Much of Belarus (formerly the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR, and then Byelorussia) is a hilly lowland with forests, swamps, and numerous rivers and lakes. There are wide rivers emptying into the Baltic and Black Seas. Its forests cover over one-third of the land and its peat marshes are a valuable natural resource. The largest lake is Narach, 31 sq mi (79.6 sq km).
Belarus was settled by the Slavs, who still dominate the country between the 6th and 8th centuries. The Early East Slavs gradually came into contact with the Varangians and were organized under the state of Rus', mainly in the area around modern-day Polatsk in the northern part of the country. In the 13th century, the state was badly affected by a Mongol invasion, and eventually parts of Rus' and Samogitia were swallowed up by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The core lands of the duchy comprised the Belarusian territories that included the modern-day city of Navahradak as the first capital. During this time, the country was largely at peace. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy stretched across much of Eastern Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
Since the late century, national activists have based their attempts to create an independent Belarusian state based on the Belorussian language, which had been kept alive over the centuries mainly by peasants. The stage was set for the emergence of a national consciousness by the industrialization and urbanization of the nineteenth century and by the consequent publication of literature in the Belorussian language, which was often suppressed by Russian, and later Polish, authorities. It is ironic, then, that the first long-lived Belorussian state entity, the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Belorussian SSR), was created by outside forces-the Bolshevik government in Moscow. And it was those same forces, the communists, whose downfall in 1991 precipitated the existence of an independent Belarus, which has been torn between its desire for freedom and a longing for integration with newly independent Russia.
The population of the Belorussian SSR was jolted into national awareness in the late 1980s with the occurrence of one disaster and the find of another. The explosion at the Chornobyl' nuclear power plant in Ukraine not only entailed the physically damaging radiation carried by the winds but also came to represent the toll taken on the nation's sense of its ethnic and cultural identity by years of Russification.
Belarus's other disaster was the find in 1988 of mass graves containing victims of Joseph V. Stalin's atrocities. Although the revelation of these graves angered a broad spectrum of Belarusians, it actually energized only a comparatively small group of activists to try to overcome the nation's political apathy. Nationalists saw Stalin's actions as clear proof of Moscow's attempts to eliminate the Belorussian nation and wanted to make sure that such barbarity could not occur again. For them, a strong, independent Belarus was the first step in this direction.
Belarus is famous for its opera and ballet, which always have the audience asking for more. There are theatres like the Opera and Ballet Theater in Minsk, which holds regular and well-attended performances. Belarus is also famous for musical comedy, which is held at the popular Theater of Musical Comedy Minsk. Besides this, their love for music has many orchestra groups performing every now and then. Drama also plays a central role in the culture of Belarus, with the leading drama theater being the Yanka Kupala Beslarusian State Academic Theater, located in Minsk. Other major theaters include the Gorky Russian Theater in Babruysk, and the Yakub Kolas Belarusian State Academic Theater in Minsk. Apart from all this, there is another theater at Minsk known as Vol'naya Stsena, which focuses on Belarusian drama and classics.
Religious beliefs appeared in Belarus as early as in the Upper Palaeolith in the form of totemism, magic, animism, etc. At present, there are over 20 confessions in Belarus. The most influential among them are the Orthodox (938 communities), the Catholic (373 communities), the Evangelic Christian Baptists (192 communities), Christians of the Evangelic belief (293 communities). Under the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, the Church (religious organizations) is separated from the State. Some religious organizations publish their own newspapers and magazines, as well as make use of radio and television broadcasts to disseminate their dogmas.
The Council on Religious Matters of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus performs informative and consulting functions along with registering the statutes of new communities. There are the Ecclesiastical College and the Minsk Theological Seminary. Missionaries and foreign preachers may be invited by the leaders of religious communities, associations or centers of Belarus which have a charter registered to the established procedure.
Major ethnic groups: 78%-Belarusians, 13%- Russians, 4%- Poles, 3%- Ukrainians, 1%- Jews and 1%- others. Approximately 69% of the total population are urban. The average family is 3,2 persons; the life expectancy is 69 years (men- 64, women- 74).
he regions of Belarus are divided into six oblasts or provinces. Each oblast is subdivided into districts, cities and other territorial and administrative units. The cities of Minsk, Gomel, Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno and Mogilev are oblast centers of the Republic. Eight other cities have their population above 100 thousand inhabitants: Bobruysk, Baranovichi, Borisov, Pinsk, Orsha, Mozyr, Lida, and Soligorsk. The capital of the Republic is the city of Minsk with the population of about 1.7 min.
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