The oldest mentions of Minsk date back to the 11th century (1067). In 1242 Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and received its town privileges in 1499. From 1569 it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was annexed by Russia in 1793 as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. During 1919–1991 Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian SSR.

History

Early history

The area of today's Minsk was settled by the Early East Slavs by the 9th century. The valley of Svislach River was settlement boundary between two Early East Slavs' tribal unions - Krivich and Dregovichs. By 980 the area was incorporated into the early medieval Principality of Polatsk, one of the earliest East Slav states. Minsk was first mentioned (as Mensk) in the Primary Chronicle in 1067. 1067 is now widely attributed as a founding year of Minsk, though the town (by then fortified by wooden walls) should had existed for some time.

In the early 12th century Principality of Polatsk disintegrated into smaller fiefs. Principality of Minsk was established by one of the Polatsk dynasty princes. In 1129 Principality of Minsk was annexed by Kiev, the dominant city of Kievan Rus, however in 1146 the Polatsk dynasty regained control of the principality. By 1150 Minsk has rivaled Polatsk as the major city in the former Principality of Polatsk. Princes of Minsk and Polatsk were engaged in years of struggle trying to unite all lands previously under the rule of Polatsk.

Lithuanian and Polish rule

Minsk escaped the Mongol invasion of Rus in 1237-1239. However, in later years it was attacked by nomadic invaders from the Golden Horde, who turned many principalities of disintegrated Kievan Rus into their vassal states. Trying to avoid the Tatar yoke, the Principality of Minsk sought protection from Lithuanian princes further north, who had been consolidating their power in the region. In 1242 Minsk became a part of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was annexed peacefully and local elites enjoyed high ranking in the society of the Grand Duchy. In 1413 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland entered a personal union. Minsk became centre of Minsk Voivodship (province). In 1441 Lithuanian prince Kazimierz IV Jagiellon included Minsk into a list of cities enjoying certain privileges. During the reign of his son Aleksander Jagiellon Minsk received its town privileges (Magdeburg law) in 1499. In 1569 after the Union of Lublin the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland merged into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Since then, a Polish community settled in Minsk - government clerks, officers and craftsmen.

By the middle of the 16th century Minsk was an important economic and cultural centre of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Minsk was an important centre for Eastern Orthodox Church. After the Union of Brest there was a rise of influence of both Uniate church and Roman Catholic Church.

In 1654 Minsk was conquered by troops of Tsar Alexei of Russia. Russians governed the city until 1667, when it was regained by Jan Kasimir, King of Poland. By the end of the Polish-Russian war Minsk had only about 2,000 residents and just 300 houses. The second wave of devastation occurred during the Great Northern War when Minsk was occupied in 1708 and 1709 - by the Swedish army of Charles XII and then by the Russian army of Peter the Great. The last decades of the Polish rule were indicated by decline or very slow development. Minsk was a small provincial town of little economic or military significance. By 1790 it had population of 6,500-7,000 and was slowly rebuilding to the city limits of 1654. Most of Minsk residents were Jews and Poles, while Belarusians where a minority.

Russian rule

Minsk was annexed by Russia in 1793 as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. In 1796 it became centre of the Minsk guberniya (province). All Polish street names have been changed to Russian ones, however spelling of the city name remained unchanged.

Throughout the 19th century the city grew and significantly improved. In the 1830s major streets and squares of Minsk have been cobbled and paved. A first public library was opened in 1836, a fire brigade was put into operation in 1837. In 1838 first local newspaper, Minskie gubernskie vedomosti (“Minsk province news”) went into circulation. First theatre was established in 1844. By 1860 Minsk was an important trading city with population of 27,000. There was a construction boom which led to building 2- and 3-storey brick and stone houses in Upper Town.

Development of the city was boosted by improvements in transportation. In 1846 Moscow-Warsaw road was laid though Minsk. In 1871 railway link between Moscow and Warsaw ran via Minsk, and in 1873 a new railway from Romny in Ukraine to the Baltic Sea port of Libava (Liepaja). Thus Minsk became an important rail junction and a manufacturing hub. Municipal water supply was introduced in 1872, telephone - in 1890, horse tram - in 1892, and first power generator - in 1894. By 1900 Minsk had 58 factories employing 3,000 workers. The city had theatres, cinemas, newspapers, schools and colleges, as well as numerous monasteries, churches, synagogues and a mosque. According to the 1897 Russian census the city had 91,494 inhabitants, about one third of them Jews.

20th century

In the early years of the 20th century Minsk was a major centre for worker's movement in Belarus. It was also one of the major centres of Belarusian national revival, alongside with Vilnia. The World War I affected development of Minsk tremendously. By 1915 Minsk was a battle-front city. Some factories were closing down, residents began evacuating to the east. Minsk became headquarters of the Western Front of the Russian army. It also housed military hospitals and military supply bases.

The Russian Revolution had immediate effect in Minsk. A Worker's Soviet was established in Minsk in October 1917 and it draw its support from the disaffected soldiers and workers. After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk German forces occupied Minsk in February 1918. On 25 March 1918 Minsk was proclaimed capital of Belarusian People's Republic. The republic was short-lived: in December 1918 Minsk was taken over by the Red Army. In January 1919 Minsk was proclaimed the capital of Byelorussian SSR. In 1919 and again in 1920 the city was controlled by the Second Polish Republic in the course of the Polish-Bolshevik war. Under the terms of the Peace of Riga Minsk was handed to Soviet Russia and became the capital of the Byelorussian SSR, one of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

 

A programme of reconstruction and development was started in 1922. By 1924 there were 29 factories in operation; schools, museums, theatres, libraries were opening. Throughout the 1920s and the 1930s Minsk has seen rapid development with dozens of new factories built, new schools, colleges, higher education establishments, hospitals, theatres and cinemas opened. Throughout the 1920s and the early 1930s Minsk was centre for development of both Belarusian language and culture.

 

Before the World War II Minsk had population of 300,000 people. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 in the Operation Barbarossa Minsk was immediately under attack. The city was bombed on the first day of the war and taken over by Germans four days later. However, some factories, museums and dozens of thousands of civilians have been evacuated to the east. Germans made Minsk to the administrative centre of Reichskomissariat Ostland and repressed against the local population. Communists and sympathisers were killed or imprisoned; thousands were forced into slave labour, both locally and in Germany. Homes were expropriated to house German occupying forces. Thousands have starved as rations were expropriated and paid work was scarce. At the same time, some residents supported the Germans, especially in the earlier years. By 1942 Minsk became a major centre of Soviet partisan resistance movement against German occupation during the Great Patriotic War. For this role Minsk was awarded the title Hero City in 1974. Minsk was the site of one of the largest Nazi-run ghettos in the World War II, the Minsk ghetto, which held over 100,000 Jews.

Minsk was re-taken by the Soviet troops on 3 July 1944 during the Operation Bargation. The city was the centre of German resistance to the Soviet advance and was a sight of heavy fighting between the German and Soviet troops. Factories, municipal building, power stations, bridges, most roads and 80% of housing were reduced to rubble. In 1944 Minsk's population was down to mere 50,000.

After the World War II Minsk was re-built, but not re-constructed. The historical centre was substituted in the 1940s and 1950 by Stalinist architecture, which favoured grand buildings, broad avenues and wide squares. In the following years the city grew rapidly as a result of massive industrialisation. Since the 1960s Minsk's population has grown rapidly, reaching 1 million in 1972 and 1.5 million in 1986. Rapid population growth was primarily driven by mass migration of young unskilled workers from from rural areas of Belarus as well as by migration of skilled workers from other parts of the Soviet Union. To house the expanding population, Minsk grew dramatically. Its surrounding villages were absorbed and rebuilt as mikroraions, districts of high-density apartment housing.

Recent developments

Throughout the 1990s the city has continued to change. Becoming capital of a newly independent country required obtaining attributes of a capital city. Embassies have been opened, a number of administrative buildings have been turned over into government buildings. During the early and mid-1990s Minsk was hit by the economic crisis - many development projects have been halted, unemployment and underemployment was high. Since the late 1990s there have been improvements in transport infrastructure and arrival of a housing boom, especially after 2002. On the outskirts of Minsk new mikrorayons of residential development have been built. Metro lines have been extended, road system (including the Minsk ring road) have been renovated. Due to small proportion of the private sector in Belarus most of the development has been financed by the government.

Historical names

Mensk, Miensk (Менск), the historical name the Belarusian opposition tends to use.

Polish: Mińsk, Mińsk Litewski, Mińsk Białoruski, used when Belarus was under the Polish rule.

Ethnic groups

For the first centuries of its existence, Minsk was a city with Early East Slavs population (forefathers of modern-day Belarusians). After the 1569 Polish-Lithuanian union, the city became a destination for migration of Poles (who worked as administrators, clergy, teachers and soldiers) and Jews (who were mainly employed in trade and crafts). During the final centuries of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth many locals have been polonized and abandoned their Belarusian culture. After the Partitions of Poland Minsk became part of the Russian Empire, it became a destination for Russians who basically substituted the social of role of Poles in the previous centuries. By the end of the 19th century Minsk was undergoing increasing Russification. Many locals became russified and have chosen Russian ethnicity.

According to 1897 census, Jews were largest ethnic group in Minsk (51.2% of population) at the end of the 19th century. Other substantial ethnic groups were Russians (25.5%), Poles (11.4%) and Belarusians (9%). The latter figure may be not accurate as some local Belarusians were likely to be counted in as Russians. There was also a small traditional community of Lipka Tatars living in Minsk for centuries.

Both World War I and World War II affected demographics of the city. The Jewish community suffered major loss during the Nazi occupations - very few survived. In the after-war years Minsk's population grew primarily through bringing rural migrants from other parts of Belarus to the city.

In 1959 Belarusians made up 63.3% of city's residents. Other ethnic groups included Russians (22.8%), Jews (7.8%), Ukrainians (3.6%), Poles (1.1%) and Tatars (0.4%). Migration of rural migrants from other parts of Belarus in the 1960s and 1970s changed the ethnic constitution. In 1979 Belarusians made up already 68.4% of city's residents. Other ethnic groups included Russians (22.2%), Jews (3.4%), Ukrainians (3.4%), Poles (1.2%) and Tatars (0.2%).

According to 1999 census, Belarusians make up 79.3% of city's residents. Other ethnic groups include Russians (15.7%), Ukrainians (2.4%), Poles (1.1%) and Jews (0.6%). Russian and Ukrainian populations of Minsk peaked in the late 1980s (at 325,000 and 55,000 respectively). After the break-up of the Soviet Union many of them have chosen to move to their respective countries. Jewish population of Minsk peaked in the early 1970s at 50,000 (according to official figures; independent estimates put the figure at 100-120,000) and then declined because of emigration to Israel, the USA and Germany. Now there are only about 10,000 Jews living in Minsk. The traditional Minsk's minorities of Poles and Tatars kept their size (17,000 and 3,000 respectively). There was migration of rural Poles from western part of Belarus to Minsk, and many Tatars moved to Minsk from Tatarstan.

Now there are some new ethnic minority communities emerging in the city. The most prominent are migrants from the Caucasus countries - Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis each numbering about 2,000-5,000. They began migration to Minsk back in the 1970s, and more migrants have joined them later. Many of them are employed in retail trade in the open-air markets. There is also a small community of Roma, numbering about 2,000.

Languages

Throughout its history Minsk was a city of many languages. Initially most of its residents spoke Ruthenian language (which later developed into modern Belarusian). However, after 1569 the official language was Polish. By the end of the 18th century most residents of Minsk were Polish- or Yiddish-speakers (among the Jewish community). Yiddish remained a major language in Minsk until the early 20th century. In the 19th century Russian became the official language and by the end of the century it became the language of administration, schools and newspapers. Belarusian national revival increased interest to Belarusian language - its use grew since the 1890s, especially among the national intelligentsia. In the 1920s and early 1930s Belarusian was major language of Minsk, including administration and education (both secondary and university). However, since late 1930s Russian again began gaining dominance. The process accelerated after the World War II - by mid 1980s Minsk was almost exclusively Russian-speaking. There was a short period of Belarusian national revival again and in the early 1990s more and more people chose to speak Belarusian. However, after 1994 when Lukashenka was elected president of Belarus, he reversed the trend. Most residents of Minsk now use exclusively Russian as their everyday language at home and at work. Most, however, understand Belarusian as well, can read and speak it.

 

The most common international language spoken in Minsk, especially among the younger generation, is English. The second widely spoken international language is German. French, Spanish and Italian are understood by very few.

Government and administrative division

In 1938 Minsk was divided into smaller administrative units (districts) due to rapid population growth. On 17 March 1938 three districts were established: Stalinski (Zavodzki since 1961), Varashylauski (Savetski since 1961) and Kahanovichski (Kastrychnitski since 1957).

Districts

Now there are 9 administrative districts:Frunzenski ;Kastrychnitski ;Leninski ;Maskouski ;

Partyzanski ;Pershamayski ;Savetski ;Tsentralny ;Zavodzki .

Microraions

There are also microraions - bedroom community areas of housing development outside the historical centre. Many of them are named after the suburb villages swallowed by the city:

Aeradromnaya ;Akademharadok ;Anharskaya ;Azyaryshcha ;Chyrvony Bor ;Chyzhouka ;

Drazdy ;Drazhnya ;Kharkauskaya; Kuntsaushchyna ;Kurasoushchyna ;Loshytsa ;Malinauka ;

Maly Trastsyanets ;Masyukoushchyna ;Paudnyovy Zahad ;Paunochny Pasyolak ;Serabranka ;

Shabany ;Sokal ;Sosny ;Stsypyanka ;Suhkarava ;Syarova ;Uruchcha ;Uskhod ;Uskhodni ;

Vyalikaya Slyapyanka ;Vyasnyanka ;Zahad ;Zyalyony Luh .

Economy

Minsk is economic capital of Belarus. It has developed industry and services sectors which serve the needs not only of the city, but of the entire nation.

Industry

Minsk is major industrial centre of Belarus. The city has over 250 factories and plants. Its industrial development started in the 1860s and was facitilated by the railways built in the 1870s. However, much of the industry was destroyed during World War I and especially during World War II. After the war the development of the city was linked to the development of the industry, especially of R&D-intensive sectors. Minsk was turned into a major production site of trucks, tractors, gears, optical equipment, refrigerators, television sets and radios, bicycles, motorcycles, warches, metal-processing equipment, etc. Outside machine-building and electronics, Minsk also had textiles, construction materials, food processing, and printing industries. Unlike many other cities in the CIS and Eastern Europe Minsk was not heavily de-industrialised in the 1990s. About 40% of labour force are employed in the manufacturing sector. Over 70% of produced goods are exported from Belarus, especially to Russia and other key markets in the CIS.

Services

As current government economic policies of Belarus favour neosocialist path of development, services sector is underdeveloped in Minsk. In terms of development of services sector Minsk lags not only behind cities of comparable size and history (Warsaw, Prague, Kiev, Sofia) but even behind much smaller Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn. Large part of services sector is controlled by the government and has been showing sluggish growth. Key areas of services are finance and banking, national and local government, and transportation.

Transport and infrastructure

Local Transport

Minsk has an extensive public transport system. Passengers are served by 8 tramway lines, over 70 trolleybus lines, and over 100 bus lines.

Minsk is the only city in Belarus with an undergound railway system (See main article: Minsk Metro). Constuction of the metro began in 1977 and the first line with 8 stations was opened in 1984. Now there are two lines: Line 1 (Maskouskaya) with 9 stations and 9.5 km of track and Line 2 (Autazavodskaya) with 14 stations and 18.1 km of track. Currently a 7.9 km extention of Line 1 is under construction with 2 stations due to open in 2007 and further 3 stations in 2011. There are plans for a basic network of 58.3 km and 45 stations on three lines. Line 3 should become a north-south line crossing the existing two.

Railway and intercity bus

Minsk is the largest transportation hub in Belarus. It is located on the juncton of Warsaw-Moscow railway (built in 1871) running from the south-west to the north-east of the city and Liepaja-Romny railway (built in 1873) running from the north-west to the south. The first railway connects Russia with Poland and Germany, the second connects Ukraine with Lithuania and Latvia. They cross at the Minsk-Passazhyrski railway station, main railway station of Minsk. The station was built in 1873 as Vilenski vakzal. The initial wooden building was demolished in 1890 and rebuilt in stone. During World War II Minsk railway station was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1945-1946 and served until 1991. The new building of Minsk-Passazhyrski railway station was built in 1991-2002. Its construction was delayed due to financial difficulties. However now Minsk boasts one of the most modern and up-to-date railway stations in the CIS. There are plans to move all suburban rail traffic from Minsk-Passazhyrski to smaller stations Minsk- Uskhodni (East), Minsk-Paudnyovy (South) and Minsk-Paunochny (North) by 2020.

There are three intercity bus stations, linking Minsk with suburbs, other cities in Belarus and in the neighbouring countries.

Airports

In 1982-2006 Minsk had two airports. Minsk-1 opened in 1933 few kilometres to the south from the historical centre. In 1955 it became an international airport and by 1970 served over 1 million passengers a year. Since 1982 it mainly served domestic routes in Belarus and short-haul routes to Moscow, Kiev and Kaliningrad. In February 2006 it was closed as its runway could not be modernised for use by modern aircraft. 320 ha of its land will be transferred to the city authorities for real estate development.

Airport Minsk-2 is located 42 km to the east of the city. It opened in 1982 (passenger terminal - in 1987. It is an international airport undergoing modernisation with flights to Austria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Poland, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and other countries, operated by the national carrier Belavia and the German Lufthansa.

Education

Minsk is major educational centre of Belarus. It has over 500 nursery schools, 258 schools, 28 further education colleges, and 36 higher education instututions, including 12 major national universities (most specialise in certain areas of science and research).

Major universities

-Belarusian State University. Major Belarusian universal university, founded in 1921. In 2006 had 15 major departments (Applied Mathematics and Infoscience; Biology; Chemistry; Geography; Economics; International Relations; Journalism; History; Humanitarian Sciences; Law; Mechanics and Mathematics; Philology; Philosophy and Social Sciences; Physics; Radiophysics and Eletronics). It also included 5 R&D institutes, 24 Research Centres, 114 R&D laboratories. The University employes over 2,400 lecturers and 1,000 research fellows; 1,900 of these hold Ph.D. or Dr.Sc. degrees. There are 16,000 undergraduate students at the university, as well as over 700 Ph.D. students.

-Belarusian State University of Agricultural Technology. Specialised in agricultural technology and agricultural machinery.

-Belarusian National Technical University. Specialised in technical disciplines.

-Belarusian State Medical University. Specialised in Medicine and Dentistry. Since 1921 -Medicine Department of the Belarusian State University. In 1930 becomes separate as Belarusian Medical Institute. In 2000 upgraded to university level. Currtnely has 6 departments.

-Belarusian State Economic University. Specialised in Finance and Economics. Founded in 1933 as Belarusian Institute for National Economy. Upgraded to university level in 1992.

-Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. Specialised in cultural studies, visual and performing arts.

-Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University. Specialised in teacher training for secondary schools.

-Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Specialised in IT and radioelectronic technologies. Established in 1964 as Minsk Institute for Radioelectronics.

-Belarusian State University of Physcal Training. Specialised in sports, coaches and PT teachers training.

-Belarusian State Technological University. Specialised in chemical and pharmaceutical technology, in printing and forestry. Founded in 1930 as Forestry Institute in Homel. In 1941 evacuated to Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg. Returned to Gomel in 1944, but in 1946 relocated to Minsk as Belarusian Institute of Technology. Upgraded to university level in 1993. Currently has 9 departments.

-Minsk State Linguistic University. Specialised in foreign languages. Founded in 1948 as Minsk Institute for Foreign Languages. In 2006 had 8 departments. Major focus on English, French, German and Spanish.

-Andrei Sakharov International State Environmental University. Specialised in environmental sciences. Established in 1992 with the support from the United Nations. Focus on study and research of radio-ecological consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident in 1986, which havily affected Belarus.

Culture and recreation

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

Theatres

Major theatres are:

-Belarusian Musical Comedy Theatre ;

-Belarusian Opera and Ballet Theatre ;

-Maxim Gorky National Drama Theatre (performances in Russian) ;

-Yanka Kupala National Drama Theatre (performances in Belarusian)

Museums

Major museums include:

-Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum ;

-Belarusian National Arts Museum ;

-Belarusian National History and Culture Museum ;

-Belarusian Nature and Environment Museum ;

-Ethnography and Folklore Museum ;

-Maksim Bahdanovich Literary Museum ;

-Old Belarusian History Museum ;

-Yanka Kupala Literary Museum ;

Recreation areas

-Park Chalyuskintsau ;

-Children Railroad ;

-Maxim Gorky Park ;

-Forest Park.