Welcome to Minsk!
Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск, Russian: Минск) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Belarus. Its population is about two million people. For many years after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Minsk and Belarus, in general, had a reputation of a Soviet experience park. In the late 2010s, this stereotype started losing its relevance: Minsk offers reliable and affordable public transport, plentiful hotels, convenient banking, and shopping and dining that international tourists will find familiar. The quality and number of sightseeing opportunities have improved remarkably too. Still, the Soviet past - Stalinist architecture and socialist street art, old-style canteens and department stores - exists alongside the renovated churches, fancy restaurants, hipster joints and tourist sightseeing traps. This makes Minsk an attractive destination for those who look for new experiences.
Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск, Russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region (voblasć) and Minsk District (rajon). As of January 2021, its population was 2,009,786, (not including suburbs), making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. Minsk is the administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and seat of its Executive Secretary.
The earliest historical references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067), when it was noted as a provincial city within the Principality of Polotsk. The settlement developed on the rivers. In 1242, Minsk became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It received town privileges in 1499.From 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodeship, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. In June 2019, Minsk hosted the 2019 European Games.