Difference between revisions 2488065 and 2493354 on bswiki

{{Geokutija
|settlement_type = [[City]]
|official_name = Minsk
|native_name = Мінск {{·}} Минск
|image_flag = Flag of Minsk, Belarus.svg
|image_shield = Coat of arms of Minsk.svg
|image_skyline = Minsk montage 240513.jpg|300px
(contracted; show full) cities enjoying certain privileges, and in 1499, during the reign of his son, [[Alexander Jagiellon|Aleksander Jagiellon]], Minsk received [[town privileges]] under [[Magdeburg rights|Magdeburg law]]. In 1569, after the [[Union of Lublin]], the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] merged into a single state, the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Afterwards, a Polish community including government clerks, officers, and craftsmen settled in Minsk.{{citat
ion needed potreban|date=December 2011}}

By the middle of the 16th century, Minsk was an important economic and cultural centre in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. It was also an important centre for the [[Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Church]]. Following the [[Union of Brest]], both the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate church]] and the Roman Catholic Church increased in influence. {{citation needed potreban|date=December 2011}}

In 1655, Minsk was conquered by troops of [[Alexis of Russia|Tsar Alexei]] of Russia. Russians governed the city until 1660 when it was regained by [[John II Casimir Vasa|Jan Kasimir]], King of Poland. By the end of the [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)|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 army of [[Charles XII of Sweden]] and then by the army of [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]]. {{citation needed potreban|date=December 2011}} The last decades of the Polish rule involved decline or very slow development, since Minsk had become a small provincial town of little economic or military significance.

===Russian rule===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2011}}
[[File:Belarus-Minsk-Church of Mary Magdalene-2.jpg|220px|thumb|Russian Orthodox church of St. Mary Magdalene (built in 1847).]]
[[File:K. Marx street photo.JPG|A street in central Minsk|thumb|200px|right]]

(contracted; show full)also one of the major centres of the Belarusian [[Romantic nationalism|national revival]], alongside [[Vilnius|Vilnia]]. However, the First World War affected the development of Minsk tremendously. By 1915, Minsk was a battle-front city. Some factories were closed down, and residents began evacuating to the east. Minsk became the headquarters of [[Western Front (Soviet Union)|the Western Front]] of the Russian army and also housed military hospitals and [[military logistics|military supply]] bases. {{citat
ion needed potreban|date=January 2012}}

The [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] had an immediate effect in Minsk. A Worker's [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] was established in Minsk in October 1917, drawing much of its support from disaffected soldiers and workers. After the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], German forces occupied Minsk in February 1918.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.belintourist.com/eng/learn_about_belarus/region/minsk/|title=History|work=Belarusian Tour operator |date=29 October 2013|accessdate(contracted; show full)
Construction of [[Minsk Metro]] began on 16 June 1977, and the system was opened to the public on 30 June 1984, becoming the ninth metro system in the Soviet Union.
The rapid population growth was primarily driven by mass migration of young, unskilled workers from rural areas of Belarus, as well as by migration of [[skilled worker]]s from other parts of the [[Soviet Union]]{{Citat
ion needed potreban|date=August 2010}}. To house the expanding population, Minsk spread beyond its historical boundaries. Its surrounding villages were absorbed and rebuilt as ''mikroraions'', districts of high-density apartment housing.

===Recent developments===
[[File:Independence Avenue in Minsk.jpg|[[Independence Avenue (Minsk)|Niezalezhnasti avenue]] (Initial part of avenue candidates for inclusion in [[World Heritage Site]])|thumb|300px|right]]
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2011}}
(contracted; show full)

After the second [[Partitions of Poland|Partition of Poland]] in 1793, Minsk and its larger region became part of the [[Russian Empire]].  The [[Russians]] dominated the city's culture as had the Poles in earlier centuries. By the end of the 19th century, residents in Minsk accepted increasing [[russification]] in order to survive{{lopsided|date=June 2012}}. Many locals became russified and continue to claim Russian ethnicity today. {{citat
ion needed potreban|date=November 2011}}

At the time of the [[Russian Empire Census|1897 census]] under the Russian Empire, Jews comprised the largest ethnic group in Minsk, constituting 52% of the population, with 47,500 of the 91,000 residents.<ref>Joshua D. Zimmerman, ''Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality'', Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2004, ISBN 0-299-19464-7, [http://books.google.com/books?id=6sbr9cZyw_4C&pg=PA16&dq=population+Brest+Poles+Jews&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=HS_3SZ2-N(contracted; show full)

===Languages===

Throughout its history Minsk has been a city of many languages. Initially most of its residents spoke [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]] (which later developed into modern [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]). However, after 1569 the [[official language]] was Polish. {{citat
ion needed potreban|date=December 2011}} In the 19th-century Russian became the official language and by the end of that century it had become the language of administration, schools and newspapers. The Belarusian national revival increased interest in the Belarusian language &ndash; its use has grown since the 1890s, especially among the [[intelligentsia]]. In the 1920s and early 1930s Belarusian was the major language of Minsk, including use for administration and education (both secondary and tertiary). However, since the late 1930s Russian again began gaining dominance. {{citation needed potreban|date=December 2011}}

A short period of Belarusian national revival in the early 1990s saw a rise in the numbers of Belarusian speakers. However, in 1994 the newly elected president [[Alexander Lukashenko]] slowly reversed this trend. Most residents of Minsk now use Russian exclusively in their everyday lives at home and at work, although Belarusian is understood as well. Substantial numbers of recent migrants from the rural areas use [[Trasianka|Trasyanka]] (a Russo-Belarusian mixed language) in their everyday lives. {{citation needed potreban|date=December 2011}}

The most commonly used and understood [[foreign language]] in Minsk, especially among the younger generation, is English. <ref group="<ref group=http://fryday.net/languages/">{{cite journal|last=Östlund|first=Anders|title=LANGUAGES|date=13 July 2013|url=http://fryday.net/languages/|accessdate=29 October 2013}}</ref>

===Religion===
There are no reliable statistics on the religious affiliations of those living in Minsk, or among the population of Belarus generally. The majority of Christians belong to the [[Belarusian Orthodox Church]], which is the exarchate of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in Belarus. There is a a significant minority of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]].

Currently, there are 24 churches of various denominations in Minsk, with another 10 under either construction or renovation.{{citation needed potreban|date=August 2013}}

===Crime===
Minsk has the highest crime rate in Belarus&nbsp;&ndash; 193.5 crimes per 10,000 citizens.<ref name=prest.3/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.tut.by/society/212780.html|title=Уровень преступности в Минской области&nbsp;– один из самых высоких в стране|date=25 January 2011|publisher=TUT.BY|language=Russian}}</ref> 20–25% of all serious crimes in Belarus, 55% of bribes and 67% of mobile phone thefts are committed in Minsk.<ref name=prest.3>{(contracted; show full)he 1860s and was facilitated by the railways built in the 1870s. However, much of the industrial infrastructure was destroyed during World War I and especially during World War II. After the last war the development of the city was linked to the development of industry, especially of [[Research and development|R&D]]-intensive sectors (heavy emphasis of R&D intensive industries in [[urban planning|urban development]] in the USSR is known in Western geography as 'Minsk phenomenon'). {{citat
ion needed poterban|date=November 2011}} Minsk was turned into a major production site for trucks, tractors, gears, optical equipment, refrigerators, television sets and radios, bicycles, motorcycles, watches, and metal-processing equipment. Outside machine-building and electronics, Minsk also had textiles, construction materials, food processing, and printing industries. During the Soviet period, development of the industries was linked to suppliers and markets within the USSR, and the break-up of the union in 1991 led to a serious economic meltdown in 1991–1994. {{citation needed potreban|date=November 2011}}

However, since the adoption of the neo-Keynesean policies under [[Alexander Lukashenko]]'s government in 1995, much of the gross industrial production was regained. Unlike many other cities in the CIS and Eastern Europe Minsk was not heavily de-industrialised in the 1990s. About 40% of the work force is still employed in the [[Secondary sector of the economy|manufacturing sector]]. Over 70% of produced goods are exported from Belarus, especially to Russia and other members of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]{{Citation needed potreban|date=August 2010}}. However, the recent industrial revival did not lead to updating technologies and equipment (as [[Foreign direct investment|FDI]] was discouraged), therefore much of the local industry is not highly competitive by international standards. {{citation needed potreban|date=November 2011}}

Major industrial employers include:
*[[Minsk Tractor Works|Minsk Tractor Plant]]&nbsp;– specialised in manufacturing tractors. Established in 1946 in eastern Minsk, is among major manufacturers of wheeled tractors in the CIS. Employs about 30,000 staff.
*[[Minsk Automobile Plant]]&nbsp;– specialising in producing trucks, buses and mini-vans. Established in 1944 in south-eastern Minsk, is among major vehicle manufacturers in the CIS.
(contracted; show full)

The Minsk city government in 2003 decreed that local transport provision should be set at a minimum level of 1 vehicle (bus, trolleybus or tram) per 1,500 residents. Currently the number of vehicles in use by Minsktrans is 2.2 times higher than the minimum level. {{citat
ion needed potreban|date=November 2011}}

Public transport fares are controlled by ''city's executive committee'' (city council). Single trip ticket for bus, trolleybus, tramway or metro costs 3000 [[BYR]] (≈USD 0.3)<ref name=t.1>[http://www.minsktrans.by/tariff Тарифы / Минсктранс] {{ref-ru}}</ref> and 4300 BYR for express buses.<ref name=t.1/> Monthly ticket for one kind of transport costs 135 000 BYR and 243 000 BYR for all four.<ref name=t.1/> Commercial [[marshrutka]]'(contracted; show full)

==Education==
Minsk is the major educational centre of Belarus. It has about 500 [[kindergarten]]s, 258 schools, 28 [[further education|further education colleges]], and 36 higher education institutions, including 12 major national universities. {{citat
ion needed potreban|date=November 2011}}

===Major higher educational institutions===

*[[Academy of Public Administration (Belarus)|Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus]]. The Academy was established in 1991 and it acquired the status of a presidential institution in 1995. In structure of Academy 3 institutes: ''Institute of Administrative Personnel'' has 3 departments, ''Institute of Civil Service'' has also 3 departments and &#x(contracted; show full)[[Kategorija:Capitals in Europe]]
[[Kategorija:Hero Cities of the Soviet Union]]
[[Kategorija:Populated places established in the 11th century]]
[[Kategorija:Subdivisions of Belarus]]
[[Kategorija:Populated places in Minsk Region]]
[[Kategorija:Minsk Governorate]]
[[bn:মিনস্ক]]
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