Materials were prepared by individual scientists of the following institutions:

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2 Belarus in Maps To mark the 500 th anniversary of the appearance of the first Belarusian printed book (book of Psalms, 1517) by Francišak Skaryna and the 25 th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Hungary 1

3 Materials were prepared by individual scientists of the following institutions: GEOGRAPHICAL INSTITUTE, RESEARCH CENTRE FOR ASTRONOMY AND EARTH SCIENCES, HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (Budapest) FACULTY OF GEOGRAPHY, BELARUSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY (Minsk) INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY AND EARTH SCIENCES, EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY (Budapest) INSTITUTE FOR NATURE MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF BELARUS (Minsk) All chapter authors are listed in the contents. The editorial work on maps and explanatory texts was completed on 7 April, The separate provisions of the authors are of an individual research character, they do not always coincide with the official point of view of the mentioned scientific institutions and are subject to further scientific discussions. 2

4 Belarus in Maps Edited by Dávid Karácsonyi Károly Kocsis Zsolt Bottlik Geographical Institute Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest,

5 Revised by Probáld, F. Copy editor: Gercsák, G. English text checked by Gane, A., Bassa, L. Cartography: Szám-Tér-Kép Bt. Typography: Garai-Édler, E. Cover design: Agárdi, N., Garai-Édler, E., Karácsonyi, D., Magyar, Á. Technical staff: Kovály, K., Laczkó, M. Photos by Karácsonyi, D., Konkoly-Thege, G., Khainouski, A. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Szarka, L. general director of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA CSFK) MTA CSFK Geographical Institute, 2017 This publication was supported by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Printed in Hungary by Pannónia Print ISBN

6 CONTENTS FOREWORD (Lovász, L., Khainouski, A., Pirozhnik, I., Loginov, V.)...9 INTRODUCTION (Karácsonyi, D.) BELARUS IN EUROPE...17 Geographic setting (Karácsonyi, D., Kocsis, K., Zhoomar, P.)...17 State territory (Kocsis, K., Zhoomar, P.)...20 Box 1.1 Belarus, Byelorussia or White Russia? (Karácsonyi, D.)...21 Ethnic territory (Kocsis, K., Zhoomar, P.)...21 Box 1.2 History of Jews in Belarus (Karácsonyi, D.)...24 Boundaries (Zhoomar, P., Kocsis, K.)...27 Administrative divisions (Zhoomar, P., Kocsis, K.)...27 Belarus in the European pattern of economic development (Karácsonyi, D.)...29 Belarus and the European and Eurasian international organisations (Karácsonyi, D.) HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND ETHNIC ROOTS...39 General features of ethnic identity evolution in the eastern part of Europe (Bottlik, Zs.)...39 Early frames of cohesion (Bottlik, Zs.)...40 Box 2.1 The Rise of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Bottlik, Zs.)...41 The first dimension of Belarusian identity: Language use (up to the 18 th century) (Bottlik, Zs.)...42 Box 2.2 The Ruthenian language in the early modern era (Bottlik, Zs.)...42 The second dimension of Belarusian identity: The Church (Bottlik, Zs.)...43 Box 2.3 The geography of religions in today s Belarus (Oziem, H.)...44 Identity and ethnic space during the Russian Imperial era (Bottlik, Zs.)...45 The third dimension of Belarusian identity: Soviet Rule (Bottlik, Zs.)...47 Box 2.4. Modern variants of Belarusian Taraškievica, Narkamauka (Bottlik, Zs.)...47 Identity forming and its uncertainties since the independence (Bottlik, Zs.)...50 Box 2.5 Trasianka (Bottlik, Zs.)...52 Box 2.6 The symbols of the independent state (Bottlik, Zs.) NATURAL RESOURCES...57 Geology, relief (Gubin, V., Sanko, A. Yasoveev, M., Kukharchyk, Yu.,Balashov, K., Ivanov, D., Kurlovich, D., Probáld, F., Karácsonyi, D.)...57 Climate (Probáld, F., Loginov, V.)

7 Waters (Volchek, A., Sanets, E., Vlasov, B., Kurzo B.)...63 Soils (Klebanovich, N., Prokopovich, S.)...64 Vegetation (Pugachevski, A.)...65 Land use (Dudko, G.V., Yatsukhno, V.)...66 Landscapes and physical geographical subdivisions (Ivanov, D., Kurlovich, D., Martsinkevich, G., Shchasnaya, I., Zvoznikau, A.)...67 Environmental quality (Khomich, V., Kakareka, S., Kukharchyk, T.)...68 Nature conservation areas (Yurgenson, N., Probáld, F.) EFFECT OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER...75 The accident and its consequences (Karácsonyi, D.)...75 The impact on society (Karácsonyi, D.)...77 Box 4.1 Lieĺčycy district Potential tourist region eclipsed by Chernobyl? (Karácsonyi, D.)...79 Box 4.2 Chojniki district Evacuation waves and changing settlement patterns after Chernobyl (Karácsonyi, D., Hanaoka, K.) POPULATION...87 General population trends (Antipova, E., Karácsonyi, D.)...87 Natural population change (Antipova, E.)...89 Migration (Antipova, E., Fakeyeva, L.)...94 Marriages and divorces (Antipova, E.)...98 Labour market and education (Fakeyeva, L.) URBAN CENTRES AND THE COUNTRYSIDE Urban system (Antipova, E., Pirozhnik, I., Fakeyeva, L., Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K.) Box 6.1 Development of Minsk and the influence of Soviet urban planning (Karácsonyi, D.) Rural settlements (Karácsonyi, D., Antipova, E.) Box 6.2 Types of agrogorodoks and the national program for rural revival and development (Antipova, E.) Box 6.3 Typology of raions based on demographic characteristics of rural population (Antipova, E.) ECONOMY General characteristics of the economy (Karácsonyi, D.) Box 7.1 The Belarusian economic model (Karácsonyi, D.) Economic development during the Soviet era (Karácsonyi, D.) Reforms and the role of the private sector after 1991 (Karácsonyi, D.) Diversification, growing government debt and inflation since 2007 (Karácsonyi, D.) Sectoral structure of the economy (Oziem, H.)

8 Industry (Oziem, H.) Energy (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K., Zaprudski, I.) Metallurgy and engineering (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K., Zaprudski, I.) The IT and high-tech sector (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K.) Chemical industry (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K., Sidorenko, V.) Textile industry (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K.) Wood and paper industry (Karácsonyi, D., Kovály, K.) Agriculture and food industry (Kovály, K., Gusenok, M., Karácsonyi, D.) Banking and commercial services (Bogino, N.) Recreation and tourism (Pirozhnik, I., Zaytsev, V., Reshetnikova, A., Trifonova, I.) Transport (Bezruchonak, A.) Foreign trade (Shavel, A.) Foreign direct investment (Pirozhnik, I., Kovály, K., Karácsonyi, D.) Belarusian foreign investments (Pirozhnik, I.) REGIONS AND REGIONAL PLANNING Spatial inequalities and regions at a glance (Karácsonyi, D., Pirozhnik, I.) Regionalization and raionization during the Soviet era (Kovály, K., Karácsonyi, D.) Regional planning and depressed areas since the independence (Kovály, K., Karácsonyi, D.) GEOGRAPHY IN BELARUS (Pirozhnik, I., Ivanov, D., Kurlovich, D.) REFERENCES Appendix 1. List of selected geographical names (Karácsonyi, D.) Appendix 2. List of figures Appendix 3. List of tables