ФИТР БНТУ – Портал Студентов

MINSK.

HISTORY

Minsk is one of the oldest Belarusian cities. The first mentioning of it is found in The Chroni­cles (1067). The first settlement from which Minsk originated was founded at the confluence of the Nemiga and Svisloch near the portages that connected the basins of the Black and Baltic Seas, forming the connection of routes from the North to the South and from the West to the East from West Euro­pean capitals to Moscow.

The first printing house was opened in the city in 1596. in the early 20th century 12 private printing houses were functioning and 4 newspapers and 9 trade magazines were published. In the cen­ter of the city there was the well-known hotel Europe with 130 rooms and a lift (1908). Minsk was a city of many religions. It had 90 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches, synagogues, mosques and prayer houses.

In the 19th – early 20th century Minsk was the European-like principal city of a province with booming business, trade and industries. Its population was 98,000 people (according to the 1898 cen­sus). The total area covered by the city equaled 18 sq. km at the time (219.4 sq. km in 1995).

The first telephone station in public use began to function in 1896 and in 1914 it numbered 888 telephone subscribers and 963 telephone machines.

Throughout its history Minsk was often destroyed by foreign invaders, but the city was always re-constructed from the ruins. The city was built anew after WWII as it was almost completely ruined; its industrial enterprises, secondary and higher educational institutions, cultural establishments and 80 percent of habitable premises were destroyed.

Construction is always underway in Minsk. The city obtained about 20 percent of the total capital investment allocated to the national economy from 1976 to 1996. 72 percent of the total volume of capital was allocated to the construction of productive establishments.

POPULATION

Today 1,850,000 people are living in Minsk, that is, almost one fifth of the Belarusian popula­tion are inhabitants of the capital. It is populated rather densely; 1,850,000 people live on 220 sq. km (compare: 600,000 people live on 350 sq. km in Vilnius, Lithuania).

An important characteristic of the workforce is its high qualification standards. Out of 1,000 people employed in the economy, 273 have exposure to higher education.

SCIENCE

The main research centers are the Belarusian Academy of Sciences and establishments of the Ministry of Education which account for 70 percent of R&D works in such fields as natural, technical and public sciences.

The greater part of the city’s research potential is involved in fundamental research. The most prominent spheres of research include: optics and quantum electronics, machine-building, physiologi­cal, biochemical and structural principles of human life, physical and technical problems of power en­gineering, information technologies, and computer machines and automation.

The scientific potential of those involved in applied sciences is concentrated in the research es­tablishments connected with the focus of activities of a particular industry.

Science has been playing an important role in the development of instrument-making, radio­electronics, tractor and agricultural machine-building, automotive, electromechanical and roller bear­ing industries. The progress shown by these industries is directly connected to the advances in the physical and technical sciences. The Belarusian Academy of Sciences alone includes 7 research insti­tutions with a focused in these areas.

A group of technical institutions has been formed in Minsk with a view to improve the use of the scientific potential of the city. The group includes higher education institutions, research laborato­ries, technological centers and industrial enterprises, as well as information, exhibition and service es­tablishments. The formation of this group was caused by the necessity to reorientate the city’s econ­omy towards science-intensive and environment-friendly production as well as to create new jobs for research workers and engineers. This personnel includes many who came to the labor market from the R&D organizations, which had been serving the whole of the Soviet Union.

The high concentration of industrial enterprises, a skillful workforce with many re­search workers, as well as favorable geographical position, advanced infrastructure and in­ducements for foreign investment sets the stage for Minsk to develop into a city with potential for rapid business growth in science-intensive production and the service sector.