...Minsk I have lived all my life in the small town of Orsha. But it goes without saying I know quite a lot about the capital of our republic. In my opinion we must know much about other countries and we must know all about our own country, its history, its traditions and culture. There are many cities and towns in Belarus. No doubt Minsk is the most important and the largest city in our republic. It's the heart of our small and beautiful country. Minsk is neither as big as the world's famous capitals nor can it boast having as many respects it's a remarkable city and there are a lot of things to see and do in Minsk. As for me I have always been interested in the history of our capital and I have read a lot about it. In fact I even collect books about our republic, about the historic past of Minsk. More than 2,000 years ago on the banks of the Nemiga and Svisloch rivers came into extence the city of Minsk or Mensk as it was called before. There are several hypotheses as to the origin of the name. The name of the city is believed to be associated with the river Menka that flowed into Lake Ptych not far from the city. But the legends say that the city derives its from the word 'mena' as in the ancient times there was a barter market on the bank of the Svisloch. Mensk was first mentioned in a chronicle in 1067. It is common knowledge that in its long and difficult life Belarus has seen and experienced a great deal and the city of Minsk shared its fate...
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...Jewish Diaspora December 16,2014 Fate of Jews in Minsk Minsk is a very special city in the history of Jewish people of the 20’s century because of it’s historical location at the heart of the Pale of Settlement, region of Imperial Russia, beyond which Jews were allowed permanent residency. Minsk became a historic Jewish center centuries before the establishment of the Soviet Union. Comprising of almost half of the city’s population by the beginning of the 20’s century, Jews played an important role in the political, economical and social life of Minsk. Unlike everywhere else in Europe during the Second World War, Jews in Minsk actively collaborated with local Byelorussian Partisan Movement in resistance against Nazis, hence an incredible number of people were able to escape the fate in ghettos. Jewish population dropped from 90.000 in 1941 to 38.000 right after the War. The first and the only memorial of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union was erected in Minsk immediately after World War II. Nevertheless, the Soviet regime remained hostile to Jewry, unofficially promoting overt anti-Semitism and creating discriminatory conditions. When the gates were open, most Jews immigrated to Israel and the United States. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, around 10,000 Jews remained in Minsk according to census information. Contemporary Jewish organizations in Belarus estimate the Jewish population of Minsk to be around 20,000 people due to the fact that a lot of Jews felt comfortable...
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...on the international arena is continually growing. Each of these countries has different expectations regarding the scale and the nature of co-operation with China. Chisinau wishes only to boost trade, whereas in Minsk and Kyiv, Beijing is also presented as a strategic partner whose investments may not only help the indebted economies recover but also strengthen the position of these countries in their dealings with the EU, and especially with Russia. Beijing sees co-operation with these countries in differently, and its offer is much more modest than Belarus and Ukraine are expecting. Eastern Europe is one of the last parts of the world with which China is activating its co-operation. This is not a priority region for Beijing. China wants to derive economic benefits and to diversify the markets on which it invests its financial surplus, and it does not intend to extend its political dialogue with Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova beyond the framework which determines its economic interests. The main reason for this is the nature of relations between Russia and China. Beijing sees its partnership with Moscow as more beneficial, and will not offer these countries support in their relations with Russia since in its opinion they belong to Russia’s sphere of influence. Minsk and Kyiv are pinning too much hope on their co-operation with Beijing, while China...
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...Belarus Belarus, officially known as the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country located in the north-east of Europe and has international borders with 5 countries: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The capital of Belarus is Minsk, a modern international city located in the centre of the country, it is considered modern because it has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, most recently after World War 2, when it was almost completely destroyed, also because Belarus an important trade and transport route between Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). The country of Belarus is divided into six administrative districts, each centred around a major city: Brest Region, Homel Region, Hrodna Region, Magileu Region, Minsk Region and Vitebsk Region. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994, the country is run through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system, the government also has restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion. Cultural trends - Religion: Religion in Belarus is considered a unifying factor since 80% of the population are Eastern Orthodox while only 20% are of other religions. But the Government restricts religious freedom both actively...
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...make a name for themselves in the world’s trading market. Doing business in a country that has not yet developed but is on its way can be positive or negative in nature. Extensive research on the country such as: political views and government involvement, the culture of the people, the economy and transportation as well as communication can play a vital role in orchestrating a business, with the hopes of becoming successful. Belarus growth over the last few years has made the country a mark able place to expand a business with hopes of creating a franchise and open the job market more so to benefit the Belarusian people. Belarus is located in Eastern Europe and is bordered by Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland and Latvia. Minsk is the capital of Belarus, with Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev, and Vitebsk being the major cities in the country. For centuries Belarus belonged to handful of ethically different countries such as the Principality of Polotsk, the Russian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which inhibited the country from obtaining its own national identity. With countless wars fought on Eastern European frontier...
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...GRADUATION THESIS PSEUDONEWS IN THE MODERN MEDIA Evidence from NewsBelarus.net site By DMITRY BUTER Minsk, 2011 INTRODUCTION People have been always interested in news. Getting information is ordinary necessity of any person. Recently this trend has become particularly notable. If we look at the statistics of query word "news" in the most popular Internet search service Google, it turns out that at the beginning of the century it took only 30-40 percent of the total share of requests. In the second decade this figure rose to the level of 80 percent. However, the information contained in news releases, does not always reflect the hidden side of an event, and sometimes it is even boring and mediocre. As the horizon of an average reader becomes broader, the need for innovative coverage of what is happening around us is increasing. News agencies are finding new ways of presenting information: video podcasts, infographics. However, meaning and significance are often lost behind a beautiful design. In pursuit of the reader, agencies often lose their individuality, merging their materials with overall news flow. When a newsbreak is completely used up, and the reader is still interested in it, it becomes possible to fill the vacant space with excogitation, and sometimes to make everything up from scratch. And thus pseudonews are born - materials that replicate the style of information resources, but they differ from the real news by satirical content. The graduation...
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...Title: Motivation from his enlightening life of Pat Buchanan Column Patrick Joseph Buchanan was considered on November second 1938 in Washington D.C. His father, William Baldwin Buchanan was an assistant in an accounting firm and his mother, Katherine Elizabeth was a therapeutic chaperon. Pat went to private Catholic essential and auxiliary school. In the wake of graduating Gonzaga College High School that was controlled by Jesuit priests he entered Georgetown University. In the wake of proceeding onward from the Georgetown he enters Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where he got his supervisors degree in 1962. Pat Buchanan's master calling began with his job as a writer for the St. Louis Globe -Democrat in 1961 at 23 years...
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...Grodno es una ciudad de Bielorrusia. Grodno se encuentra en las orillas del río Niemen a 280 km al oeste de Minsk, es la ciudad más pintoresca de Bielorrusia ya que ha sobrevivido a la guerra y conserva en muy buen estado sus edificios históricos.Grodno esta cerca de las fronteras con Polonia y Lituania. Número de población es cerca de317,366 habitantes. Es la capital de la Región de Grodno y del Distrito de Grodno. Hay que visitar: la CatedralFarny y su altar laboriosamente orneado, La Iglesia y el Monasterio de los Bernardinos, La Iglesia de madera de San Boris y San Gleb, que data del siglo XII. El Museo de Historia de las Religiones, que se encuentra en un palacio del siglo XVIII recientemente reformado, presenta grabados, obras de arte del catolicismo polaco y de la ortodoxia rusa y una pequeña colección de arte judío. El Antiguo Castillo, Stari Zamak, fue construido en el siglo XIV, es un museo que reúne obras que datan de antes del siglo IX. El Nuevo Castillo, Novi Zamak, que fue construido en el siglo XVIII al más puro estilo rococo es ahora un museo y una biblioteca. Grodno Teatro Dramático es la tarjeta de la ciudad de Grodno. Grodno zoo fue construido por primera vez en Bielorrusia Nos complace inviter a usted en su confortable hotel situado en la zona suburbana de Grodno, en una pintoresca zona tranquila. Sin embargo, su ubicación es muy conveniente porque te lleva sólo 10 minutos para llega al rcentro de la ciudad. El hotel es un edificio de 2 plantas...
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...The European Union and its power over opinion: what can Belarus tell us about the European identity? Contents Abstract Page 4 Introduction ` Page 5 Chapter 1: Constructing a European identity Page 8 Chapter 2: The European Union as a normative actor Page 21 Chapter 3: The Belarusian problem Page 30 Conclusion Page 49 Bibliography Page 52 Abstract Europe has embarked upon an unprecedented process of state integration witnessing the widespread deferral of policy making to intergovernmental institutions. The European Union’s institutionalism has facilitated an assimilation of values into an increasingly coherent, if complex regional identity. A normative self-conception has emerged that Brussels has sought to project onto its external relations through the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Brussels increasingly considers itself a transformative actor in global politics offering an alternative to great power realpolitik. This paper finds that while European multilateralism offers an environment conducive to a normative foreign policy, the extent to which it is able to exert any ideational influence is constrained by the level of engagement it is willing to pursue. Europe maintains a policy of isolating the Lukashenko regime and has failed to engage Belarusian civil society. As a result it has had a negligible impact on Belarusian political culture. Europe’s failure to adequately engage Belarus also...
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...or divisons, were given unspecific commands, execution was left to local commanders, giving operational and tactical flexibility. Bewegungskrieg resulted in overwhelming success in all campaigns up to 1942. In Poland kesselschlachts were fought in the Polish corridor and in front of Warsaw. In France a kessel was formed in when the German forces surrounded and destroyed allied forces in North-West France/Belgium. Similarly, on the Eastern front kesselschlachts were fought at Minsk, East of Smolensk and at Kiev. In this sense, bewegungskrieg was the most important factor in German success in the European war up to 1942. Allied reactionary thinking was a crucial aspect of the German success in the European war up to 1942. The tank was opposed from the end of WW1 due to the threat it posed to horsed cavalry. Indeed, after a German announcement of expansion of their peacetime army in 1935-6, the British decided, in reply, to increase spending on forage for horses from £44,000 to £400,000, whereas the capital spent on motor oil should increase from £12,000 to a meagre £121,000 . Polish officers “still pinned their trust in the value of a large mass of horsed cavalry,” and French commanders “were steadfast in their belief that horsed cavalry could destroy the German armour in the Ardennes.” Air forces were also despised by their senior rival arms “the usual rivalry between the two older arms sank beneath their mutual dislike for the new upstart.” When finally, utilised, they were...
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...Implications of the Ukrainian Crisis for Trade Relationships of the EU with Russia Economic Policies of the European Union Gartnar Marko | 19486522 | Marmai Martina | 19131311 | Mladenović Kosta | 19821606 | Executive Summary The aim of this research assignment is to provide an assessment of the effects on trade relationships between the EU and Russia stemming from the so-called “Ukrainian crisis.” The term points at the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, and the public response that this event generated. In particular, the analysis will regard the repercussions on Euro-Russian trade due to the Council’s diplomatic reply to the violent annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation. Since March 16th, when - with the unconditional support of Russia - the referendum for the independence of Crimea took place, the events in Ukraine escalated, giving rise to a number of restrictive provisions which, increasing in scope and gravity, aimed on one side to discourage military intervention by Russia, while on the other punished illegal misappropriation of Ukrainian public property. Such sanctions may not have played an important role, were it not for the current shaky state of the Russian economy. Nevertheless, that of sanctions is a two-sided sword, and the European Union, barely stepping on the road to recovery, can’t exactly afford being too picky when it comes to deciding who to do business with. The high level of interconnectedness and dependence...
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...GRADING SHEET TEMPLATE GROUP PRESENTATIONS INTL 1101 Prof. Brodsky Small elements: * Is the presentation 20-25 minutes (roughly)? * Do we notice full group involvement - do all members present? Do all members appear engaged? * Clear presentation style – powerpoint, pictures, etc. [Power point not required] * Are we clear on the direction of the presentation throughout? * Is this 1 presentation? Or 4 mini-presentations strung together? Large elements: * Does the group hone in on a policy-relevant issue related to the lecture subject? (i.e. is the presentation too broad?) * Is this issue well researched? * Does the group evaluate the issue? Does the group make an argument? * Does the group offer a counter argument for context? * Does the group offer policy relevant recommendations or critiques? * Does the group link their presentation to the readings for this lecture? * And/or to the course themes in general? * Does the group raise discussion questions for the class that spark debate? What is the problem? The Ukraine crisis appears to be a potential turning point in Euro-Atlantic security. Having come as a surprise to many, some senior Western officials and politicians have talked of a changed European security landscape, and that the crisis both creates new security realities for the twenty first century and demands a significant response from NATO. At the same time, however, the crisis is the...
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...City |Country |Notes | | |Sukhumi |[pic] Abkhazia |De facto independent state recognised by| | | |Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, | | | |South Ossetia and Transnistria. Claimed | | | |in whole by Republic of Georgia as | | | |the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. | |Kabul |[pic] Afghanistan | | |Episkopi Cantonment |[pic] Akrotiri and Dhekelia |British Overseas Territory | |Tirana |[pic] Albania | | |Algiers |[pic] Algeria | | |Pago Pago |[pic] American Samoa |Territory of the United States | |Andorra la Vella |[pic] Andorra | | |Luanda ...
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...the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest. In Western Ukraine, you can find the Carpathian Mountains soar, which protect the country from cold winds and makes our summers warm. When travelling around northern Ukraine you will soon be able to feel the warm breath of subtropical Crimea, where in the Crimean Mountains you will feel the aroma of pine, coniferous and cypress forests and enjoy the incredible landscapes which enchant travelers with its primeval beauty. Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital is one of the oldest cities in Europe and even in the world, staying for approximately 2,000 years. In the past Kyivan Rus was one of the most powerful states in Europe and all the great European royal families considered it an honor to marry into the family of a Kyivan prince. Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic Crimea, and two cities with special status – Kyiv as its capital, and Sevastopol, which is home port to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In March 2014 Russia...
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...corporation tax at its current level. Other key political decisions consider interest rates. At present, UK interest rates stand at an all-time low of 0.5%. This may be seen as a positive factor for firms such as Next who are effectively able to borrow large amounts of money for the purposes of capital expansion at much lower rates than have been previously seen. Such borrowing may take place in the form of long term borrowings from banks and financial institutions, alternatively the company may choose to issue corporate bonds. Other political issues relate to the governments relatively "arm's length" approach to Europe and remaining outside of the single currency area. For UK the international operations in the Euro Zone, this could be seen as negative with the prospect of foreign exchange rate risks being felt and the introduction of additional transaction costs which would be eliminated if the government decided to join the Euro Zone. From a more general perspective, the UK political system based upon parliamentary democracy may be seen with relatively low risk political environment in which to operate within. As such, this makes the UK a relatively safe market to make further long term capital...
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