Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus. It was originally settled by Lithuanians from the 9th to 10th centuries AD and was named for its location along a river called "Men", hence its old name of Mensk. In 980 AD, the area was incorporated into the Principality of Polotsk, and Minsk was officially founded on 3 March 1067. From 1101 to 1242, a Principality of Minsk existed, and, while it escaped the Mongol invasion of Rus in 1237-9, it was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242. In 1413, Minsk became the center of Minsk Voivodeship, and Minsk was granted certain privileges by King Casimir IV Jagiellon in 1441. By the mid-16th century, Minsk was an important economic and cultural center of Poland-Lithuania, and it was an important center of the Eastern Orthodox Church before the Union of Brest led to Eastern Catholicism and Roman Catholicism gaining influence. In 1655, Tsar Alexis of Russia conquered Minsk, and the city was governed by the Russians until 1660, when King John II Casimir Vasa reclaimed the city for Poland. Minsk was devastated during the Russo-Polish War of 1654-1667 and the Great Northern War, and, by the late 18th century, Minsk had become a small provincial town of little significance. Minsk was annexed by Russia in 1793 as part of the Partitions of Poland, and it became the center of Minsk Governorate in 1796. All of Minsk's street names were replaced by Russian names, and its major streets were cobbled and paved during the 1830s, its first local newspaper inaugurated in 1838, its first theater established in 1844, and its population reached 27,000 people in 1860. In 1846, the Moscow-Warsaw road was laid through Minsk, followed by a railroad in 1871. Minsk became an important rail junction and manufacturing hub during the late 19th century, and a municipal water supply was introduced in 1872, the telephone in 1890, the horse tram in 1892, and the first power generator in 1894. By 1900, Minsk had 58 factories and 3,000 workers. Additionally, by 1897, the city had a population of 91,494 inhabitants, including 47,561 Jews, who composed nearly 52% of the population. In the early 20th century, Minsk was a major center for the socialist movement in Minsk, starting with the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party's first Congress in 1898. World War I led to Minsk becoming a battlefront city by 1915, and, in October 1917, the Russian Revolution led to a workers' soviet being established in Minsk. On 25 March 1918, Minsk became the capital of the Belarusian People's Republic, which fell to the Red Army that December. In January 1919, Minsk became the capital of the Byelorussian SSR, though the Second Polish Republic captured Minsk in 1919 and 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War. Minsk was returned to the Soviet Union under the 1921 Treaty of Riga, remaining the capital of the Byelorussian SSR. By the start of World War II, Minsk had a population of 300,000 people, but this fell to 40,000 by 1944, with the Germans taking the city during the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk as part of Operation Barbarossa in 1941; tens of thousands of civilians from Minsk were evacuated to the east. Communists or their sympathizers were killed or imprisoned, homes were taken over to house the German occupiers, Minsk became home to a ghetto containing 100,000 Jews, and Minsk became a major center of Soviet partisan activity after 1942. The Red Army recaptured Minsk on 3 July 1944 during the Minsk Offensive, part of Operation Bagration, and 80% of houses were reduced to rubble. After the war, Minsk was rebuilt with Stalinist architecture and experienced massive industrialization. Minsk's population reached 1 million in 1972 and 1.5 million in 1986, and Minsk's metro was opened to the public on 30 June 1984. Young, unskilled workers from rural Belarus and skilled workers from across the USSR settled in Minsk. Following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the restoration of Belarusian independence, Minsk became a major city as embassies were opened and Soviet administrative buildings became government centers. An economic crisis during the early and mid-1990s led to the halting of development projects, high unemployment, and underemployment. The 1990s saw transport and infrastructure improvements, however, and a housing boom began in 2002. By 2019, Minsk came to have a population of 2,018,281 people. Minsk had the highest crime rate in all Belarus, 193.5 crimes per 10,000 citizens: 25% of all serious crimes, 55% of all bribes, and 67% of mobile phone thefts were committed in Minsk.
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