5 Minutes For English

Belarus 

Belarus is situated in the centre of Europe, it borders on Russia to the North and East, on the Ukraine to the South, Poland to the West, and on Lithuania and Latvia to the north-west. Its area is 207,600 square kilometres.

Belarus is a land of vast plains and picturesque hills, thick forests and green meadows, deep blue lakes and flowing rivers. Forests cover 30 percent of the land.

Its present population is about 9.7 million people.

There are a lot of rivers and lakes in our country. The Dnieper, the Pripyat, the Sozh, the Zapadnaya Dvina, the Neman аre the biggest rivers. The largest lake in Belarus is Lake Naroch which stretches 13 kilometres from west to east. It’s a very popular recreation area in our country.

Belarus has a moderately continental climate due to the Atlantic influence with a cool winter and a warm summer.  

As Belarus is situated in the centre of Europe many wars took place on its territory. One of the greatest wars was in 1812 when the emperor Of France Napoleon attacked Russia. In the 20th century alone Belarus has lived through three revolutions and three bloody wars.

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was the most heroic and tragic period in the history of the country. The country lost more than 3 million people and more than half of its national wealth.

The most developed branches of industry are machine -building, wood -working, oil - refining and a number of chemical, light and food industries. Belarus has to import oil, gas, coal, metal, chemicals and cotton.

Our country exports heavy lorries, tractors, bicycles, TV and radio- sets, refrigerators and other goods. Potatoes, rye, wheat, barley and oats are major crops.

Belarus has well-developed science and educational system. Nowadays in Belarus there are 43 universities, academies and institutes which provide training in various spheres of science and humanities.  

Belarus cooperates and has good trade relations with such countries as Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, the USA and many others.         

Belarus is a presidential republic. The highest executive power is vested in a president elected for a five-year term. The Parliament is a legislative body of Belarus. It consists of 2 chambers: the House of Representatives and the Soviet of the Republic.