# Belarus: 12 questions

# 1

This Belarusian city’s coat of arms shows a wisent head. Name the city.

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**Hrodna**

The wisent is the emblem of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, near the Hrodna region.

# 2

A 1992 Minsk building is nicknamed “the diamond” for its glass facets. Which institution is it?

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**National Library**

The rhombicuboctahedron is now one of the city’s landmarks.

# 3

This river flows through Polotsk and Vitebsk into the Gulf of Riga. Name it.

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**Western Dvina / Daugava**

In Latvia the same river is called the Daugava.

# 4

Which Belarusian writer received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015?

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**Svetlana Alexievich**

Awarded for polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage.

# 5

Name the traditional Belarusian dance that mimics work with flax.

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**Lyavonikha**

Lyavonikha is one of the best-known Belarusian folk dances.

# 6

In 1569 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined a union whose capital was Kraków, later Warsaw. Name it.

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**Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth**

The Union of Lublin, 1569.

# 7

Which Belarusian city sits at the Nemunas and Harodnichanka confluence and has a hilltop castle?

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**Hrodna**

The Old and New Castles dominate the historic centre.

# 8

Name the Belarusian struck-string instrument related to the cimbalom.

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**Tsymbaly**

Tsymbaly are part of the state concert orchestra.

# 9

Which is the deepest lake in Belarus?

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**Dovhaje / Dolgoe Lake (Hlybokaye district)**

Its depth exceeds 50 metres.

# 10

In which year did Minsk first become the capital of the Byelorussian SSR?

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**1919**

In January 1919, after Smolensk.

# 11

Who wrote the poem “New Land” (Novaya ziamlia)?

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**Yakub Kolas**

The poem is an encyclopedia of early-20th-century peasant life.

# 12

Which bird appears on the coat of arms of Vitebsk?

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**Christ the Saviour (no bird; that answer is accepted).**

The historic arms show Christ the Saviour, not a bird.