Minsk
For things named after Minsk, see Minsk (disambiguation)
Minsk (Belarusian: Менск, Мінск; Russian: Минск) (population 1.7 million) is the capital of Belarus and headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is also the capital of Minsk voblast (Minsk province). It is situated by the Svislach River.
Legend has it that a giant called Menesk or Mincz had a mill on the
banks of a river nearby the city. He used to grind stones for making bread in order to feed his warriors. The name "Minsk", also known as Mensk in the Belarusian language, more likely comes from the
word мена (miena, "barter" in English) based on the city's long commercial history.
By the 10th century, Prince Rahvalod (Ragnvald in Norse, also spelt Rogvold, Rogvolod), of Viking origin, ruled a principality named Polacak, which included Minsk. The first recorded mention of Minsk dates from 1066, related to dynastic wars between Polacak and Kyiv
principalities. Minsk later fell under the influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a state that later formed part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1655 Minsk was conquered by Tsar Alexei of Russia. It was regained by Jan Kasimir, King of Poland (1648-1668), and again annexed by Russia in 1773 (Partitions of Poland).
In 1919 and in 1920 the city was controlled by the Second Polish Republic in course of the Polish-bolshevik war. Later it was handed over to Soviet Russia under the terms of the Peace of Riga and became the capital of Byelorussian SSR, one of the constitutent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The Minsk area became a centre for the Soviet partisan movement behind enemy lines during the Great Patriotic War, and therefore Minsk was awarded the title Hero City in 1974. During the war the city was almost completely destroyed and only a few historical buildings are left. Most of the churches were destroyed during World War II and in the years after by the Russian communists, there are just several remaining ones, for example, Catholic Kalvaryja.
Since 1991 the city has been the capital of the independent Belarus state.
