Belarus
- Let’s talk about Belarus. What do you know about your country?
The official name of our country is the Republic of Belarus. Belarus is a small beautiful country. It’s total area is 207 square kilometers. It is situated in the centre of Europe at the crossroads of trade ways between west and east, north and south.
Its population is about 10 mln people. Belarusians are rather a friendly, intelligent, tactful, imaginative and hard-working people. Tolerance and hospitality are the main features that the typical of Belarusian national character.
The capital of our country is Minsk. Its population is about one fifth of the country population. In accordance with the political division, Belarus consists of six regions^ Minsk, Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno and Mogilev regions.
The Republic of Belarus is a democratic social state with the rule of law. Belarus is a presidential republic. The president of the Republic of Belarus is a head of state. We have two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. The most widespread languages of business are Russian, English and German.
The landscape of Belarus is very picturesque. It is a land of vast plaint and green hills, big forests and meadows. The country is rich in water resources. There are thousands of lakes and rivers on the territory of Belarus. The biggest of the lakes is Lake Naroch. A third of Belarus is covered with forests. With its numerous rivers, lakes, forests and meadows, Belarus is a unique formation with hundreds of remarkable species of plants and animals. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the biggest and the most beautiful national park of the country.
Nowadays Belarus is a country of developed industry, economic and culture. I love my country and I’m proud to live there.
- Do you know any places that belong to our cultural heritage?
The cultural life of our country is very diverse. There are a lot of theatres, concert halls, palaces of culture, clubs and a circus in our country. The most popular theatres are the Opera and Ballet House, the Yanka Kupala National Theatre, the Theatre of Musical Comedy.
The Belarusian Museum of the History of the Patriotic Was tells us about the heroic deeds of the Soviet people in the struggle against the fascist invaders.
The Art Museum in Minsk has a rich collection of paintings and sculptures by old and modern masters.
All these places are real cultural heritage of our country.
- What questions about Belarus do you expect to hear from a professor of History from the UK?
- When does the history of Belarusian statehood go back?
- When does Belarusian history date back?
- Who was the first Belarusian ruler?
- Was Belarus a part of another country or it always was independent?
- What can you advise teachers to do to promote Belarusian culture?
Nowadays Belarusian government makes an effort to popularize Belarusian language and Belarusian culture. There are some commercials on TV on the Belarusian language, the names of the cities and villages are written on Belarusian. The main slogan of our trade is “Buy Belarusian things”.
Teachers can also help our government by the help of their classes. It is necessary to tell their students about famous Belarusians, our beautiful nature, places of interests. They can also travel with their students around our country and that’s why show its beauty and cultural places.
- They say that Belarus is at the crossroads of Europe. Explain why.
Belarus is very well geopolitically located. It is situated in the heart of Europe, at the crossroads of trade ways between west and east, north and south. But such advantageous position of our country often turned into a disadvantage. Belarus has been the area of many wars, invasions and aggressions. World War II brought the country innumerable losses. More than 2 million people died in the war. Belarusian people value peace and want to live in good neighbour relations with all other nations.
I love my country and I’m proud of its people.