Текст на английском про Беларусь

Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe. It is a neighbour of Russia.

The capital of Belarus is Minsk. It is a big, clean and green city. People in Belarus speak Belarusian and Russian.

Belarus has got a lot of lakes and forests. The biggest lake is Naroch. There are bison in the old forest Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

People in Belarus like potatoes. Draniki are potato pancakes. They are very tasty with sour cream.

I want to visit Belarus in summer!

Last July my family spent a week in Belarus. We went there by car from Smolensk, and the journey was shorter than I expected.

First we stayed in Minsk. It is a modern city with wide streets, big parks and a lot of fountains. We walked around the Upper Town, the oldest part of the city, and visited the National Library. It looks like a huge diamond!

Then we drove to Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It is one of the oldest forests in Europe. We saw European bison there. They were bigger than I thought!

My favourite food was draniki, hot potato pancakes with sour cream. My dad ate them every day because they were cheap and delicious.

Next year we are going to visit the Braslav Lakes. My mum says they are the most beautiful place in the country.

Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe which has no access to the sea. However, it is famous for its nature: there are thousands of lakes and rivers here, and forests cover about forty per cent of the territory. That is why the country is sometimes poetically called 'blue-eyed Belarus'.

The capital, Minsk, was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War and was rebuilt afterwards, so most of the city looks quite modern. However, some old districts have survived or have been restored, such as the Trinity Suburb, where you can walk along narrow streets by the river.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is one of the most famous places in the country. It is an ancient forest which is shared by Belarus and Poland, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to the European bison, the heaviest land animal in Europe.

Belarusian cuisine is simple but filling. Potatoes are the main ingredient of many dishes, and the most popular of them is draniki, crispy potato pancakes which are served with sour cream. Another traditional dish is machanka, a thick meat sauce that is eaten with pancakes.

I have been to Minsk twice, but I have never seen the Braslav Lakes. If I have a free week in summer, I will go there by bike.

For many travellers from Russia, Belarus seems so familiar that it is easy to overlook. People speak Russian almost everywhere, the food reminds them of home, and the journey from Moscow to Minsk takes only a few hours by train. Yet behind this sense of familiarity lies a country with a distinct character and a history of its own.

Situated between east and west, the lands of modern Belarus were for centuries part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, before becoming part of the Russian Empire. This complex past is reflected in the architecture: Orthodox churches stand alongside Catholic cathedrals, and the castles of Mir and Nesvizh, both listed by UNESCO, recall the powerful noble families who once ruled here.

The Second World War left a particularly deep wound. Belarus lost roughly a quarter of its population, and hundreds of villages were burnt to the ground. The memorial at Khatyn, a village destroyed together with its inhabitants in 1943, is one of the most moving places in Europe, and few visitors leave it without a feeling of profound silence.

Equally striking is the country's nature. Belovezhskaya Pushcha, one of the last fragments of the primeval forest that once covered much of Europe, gives an idea of what the continent looked like thousands of years ago. Having nearly disappeared in the early twentieth century, the European bison now roams it freely again.

In my opinion, Belarus rewards those who travel slowly. Had I simply driven through it on my way somewhere else, I would have missed the quiet charm of its lakes and small towns, which only reveal themselves to visitors who are willing to stop.