About Belarus
Belarus, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, is known for its Stalinist architecture, grand fortifications and primeval forests. The region that is now Belarus was first settled by Baltic tribes in the 3rd century. Around the 5th century, the area was taken over by Slavic tribes. In the modern capital, Minsk, the monumental KGB Headquarters loom over Independence Square, while the Museum of the Great Patriotic War commemorates the country’s role in WWII. The capital is also home to many churches, including the neo-Romanesque Church of Saints Simon and Helena. Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested. The climate features mild to cold winters, with average January minimum temperatures ranges from −4 °C (24.8 °F) in southwest (Brest) to −8 °C (17.6 °F) in northeast (Vitebsk), and cool and moist summers with an average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F). Many streams and 11,000 lakes are found in Belarus. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman, the Pripyat, and the Dnieper. The Neman flows westward towards the Baltic sea and the Pripyat flows eastward to the Dnieper; the Dnieper flows southward towards the Black Sea. Belarus has four UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Mir Castle Complex, the Nesvizh Castle, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (shared with Poland), and the Struve Geodetic Arc (shared with nine other countries).
Jewish History, POI & Kosher Establishments in Belarus
Belarus was once a major centre of European Jews, with 10% of the population being Jewish. But since the mid-20th century, the number of Jews has been reduced by the Holocaust, deportation, and emigration, so that today it is a very small minority of less than one percent. The Jewish community in Belarus is the third-largest in the former Soviet Union (following Russia and Ukraine). The largest center is in Minsk, home to some 20,000 Jews. There are several thousand Jews living in many of the country's smaller cities and towns, including Bobruysk (6,000), Mogilev (6,000), Gomel (5,500), and Vitebsk (5,000), and about 500 each in Baranowicz, Borisov, Brest, Grodno, Orsha, Pinsk, and Polotosk. The Belarus Union of Jewish Organizations and Communities is the major umbrella organization. For the most part, Jewish life is decentralized, and there are a great number of local organizations that are fully independent. Although anti-Semitism is not as great a problem as in Ukraine or in Russia, there have been a number of incidents that have given cause for concern. In 1994 a Center for Jewish National Culture was opened in Minsk, as was a Centre for the History of the Jews of Belarus in Vitebsk. There are synagogues in most of the towns with a large Jewish population, serve the needs of the community. Kosher food is available, and matzot are produced locally. In many towns, ruins of synagogues, yeshivot, and burial grounds can be found. Many Jewish buildings are intact but have been put to other uses.
