MINSK, the capital of the White Russian S.S.R., on the Svis loch river, a non-navigable tributary of the Berezina, in 54' N., 27° 33' E., at the intersection of the Moscow-Warsaw and Libau-Kharkov railways. Pop. (1926) 123,613. It was the head quarters of the IV. Army Corps under the Tsarist government. Its close proximity to the west Russian front involved it in the disorders of the Russian retreat. In November 1917 an executive committee of soviet workers, soldiers and peasants was formed in the town, but in 1918 Minsk was occupied by German troops, who advanced as far as the Dnieper river, but withdrew after the revolution in Germany. In spring, 1919, a Polish army occupied the district, and Minsk did not settle down to peaceful develop ment until the beginning of 1921. The effects of this period of destructive strife are still evident, and there is terrible overcrowd ing in the city, owing to the rapid growth of its population and the destruction of housing accommodation during the war.
The province around Minsk is more favourably situated as regards agriculture than the rest of White Russia, and the town therefore has a less serious unemployment problem, though the situation is sufficiently difficult, especially in view of the inter-, ruption of its trade with the west, owing to changes of boundary. The town has smelting and machinery works, a bristle industry depending on the marked development of pig-breeding in the province, a brewery, two leather factories and a paper factory.
The town has a municipal electricity and water supply. There is a White Russian government university, a communist university, and an institute for research into White Russian culture, with a Polish and a Jewish branch. An institute was established in 1927 to study the problems of White Russian agriculture and forestry. The numerous small Jewish traders were thrown out of occupation after the 1917 revolution and efforts have been made to settle them in other parts of Russia in order to relieve the local unemployment problem.
Its position near the west has always made it liable to invasion. Minsk is mentioned in Russian annals in the iith century under the name of Myen'sk, or Menesk. In 1066 and 1096 it was devas tated, first by Izyazlav and afterwards by Vladimir, prince of Kiev It changed rulers many times until the 13th century, when it became a Lithuanian fief. In the 15th century it was part of Poland, but as late as 1505 it was ravaged by Tatars, and in 1508 by Russians In the 18th century it was taken several times by Swedes and Russians Russia annexed it in 1793, but within a few years it was laid waste by Napoleon I. (1812).