Minsk
For alternative meanings, see Minsk (disambiguation)
Minsk (be: Мінск, ru: Минск) (population 1.7 million) is the capital of Belarus and headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is also the capital of Minsk voblast or Minsk province.
Legend has it that a giant called Menesk or Mincz had a mill on the banks of a river nearby the city. He used to grind stones for making bread in order to feed his warriors. The name "Minsk", also known as Mensk in the Belarusian language, more likely comes from the word мена (miena, "barter" in English) based on the city's long commercial history.
By the 10th century, Prince Rahvalod (Ragnvald in Norse, also spelt Rogvold, Rogvolod), of Viking origin, ruled a principality named Polacak, which included Minsk. The first recorded mention of Minsk dates from 1066, related to dynastic wars between Polacak and Kyiv principalities. Minsk later fell under the influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a state that later formed part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
French Emperor Napoleon conquered the city in 1812. The locals gave him strong support and celebrated the liberation of the city from Russian rule. After very short Napoleonic rule, Minsk was again subdued by Russia and once again became part of the Russian Empire. In 1919 and in 1920 the city was controled by the Second Polish Republic in course of the Polish-bolshevik war. Later it was handed over to Soviet Russia under the terms of the Peace of Riga and became the capital of Byelorussian SSR, one of the constitutent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. For the mass heroism of its citizens during the Great Patriotic War, Minsk was awarded the title Hero City.
Since 1991 the city has been the capital of the independent Belarus state.