
Belarus is an ancient Slavonic country situated
in the East of Europe. It occupies the territory of 207,600
sq. km. and is populated by 10.3 million people. Belarus
stretches 650 km from the West to the East and 560 km from
the North to the South. It has 6 regions, about 4000 rivers
and 1 1000 lakes. The largest rivers are the Dnieper, the
Western Dvina, the Nieman, the Bug; the biggest lake is
Naroch.
Belarus borders on Russia in the North and the East. On
the Ukraine in the southeast, on Poland in the West and
on Latvia and Lithuania in the northwest.
The history of the Belarussian nation has been long and
complicated. The first written documents of the Belarussian
state go back as far as to 980 AD From the 14th till the
16th centuries the territory of modern Belarus was the centre
of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was one of the largest,
most powerful and flourishing states ill medieval Eastern
Europe. Being situated on the crossroads of the commercial
routes from the East to the West and from the North to the
South. Belarus was doomed to get into the focus of infinite
wars waged by European countries to control the strategic
overland routes. It has been invaded by Russians and Poles,
Germans and Swedes, Danes, French and Ukrainians. After
one of such long-lasting and devastating wars Belarus appeared
to have lost half of its population. More recently, during
the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 Belarus lost 25%
of its inhabitants. It was only recently that Belarus reached
its pre-war demographic quantity of 1 0 million people
Facts about Belarus
·Area: 207,600 square kilometres
Population: 10.3 million people
Capital city: Minsk. About 2 million inhabitants in Minsk
Language/Script: Belarussian, Russian/Cyrillic
Religions: Orthodox. Other: Roman Catholic, Protestant,
Islamic, and Jewish.
Political System: The President - the Head of the State;
the Executive - executes, determines economic and socio-political
situation in Belarus. The Council of Ministers, The Prime
- Minister, the Legislative - creates laws, adopts decisions,
The Parliament - the House of Representatives and the Soviet
of the Republic, The Constitutional Court - settle disputes,
conflicts.
Terrain: Predominantly flat, with hilly areas occupying
only 8 % of its territory. The highest point is 346 m above
sea level.
Climate: Moderately continental
Time Zone: GMT+2 hrs,
Customs regulations: No limitation in bringing the foreign
currency in Belarus. Usual European rules for duty-free
imports are valid.
Business Hours: Shops are open from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. on
working days and Saturday from 9 a. in. till 6 p. m, The
biggest shops work on Sunday. too (from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.).
Currency exchange offices are open from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m.
and round the clock at some hotels. Government office hours
are from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. on working days.
Currency: The Belarussian roubles, no coins, notes: 100,
200, 500, 1000, 5000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 - Exchange
rate in January 2000 about BR 550,000 to $1
Electricity: AC220 V, 50 Hz |