Belarus has a simpler administrative division when compared to Russia. The country consists of six regions and the capital. The regions of Belarus differ much less from each other than the Russian regions. Where the territory is larger and the population is more diverse in ethnic composition.
History
Now there are only 6 regions in Belarus, but there used to be more of them. For example, in the post-war 1946-1954 there were such:
- Polotskaya.
- Molodechno.
- Bobruisk.
- Pinskaya.
- Polesskaya (its center was the city of Mozyr).
- Baranovichskaya.
In 1939-1945, for a short period, the Bialystok region existed as part of the BSSR, now most of it is part of Poland. This is due to the fact that most of the population there were Poles, and the USSR returned it to Poland.
In 1949-1944 there was also the Vileika region. Its center was the small town of Vileyka on the territory of the modern Minsk region.
The division into regions in Belarus was introduced in 1938. In the Soviet part of the country, their names corresponded to modern(Minsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Vitebsk) and there was also a separate Polesskaya with a center in Mozyr. Until 1930, the eastern part of the country was divided into districts, and the western part into voivodeships.
During the Russian Empire, regional division did not exist. The territory of Belarus then consisted of provinces, the names of which are similar to today's regions, except that there was no Brest province, and the territory of the Brest region was occupied by the Grodno province.
Territory and population
In total, 9.5 million people live in the country, of which about 2 million live in the capital. Consequently, the remaining 7.5 million are distributed by region. The list of regions of Belarus by population is as follows:
- Minsk. Capital Region, most populated.
- Gomel. The second largest city in the country is located on its territory.
- Brestskaya. 1.38 million population.
- Vitebsk. It is inhabited by 1.87 million people.
- Mogilevskaya. 1.06 million inhabitants.
- Grodno. 1.04 million population.
If you make a list of regions of Belarus by area, the list will be slightly different:
- Gomel. Its area is 40.3 thousand square meters. km.
- Vitebsk. It is slightly smaller, 40 thousand square meters. km.
- Minsk. 39.8 thousand sq. km. Thus, the territory of these three regions is almost the same.
- Brestskaya. 32.7 thousand sq. km.
- Mogilevskaya. 29 thousand sq. km.
- Grodno. 25.1 thousand sq. km.
From the above it is easy to estimatepopulation density of different regions of the country. The least populated is the Vitebsk region.
As in Russia, regions have their own numbers. There are only six of them, and the seventh in a row is the capital. The regions of Belarus are arranged in alphabetical order by numbers, from Brest to Mogilev.
Features of the regions of the western part
The country can be conditionally divided into "west" and "east" either along the border line of 1920-1930 or according to the location of regions and districts relative to the capital region.
It is interesting that all regions of the country, except for the Minsk region, are border regions and border on two or three states, for example, roads from the Vitebsk region lead to Russia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Two western regions - Brest and Grodno can interest the guests of the republic with their natural and cultural attractions. The most famous are:
- Brest Fortress.
- Castles in Mir, Grodno and Lida.
- Belovezhskaya Pushcha with the residence of the local Santa Claus.
- Estates of T. Kosciuszko, A. Mitskevich, M. Oginsky.
- Kolozhskaya Church in Grodno, one of the oldest stone buildings in the country.
- Tower in Kamenets near Brest.
It is convenient to travel around the regions by car, as the roads in the country are generally good, as well as by buses and local trains or electric trains. The latter are distinguished by lower tariffs when compared with Russian Railways.
Features of regionsEastern Belarus
Eastern part of the country may seem less interesting. In the Vitebsk region, it is worth visiting Polotsk. One of the three ancient Russian stone cathedrals of St. Sophia has been preserved in this city. In addition, the city can really visit a dozen museums, which is a lot for its small population.
Braslav lakes are suitable for swimming in summer.
In the Mogilev region, it is worth visiting the city of Bobruisk (there is a museum and a fortress), as well as a museum in the regional center, which is depicted on one of the Belarusian banknotes.
In the Gomel region, the most interesting object is located in the regional center - the Paskevich Palace. The only palace and park ensemble in this small country.
There are also enough interesting places in the capital region - Lake Naroch, the castle in Nesvizh, museums of the city of Zaslavl and the highest point of the country - a hill 345 meters high.
