LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Minsk: Russia
built 646 days ago
Throughout its history Minsk has been a city of many languages. Initially most of its residents spoke Ruthenian (which later developed into modern Belarusian). However, after 1569 the official language was Polish. By the end of the 18th century most residents of Minsk were Polish-speakers (or Yiddish-speakers among the Jewish community). Yiddish remained a major language in Minsk until the early 20th century. In the 19th century Russian became the official language and by the end of that century it had become the language of administration, schools and newspapers.
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By the mid-19th century, Minsk became one of the most prominent Haskalah centers in the north-western provinces of the Russian Empire, and by the latter part of the century it grew to be a center of modern Jewish political movements. It became a stronghold for the activities of the Jewish labor party Bund and the Marxist-Zionist Poale Zion. In 1902, with the permission of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Second Conference of Russian Zionists was held in Minsk, with 526 participants. Jews played an important role in the anti-Tsarist demonstrations and strikes that took place in Minsk at the time of the 1905 Revolution. The Zionist Semyon Rozenbaum (1860-1934) was elected as the Minsk province deputy to the First Russian Duma (1906).
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Minsk produces more than 20% of total industrial volume, of which more than 60% is exported. The main export goods are tractors, trucks, trailers and semitrailers, metalworking tools, household refrigerators and deep-freeze cabinets, TV-sets, bearings, flagstones, and corsetry. Goods produced in Minsk are exported to more than 100 countries. The main consumers of Minsk goods are Russia, Great Britain, Baltic republics, Germany, Ukraine, and Italy. Foreign trade in 2003 totaled $8.3 billion, including $3.2 billion exports.
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Minsk was annexed by Russia in 1793 as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. In 1796, it became the centre of the Minsk guberniya (province). All of the Polish street names were replaced by Russian, though the spelling of the city's name remained unchanged.
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A main suspect in the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov has been detained by Belarussian authorities after reportedly fleeing to Minsk to hide from Russian authorities. Kazbek Dukuzov, an ethnic Chechen, was detained along with several other people and is being held at a detention facility of the Belarussian Security Services, or KGB, in Minsk, Belarus' Interior Ministry said Monday, Interfax reported.
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In 2003 Minsk attracted $796.3 million in foreign investment, including $392 million or 40.4% in direct investment. The main foreign investors in Minsk are: Russia – $194.7 million, Switzerland – $166.9 million, Virgin Islands – $83 million, Austria – $68.6 million, Netherlands – $35.8 million, the UK – $35.3 million, the USA – $30.7 million, Germany – $28.5 million.
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