Minsk

Minsk Мінск · Минск
Capital city
Clockwise from top: Minsk business district (Pieramozhcaw Avenue), the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Railway Station Square, the Red Church, National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and Minsk City Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Interactive map of Minsk
Minsk Location within Belarus Show map of Belarus Minsk Location within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 53°54′02″N 27°33′31″E / 53.90056°N 27.55861°E / 53.90056; 27.55861
Country	Belarus
First mentioned	1067
Government
• Chairman	Vladimir Kukharev[1]
Area
• Total	409.53 km2 (158.12 sq mi)
Elevation	280.6 m (920.6 ft)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	1,992,862
• Density	4,900/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Minsker, Minskite (en) мінчанін, minčanin мінчанка, minčanka (be) минчанин, minchanin минчанка, minchanka (ru)
GDP [3]
• Total	Br 65.5 billion (US$20.076 billion)
• Per capita	Br 33,000 (US$10,115)
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
Postal Code	220001-220141
Area code	+375 17
ISO 3166 code	BY-HM
License plate	7
Website	minsk.gov.by

Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск [mʲinsk]; Russian: Минск [mʲinsk]) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region and Minsk District. As of 2024, it has a population of about two million,^[2] making Minsk the 11th-most populous city in Europe. Minsk is one of the administrative capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

First mentioned in 1067, Minsk became the capital of the Principality of Minsk, an appanage of the Principality of Polotsk, before being annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242. It received town privileges in 1499.^[4] From 1569, it was the capital of Minsk Voivodeship, an administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of the territories annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Minsk became the capital of the newly independent Republic of Belarus.