Geography
Belarus, or the Republic of Belarus, is located in the center of Eastern Europe, in the west of the East European Plain. It borders on five European states: Lithuania in the northwest, Latvia in the north, Russia in the east and northeast, and Poland in the west. The total length of the borders is 2969 kilometers. See Belarus abbreviations.
Belarus has no access to the sea. The area of the country is about 207 thousand square kilometers. The relief in the country is predominantly flat, there are very slight fluctuations in elevation. In the north of the country, low ridges stretch, which, as they approach the center of Belarus, pass into the Belarusian ridge. Within this ridge is the highest point in the country – Mount Dzerzhinskaya 345 meters high. In addition to the ridges in the north of the country there are a huge number of lakes. In total, there are about 11,000 lakes in Belarus. The largest of them, Naroch, has an area of 80 square kilometers. The south of the country – Belarusian Polesie – is occupied by swampy lowlands.
The main rivers of the country are the Dnieper with its tributaries the Sozh, the Pripyat and the Berezina, the Western Dvina, the Western Bug, the Neman and its tributary the Viliya.
There are several reserves on the territory of the country – Pripyatsky and Berezinsky reserves, as well as a small part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
Climate
According to 800zipcodes, the climate in the Republic of Belarus is mainly temperate continental. In the north of the country in winter, the air temperature drops to -5… -7 ° C during the day, and to -11… -13 ° C at night. In the summer in the north, the temperature rises to +20…+23 °С during the day, and up to +11…+13 °С at night.
The warmest regions of the country are its south and southwest. Even in winter, the daily temperature, for example in Brest, rarely drops below 0… -1 ° С. At night it is a little colder – up to -6… -8 ° С.
In summer it is even warmer – during the day the air warms up to + 22… + 25 ° С, and at night it cools down to + 10… + 14 ° С.
For the whole year on the territory of Belarus, on average, about 500-800 millimeters of precipitation falls. Their largest number is observed in the center and north-west of the country, on the hills. The wettest times of the year are autumn and summer. In July, about 80-90 millimeters of precipitation falls, while in February – only 23-35 millimeters.
The best time to visit the country is May-July. The weather at this time is quite warm, and the water temperature in the lakes is already quite comfortable.
Capital: Minsk.
Large cities: Brest, Mogilev, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mir.
Ski resorts: Silichi, Logoisk, Yakutsk mountains.
Belarusian cuisine
Belarusian cuisine is not only potatoes and vegetables, as many people think. The cuisine of this country is one of the most diverse cuisines of the entire continent. Belarusian cuisine combines Jewish, Baltic and Slavic traditions, as well as the culinary traditions of Germany and the former USSR.
Of the vegetables for Belarusian cuisine, legumes, carrots, cabbage and, of course, potatoes are the most characteristic. There are simply a huge number of vegetable dishes here, and almost all of them, despite their Slavic basis, are so peculiar that they are not at all like any other dish in other countries. Particular attention should be paid to the soup based on oatmeal “zhur” ; “holodnik” – cold soup; various potato dishes – “tsybriki”, “stew”, “sorcerers”, “lumps”, “hooves”, “potatoes”, “zrazy” and “dracheny” ; soup “cabbage” ; liquid soup of vegetables and cereals”watering” ; rutabaga soup “gryzhanka”, fried radish in honey and many other interesting dishes.
Various mushrooms are quite popular, which are mainly boiled, stewed or made from them into a special mushroom powder.
In Belarus, a huge number of dishes are prepared from poultry, beef, lamb, lard and pork. Be sure to try the various homemade sausages ; “Vandlina” – lightly smoked ham; “yuts” – sausage made from bacon, meat and porridge; “pyachitso” ; “bigos” – meat stewed with spices and vegetables; stew “stew”; meat of game and poultry, which is baked for a long time – “greased” ; “jackdaws” and “dracheny” with meat ; various thick soups and broths, and generally just meat fried in a frying pan.
From the numerous lakes and rivers of the country, a huge number of crayfish and, of course, fish get into the Belarusian cuisine. Fish dishes are quite simple. Usually it is boiled, fried or baked fish ; “yushka” – ear; minced fish, which is used to prepare various dishes, mainly from dough. However, in some areas of the country, fish is included in more complex dishes or dried.
There are not too many sweet dishes in the local cuisine. Of the sweets, malt dough is the most popular ; jelly made from honey, sugar, flour and berries – “kulaga” ; fresh fruits and berries, as well as baked apples. Deserves special attention is such a dessert as “dzyad”. It is a round cake stuffed with dates, raisins and apple jam.
Of non-alcoholic drinks, traditional national drinks are very popular. Among them kvass, and absolutely all kinds. You can even find “berka” – birch sap kvass, and “klyanovik” – maple sap kvass. Various teas are popular, especially herbal teas, coffee, kissels.
Of the alcoholic drinks, local vodka is the most popular. In general, the quality of alcoholic products in the country is not too high, but some of the best varieties can be seen in many countries of the world. Also in stores you can always find a large number of foreign alcoholic beverages.
