Minsk

Minsk, city in northern Belarus, the country’s capital, situated on the Svisloch River. The city is also the capital of Minsk Voblasts' (Oblast), and developed as an important industrial, transport, and cultural centre. Minsk is the seat of a university, a conservatory of music, opera and ballet companies, and several theatres and museums are also located there.

Minsk was first mentioned in 1067, and by the early 12th century had become the centre of an independent principality. The city passed to Lithuania in the 14th century and to Poland in the 16th century. Minsk was annexed by Russia as a result of the second partition of Poland in 1793 and became the capital of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1919. During World War II the city was occupied by German forces from 1941 to 1944 and suffered great damage; much of its Jewish population was exterminated by the Germans. Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, the city became the capital of an independent Belarus. Population 1,705,000 (2003 estimate).