BELARUS

The republic of Belarus is a small beautiful country with a heroic past and difficult present. It is situated in the centre of Europe. The republic of Belarus borders on Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. It has the area of 207,600 square kilometers and the population of more than 10 million people. The capital of the country is Minsk.

The country is divided into six regions. Their capital cities and the biggest cities in the country are Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Brest, Grodno and Vitebsk.

Historically Belarus was a part of many countries: the Kiev Rus, then the Great Principality of Lithuania and Rech Pospolita. In the 20^th century it became one of the Republics in the USSR. Nowadays it is an independent country, represented in the United Nations.

The landscapes in Belarus do not vary a lot. More than a quarter of its area is covered with the forests. The large forests are called «puschas». The greatest of them is Beloviezskaya Puscha. It is well known for its rare animals - aurochs. There are nearly 10000 lakes and 20000 rivers in Belarus. Belarus is often called a blue-eyed country because of its beautiful lakes. The largest lake is Naroch. The largest rivers are the Dniepr, Neman, Bug and Western Dvina.

The climate in Belarus is moderately continental. It means that the summers are warm or hot and the winters are cold and snowy.

The beauty of the Belarussian nature, the heroic past and the present of the Belarussian people have been celebrated in song and verse by the Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas - the classics of Belarussian poetry. Unique souvenirs from leather, straw, wood, clay, and also watches are known all over the world. Our Republic is rich in mineral resources: salt, coal and iron. There are thousands of factories in the Republic which produce tractors and trucks, motor-cycles, TV-sets and many other goods.

The people of Belarus are tolerant and clever, hard-working and hospitable. This year it is the host of World Hockey Championship and a couple years ago it became home to Junior Eurovision.

The beautiful nature and hospitable people, great events and heroic past make Belarus one of the most interesting countries in the world.