The Republic of Belarus is a small, beautiful country with the heroic past and interesting present. It is situated in Eastern Europe. The Republic borders on Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. It has an area of 207 square kilometers and a population of more than 10 million. Measured by its territory, Belarus ranks 13th among the states of Europe. Two-Thirds of Belarus' population live in cities. There are 97 cities in the Republic. It's capital is Minsk, with the population of about two million people. Minsk is also the coordinating center of the commonwealth of independent States. The largest cities in Belarus are Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, and Mogilev, in which the administrative centers of the Republic are located.
Belorussian`s natural scenery is wide, lonely plains covered with hills, and many lakes and forests. The highest place in Belarus is the mount Dzerzhinskaya (345m) in Minsk region. There are nearly 3.000 rivers with the total length of over 51.000 kilometers in Belarus. The chief rivers are the Dnieper, the Nieman, the Zapadnaya Dvina, the Pripyat. In the past they were great trade ways from Europe to Asia and India and many towns appeared on their banks. There are more than 10800 lakes in Belarus. Most of them are situated in the northern part of the republic. The largest lake is the Naroch(80 sq km) and the deepest one is the Dolgoye(54 metres). One third of the Republic's territory is covered with forests. The largest of them are called pushehas. The most beautiful is the Byelovezhskaya.
The climate in the Belarus is moderately continental. The climate is mild and one can travel comfortably here at any time of year. The moderately continental climate of Belarus is a gift from the Atlantic ocean, and the winds that blow from the ocean make Belarus a zone of stable harvest.
