Minsk, Belarus

posted by: Barbara Steiner

Minsk is the capital and largest city in Belarus. In 1230, the territory of the present-day Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From 1569, it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was annexed by Russia in 1793, as a consequence of the second Partition of Poland. By the end of the 19th century this territory was undergoing increasing russification. Many locals became russified and still claim Russian ethnicity today. From 1919–1991, Minsk was the capital of the Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has served as the President of Belarus since 1994. During his first two terms as President, Lukashenko restructured the Belarusian economy by introducing economic integration with the Russian Federation and building strong ties with countries of the Commonwealth of independent states, former Soviet republics such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. On 20 March 2006, the OSCE declared that the third „presidential election failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections." Lukashenko's repression of opponents have earned him the moniker "Europe’s last dictator" and resulted in the EU imposing visa sanctions on him and a range of Belarusian officials. Since the EU adopted this policy of "change through engagement", it has supported the provision of international Monetary Fund (IMF) loans to help stabilise the Belarusian economy. Beyond the official positioning, Europe either plays an unimportant role, or it represents the far away promise of human rights, civil society and consumerism. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk