Belarus

Various directories for businessmen and tourists describe Belarus in a modest  and simple manner: a state in the center of Europe in the west of the East-European plain in the basin of the upper reaches of the Dnieper and the Neman and the middle part of the Zapadnaya Dvina  and the Western Boog, middle and low parts of the Pripyat. These above are the major rivers flowing across Belarus, whereas all in there are 20 thousand of them.

   Belarus is also often called  the land of lakes. Most of them there are small but deep, as a rule. The real pearl of the Belarusian nature is the Lake Naroch.

   Belarus’ terrain is chiefly plain. Its territory is forest-covered. According to the statistics 28 species of trees and 80 species of shrubs grow here.

   The pride of the Republic are its wildlife reserves and national parks, the biggest and the most widely known being th Belovezhskaya Puscha national park, the Berezina biospheric and the Pripyat water and terrain reserves.

   The state border which is almost 3 thousand km long is free from natural obstacles and runs practically everywhere on flat country. To cross the Republic from north to south one has to cover 560 km, from west to east – 650 km. in the north-west it has a common border with Lithuania, in the north – with Latvia, in the north-east and east – with Russia , in the south – with the Ukraine and in the west – with Poland.

   The country’s total territory is about 2 million 7 thousand sq. km. according to the 2001 census, the country’s population was 99,9 mln people, out of whom 70,2% lived in town and 29,8% - in the country.

   Administratively, Belarus is divided into 6 provinces – the Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Gridno, Mogilev and Minsk provinces, and 118 districts. There are 102 towns, 111 town-type settlements and over 24 thousand large and small villages in the country. The capital of Belarus is Minsk.

   The country’s state languages are Belarusian and Russian.

   Members of the Orthodox Church are the majority in the country, though other types of Christianity – Catholicism and Protestantism – are well represented too.

   Belarus is one of the founders of the United Nations Organization and has its state emblem, flag and anthem.