murder of several German soldiers. In 1969, a
memorial complex was opened on the site where the village was located.
Khatyn became a symbol of the mass extermination of civilians carried
out by the Nazis and collaborators in the occupied territory of the
USSR.
To the East
5 Mound of Glory. A majestic monument rising
on top of an artificial hill. It was erected in honor of the soldiers of
the Soviet Army who liberated Belarus from the Nazi invaders. Land for
the hill was brought handful from the battlefields of nine hero cities
of the former Soviet Union. The Mound of Glory is one of the most famous
landmarks located on the way to the airport.
To the south and
southwest
6 Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Life
“Strochitsy” Wikidata element, vil. lake. ☎ +375 (17) 507-69-37. Wed–Sun
11:00–19:00. 6 white rub. (2018). The open-air museum is located just 3
km from the Moscow Ring Road. It occupies a solid area and is divided
into several sectors depending on the area of origin of wooden
structures, all buildings are no older than the 18th century. On the
territory of the museum there is a "Belarusian tavern", its menu is made
up of dishes of the national Belarusian cuisine. If you are going to
shoot interiors, ask at the museum box office for a special ticket (3
BYR). You can get to the museum either by bus or by taxi. Detailed
information on the site.
7 Museum and ethnographic complex "Dudutki",
Pukhovichi district, near the village of Dudichi. ☎ +375 (1713) 3-07-47.
Located 40 km from Minsk. On the territory of the estate there is a
so-called. a “city of masters” with numerous craft workshops (for
example, a forge), a farm, a stable, a moonshine still, a museum of
vintage cars, etc. Outside the estate there is also a mill built in
1905, transported from the Brest region, which worked until the
mid-1970s.
8 Mir Castle. A unique monument of Belarusian
architecture - was founded by magnate Ilyinich at the very end of the
fifteenth century in the village of Mir. The castle was supposed to
replace the wooden manor that existed at that time. For centuries Mir
Castle was destroyed and restored. And this happened more than once. In
2000, the castle came under the auspices of UNESCO.
9 Nesvizh
Castle. The residence of the Radziwill princes, one of the richest and
most influential families in the Commonwealth in the 16th-18th
centuries. Since 2005, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List
along with the Church of the Body of God (the first Baroque building in
Eastern Europe) and other historical buildings.
Most likely, the name of the city comes from the river Menka (Menka),
which was a tributary of Ptich. The hydronym Me can be explained from
the Indo-European *men- “small”, compare Old Russian mnii, Proto-Slavic
*mьnjes - “smaller”. Old Russian variants of the name - Mensk, Menesk,
Mensk met in the annals. In later sources, the name of the city was
written without a yat - Mensk, Menesk, Mensk.
At the end of the
16th century, isolated cases of the use of the form Minsk were noted,
later, as Polonization intensified, the percentage of use of the form
“Minsk-Minsk” increased (2nd half of the 17th century), but Mensk did
not cease to be used. The form "Mensk" disappeared from official
documents only in the 18th century.
Beginning in 1502, the form
Minsk was used in Latin and Polish-language documents ("Minsk",
"Mińsk"). A similar transformation of the name of the city in the Polish
language occurred under the influence of the Polish Minsk-Mazowiecki or
as a result of the influence of Ukrainian dialects. At the end of the
18th century, after the divisions of the Commonwealth, the spelling
"Minsk" was firmly established in Russian-language documents as a
mechanical translation of the Polish form "Mińsk".
The spelling
and literary norm in the Belarusian language were formed only at the end
of the 19th century, which also affected the formalization of the name
of the city: it had not settled down by that time. The oral use of the
form Mensk was still recorded, the latter was noted by the Belarusian
ethnographer Pavel Shpilevsky and the Geographical Dictionary of the
Kingdom of Poland (1885). Shpilevsky also published a legend about the
origin of the name of Minsk. According to this legend, the founder of
Minsk was Menesk. Since 1916, the name Mensk-Belorussky (Belarusian
Mensk-Belaruski) has been fixed among the Belarusian intelligentsia. It
was preserved during the German and Polish occupations, was used in the
documents of the Belarusian emigration.
During the BSSR, the name
Mensk became normative again for some time and was widely used in
official documents in the Belarusian language until July 29, 1939, when
the Supreme Council of the BSSR changed the Belarusian name of the city
to "Minsk" by its decree. This renaming, according to the Belarusian
historian Z. Shibeko, was caused by the intensification of Stalinist
repressions against the national cadres of the republic. According to
the Belarusian historian V. Lyakhovsky, the renaming was the
consolidation of Russification in the BSSR at the level of city names.
Since that time, the form Minsk has been the normative name of the
city in the Belarusian language. However, some media, authors and
Internet projects using pre-reform tarashkevytsya (for example, Radio
Liberty, ARCHE Pachatak magazine, etc.) in relation to modern Minsk, as
well as printed historical publications (including official, for
example, books of publishing houses "Belarusian Encyclopedia", "BelTA",
etc.) in relation to the period of the city's history before 1793 use
the form Mensk.
In 1991, the Minsk City Council of People's
Deputies appealed to the Supreme Council with a request to return the
city to its former form of the name Mensk, but the request was denied.
142 deputies voted for the return of the name Mensk, while the required
173.
The Polish language has historically used the name Polsk.
Mińsk Litewski (Minsk-Lithuanian, from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania),
and later Polish. Mińsk Białoruski (Minsk-Belarusian) to distinguish
Minsk from a small city in Poland Minsk-Mazowiecki. Now the Polish word
"Mińsk" almost always refers to the Belarusian capital, rather than the
administrative center of the Minsk district in Mazovia, which is usually
used with a Polish specification. Minsk Mazowiecki.
The earliest settlements on the territory of the modern city date
back to the 9th century. The valley of the Svisloch River was inhabited
by two East Slavic tribes: the Krivichi and the Dregovichi. Around 980,
the territory of the modern city became part of the Principality of
Polotsk.
The first chronicle mention of Minsk is contained in the
Tale of Bygone Years[5]; it refers to 1067, when the sons of the Kyiv
prince Yaroslav the Wise appeared under the walls of Menesk, which then
belonged to the prince of Polotsk Vseslav Bryachislavich. The veche
refused to surrender the city, but the brothers Yaroslavichs captured
and destroyed it, and then defeated the troops of Vseslav Bryachislavich
who came to the aid in the battle on Nemiga (within the present central
part of Minsk): “In the year 6575, Vseslav, the son of Bryacheslav,
raised his army in Polotsk Novgorod. Three Yaroslavichs, Izyaslav,
Syatoslav, Vsevolod, having gathered soldiers, went to Vseslav in severe
frost. And they approached Mensk, and shut me up in the city. These
brothers took Mensk and killed all the husbands, and captured the wives
and children and went to Nemiga, and Vseslav went against them. And the
opponents met on the Nemiga in the month of March on the 3rd day; and
the snow was great, and they went against one another. And there was a
fierce slaughter, and many fell in it, and defeated Izyaslav,
Svyatoslav, Vsevolod, Vseslav fled.
After the death of Vseslav
Bryachislavich in 1101, his sons divided their father's possessions into
destinies, as a result of which Menesk became the capital of a separate
principality. Gleb Vseslavich became the first Prince of Mensk. The
status of the capital and favorable geographical position contributed to
the economic development of the city and its transformation into a major
trade and craft center, as evidenced by the results of archaeological
excavations. However, the frequent internecine wars of the princes (the
campaigns against Menesk in 1119, 1159, 1160, 1161 are known) prevented
the prosperity of the city.
From about the first half of the 13th century, the city and the
principality disappeared from the pages of chronicles, there is no
information about the events associated with the Mongol-Tatar invasion
in 1237-1239, but the later raids of the Golden Horde, as well as the
collapse of the Old Russian state, greatly weakened the principality.
For his protection, Menesk probably turned to the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania, which was developing strongly at this time. The next mention
of the city dates back only to 1324. Under the name Menesk, it is
mentioned in the section "Lithuanian cities" of the chronicle "List of
Russian cities near and far" (end of the 14th century).
In 1385,
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland signed the Union
of Kreva, and later, in 1401, the Union of Vilna-Radom, which further
strengthened the union of the two states. In 1441, the Grand Duke of
Lithuania Casimir IV gave the city a charter of privileged cities. At
the behest of his son Alexander Jagiellon in 1499 (according to other
sources - 1496) the city received Magdeburg rights. In 1565-1566, the
city became the center of the Minsk Voivodeship and the Minsk Povet
(county) as part of it. By the privilege of 1591 Minsk was granted a
coat of arms.
In 1569, the Union of Lublin was signed, which finally united the
Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state -
the Commonwealth. In the Sejm of the newly formed state, the Minsk povet
was given two seats - for the voivode and the castellan. In addition,
each of the other two povets of the Minsk Voivodeship - Rechitsa and
Mozyr - had their own sejmiks, who sent two deputies to the Sejm and to
the Lithuanian Tribunal.
By the middle of the 17th century, Minsk
had become an important economic, cultural and religious center of the
Commonwealth, especially for Orthodoxy. But at the same time, due to the
migration of Poles and Jews, as well as in connection with the
transition of the gentry to Catholicism, large communities of Catholics
and Jews also appeared in Minsk. After the Union of Brest, Orthodoxy
gradually gave way to Uniatism. Gradually, the national image of the
city also changed, many representatives of the nobility and
intelligentsia were Polonized. From the second half of the 17th century,
sessions of the Main Tribunal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were held
in Minsk.
In 1654, during the Russian-Polish war (1654-1667),
Minsk was taken by the troops of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who held the
city until 1667. During the war, Minsk was completely destroyed, leaving
only two thousand inhabitants and 300 houses. The second wave of
destruction followed during the Great Northern War, when in 1708 the
Swedish king Charles XII took the city, a year later Minsk was taken by
Russian troops.
In addition to the death of the population and
destruction, both wars led to the decline of the city's economy. In the
18th century, Minsk became a periphery of the Commonwealth and did not
play any significant role. By 1790, the population of the city reached
approximately 6500-7000 inhabitants, thus returning to the figures of
1654.
As a result of the 2nd partition of the Commonwealth in January 1793,
Minsk was annexed to the Russian Empire and on April 3 of the same year
became the center of the newly formed Minsk province. In 1795, by decree
of the Russian Senate, the Magdeburg right for Minsk was abolished.
On January 22 (February 2), 1796, according to the approved report
of the Senate, the city was given a new coat of arms.
In the
Russian era, the development of the city began again, in 1805 the first
public park was opened, and by 1811 the population numbered about 11
thousand inhabitants.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, Minsk was
occupied by the corps of Marshal Davout from July 8 (20) to November 15
(27). On July 18 (30), 1812, the first Minsk newspaper in Polish was
published - Tymczasowa gazeta Mińska. According to Napoleon's plan,
Minsk was turned into the central food base of the French army, a
collection center for lagging units and an evacuation point for sick and
wounded soldiers. By the end of the summer of 1812, all suitable
buildings in the city, including churches, churches, monasteries,
synagogues and schools, began to be rebuilt into warehouses and
infirmaries. As a result of looting and requisitions, a significant part
of the housing stock was destroyed; the population of the city at the
time of its liberation by Russian troops was about 3.5 thousand people.
The last unrest of the 19th century in Minsk took place during the
Polish uprising of 1830. The suppression of the revolt of the Polish
gentry led to a change in the national and religious character of the
city: a gradual decrease in the Polish population and the elimination of
Uniate parishes. And the fact that in 1835 Minsk was included in the
Jewish Pale of Settlement contributed to the growth of the city's Jewish
population.
Throughout the 19th century, the city continued to
grow. In the 1830s, all the main streets and squares were paved with
cobblestones, in 1836 the first public library was opened, and a year
later the first fire tower. In 1844 the first theater was opened. By
1860, there were 27 thousand inhabitants in Minsk, there was an
intensive development of two- and three-story houses in the Upper Town.
The most important event that influenced the further development of
the city was the laying of the Moscow-Warsaw railway through Minsk in
1871. And in 1873 Minsk became a railway junction, as the
Libau-Romenskaya railway was laid through the city. In 1874, water
supply appeared in the city, in 1890 - a telephone, in 1892 - a
horse-drawn tram, and in 1894 - the first power station. In 1900 there
were 58 factories and factories in Minsk.
According to the 1897
census, the city had 91,494 inhabitants. More than half of the
population (47,561) were Jews. In 1909, 43.3% of Jews lived in Minsk,
Russians - 34.8%, Poles - 11.4%.
On March 1-3 (15), 1898, the I
Congress of the RSDLP was held in the city.
The long peace was
interrupted by the First World War, in 1915, after the offensive of the
German troops, the city became a front-line city. Since August 1915, it
housed the headquarters of the Western Front, the Minsk Military
District, and the 10th Army. There were many hospitals and warehouses in
Minsk. During the war, German airplanes and airships repeatedly
bombarded the city.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk allowed German troops to occupy Minsk on
February 21, 1918. This was preceded by the events of February 19-21,
when attempts were made to seize power by Polish and Belarusian
activists.
March 25, 1918 at 8 am in German-occupied Minsk, in
the building of the Peasant Land Bank on Serpukhovskaya Street (now
Volodarsky, 9), the Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic adopted the
Third Statutory Charter (Belarusian) Russian, which proclaimed the
independence of the Belarusian People's Republic . However, after the
defeat of Germany in the First World War and the signing of a peace
agreement, according to which Germany was obliged to withdraw troops
from the occupied territories, the Soviet government denounced the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and sent troops to the territories left by the
German troops. The Rada of the BPR left the city following the
retreating German troops and on January 10, 1919, the Red Army occupied
Minsk without a fight, the city council announced the establishment of
Soviet power, and by mid-February 1919, Soviet power was established
almost throughout Belarus.
On January 1, 1919, the Soviet
Socialist Republic of Belarus (SSRB) was proclaimed in Smolensk as part
of Soviet Russia, on January 7, Minsk became the capital of the newly
formed Soviet republic, and on January 31, 1919, the SSRB withdrew from
Soviet Russia and was renamed the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic,
Minsk became the capital of the new republic. However, already on
February 27, Soviet Belarus became part of the Lithuanian-Belarusian SSR
(Litbel). Vilna became the capital of Litbel. As a result of military
defeats during the Soviet-Polish war (1919-1921), on April 28, the
authorities of Litbel were evacuated from Vilna to Minsk. On July 19,
they also had to leave it, and on August 8 the city was occupied by the
troops of the Polish Republic.
On July 11, 1920, the Red Army occupied Minsk, and on July 31 the government of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic returned to it. The long-term war severely destroyed the city, but already in the first years of Soviet power, its restoration began. In 1921, the Belarusian State University and the first scientific library were established in Minsk. In 1924, there were already 29 factories, many cinemas, schools, hospitals, large complexes of new buildings were built. In 1928, the Academy of Sciences was established in Minsk, and the first bread factory appeared in the same year. In 1929, the first Minsk trams entered the line, and in 1933 the airport began to operate. In 1934, the building of the State Library named after V. I. Lenin was built. A great event in the urban planning and architecture of Minsk was the construction of the House of the Government of the BSSR (1929-1934) according to the project of the architect Iosif Langbard. This largest public building with a volume of 240,000 m³, one of the best monuments of constructivism, marked the beginning of the formation of a new city center - Lenin Square.
In June 1941, the city was subjected to aerial bombardment by German
aircraft. Already on June 25, 1941, German troops approached the city,
and on June 28 Minsk was occupied. From the side of the Bolotnaya
station, the mechanized units of the 3rd tank group of Colonel General
Herman von Goth entered the city. As a result, the city became the
center of the general district of Belarus as part of the
Reichskommissariat Ostland. The 44th and 2nd Rifle Corps of the 13th
Army of the Western Front participated in the defense of Minsk on June
25-28. On June 26, north of Minsk, in the Ostroshitsky town, a German
paratrooper landed, occupying a landing site for transport aircraft, as
a result of which troops, equipment and light equipment began to be
transferred there.
The fact that the Red Army left the city of
Minsk was not reported by either the Soviet Information Bureau or other
Soviet mass media.
In 1939, the population of Minsk was 238,800
people. During the war, about 70,000 Minskers died.
In Minsk, the
German occupation authorities created three Jewish ghettos, in which
over 80,000 Jews were tortured and killed during the occupation. In
total, more than 400 thousand people were killed in Minsk and its
environs (including 206.5 thousand people in the Maly Trostenets camp,
80 thousand in the Masyukovshchina camp, 20 thousand in the camp on
Shirokaya Street).
On June 29, 1944, the Minsk operation began -
an integral part of the Belarusian operation. It was attended by the
troops of three Belarusian fronts with the support of the 1st Baltic
Front. By the beginning of the offensive, the forces of the Red Army
surrounded the forces of the 4th and partially 9th German armies of the
Army Group Center in a semicircle (the troops of the 3rd Belorussian
Front were located north of the German units, the troops of the 1st
Belorussian Front were to the south). As a result, the forward
formations of the Red Army by June 29 were closer to Minsk than the main
forces of the German troops (100 km versus 130-150 km). It was planned
to surround the German units and liberate Minsk. On June 30, the troops
of the 3rd Belorussian Front crossed the Berezina and soon liberated
Borisov, located near the city on July 1, and Logoisk and Smolevichi on
July 2. At dawn on July 3, advanced units of the 3rd Belorussian Front
entered Minsk as part of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps (entered the city
from the east and northeast), the 5th Guards Tank, 11th Guards and 31st
Armies ( they all entered the city from the north), and a few hours
later advanced units of the 1st Belorussian Front (parts of the 1st
Guards Tank Corps and the 3rd Army) entered from the southeast. The city
was defended by one tank and three infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht,
three SS regiments and other units. By the end of the day on July 3,
Minsk was liberated. Thanks to this, east of the city, 105 thousand
German soldiers fell into the Minsk Cauldron; the encircled troops were
defeated by 11 July. As a result of the operation, 53 formations and
units received the honorary names "Minsk". Partisan formations actively
participated in the operation.
At the time of the liberation of
the city by the Red Army on July 3, 1944, only about 70 undestroyed
buildings remained in the central districts of Minsk. Suburbs and
outskirts suffered noticeably less. On July 16, 1944, on Sunday, a
partisan parade took place in the liberated Minsk.
Belarus, as the first territory on the path of the advancing troops,
suffered enormous damage from the war. Most of the buildings and
structures in the city turned into ruins. Only according to the official
data of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and
Investigation of the Atrocities of the Nazi Invaders, 23 largest
enterprises were burned and blown up in Minsk, 4 hotels, 47 schools were
destroyed, cultural and scientific institutions were looted and
destroyed. Sewerage, water supply, telephone and telegraph and transport
networks were rendered unusable. The total damage caused during the
years of occupation, according to the same statistics, is estimated at
about 6 billion rubles, according to estimates of that time.
By a
decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR
dated May 14, 1946, Minsk was classified as a city of republican
subordination. The Minsk Motorcycle and Bicycle Plant (November 6, 1945)
was built, and since 1951, a motorbike plant. At the same time, the
first M1A motorcycle was created. On May 29, 1946, the Council of
Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution on the establishment of the
Minsk Tractor Plant in Belarus. Minsk Automobile Plant (1947). In the
first half of the 1950s, bearing, watch and radiator factories, as well
as a worsted plant, were put into operation. Minsk has become one of the
main centers of the Soviet Union in the fields of engineering and high
technology, with developed culture, health care, education, transport
and science. The products of the automobile and tractor factories have
become the visiting card of the republic in the world market. In 1952, a
trolleybus appeared in the city, in 1982 - an international airport, and
in 1984 the subway opened.
June 26, 1974 Minsk was awarded the
title of Hero City.
Since 1991, Minsk has been the capital of the state - the Republic of
Belarus. The status of the city of Minsk is determined by the
legislation and the Charter. On September 5, 1991, the City Council of
People's Deputies approved the historical coat of arms of the city; the
city also has a flag and an anthem. Today there are more than 600
streets and avenues in the capital. In 1991, the headquarters of the CIS
was located in Minsk.
In 2006, protests were held in the capital.
In 2010, the opposition organized protests near the Government House. In
2011, Minsk was affected by the “Revolution through social networks” and
the “Stop Gasoline” action. In 2016, protests were held in the city
against Presidential Decree No. 222, and in 2017, protests were held
against Decree No. 3 “On the Prevention of Social Dependency”. In 2020,
Minsk became the center of events related to the presidential elections
held in the country on August 9. For many months, numerous marches and
protests took place in the capital, caused by the next re-election of
Alexander Lukashenko to the post of President of the Republic of
Belarus.
Ancient Minsk was located in a lowland on the banks of the Svisloch,
at a level of about eight meters above the current level of the river.
Nearby hills are Troitskaya Gora, the area of Freedom Square and the
area of \u200b\u200bYubileynaya Square. The most important architectural
structure of early Minsk is a wooden castle. Around it was an
unfortified settlement. All buildings of the ancient city were wooden.
The log building type prevailed, the area of residential buildings
mainly ranged from 9 to 25 m². Most of the houses were single-chamber
and only a few had a vestibule. The first known stone structure in
Minsk, the foundation of an unfinished temple of the second half of the
11th century, was built according to methods atypical for the Old
Russian state, although the architectural plan of the temple is similar
to the religious buildings of the Polotsk architectural school. The
width of the wooden-covered streets was three to four meters. All the
streets converged at the gates of the castle. Due to the swampy soil,
drainage structures also existed in the city.
The existing street
layout was preserved for a very long time, however, after the fire of
1547, the system of streets and squares was partially revised, and the
market was moved from its former location in front of the castle to the
current Freedom Square, located a few hundred meters to the south.
Nevertheless, in the old, low-lying part of the city, the layout of the
streets was preserved until the 20th century. The swampy area north of
the castle remained almost uninhabited until the 16th century, until the
Tatar suburb (Tatar end) appeared here and began to be quickly built up.
The main street of the northern part of the city remained Nemiga
(Nemigskaya) Street, which arose on the trade route to the west. Due to
the fact that the half-dried river Nemiga flowed parallel to the street,
the street was flooded every spring and autumn.
In the 16th-17th
centuries, the Upper Market area began to be actively built up and
populated, and at the beginning of the 17th century, the new boundaries
of the city were surrounded by an earthen rampart with bastions along
the line of modern streets Romanovskaya Sloboda, Gorodskoy Val,
Independence Avenue, Yanka Kupala Street. The shaft also passed at the
Tatar end and beyond the Trinity Mountain on the left bank of the
Svisloch.
For a long time Minsk remained predominantly made of
wood. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, a two-story stone town hall was
built, as well as several stone religious buildings in the Baroque style
(including the Vilna Baroque): the Catholic Jesuit Church of the Virgin
Mary of 1709, the churches of the Bernardine and Bernardine monasteries
(the latter was transformed into the Cathedral of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church), the
Church of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Orthodox Church of Peter and Paul, the
Uniate Church of the Holy Spirit). As a result, in 1800, 39 stone and
970 wooden residential buildings appeared in Minsk, as well as 48 other
structures, most of which were stone - in 1795 there were 11 stone
temples and 6 wooden ones in the city. The number of Catholic churches
was declining - in the 19th century, a number of Catholic and Uniate
churches were rebuilt in the Baroque style according to Orthodox canons.
On May 30, 1835, there was a strong fire in Minsk, after which it was
forbidden to build wooden houses in the city center. After that, the
number of stone houses in the city increased from over 40 in 1800 to
1,027 in 1904 and 3,000 in 1917. The city center was dominated by two-
and three-story buildings. In 1857 the Minsk City Hall was demolished. A
large part of the land in the city center belonged to nobles, churches
and monasteries - at the beginning of the 19th century, 62% of all
houses in the city stood on these lands. Until 1812, the suburbs of
Sloboda and Komarovka were legal (private property) of the Radziwills.
In 1841, all property was confiscated from the Catholic clergy. The
number of monasteries was reduced - if at the time of the second
partition of the Commonwealth in Minsk there were 13 monasteries, then
in the middle of the century there were only three of them. In 1913, the
Main Synagogue of the city was built.
In 1836, the development of
the "New Place" (the territory of the modern Alexander Square) began. In
the second quarter of the 19th century, Zakharyevskaya Street (modern
Independence Avenue) began to be built up, which soon became the main
street of the city, as well as blocks to the south of it. In 1871, a
railroad passed through the city, and in 1873 two railway lines crossed,
which led to the emergence of railway settlement areas and the
construction of a railway station on the then southwestern outskirts of
the city. Urban areas differed markedly in terms of nationality and
property - laborers and small artisans lived in the suburbs, and the
Jewish poor lived in the area of \u200b\u200bNemiga Street and to the
north of it.
In the 19th century, great importance was attached
to the improvement of the city - in the 1830s, the streets of the city
began to be actively paved with paving stones, mainly with money from
the "stone collection" - the collection of money from those passing
through the Minsk outposts. In 1872, Alexander Square was founded, in
1874 the first city fountain was opened, and a water supply system began
to work in the city, operating from a water tower near Alexander Square.
At the end of the century, the city theater was opened (the current
theater named after Yanka Kupala). In 1896-1898, the church of St.
Alexander Nevsky was built on donations using elements of Russian
baroque. In 1905-1910, the church of Saints Simeon and Helena (“Red
Church”) was built with the money of a local merchant. Improvement,
however, did not affect the suburbs, the surrounding settlements and the
entire old city. By the beginning of the 20th century, the city center
represented a system of rectangular quarters with a radial system of
streets and tracts diverging from the center, while the suburbs were
built up chaotically. At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of
industrial enterprises operated, located in the southeast (engineering
plant, yeast distillery), south (slaughterhouses, starch and syrup
plant, Tekhnolog plant), southwest (workshops for the repair of railway
trains), west (brick and wallpaper production) and northeast (Bohemia
brewery). Around them were workers' settlements.
After the
signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Minsk came under German control.
In 1919-1920, after small battles, the city was occupied by Polish
troops and then again, almost without a fight, was taken by the Red
Army. Almost bloodless transitions into the wrong hands made it possible
to avoid large-scale damage to urban development. Nevertheless, during
the years of wars, public utilities fell into disrepair, and many houses
required repairs.
In 1923, the territory of Minsk was legally
doubled[180]. In the 1930s, the boundaries of the city expanded further.
In the mid-1920s, the construction of a workers' settlement named after
the Comintern and others began in Lyahovka, in the area of the Paris
Commune Square, Kropotkin Street and the station. During the years
1920-1932, the city's population almost tripled, which caused the
problem of an acute shortage of housing. However, it was possible to
solve it successfully: in 1926, the average housing provision was 4.4 m²
per person, and in 1930 - 5.7. Nevertheless, the growth of the city was
very fast, and by 1938 the average provision of living space had fallen
to the level of 1926 (4.4 m² per person). During this period, several
new factory buildings were opened and many old ones were reconstructed.
In 1934, a new power plant with a capacity of 6.4 MW was built (modern
CHPP-2).
Considerable attention was paid to the improvement of
the city. In May 1930, a citywide sewerage network was put into
operation, in 1926-1932 three new baths and a mechanized laundry were
opened. During this period, the cinemas "Central" and "Victory" were
opened. In 1934, the streets began to be asphalted, the Station Square,
Kirov, Lenin, Sverdlov, Sovetskaya streets and the initial segment of
the current Independence Avenue were the first to be asphalted. Much
attention was paid to the construction of new schools - in 1935-1937,
for example, 16 new schools were built, and all had assembly and sports
halls. Work was underway to electrify the working outskirts, to drain
the Komarovsky and Slepyansky swamps.
In the 1920s and 1930s,
active construction was carried out in the central part of the city. The
most famous buildings of this period are the House of the Government of
the BSSR, the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre, the House of Officers,
the main building of the Academy of Sciences (all designed by Iosif
Langbard), the Palace of Pioneers and the building of the Central
Committee of the CPB (both designed by Anatoly Voinov and Vladimir
Varaksin) and State Library (architect Georgy Lavrov). Some of the new
buildings were built in the constructivist style (first of all, the
Government House and the State Library), but since the 1930s it has been
abandoned. They built a large university (architect I.K. Zaporozhets)
and a clinical campus. Before the start of World War II, the Press
House, the House of Party Courses, the building of the Polytechnic
Institute, the building of the Institute of Physical Culture, the hotel
"Belarus", the building of school No. 4 (according to an individual
project), the central house of physical education (1933) and the Dynamo
stadium (1934 ), which then accommodated 10,000 spectators. An airport
with an air terminal building was also opened. In 1938-1940 the railway
station was reconstructed. In 1929, a small chapel of Alexander Nevsky
was blown up in the area of Alexander Square. On June 22, 1941, the
opening of Komsomolskoye Lake was scheduled.
Nevertheless, most
of the city's buildings outside the center remained wooden, and the
construction of new buildings was sporadic. For a long time there was no
single concept for the development of the city, although in 1926 a plan
for the development of the city was adopted, developed by V. N.
Semyonov. The plan provided for the transformation of the rectangular
structure of the city into a radial-ring structure, where the center
would be densely built up, and the outskirts would retain predominantly
one-story buildings. The main thoroughfares of the city were to be the
current Independence Avenue and Dolgobrodskaya - Kozlova - Masherova
Avenue. In 1934, outlines of the master plan for the development of
Minsk were presented, and only in 1938 was the master plan for the
development of the city approved, developed in Leningrad under the
leadership of Vladimir Vitman, which was based on the ideas of creating
a radial-circular street layout and a series of green recreational areas
along the banks of the Svisloch River, as well as the restructuring of
the chaotically built-up areas of the Old City. The final version of the
plan was completed in 1940.
During the Great Patriotic War, Minsk
was largely destroyed. The most monumental buildings (the Red Church and
baroque cathedrals, the Government House, the House of Officers, the
Opera and Ballet Theatre), however, survived. Soon after the departure
of the German troops, a commission of the Committee for Architecture
under the Council of Ministers of the USSR arrived in the city, which
developed a sketch of a plan for the reconstruction and development of
Minsk. Langbard also took part in the work on the creation of the plan.
In 1946, a new master plan was adopted, developed by architects under
the direction of Trachtenberg and Androsov, based on this sketch; this
plan was subsequently revised five times. This plan was based on the
ideas voiced back in the plan of 1938: the formation of a radial-ring
structure of the street network, the development of a green zone along
the banks of the Svisloch, the formation of the city center in the area
of Lenin Square and Leninsky Prospekt (modern Nezalezhnosti Square and
Prospekt).
In 1950, the church of St. Thomas Aquinas with the
adjacent Dominican monastery, although it was previously declared an
architectural monument. In 1947-1953, the Gates of Minsk were built.
1965 - The Council of Ministers of the BSSR approved a new plan for
the development and reconstruction of the city, developed in 1963 under
the leadership of Lyudmila Gafo, Evgeny Zaslavsky and other architects.
In 1971, the plan was adjusted to take into account the accelerated
population growth, and in 1982 a master plan for the development of
Minsk until the year 2000 was developed.
The tallest building in
Minsk is currently the 34-storey residential building "Sail" (height 133
m).
Nevertheless, most of the city's buildings outside the center
remained wooden, and the construction of new buildings was sporadic. For
a long time there was no single concept for the development of the city,
although in 1926 a plan for the development of the city was adopted,
developed by V. N. Semyonov. The plan provided for the transformation of
the rectangular structure of the city into a radial-ring structure,
where the center would be densely built up, and the outskirts would
retain predominantly one-story buildings. The main thoroughfares of the
city were to be the current Independence Avenue and Dolgobrodskaya -
Kozlova - Masherova Avenue. In 1934, outlines of the master plan for the
development of Minsk were presented, and only in 1938 was the master
plan for the development of the city approved, developed in Leningrad
under the leadership of Vladimir Vitman, which was based on the ideas of
creating a radial-circular street layout and a series of green
recreational areas along the banks of the Svisloch River, as well as the
restructuring of the chaotically built-up areas of the Old City. The
final version of the plan was completed in 1940.
During the Great
Patriotic War, Minsk was largely destroyed. The most monumental
buildings (the Red Church and baroque cathedrals, the Government House,
the House of Officers, the Opera and Ballet Theatre), however, survived.
Soon after the departure of the German troops, a commission of the
Committee for Architecture under the Council of Ministers of the USSR
arrived in the city, which developed a sketch of a plan for the
reconstruction and development of Minsk. Langbard also took part in the
work on the creation of the plan. In 1946, a new master plan was
adopted, developed by architects under the direction of Trachtenberg and
Androsov, based on this sketch; this plan was subsequently revised five
times. This plan was based on the ideas voiced back in the plan of 1938:
the formation of a radial-ring structure of the street network, the
development of a green zone along the banks of the Svisloch, the
formation of the city center in the area of Lenin Square and Leninsky
Prospekt (modern Nezalezhnosti Square and Prospekt).
In 1950, the
church of St. Thomas Aquinas with the adjacent Dominican monastery,
although it was previously declared an architectural monument. In
1947-1953, the Gates of Minsk were built.
1965 - The Council of
Ministers of the BSSR approved a new plan for the development and
reconstruction of the city, developed in 1963 under the leadership of
Lyudmila Gafo, Evgeny Zaslavsky and other architects. In 1971, the plan
was adjusted to take into account the accelerated population growth, and
in 1982 a master plan for the development of Minsk until the year 2000
was developed.
The tallest building in Minsk is currently the
34-storey residential building "Sail" (height 133 m).
Gardens and
parks
There are 26 parks, 159 squares and 26 boulevards in Minsk with
a total area of more than 2,000 hectares. Many parks were built back in
the 1980s and are in need of renovation. In addition, the pace of
construction of new green facilities lags behind the pace of housing
construction. Therefore, in 2011-2015, a program for the construction
and reconstruction of parks, squares and boulevards will be implemented
in Minsk
Museums
There are more than 20 museums in Minsk
(including departmental ones - 150). They feature both permanent and
temporary exhibitions.
Belarusian State Museum of the History of
the Great Patriotic War
House-Museum of the I Congress of the RSDLP
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Museum of the
History of Belarusian Cinema
Museum of the History and Culture of the
Jews of Belarus
National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum
Cinemas
Cinemas in the city
have existed since 1900. For 2019, there are 22 cinemas in Minsk,
including 13 cinemas with 24 screens, controlled by the state structure
UE “Kinovideoprokat of the Minsk City Executive Committee”. All cinemas
in the capital are digital.
Minsk celebrates City Day on the second Saturday of September.
The following festivals are held in Minsk:
Film Festival
"Listopad" (Belarusian Listapad)
Minsk Spring - 2009 - International
Music Festival
Minsk Blues Festival is an international blues
festival.
Festival "MAYDAY"
Global Gathering Freedom Festival
Minsk choir festival "Sleep, the city of May!" ("Sing, my capital!")
Bubble Festival
Higan Festival is a festival of traditional and
modern Japanese culture and anime.
Gastrofest is a series of
gastronomic festivals that will appeal to all connoisseurs of delicious
food and quality drinks.
Minsk is located on the southeastern slope of the Minsk Upland, which
has a moraine origin. It was formed during the Sozh glaciation, the last
one to reach this territory. The average height above sea level is 220
m.
The most elevated part of Minsk (283 m) is located in the area
of Leshchinsky Street, behind house No. 8 (before the city was built to
the west, such a point was between Timiryazev and Kharkovskaya streets).
The lowest mark (181.4 m) is located in the southeast of the city in the
Svisloch floodplain in the Chizhovka microdistrict.
Moderately continental, with a significant influence of the Atlantic
sea air. The average annual rainfall is about 700 mm. Summer is warm but
not hot. The average daily temperature in July is +18.5 °C. Winters are
mild, with frequent thaws, the average daily temperature in January is
−4.5 °C. In recent years, there has been a clear trend towards higher
temperatures in winter.
The average annual temperature is +6.7 °C
The absolute maximum temperature (+35.8 °C) was recorded on August 8,
2015, the absolute minimum (-39.1 °C) on January 17, 1940
The average
annual wind speed is 2.4 m/s
Average annual air humidity - 77%
As of December 31, 2006, the territory of the city was 306.68 km².
Later, on November 22, 2007, 5.2715 hectares (0.05 km²) of the territory
of the Minsk region were transferred to the city limits. Another 116.95
hectares (1.17 km²) of the territory of the Smolevichi district of the
Minsk region were transferred to the city limits of the city of Minsk on
July 21, 2008. The next change in the boundaries of the city and its
territory took place on March 26, 2012, when the territory of the city
increased by 4095.0812 hectares ( 40.95 km²), previously located in the
Kolodischansky village council of the Minsk district of the Minsk
region.
As of March 26, 2012, the total area of land located
within the city of Minsk was 34,884.43 hectares (348.84 km²). As of this
date, already about 1/3 (30.71%) of the territory of the city of Minsk
(10,714.37 hectares, or 107.14 km²) was outside the Minsk ring road,
while within its boundaries the territory of the city was 24,170 .07 ha
(241.70 km²), or 69.29% of the urban area.
On March 11, 2016,
land plots with a total area of 0.8486 hectares were transferred to the
city limits of the city of Minsk from the Smolevichi district of the
Minsk region. On July 10, 2018, a plot of 1.48 hectares was transferred
from the territory of Minsk to the territory of the Minsk district of
the Minsk region. This was due to the need to unite in a single land use
an enterprise for the production of tobacco products located near the
Shabany industrial zone. On May 22, 2018, in order to implement the
project for the construction of a second artificial runway at the Minsk
National Airport within the city of Minsk, land plots with a total area
of 158.44 hectares were included from the Smolevichi district of the
Minsk region. On October 14, 2019, in order to comprehensively develop
the territory adjacent to the Minsk National Airport, land plots of
legal entities with a total area of 321.56 hectares were included in the
city of Minsk (in the Oktyabrsky district) from the Smolevichi district
of the Minsk region.
The provisions of the General Plan of the
city of Minsk, developed in 2010 in pursuance of the decision of the
Minsk City Executive Committee dated August 2, 2006 No. 1526, provided
for the territorial growth of the city to 54.2 thousand hectares (542
km²) within the boundaries of its prospective development, which
increased the area of the city of Minsk up to 35,042.24 ha (350.42 km²).
In 2016, the General Plan was adjusted so that, according to its new
version, the prospective area of the city of Minsk for 2030 should be
38.1 thousand hectares (381 km²).
The watershed of the basins of the Baltic and Black Seas passes near
the city. The Svisloch River flows through Minsk, into which six more
small (small) rivers flow within the city limits. All of them belong to
the Black Sea basin. The height above sea level within the city ranges
from 184 to 280 meters, which, together with the two floodplain terraces
of the Svisloch River, determines the complex terrain.
Capital
reservoirs in the summer of 2010 were suitable for swimming. Regular
water sampling is constantly taking place, according to the results of
the study, pathogenic microflora was not detected.
From mid-May
to the end of July 2010, about 28 tons of cut algae were taken to the
landfill. During the spring-autumn period of 2011, about 400 tons of
garbage were removed from Svisloch.
Drinking water is supplied to
the city (data for June 2011) from two sources - underground and
surface. Artesian drinking water (of the total volume of drinking water
- more than 60%) is consumed in the districts: Leninsky, Pervomaisky,
Sovetsky, Central, Zavodskoy, Partizansky and partially Oktyabrsky
districts. Frunzensky, Moskovsky, partially Oktyabrsky districts -
surface sources (special treatment).
Water intakes: "Islands" and
"Vodopoy" (iron removal stations) are part of UE "Minskvodokanal".
Planned to open: in 2013 - iron removal stations at the Felitsianovo and
Petrovshchina water intakes, 2014 - at the Vitskovshchina water intake.
Large areas of Minsk are reserved for green spaces and parks.
However, large industrial enterprises continue to operate within the
city, and the number of cars is constantly growing. In the warm season,
the maximum permissible concentration of formaldehyde in the air is
repeatedly exceeded in the city. Air pollution from nitrogen dioxide and
particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM10) is an acute problem in
some areas.
According to the volume of emissions of pollutants
into the air by stationary sources, according to the results of 2010,
Minsk was in second place in Belarus after Novopolotsk (31 thousand tons
against 50 thousand tons), in 2013 this figure amounted to 26.6 thousand
tons. In 2003-2008, the total emission of pollutants in Minsk increased
from 186 thousand tons to 247.4 thousand tons. The ecological situation
in the city has deteriorated due to the partial transition for economic
reasons to fuel oil instead of natural gas as a fuel, but most of the
pollution comes from cars. According to the latest indicator, Minsk is
slightly inferior to the Minsk region - 160.5 thousand tons against
182.5 thousand tons. Of this volume, 109.2 thousand tons were carbon
monoxide, 31.8 thousand were hydrocarbons, 15.8 thousand were nitrogen
oxides, 3.6 thousand were solids (particles), 100 tons were sulfur
dioxide, about 110 kilograms of benzine (a ) pyrene.
Among
enterprises, the largest share of pollution falls on enterprises of
mechanical engineering and energy (Minsk Tractor Plant, Minsk CHPP-4,
Minsk CHPP-3, Minsk Automobile Plant, Minsk Heating Equipment Plant,
Minsk Heat Networks, Atlant, etc.).
In 2012, the total emissions
of pollutants into the air from stationary sources amounted to 26.6
thousand tons, including particulate matter - 2.4 thousand tons, sulfur
dioxide - 2 thousand tons, nitrogen dioxide - 5.2 thousand tons , carbon
monoxide - 11 thousand tons, non-methane volatile organic compounds -
4.7 thousand tons. At the end of 2013, the total level of pollutant
emissions amounted to 25,000 tons, including 2,190 tons of solid
particles, 10,140 tons of carbon monoxide, 870 tons of sulfur dioxide,
6,910 tons of nitrogen oxides, 4,270 tons of non-methane volatile
organic compounds, 610 tons of other hydrocarbons. From 2005 to 2012,
the amount of production waste of all kinds increased from 1.15 million
tons to 1.62 million tons, and the city's water use decreased from 253.7
to 184.5 million tons.
The highest concentration of nitrogen
dioxide and carbon oxides occurs at 17-19 hours in the cold season and
20-21 hours in the warm season. In the city, sometimes there is a
short-term excess of the maximum permissible concentrations of harmful
substances - in particular, formaldehyde and ammonia in the vicinity of
the Minsk Automobile Plant and the Shabany microdistrict. Significant
amounts of chromium-VI and nitrogen dioxide have also been recorded. The
most polluted streets are Timiryazev, Chelyuskintsev, Bogdanovich,
Radialnaya, Kazinets, Sharangovich, Sudmalis, Shabany, Bobruiskaya,
Shchorsa, Svoboda Square and their environs. The most polluted in
general is the southeastern part of Minsk (Zavodskoy, Leninsky and
Partizansky districts).
The Republican Center for Radiation
Control and Environmental Monitoring (RCRCM) controls the average daily
concentrations of solid particles PM-10, nitrogen dioxide, the level of
formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and doses of gamma radiation.
In
order to prevent pollution, the RRCMC sends warnings to enterprises in
the event of adverse weather conditions. In addition, the traffic police
of the city periodically conducts a set of measures "Clean Air", during
which mobile posts are organized to check cars for compliance with
environmental standards. In 2009, the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection was considering a proposal to ban vehicles with
unsustainable engines from entering the city centre. In 2008, the
intention was announced to remove third-class hazard enterprises,
including MAZ and MTZ, outside the city.
The above initiatives to
improve the environmental situation in Minsk have not yet been
implemented, or rather, they have been sacrificed to save budget funds.
The government of the country and the leadership of the city do not see
the improvement of the ecological situation in the city of Minsk as a
priority. This is largely due to a lack of understanding of the fullness
of the consequences of long-term inhalation of polluted air. In
particular, one of the most terrible consequences of inhaling polluted
air - cancer (not only of the lungs), has a time lag (delay) between
cause and effect (exposure to a carcinogen and a clinically diagnosed
advanced form of cancer) of the order of 10-20 years.
The
development of cycling contributes to the improvement of environmental
dynamics: public organizations, together with the traffic police and the
city administration, are developing a cycling infrastructure, and the
number of bicycles is increasing in Minsk.
In Minsk, the traffic
police department, which was previously responsible for monitoring
vehicle emissions, has been abolished. And the city environmental
committee does not have a full-time staff to perform these functions,
that is, there is no one to regularly carry out this work.
In the
last decade, the environmental problem in Minsk has been exacerbated by
the widespread practice of "compacting" - dense building of previously
formed areas is being carried out. This practice makes it possible to
reduce the cost of construction due to the absence of the need to invest
in infrastructure: the supply of communications to new buildings -
pipelines, roads, trade facilities, etc. and dispersion worsens due to
poor ventilation of the city. At the same time, compacted areas of the
city, which were previously areas of dispersion of exhaust gases and
other air pollution, themselves become centers of pollution generation.
During heavy rains in Minsk, a number of the central streets of the
city, located near the Svisloch River, are regularly flooded, including
one of the main transport arteries of the city - Nemiga Street. In the
early 2000s, to solve this problem, the construction of a central storm
sewer began, and, according to the assurances of the chairman of the
Minsk City Executive Committee Nikolai Ladutko, in 2013 the city center
will stop flooding. However, as of 2014, the problem of lack of
rainwater harvesting capacity persists, and the central streets of the
city are flooded with rainwater from higher places.
According to the 2019 census, the population of the city of Minsk was
2,018,281 people. In early 2011, Alexander Lukashenko expressed the
opinion that the population of Minsk should be limited to 1.8 million
people, and in July 2020, despite the already more than two million
people, he also stated that the city should not be overpopulated.
From 2005 to 2012, the birth rate increased from 9.4 to 12 per 1,000
people (in 1990 - 14.4), the death rate decreased from 9.6 to 9.2 per
1,000 people (in 1990 - 6.6 ), and the total rate of natural population
growth increased from −0.2 to +2.8 per 1,000 people (+7.8 in 1990). Life
expectancy increased over the same period from 72.3 (67 for men and 77.2
for women) to 74.9 years (69.6 for men and 79.4 for women).
In
2012, 15,514 marriages (8.2 per 1,000 people) and 8,121 divorces (4.3
per 1,000 people) were registered in Minsk; in both indicators, the city
exceeds the average indicators for the regions of the Republic of
Belarus.
After the Great Patriotic War, large factories (machine building,
machine tool building) were actively built, which led to an influx of
people into the city and a steady lag behind the living conditions of
citizens from the number of entrants. To reduce housing problems,
dormitories were actively built (in the 1960s and 1970s). In the 1990s,
the conditions for registration changed - from 6 m² of living space to
15 m² of total area, which improved living conditions from 60 thousand
to 110 thousand in need. At the beginning of 2010, about 33,000 families
lived in dormitories. In 2010, 32 thousand apartments were rented out
for housing. In 2010, the volume of commissioned housing with state
support was about 80%, in 2011 - 75%, in 2012 it should not exceed 50%
and then gradually decline. Since the beginning of the 2010s, the city,
as well as the country as a whole, has taken a course towards the
construction of rental housing. In September 2013, the first houses with
rental apartments were commissioned in Minsk (at the same time, the
lease agreement is canceled if an employee leaves the company).
The number of citizens in need of better housing conditions increased
from 171.2 to 279.9 thousand citizens (families) from 2005 to 2010, and
by 2012 it had decreased to 259.2 thousand. The provision of housing for
the same period increased from 19.2 to 21.2 m². From 2005 to 2012, the
number of housing commissioned annually increased from 843 thousand m²
to 1048 thousand m². However, due to the financial crisis of 2011, the
formation of new housing cooperatives in the city slowed down sharply,
and the queue for housing practically ceased to decrease (by 2014,
235,000 people remained in the queue after the revision of the list). At
the same time, in 2014, housing was built for people who have been on
the waiting list since 1989. On January 6, 2012, Alexander Lukashenko
signed Decree No. 13, according to which only a few categories of
citizens (large families, military personnel, employees of internal
affairs bodies, judges, prosecutors, families with disabled children of
groups I and II, and others) could apply for concessional loan for
housing construction. For those who do not fall under the new
requirements (65-70% of those standing in line), officials offer to take
a loan on a general basis - at 31% per annum up to 15 years (in 2012).
Since the beginning of the 2010s, the authorities of the country and the city have taken a course to curtail the construction of housing within the city and in the surrounding territories, contrary to the approved master plan. Instead, the idea of developing satellite towns was put forward. At the same time, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko imposed a ban on the development of agricultural land near the Minsk Ring Road and on the remaining fields inside it, which meant, among other things, curtailing construction according to already prepared plans.
In 2012, the working-age population was 1,217.3 thousand people (64%
of the population), and the economically employed population was 1,078.8
thousand people.
The unemployment rate in Minsk, according to a
sample survey of the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of
Belarus, was 3.9% in 2017. In the bodies for labor, employment and
social protection, 0.2% of the population of working age are registered
as unemployed (2017).
However, according to official statistics,
the unemployment rate in Minsk is 0.3% of the total economically active
population (3340 people; data for February 2011). At the same time, the
Minsk City Executive Committee recognizes the existence of significant
unregistered unemployment based on the 2009 census data: at that time,
5.6% of the able-bodied population of Minsk (about 70,000 people)
identified their status as unemployed. As reasons for the significant
discrepancy between the official and real unemployment rates, the need
to participate in public works and the small amount of unemployment
benefits are cited. At the beginning of 2011 in Minsk, the allowance was
68.2 thousand rubles - $ 22.5 at the exchange rate for February 2011,
with an average subsistence minimum budget of 296.9 thousand rubles, and
in the second half of 2010 - 50 thousand ($ 16 ), which is one of the
lowest rates in the territory of the former USSR. At the same time,
Alexander Lukashenko voiced his opinion on the need to reduce the amount
of unemployment benefits as too large. According to the Committee on
Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Minsk City Executive
Committee, on average, the registered unemployed took no more than two
and a half months to find a job. The average age of the registered
unemployed is 34.6 years.
From 2005 to 2012, the number of
pensioners in the city increased from 401.9 to 475 thousand people.
Minsk is the largest economic center of Belarus. The total amount of
tax revenues is about half of the total for the country. The largest
taxpayers of the city in the first quarter of 2011 were OAO Beltransgaz,
IP Lukoil-Belarus, Republican Unitary Enterprise Minsk Crystal (a
manufacturer of alcoholic beverages), IP Velcom, Unitary Enterprise
Mingas, Republican Unitary Enterprise Minskenergo, Republican Unitary
Enterprise Beltelecom, Tabak-invest LLC, Yunis Oil IOOO and Priorbank
OJSC. Together they provided 40% of revenues. In the first quarter of
2011, non-state enterprises accounted for 54% of the city's consolidated
budget revenues, while in 2010 they accounted for 46.6% of revenues. In
2010, about 25% of tax revenues were provided by small businesses. The
gross regional product of Minsk is 26.4% formed by the manufacturing
industry, 19.9% - by wholesale trade, 12.3% - by transport and
communications, 8.6% - by retail trade, 5.8% - by construction. The
share of the city's gross regional product (GRP) in the republic's gross
domestic product (GDP) is 23.7%, or 120 trillion rubles (about $12.8
billion).
Minsk is the largest industrial city in the country.
The city produces 18.8% of the industrial output of all Belarus. The
largest assembly plants are located here: the MTZ tractor plant, which
produced about 8-10% of the world market of wheeled tractors, the MAZ
automobile plant, the wheel tractor plant (VOLAT trademark), the
manufacturer of diesel engines MMZ, three machine-tool plants (named
after Kirov, named after the October Revolution , the plant of automatic
lines named after Masherov), as well as the Amkodor plant - a
manufacturer of road construction and other specialized machinery and
equipment. The city also has a number of component manufacturing
enterprises (engine plant, spring plant, gear plant, etc.), a car repair
plant, a motorcycle and bicycle plant, the Luch watch plant, the
Belarusian Optical and Mechanical Association (BelOMO), the 407th
aircraft repair factory and others. The electronics industry is
relatively developed: the manufacturer of electronic products Integral,
the manufacturer of televisions, DVD players and household appliances
Gorizont, the manufacturer of refrigerators and household appliances
Atlant, the manufacturer of household appliances Belarusian
Radio-Electronic Plant (BelVAR), electromechanical and electrical
factories. After the collapse of the USSR, new enterprises were
organized, such as Belkommunmash, now one of the largest producers of
electric transport in the CIS, which was created in the early 1990s on
the basis of a repair tram and trolleybus plant.
The food
industry is represented by the Minsk Crystal distillery, Krinitsa
breweries (brands Krynitsa, Alexandria, Kult and Kaltenberg) and
Olivaria (brands Alivarya and Brovar), confectionery factories
Kommunarka and Slodych, several bakeries, dairies, cold storage plants
and a meat processing plant. In Minsk, there are enterprises for the
production of clothing and linen (Elema, Milavitsa, Serge, etc.), shoes,
cosmetics manufacturers Belita-Viteks, Modum - Our Cosmetics,
Belor-Design, Belorussky a worsted combine, as well as a number of small
light industry enterprises. The construction industry is represented by
JSC "Keramin", factories of reinforced concrete products and other
enterprises.
In 2012, Minsk engineering enterprises produced, in
particular, 20 thousand trucks, 59.7 thousand tractors, 2 thousand
buses, 172 trolleybuses, 106 thousand internal combustion engines, 5.9
thousand motorcycles, 166.5 thousand .bicycles. Electrical and
electronics enterprises produced 1.3 million refrigerators and freezers,
321 thousand washing machines, 531 thousand televisions, 15.5 thousand
car batteries, 35.5 thousand kilometers of fiber-optic cables, 1.7
billion integrated circuits. In the same year, light industry
enterprises produced 543 thousand outerwear, 2.6 million pairs of shoes,
3.1 million m² of woolen fabric, 23.5 thousand tons of meat and food
by-products, 13.7 thousand tons of sausages, 288.6 thousand tons of
whole milk products (in terms of milk), 1.7 thousand tons of cheese, 6.8
million decaliters (68 million liters) of soft drinks. Minsk produces
21.5% of all electricity generated in the Republic of Belarus, 81% of
trucks, 13.5% of knitwear, 15.9% of shoes, 89.3% of televisions, 99% of
washing machines, 39.8% of medicines , 8.7% furniture, 22.4% wallpaper,
16.3% whole milk products, 26.2% flour confectionery and 30% chocolate
confectionery, 27.6% alcoholic distilled beverages and 18.4% mineral and
carbonated water.
From 2005 to 2012, the volume of foreign trade
in goods through companies registered in Minsk increased from $12.6
billion to $38.8 billion.
There are 28 universities in Minsk, in which 154.6 thousand students
studied in the 2017/2018 academic year - 54.4% of the total number of
students in the Republic of Belarus. In the 2012/2013 academic year, the
faculty of the city's universities amounted to 13,901 people.
There are more than 200 secondary general education schools, more than
40 gymnasiums, 48 secondary specialized educational institutions, 26
vocational education institutions, 4 lyceums in the city. In the
2017/2018 academic year, 196 thousand people studied in 278 institutions
of general secondary education, 31.1 thousand students in institutions
of secondary specialized education, and 12.1 thousand students in
vocational education institutions. The number of students at each of
these levels of education is higher than in any of the regions of the
country. The number of teachers in Minsk is 17.4 thousand people (the
fourth indicator in the country). In the 2012/2013 academic year, 2% of
students in schools and gymnasiums studied in Belarusian, 98% in
Russian.
In 2018, there were 462 preschool educational
institutions (kindergartens) in Minsk. In 2012-2018, 17 new
kindergartens were opened in Minsk, and the number of children in them
increased from 87.1 to 98.8 thousand, due to which, in terms of 100
places in kindergartens, there are 117 children aged 1-5 years, which is
the highest in the country. In the 2012/2013 academic year, 3.1% of
children studied only in the Belarusian language, 94.3% - only in
Russian, 2.5% - in Belarusian and Russian.
The public health system of Minsk today includes 12 inpatient medical
institutions for the adult population, 4 children's clinical hospitals,
9 dispensaries, a city maternity hospital, 2 children's rehabilitation
centers, a palliative care hospital "Hospice", 37 city polyclinics for
the adult population, two outpatient clinics , 18 children's
polyclinics, a consultative and diagnostic center, a center for plastic
surgery and cosmetology. On the basis of the 9th City Clinical Hospital
of Minsk, the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Organ and
Tissue Transplantation operates. Also, as of January 1, 2011, there were
490 pharmacies in the city. According to 2017 data, there are more than
30 round-the-clock pharmacies in Minsk, which cover all districts of the
city.
Dental care is provided in 11 city dental clinics, 1 city
children's dental clinic, JSC "9th Dental Clinic", UE "Medical
Initiative". In addition, dental care is provided in 16 city adult and
12 city children's polyclinics. There are 13 medical and 161 feldsher
health posts at enterprises and institutions of the city. In 64
outpatient clinics there are day hospitals for 1473 beds, in 14 city
clinics there are hospitals at home. Ambulance and emergency care is
carried out by 146 brigades of the city ambulance station.
The
result of the implementation of the principle of "one window": through
the Internet, you can make an appointment with a doctor in (for 2014) 41
clinics in Minsk.
The number of specialist doctors in Minsk from
2005 to 2012 increased from 10,998 to 13,410 (70.5 doctors per 10,000
people), and the number of beds in hospital organizations increased from
17,492 to 18,555 (97.6 per 10,000 people). population person).
The crime rate in Minsk is the highest in Belarus (193.5 crimes per
10,000 people). In Minsk, 25% of grave and 20% of especially grave
crimes are committed from their total number in Belarus. In 2009 and
2010, there was an increase in the level of crime in the city - in
particular, in 2009, the level of detected cases of corruption crimes
increased by 36% in Minsk. At the same time, according to Prosecutor
General Grigory Vasilevich, in Minsk at the end of 2008 there was a
"relatively favorable" situation with the level of murders.
The
detection of crimes in Minsk following the results of 9 months of 2009
amounted to 40.1%, including the detection of thefts - 13% (according to
the results of 2008), murders - 92%. In 2008, 3025 burglaries were
committed: more than 1800 - due to leaving free access to the house,
more than 900 - by breaking the door or through the window and balcony.
The largest number of burglaries is committed in Zavodskoy, Leninsky,
Moskovsky and Frunzensky districts. The share of burglaries in the total
volume of property thefts is 1/7 (about 14%), the share of thefts from
vehicles is 50%. In Minsk, 2/3 of all mobile phone thefts in Belarus
occur, which make up the majority of pickpocketing. A significant part
of the townspeople expresses fears for their safety in the dark, and the
residents of the microdistricts Chizhovka and Shabany consider
themselves the least protected.
There are three correctional
facilities in Minsk: SIZO-1 (Pishchalovsky Castle; also known as
"Volodarka" because of its location on Volodarsky Street), IK-1 (both
are subordinate to the Department of Corrections of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus for Minsk and the Minsk
Region) and the inner KGB prison known as "The American". There are also
six open-type correctional institutions in Minsk. In SIZO-1, all death
sentences in Belarus are carried out.
Minsk is the largest
transport hub in Belarus. It is located at the intersection of transport
corridors linking Russia with Poland and Ukraine with the Baltic states.
The distance from Minsk to Moscow along the M1 highway is about 700 km.
The city accounts for about 30% of rail passenger traffic in the
country, 20% of road freight for import and 40% for export. The city is
connected with other regions by highways M2 (Minsk - National Airport
"Minsk"), M3 (Minsk - Vitebsk), M4 (Minsk - Mogilev; not far from the
city, M5 Minsk - Gomel branches off from the highway), M6 (Minsk -
Grodno), P1 (Minsk - Dzerzhinsk; near the city it flows into M1 Brest -
Orsha - Moscow), P23 (Minsk - Slutsk - Soligorsk - Mikashevichi), P28
(Minsk - Molodechno - Naroch), P58 (Minsk - Myadel) and local roads. In
addition, the M9 highway (Minsk Ring Road) is located completely on the
territory of the city. In 2010, the intention was announced to build a
second ring road at a considerable distance from the Moscow Ring Road by
2017. The length of MKAD-2, the last section of which was opened on
December 22, 2016, was about 160 km compared to 56 km for the current
MKAD.
Minsk has a well-developed public transport network. In addition to
the Minsk metro, there are more than 200 bus and more than 60 trolleybus
routes, a tram (8 routes) and a network of fixed-route taxis. Since
2011, the city electric train has been operating - a network of public
railway transport routes within Minsk and the nearest suburbs. Three
modes of transport (metro, bus, trolleybus) carry the vast majority of
passengers. In 2018, over 770 million passengers used public transport.
39.3% of passengers were transported by buses, 36.7% by metro, 20.1% by
trolleybuses, 3.9% by trams.
City public transport in Minsk is
actively developing. So, from 1984 to 2014, 29 metro stations were
built, trolleybus traffic was organized in new peripheral areas
(however, a significant part of the contact network in the city center
was eliminated), and in some sections the tram tracks were moved to a
dedicated lane. The rolling stock of land transport is also being
actively updated: in 2004-2007 alone, more than 820 new buses, more than
430 trolleybuses, and 53 trams were purchased. All ground vehicles are
produced by Belarusian enterprises MAZ (buses, trolleybuses), Neman
(suburban buses), Belkommunmash (trolleybuses and trams). Subway cars
are imported from Russia, but in 2014 the first deliveries of rolling
stock manufactured by the Gomel Carriage Works are expected. Since 2012,
the city has installed electronic displays at some stops to track the
location of public transport and indicate the expected time of its
arrival. In 2014, the introduction of a fare collection system using
contactless electronic travel cards began in public transport, and
electronic composters began to be installed to cancel one-time tickets.
In 2017-2018, the Minsk Metro began introducing contactless bank card
fares. Since the spring of 2019, payment with contactless bank cards and
NFC-enabled devices began to be introduced in surface transport -
initially on one tram route, in 2020 the system is expected to be
extended to all surface transport. Since 2017, electric buses have
appeared in the public transport system, which at the first stage
replaced trolley buses on two routes. Since 2019, bus routes have been
replaced by electric buses.
The first stage of the Minsk Metro was opened in 1984. Now it consists of three lines with a total length of 41.8 km and 33 stations.
According to the sociological survey of 2019 (1934 people were
interviewed), there are about 811 thousand adult bicycles in Minsk, as
well as 232 thousand children's and teenage bicycles. In Minsk, one bike
accounts for 1.9 people. The total number of bicycles in Minsk exceeds
the total number of cars (770 thousand personal cars). Approximately 39%
of Minsk residents have a personal bicycle. 43% of Minsk residents ride
a bike 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). The average distance from home to work and back in Minsk
is about 22.5 km, which is 5 km more than the residents of Gomel and
Brest and 7.5 km more than in Grodno). In 2020, Minsk entered the top 3
most cycling cities in the CIS - after Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Since 2015, Minsk has been hosting an annual bike parade / bike
carnival, during which the passage of vehicles along Pobediteley Avenue
(one of the main streets of Minsk) is blocked for several hours. The
number of participants in 2019 was more than 20 thousand, the number of
registrations was about 12 thousand.
In 2017, the European Union
financed the project "Urban cycling in Belarus" in the amount of 560
thousand euros. About 50 events related to cycling were held, the
Eurovelo-2 route from Minsk to the border with Poland was built.
A cycle path runs through the whole city, 27 km long. As of 2020, there
are 300-500 cyclists per hour at peak times. In total, at the beginning
of 2020, there were 55 km of dedicated bike paths in Minsk, 196 km of
bike paths (when the sidewalk is divided for the movement of cyclists
and pedestrians using markings).
In 2019, the first service in
Belarus for automatic rental of bicycles and electric scooters,
Kolobike, was launched, and from 2020 - also automatic rental of
electric bicycles.
The coat of arms of Minsk - the Ascension of the Virgin - represents
the Virgin in red-violet clothes on a silver cloud. She is lifted into
the sky by two flying angels, and above them are two cherubs. The coat
of arms was assigned to the city in 1591. According to legend, the icon
depicting the Ascension arrived in the city upstream of the Svisloch
from Kyiv, which was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars.
The flag of
Minsk is a rectangle of blue fabric with a ratio of width and length of
11:18. In the middle of the front side of the flag there is an image of
the coat of arms of the city of Minsk.
The anthem of Minsk is
"Song about Minsk". Approved as the official Minsk symbol by the
decision of the Minsk City Council of People's Deputies No. 207 of
October 24, 2001 "On the anthem of the city of Minsk - the capital of
the Republic of Belarus." The author of the text is I. Pankevich. music
by V. Olovnikov. It is performed at the opening and closing of sessions
of the Minsk City Council of Deputies, meetings and meetings of the
Minsk City Executive Committee dedicated to public holidays of the
Republic of Belarus; at the opening of monuments, monuments, obelisks
and other structures in commemoration of the most important historical
and socio-political events of the city of Minsk; when presenting state
awards of the Republic of Belarus to the city of Minsk and at other
solemn events.
From October 20 to October 26, 2008, the anniversary V Youth Delphic
Games of the CIS member states were held in Minsk. The preparation and
holding of the event was carried out jointly by the National Delphic
Committee of Belarus and the International Delphic Committee.
The
Belarusian State Circus operates in the city.
There are several
dozens of libraries in Minsk. Here is a list of the biggest ones:
The
National Library of Belarus - the library fund has 9263.8 thousand
copies; in 2012, 2606.8 thousand copies of books and magazines were
issued
Central Scientific Library. Ya. Kolas National Academy of
Sciences of Belarus
Scientific Library of the Belarusian National
Technical University
Presidential Library of the Republic of Belarus
Minsk Regional Library named after A. S. Pushkin
Minsk City Library.
Ya Kupala
City Library No. 1 named after. L. Tolstoy
Library them.
F. Bogushevich
Republican Scientific Medical Library
The most
visited museums in the city of Minsk (2016):
Belarusian State Museum
of the History of the Great Patriotic War - 559.6 thousand pieces
National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus - 394.5 thousand.
National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus - 186.7 thousand.
State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature - 135.2 thousand
pieces
Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum - 126 thousand rubles
The most visited theaters in Minsk (2016):
National Academic
Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of the Republic of Belarus - 239,693
visitors;
Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater - 137,570
visitors;
National Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky -
82,990 visitors;
Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater - 78,495
visitors.
Football. In the 2019 Belarusian Football Championship, four teams
from Minsk represent Dynamo, Minsk and Energetik-BGU. In addition, the
Isloch team from the Minsk region holds home matches in the city.
Hockey. Hockey clubs Dynamo (KHL), Yunost-Minsk (Belarusian
Extraleague, VHL in the 2012/13 season) and Yunost (MHL) are based in
the city.
Basketball. There are three men's basketball clubs in
the city: Tsmoki-Minsk (VTB United League), Vitalur, BSUIR and two
women's: Horizont and Tsmoki-Minsk.
Handball. The city has a
titled men's handball team - the SKA club.
The city is also home
to the first Belarusian American football team, the Minsk Zubrs (founded
in 1991, as well as two more clubs, Litvins and Mooses (the Minsk Zubrs
farm club, founded in 2012). ).
In 2014, Minsk hosted the Ice
Hockey World Championship, and in 2019, the Second European Games.