List of Oldest Towns in Belarus

List Of Oldest Towns In Belarus

The following is the list of cities and towns in Belarus. Neither Belarusian nor Russian have equivalent words to English "city" and "town". The word gorad (Belarusian: горад, Russian: город) is used for both. But Belarusian legislature provides the three-level hierarchy. According to the Law under May, 5 1998, the categories of the most developed urban localities in Belarus are as follows:

• capital — Minsk;
• town of oblast subordinance (Belarusian: горад абласнога падпарадкавання, Russian: город областного подчинения) — urban locality with the population of not less than 50,000 people; it has its own body of self-government, known as Council of Deputies (Belarusian: савет дэпутатаў, Russian: совет депутатов) and an executive committee (Belarusian: выканаўчы камітэт, Russian: исполнительный комитет), which stand on the level with these of a raion (Belarusian: район).
• town of raion surbodinance (Belarusian: горад районнага падпарадкавання, Russian: город районного подчинения) — urban locality with the population of more than 6,000 people; it may have its own body of self-government (Belarusian: савет дэпутатаў, Russian: совет депутатов) and an executive committee (Belarusian: выканаўчы камітэт, Russian: исполнительный комитет), which belong to the same level as these of rural councils and of s.c. haradski pasyolak (Belarusian: гарадскі пасёлак, Russian: городской посёлок) (a type of a smaller urban locality).

This division was inherited by the contemporary Republic of Belarus from BSSR and introduced in 1938.

At the beginning of 2010 112 settlements had the status of a city/town. Among them:

• 12 towns of oblast subordinance;
• 99 towns of raion subordinance;
• Minsk — the capital of the country.