THE REPUBLIC I LIVE IN

The Republic of Belarus is a country in eastern Europe, bordered in the north and east by Russia, in the south by the Ukraine, in the west by Poland, and in the northwest by the Baltic republics of Lithuania and Latvia. The capital and largest city is Minsk located in the centre of the country. The capital and largest city is Minsk, located in the centre of the country.

The total area of Belarus is 207,600 sq km Belarus is divided administratively into six provinces, or oblasts,) which have the same names as their largest-cities: Minsk, Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Moguilev , and Vitebsk.

The population of Belarus is over 10.5 mln. Nearly 80 percent of its people are ethnic Belarusians. Russian make up 12 percent. Smaller groups include Poles and Ukrainians. About two-thirds of Belarus people live in urban centres. The official state languages are Belarusian and Russian. In the early 1900's, two Belarusian poets Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, helped promote the use of the Belarusian language in literature ormerly, most literary works were written in Russian or Polish. About 215 daily newspapers are published in Belarus, 130 in Belarusian. Most Belarusians finish secondly school, and many receive higher education. There are a lot of universities in Belarus. The Belarusian State University in Minsk is. the largest one.

Belarus has a temperate continental climate, with cool temperatures aid high, humidity. Belarus has a generally flat terrain with many forests, lakes, and marshes. There are hundereds of rivers and lakes in the country, the largest of which are the river Dnieper and Lake Naroch. About one-third of the country is covered with forests, mostly coniferous and birch. There is a rich variety of wildlife including such rare animals as the European bison the primal forest reserve of “Byelovezhskaya Pushcha”.

Belarus was long thought to be poor in minerals, its natural resources limited to peat, gravel, sands, and clays. Recent surveys, however, have uncovered major deposits of coal, oil, and potassium salts.

Belarus has a well-developed economy. Manufacturing contributes most of the country's Industrial output. The most important manufactured products are tractors, transport vehicles, trucks, agricultural machinery, metal-cutting machines, as well as consumer goods such as motorcycles and bicycles, clocks and watches, refrigerators, television sets, and others

Agriculture accounts for about a fourth of Belarus economic output The principal crops are potatoes, barley rye, flax and sugar beet. Nearly 60 percent of the country’s total land area is cultivated. Livestock (cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats) accounts for more than half the value of agricultural output in Belarus.

Belarus exports transport equipment, machinery, chemicals, and foodstuff The major Belarussian exports include tractors to Australia, Canada. New Zealand, and the United States .Imports include fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, and sugar. Fuel is Belarus largest import expenditure Russia, which supplies most of the country's fuel imports, is the most important trading parther. Belarus also conducts trade with Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and other countries.

Belarus has an extensive transportation system including railroad and highway networks connecting its cities with other major European cities. The major railroad, which was built in the 1860s to connect Moscow and Warsaw, runs through Belarus via Minsk and Brest. The best-quality road in Belays is that which links Moscow with Warsaw. Buses provide most of the transportation within cities.

Belarus has several international airports the largest of which is located about 50 km east of Minsk. The airport in Minsk serves airlines from Germany, Austria, Poland, Scandinavia, and other countries.

The Dnieper-Bug Canal and other canals improve water transportation by linking many of the rivers with ports on the Baltic and Black seas.

In 1945 Belarus became a founding member of the United Nations. Now Belarus is a member of over 60 international organizations, most notably the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization. In 1992 Belarus became a member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and De­velopment the International Monetary Fund, and tire European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Belarus is a presidential republic. Under the-constitution a president is the head of state of Belarus and directs domestic and foreign policy. The president creates a Council of Minister whose chairman is the country's prime minister. The legislature is a bicameral National Assembly. The judicial system of Belarus consists of three nigh courts the Supreme Court, the Supreme Economic Court, and the Constitution Court. The latter court is charged with protecting the constitution, and its decisions are not subject to appeal. It has the power to review the constitutionality of presidential edicts and the regulatory decisions of the other two high courts.

The name Belarus is derived from the words Belarus (White Russia). The Belarusians trace their history to Kievan Rus, a state founded by East Slavs in 800's, Belarus made up the northwestern part of Kievan Rus, Belarus became part of Lithuania in the 1300’s. It passed to Poland in the 1500's and to Russia in the late 1700’s.

Belarus as a sovereign state was established in 1919.In 1922 the Belarusian Soviet Socialist became one of the four founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In August 1991 Belarus declared its independence.

Nazi Germany occupied Belarus from 1941 to 1944 during World War 2. By the summer of 1942 the republic became the location of an extensive partisan movement which played a major role in undermining the Nazi regime. In 1944 the Soviet Red Army drove out Nazi forces. As a principal theatre of World War 2 Belarus suffered enormous devastation and lost one quarter of its population. Minsk was almost entirely destroyed.

Postwar reconstruction was followed by a period of considerable economic development and rapid industrialization. In the postwar years, Belarus became the major center for the production of tractors and automobiles and an important base for chemicals and other products.

Concurrently, the postwar years were marked by rapid urbanization. Minsk developed as the major center of economic, cultural and political life, and the largest urban center with quarter of the republic’s urban residents.

My native town is Brest. Brest is an ancient town. It’s about 1000 years old. Brest is the administrative centre of the Brest region. It is located on the river Mukhavets that flows into the river Bug not far from the town.

Brest is an important industrial centre of Belarus. The town’s enterprises account for 1/3 of the total output of the industries in the region. The goods

produced by local enterprises such as stoves “Gefest” by joint venture ''BrestGasoapparat” produced of public corporation “Brest Carpets", beverages by "Brest Distillery, knitted wear by knitting mill "Elma", products by Brest Electromechanical Plant, Brest Electric-bulb Plant Souvenir Factory, Brest Household Chemical Goods, Cloths Factory and the others are well known and in great demand.

On March 20, 1996 Free Economic Zone “Brest” was founded Resident enterprises of FEZ "Brest" are engaged in wood processing, fish processing meat processing, production of furniture, MDF surfacing materials, refrigerating equipment electro technical goods, and many others.

Brest is a large transport junction. It is rightfully called "the Western gate" of the country. The river Mukhavets, linked to the Pina River by the Dnieper-Bug Canal, makes a navigable waterway route down the Pripyat and Dnieper River to the Black Sea.

Brest is a centre of culture, science and education in the western region of the country The educational establishments of the town include two Universities (Brest State Technical University and Brest State University named after A.S. Pushkin), a Research Institute for Problems in Construction Industry, the Department for Problems of “Polesie” region of the National Academy of Science, colleges, lyceums and gymnasium.

Four local newspapers are published and enjoy popularity among the readers.

The Theatre of Drama and Music and the Puppet Theatre attract a tot of theater-goers, especially during the International Theatre Festival "Belaya Vezha” when the drama companies all over the world appear on the stage of the Theater of Drama and Music.

Brest museums have been acknowledgen far beyond the borders of the Republic. The Museum of Local Lore, the Museum of the City History and Archeological Museum "Berestie" keep many rarity exhibits.

The collection of ancient icons, paintings, and household articles; in Museum of, Saved Artistic Valuables might adorn the world’s best galleries.

The main attraction for most of the tourists has always been the Brest Fortrees with its Memorial Complex erected to commemorate the courage showed by the defenders of the fortress at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The Fortrees became a symbol of the firmness of Soviet people in struggle for independence and freedom. Warriors of more than 30 nations performed one of the greatest feats in the name of their Motherland. About 200 defenders were rewarded with orders and medals. On May 8, 1965 the fortress was given the rank of Brest Fortress Hero. A lot of streets in the town are named after the defenders of Brest Fortress. The Memorial Complex keeps the memory of the past and helps to treat the present with wisdom and responsibility.