"White Russ" in ancient times meant free, independent, unconquered Russ.
Belarus - officially the Republic of Belarus - is situated in the centre of Europe and on the ancient trade-routes cross-road. Belarus borders on Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

Territory - 207,6 thousand sq. km. The longest distance from the North to the South - 560 km, from the West to the East - 650 km. Population - 10,3 million. The main nationalities: Belarusians - 78 per cent, Russians - 13 per cent, Poles - 4,2 per cent, Ukrainians - 3 per cent, Jews -1 per cent. Official languages: Belarusian, Russian.



Average life expectancy is 69 years (men-64, women-74). There are between 3 and 3,5 million Belarusians living abroad, which makes almost one third of the nation. The United States of America is one of the principal countries of Belarusian emigration on the American continent.

The state program "Belarusians abroad" is aimed at expanding contacts and co-operation with the Belarusian diaspora. Since 1990 active work has been carried on by the "Society of the Belarusians of the World". In 1993, the first Congress of the Belarusians of the World took place in Minsk.

The main religions in the Republic are: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Greek-Catholic Sayth (Uniats), Protestantism, Islam and Jewdaism.

The capital is Minsk. Main cities: Minsk, Brest, Gomel, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Grodno. Belarus is one of the UN founder-members. Our Republic participates in different international organisations.

Belarus has well developed infrastructure in industry and agriculture. The industry's share in the total volume of production of the Republic constitutes about one - half.

The automobile production includes 35 enterprises manufacturing automobiles, dump trucks and timber carries, loaders, bicycles, motorcycles, spare parts for vehicles.

The electronic optico-mechanical, radiotechnical, chemical and petrochemical are the leading industries of Belarus.

The main directions of agriculture in Belarus are cattle, poultry and diary farming, growing of potato grains, flax, sugar beet, vegetables.

Belarus is the country of lowlands, small hills and blue lakes. Belarusian nature is soft, harmonic and moderate. We have neither severe frosts nor exhaustive heat.

The climate is moderately continental and humid with temperature averaging 6°C (2O°F) in January and +18°C (64°F) in July. Annual precipitation is 550-700 mm.

One third of the Belarusian territory is covered with forests where birches, oaks, maples and pine-trees dominate. Fauna is rich and diverse: here one can find European bison, elks and deer, wild boars and wolves, bears and foxes, beavers and lynxes, not mentioning myriad of birds.

Belarus is the country with unique history and rich cultural heritage, which is carefully preserved. Slutsk belts, multicoloured glazed tiles, traceries and carvings, the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, works of Mark Chagall and the Belarusian Ballet are the most widely known evidence of our cultural presence in this world.

Belarusians have created quite an extremely rich multigenre folklore. An outstanding galaxy of the Belarusian enlighteners includes Euphrosyne of Polatsk and Kirill Turovsky, printer and creator of the first printed Bible in the East-Slavonic region Frantsysk Skaryna, his followers Vasily Tyapinsky and Symon Budny, poets Nikolai Gussovsky and Simeon Polotsky.

Literature has become the basis of culture with its classics formed by Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich, Elaisa Tsiotka-Pashkevich, Maxim Bagdanovich, Maxim Garetsky, Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas.

Belarusian crafts represent an integral part of the national culture. Their products are represented by a wide variety of sewn items with traditional embroideries in cross, satin and drawn threads and decorative stitches, i.e. blouses, costumes, table and bed linen, children's clothes made of flax, cotton or silk.

The unique craftwork of straw - weaving and making of souvenir items of flax is flourishing nowadays. Extremely beautiful dolls, birds, horses are made of ordinary rye straw and flax at the Mogilev Craft Factory.

Art incrustations and woodcarving are widely spread in Belarus which is rich in forests. Belarusian factories produce wooden boxes, cases, trays, Easter eggs, dolls, Christmas-tree toys and other souvenir items incrustated with straw and having florist ornaments. Decorative ornamentation of this kind of craftwork has been based on traditional ornamental culture of the Belarusian people. Wooden sculptures of the aurochs, the relic inhabitant of the Belaya Vezha Forest Reserve, are in great demand as souvenirs.

Belarus - from the tourist point of view - is an interesting region providing good rest and impressions for groups and individual tourists. There You will have a chance to wander the narrow streets of the old town of Grodna, climb up the creaky staircase to the top of the Belaya Vezha Tower, feel the loftiness of the Sapega Palace in Ruzhany. If You are lucky enough, You will see such antiques as the Ishkald Catholic Church built in 1472 or the Kalvinist Ecumenical Cathedral in Smargon which dates back to the 16th century. You can just as well take the very popular tourist itinerary Mir, Nesvizh, Lida.

Should You want to find out in what our land is unique, take a walk along the Dvina bank near St. Sophia of Polatsk Cathedral or along the Nieman near the Kalozha Chirch (11th century). Should You want to smell the odour of our earth, roam the Belavezhskaya Puscha forests.

Belarus is a country, which one could not help falling in love with!