MINSK - THE CAPITAL OF BELARUS (Level 2)

Minsk is the capital of our republic. It was first mentioned in 1067. The city has the population of about 2 mln. people. It is the city with broad streets & avenues, shady parks, lots of museums, galleries, & sport facilities.

People are welcomed to visit museums, galleries and exhibition halls to learn about the old Minsk. The Troitskoye Suburb, Upper Town and Rakov Suburb form the historic centre of Minsk.

Minsk plants and factories produce trucks, tractors, radio and TV-sets, watches, refrigerators, textiles, foodstuffs and other goods.

Our capital is a large educational centre. The leading scientific and educational institutions of the country are situated in Minsk, for example The Academy of Sciences, The Belarusian State University, Minsk Linguistic University, The Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, The Belarusian National Technical University and others.

Minsk also provides excellent sports facilities, including stadiums and athletic fields, pools, tennis courts and a ski lines.

Every year Minsk attracts many guests by its special atmosphere and friendly people.

Questions on the topic:

1) When did Minsk become the capital city?

2) When was the city founded?

3) What are the most popular versions of the origin of its name?

4) Where is Minsk situated?

5) What is the population of the city? Is it growing?

6) What industrial giants are situated in Minsk? What do the enterprises produce?

7) What places of interest are worth seeing?

8) What can you tell about the cultural life in the city?

9) What cultural or sports events has it recently hosted / is it going to host soon?

10) What sports facilities are there in the capital?

11) Is Minsk your native place? Would you like to live there? Why?

MOGILEV (Level 1)

I live in Mogilev. It is a regional town which lies on the picturesque banks of the Dnieper river. The population of Mogilev is about 360,000 people.

Mogilev is an ancient town. It was founded in 1267, so it is more than seven and a half centuries old. One of the legends says that Mogilev was named after Masheka, a very strong and courageous man, whose burial place was called “The Grave of the Lion” which sounds in Russian as “Mogila Lva” or Mogilev.

Pervomayskaya Street and Mir Avenue are the main streets of our town. A lot of shops and offices are located there: the central department store, the Drama and the Puppet theatres, the Central Post-office, the town library and others. The centre of our town is Lenin Square.

Mogilev is a great transport centre. There is a railway station and an airport.

There are a lot of industrial enterprises in Mogilev: The Synthetic Fibre Plant, The Automobile Works, The Lift-Making Plant, Mogotex Textile Factory and others. They produce machines, lifts, chemical products, footwear, textiles and many other goods. Many of them are exported to other countries.

I suppose we can say that Mogilev is a big cultural centre. Many libraries both for adults and children are at the disposal of Mogilev citizens. There are two theatres, the Drama and Puppet theatres, many cinemas, palaces of culture where people can spend their free time. Those interested in the history and culture of the regional centre won’t regret visiting Mogilev Regional Museum of Local History named after Romanov, Mogilev Ethnography Museum, the Town Hall, Belynitsky-Birulya Arts Museum, Mogilev Regional Arts Museum named after Maslennikov, and of course, Buinichi Field Memorial Complex.

Mogilev is an educational centre of the region. Four higher educational establishments train specialists for public education, industry, mass media and agriculture. There are also a lot of secondary and vocational schools, several gymnasiums and lyceums.

There are a lot of architectural monuments, churches and cathedrals in the city (St. Nicolas Monastery, Boris and Gleb Church, St. Stanislav Cathedral and others). Many historical buildings have been restored lately and have made Mogilev a very beautiful European city. I think that Mogilev is a beautiful town and I love it.

MOGILEV (Level 2)

I live in Mogilev. It is a regional town on the banks of the Dnieper river. Mogilev was founded in 1267. Its population is about 360 thousand people.

Pervomayskaya Street and Mir Avenue are the main streets of our town. A lot of shops and offices, the Central Post-office, the town library are located there. The centre of our town is Lenin Square.

There are a lot of industrial enterprises in Mogilev. They produce machines, lifts, chemical products, textiles, footwear and many other goods.

Mogilev is a big cultural centre. There are two theatres, the Drama and Puppet theatres, many cinemas, palaces of culture in the town. You may visit such museums as the Museum of the History of Mogilev, the Museum of Ethnography and some others. The town offers different facilities for doing sports.

Mogilev is an educational centre of the region. There are four higher educational establishments, a lot of secondary and vocational schools, several gymnasiums and lyceums.

I think that Mogilev is a beautiful town and I love it very much.