The Republic of Belarus
There is hardly anyone who will be able to describe the blue of the sky or the peculiar flavour of the home wind, or the specific softness of the native soil, or the unusual beauty of the people around us. What we shall probably be able to say is that it all belongs to us and that it is where we belong. Belarus is my home country. I will try to tell you how I, the Belarusian, feel about it and will try to help you look at the things the way I see them. Belarus is situated in the centre of Europe at the crossing of roads going from east to west and from north to south. Our land has been very attractive geopolitically for many foreign countries. It has been invaded by Mongols and Russians, Poles and Germans, Swedes and French. Belarus stood as a buffer state between the East and the West and got invariably involved in all the military conflicts waged by Europe and Asia. Belarus borders on Russia to the north and east, on the Ukraine to the south, on Poland to the west and on Lithuania and Latvia to the north-west. The republic's area is 207.600 square kilometres. It is just one fifth smaller than Great Britain in size, but it is larger than Denmark, Belgium and Greece taken together. To describe our land one needs to be a poet. If you go north, you will see a land of Braslav lakes with crystal-clear blue waters surrounded by pine groves. If you go west, you will find yourself in the Brest province - the land of immense fields and meadows. In the south you will be engulfed by infinite forests and marshes. Broad plains and marshy lowlands occupy nearly three quarter's of the territory. They are called Belarusian Polesye. There are also some hills and elevations. They can be found in the northern and central parts of the country. There are a lot of rivers and streams and more than 10.000 lakes in the republic. The largest rivers are the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Pripiat and Neman, while the largest lake is Narach. Forests and bush cover more than a quarter of the area. The most famous is Belavezhskaya Puscha. Rare bisons - aurochses live there. They survived from glacial times. The climate is temperately continental. The coldest month is January and the warmest month is July. The population of Belarus is about 10 million. Belarusians arc 80% of them, while the others are mostly Russians, Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. All these nationalities live here in good neighbourhood and peace because they have something in common: they all love their country, their history, their traditions. Towns are the most tensely inhabited. People speak Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian here though the official language is Belarusian. The most important centres are Minsk, the capital, Grodno, Gomel, Brest, Mogilev and Vitebsk. They are not only admi-nistrative, but also industrial and cultural centres of the six territorial regions of Belarus. The mineral resources of the country arc: peat, oil, underground fresh and mineral waters, building materials and ores, that can be used for the production of fertilizers. Those raw materials make up practicaly all of its mineral wealth. Agriculture, manufacturing industry and commerce arc the most developed branches of the economy. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the greater part of the population. It fully satisfies the need of the country for basic agricultural products, such as milk, meat, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and eggs. The most developed branches of manufacturing industry are machine-building, instrument-making, radio-electronics, wood-working, oil-refining and a number of chemical, light, construction and food industries. Belarus has to import oil, gas, coal, metal, chemicals and cotton. Together with grain, sugar, vegetable oil, fish products, citrics, tea, coffee and wine they are the main items of Belarusian imports. Our country exports heavy lorries, tractors, motocyclcs, bicycles, TV and radio-sets, data processing equipment and gas stoves, refrigerators and furniture, carpets and knitted goods chemical fibres and fertilizers, agricultural products. Belarus has good trade relations with Russia, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany and Poland. The country is connected with its neighbours by its wide network of rail-, high- and waterways, not to mention air routes. Belarus is a presidential republic. The highest executive power is vested in a President elected for a five-year term. The Parliament - National Assembly is a representative and legislative body of the Republic of Belarus. The Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Soviet of the Republic. The executive power is performed by a Council of Ministers headed by a premier. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The history of Belarus is full of dramatic events and great losses. International economic and cultural activity of Belarus today are becoming more and more intensive. It contributes to the world peace, friendship and cooperation among nations. That is how I see my Motherland, young and old, beautiful and full of pride, independent and neutral, a country that is situated in the heart of Europe where all roads meet.