8. REGIONS AND REGIONAL PLANNING Spatial inequalities and regions at a glance The most sparsely populated area is Paliessie, which lies in the south. The only exceptions Whereas landscapes in Belarus change from within this area are the eastern and western gate- north to south (e.g. from the Belarusian Lakeland ways of Brest and Homieĺ, which are the admin- in the north to the Paliessie region in the south), istrative centres of the region. in terms of socio-economic development the Brest, which is the location of the largest country exhibits an east-west gradient as well border crossing in the west, is famous for its as regional differences that reflect centre-pe- fortress. The Bielaviežskaja Pušča National Park riphery disparities. Some of these inequalities near Brest is a World Heritage Nature Reserve. It can be traced back to the period when the coun- received this status as Europe’s largest primeval try’s western regions formed a part of Poland forest. The pride of the park is its population of (Kireenko, E.G. 2003). The east-west dichotomy bison. Brest is also renowned as the site of sever- is also apparent in the more industrialized nature al major historical treaties and events (the Brest of the eastern regions (Ioffe, G. 2004, 2006) and Union of 1596, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 1918, the richer cultural and architectural heritage of the defence of the Brest Fortress in 1941, and the western areas with their more favourable demo- graphics. Nevertheless, these differences are far less profound than those seen in Ukraine. Belarus’s regional differences are, however, outweighed by the dichotomy that exists between Minsk and the rest of the country. This dichotomy constitutes the main inequality of development in the country (Figure 8.1). None of Belarus’s regions or districts have reached the same level of devel- opment as Minsk. Still, inequalities measured in terms of regional GDP are gradually being bal- anced out, a process that has been accompanied by a decline in income inequality (Figure 5.15). Per capita personal income in Minsk is 1.57 times higher than the national mean value, while in Homieĺ, Brest and Mahilioŭ per capita income is 82–84% of that mean value. In terms of socio-eco- nomic development and based on Kozlovskaya’s calculations, which employ eight quotient indi- cators (Kozlovskaya, L.V. 2010), the Minsk met- ropolitan area and the Minsk and Homieĺ re- gions are the top-ranking areas, the Hrodna and Viciebsk regions are ranked in the middle, and the Brest and Mahilioŭ regions have seen their rankings decline since the end of the Soviet era. The country’s landscapes, which change from north to south, form three distinct regions. 169 signing of agreements connected with the dis- ings, a legacy of the Soviet era. The River Svislač, solution of the Soviet Union in 1991 in Viskuli). which cuts the city in two, expands into an ar- In addition to these two major urban centres, tificial lake (Minskoje More) to the north of the the area has several towns that were established city. The lake is a popular spot for bathing in the at river crossings (on the rivers Prypiać, Dniapro, summer. The Minsk region is also the location Sož). The largest of these towns are Pinsk and of the Salihorsk potash and salt mines and it is Mazyr (refinery). Close to Pinsk lies the Prypiać home to the Niasviž Museum (a UNESCO world National Park, which is famous for its birdlife heritage site), the Historical and Cultural Reserve and for its peatbogs and sand dunes. The historic of Zaslaŭje, the memorial area of Khatyn, the ski town of Turaŭ is also situated in the region. resorts of Lahojsk and Silichi, and the “Stalin Homieĺ, the second largest city in Belarus, Line” military historical memorial. is a centre for a wide range of engineering in- Mahilioŭ, a major railway junction, is re- dustries. It is also the location of the famous nowned for its historic buildings (St. Nicholas Paskevich Palace and Park. The Paliessie Monastery and the Church of St. Stanislaus) and Radiation Ecological Reserve lies in the east- as a centre for engineering. Meanwhile, Babrujsk, ern part of the region and there are special an industrial town, is noted for its mineral water tours in this area that was so severely hit by the springs and its 19th century fortress. The Mahilioŭ Chernobyl disaster. Most roads in the region run region hosts the “Belarusian Suzdal”, a series of from east to west, given the impassable marshes churches and monasteries at Mstislaŭ. in the south. The northern part of the area is rel- The far north is the location of the coun- atively industrialized. try’s principal area for leisure and recreation, The terrain gradually becomes hillier to- the Belarusian Lakeland. In a broader sense, wards the north, culminating in the Belarusian the area forms part of the Viciebsk region. Ridge, which straddles the Mahilioŭ, Minsk Specialization in this region has given rise to the and Hrodna regions. The main east-west trans- development of cultural, educational and event port routes cross this area, thereby avoiding the tourism (Viciebsk, Polack), balneological tourism southern marshy areas and the many lakes in (Ušačy and Letcy resorts), and sports and recre- the north. This region is the most industrialized ational tourism (Braslaŭ Lakes National Park). in Belarus and, in the west, it is also the richest The Braslaŭ tourist area, which is based on a se- area in terms of national monuments (Hrodna, ries of lakes (more than 30 lakes), is a popular Pinsk, Brest, Navahrudak, Mir, Slonim, Lida, the place for sport and recreation. The ecosystems of Žyrovičy Monastery, and the Struve Geodetic the Braslaŭ Lakes preserve rich flora and fauna Arc, which has been inscribed on the UNESCO and are attractive for the development of eco- World Heritage List). logical tourism. The northern tip of the Minsk Hrodna lies at the centre of the Nioman region is the site of the country’s largest lake, valley. A major centre for Polish minority cul- Narač, which is surrounded by a national park. ture, the town has a university and a wealth of The small town of Narač is a tourist paradise architecture. The town of Navahrudak was the much favoured by the residents of Minsk. nucleus for the formation of the Grand Duchy of The centre of the area is Viciebsk, the birth- Lithuania in the 13th century, which then became place of Marc Chagall. The town is Belarus’s one of the largest states in medieval Europe. The cultural capital and is famous for its national region has numerous well-preserved ancient monuments; it also has a strong mechanical en- churches (St. Boris and Gleb’s Church – Hrodna), gineering sector and is the place of manufacture fortifications and medieval castles. The area is of “Vitjaz” televisions. The Slavianski (Slavic) the native region of Adam Mickiewicz (Zavosse Bazaar, a cultural festival, is held in the town – Baranavičy raion) and of Tadeusz Kościuszko each year. Two further centres in the region are (Kosava-Mieračoŭščyna – Ivacevičy raion). Polack and Navapolack; the former is famous The capital city, Minsk, is poorer in terms of for its architectural wealth and the latter for its architectural heritage. Minsk has a historical me- petrochemical industry. Polack is the oldest city dieval core, but the city is otherwise dominated in the country. It has a rich historical heritage by extensive parks and modern high-rise build- stretching back 1,140 years and is the site of many 170 architectural gems dating to the 11th and 12th ture (Kozlovskaya, L.V. 2005). Ultimately, when centuries (Sophia Cathedral, the Transfiguration the new administrative structure was introduced Church) and to other epochs. Polack is the cradle in 1924, there were 10 countries (or okrugs), 100 of Christianity in Belarus (a place of pilgrimage districts and 1,202 local councils, all of which ap- to the St. Euphrosyne Monastery) and the home peared to reflect economic attributes and admin- town of an outstanding educator and pioneer of istrative criteria. printing, Francišak Skaryna (Museum of Printing, In the post-war period, staff at the Institute a memorial monument). of Economics, Academy of Sciences of BSSR, elab- orated a regionalization plan for the administra- tive division of the country within the framework Regionalization and raionization during the of Soviet economic planning. The Geography of Soviet era Belarus, which was published in 1977, identified six economic regions (Brest, Viciebsk, Homieĺ, In the Soviet era, Belarus – which was known Hrodna, Minsk, Mahilioŭ) and nineteen subre- at the time as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist gions, which have not changed since the 1960s and Republic (BSSR) – was one of eighteen major are still valid today (Kozlovskaya, L.V. 2005). The economic regions within the Soviet Union since major industrial towns were organized around the 1960s. Its internal regionalization, or “raioni- these regions (Kireenko, E.G. 2003). Despite their zation”, followed the uniform Soviet model from many similarities, the various regions exhibit sig- the 1920s (Kozlovskaya, L.V. 2005). With a view nificant differences in terms of population den- to optimizing the region’s economic potential, sity, workforce qualifications and skills, natural the Soviet Union sought to measure its natural, resources, history, economic development, and social and economic resources, whereby Soviet the structure of the economy. Each region con- geography played a pioneering role. Yet, the gen- stituted an economic core and a territorial-pro- eral principles of centralized Soviet regional de- duction complex (the territorial organization of velopment, which were elaborated by the School productive forces in Soviet geographical termi- of N.