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Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск) is the capital of the Republic of Belarus, the administrative center of Minsk Region and Minsk District, which it is not a part of, since it is an independent administrative-territorial unit with a special (capital) status. It has the title of "Hero City". The largest transport hub, political, economic, cultural and scientific center of the country. The headquarters of the CIS is located in Minsk. The tenth most populous city (excluding suburbs) in Europe, the third - in the EAEU. The city is located near the geographical center of the country and stands on the Svisloch River. The area is 348.84 km², the population is 1964.2 thousand people (as of July 1, 2016), excluding suburbs. Minsk is the largest transport hub of Belarus. It is located at the intersection of transport corridors connecting Russia with Poland and Ukraine with the Baltics. The distance from Minsk to Moscow along the M1 highway is about 700 km. The city accounts for about 30% of railway passenger transportation in the country, 20% of road freight transportation in import and 40% in export. The city is connected to other regions by the following highways: M2 (Minsk — Minsk National Airport), M3 (Minsk — Vitebsk), M4 (Minsk — Mogilev; not far from the city, the M5 Minsk — Gomel branches off from the highway), M6 (Minsk — Grodno), P1 (Minsk — Dzerzhinsk; not far from the city, it merges with the M1 Brest — Orsha — Moscow), P23 (Minsk — Slutsk — Soligorsk — Mikashevichi), P28 (Minsk — Molodechno — Naroch), P58 (Minsk — Myadel) and local roads. In addition, the M9 highway (Minsk Ring Road) is located entirely within the city. Belarus (Belarusian: Беларус (inf.)), the official name is the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Респубібіка Беларус (inf.)), the official abbreviated name Belarus, is a country in Eastern Europe. The population at the beginning of 2016 is 9,498,364 people, the territory is 207,600 km². It ranks ninety-third by population and eighty-fourth by territory in the world. The capital and largest city of the state is Minsk. The official languages are Belarusian and Russian. It is divided into 6 regions, the city of Minsk has a special status of a city of republican subordination. In the northwest, the republic borders on Lithuania, in the west with Poland, in the north with Latvia, in the east with Russia, in the south with Ukraine. It is a founding member of the UN, CIS, CSTO, EurAsEC, Union State and EAEU. Excursion — a collective or individual visit to a museum, landmark, exhibition, enterprise, etc.; a trip, walk for educational, scientific, sports or entertainment purposes.