Zhodzina

Zhodzina / Zhodino Жодзіна / Жодино
A truck mounted outside of the BelAZ factory
Flag Seal
Zhodzina / Zhodino Location of Zhodzina in Belarus
Coordinates: 54°06′00″N 28°21′00″E / 54.10000°N 28.35000°ECoordinates: 54°06′00″N 28°21′00″E / 54.10000°N 28.35000°E
Country	Belarus
Voblast	Minsk
Raion	Smalyavichy
Founded	1963
Area
• Total	21.97 km^2 (8.48 sq mi)
Elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Population (2013)[1]
• Total	62,924
• Density	2,900/km^2 (7,400/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	222160, 222163
Area code(s)	+375 1775
License plate	5
Website	Official website

Zhodzina (officially transliterated as Žodzina,^[2] also spelled Zhodino, Belarusian: Жо́дзіна, pronounced [ˈʐodzʲina], Russian: Жо́дино, pronounced [ˈʐodʲɪnə]), is a city in Belarus, located in the Minsk Region, 50 km to north-east from Minsk. The city covers an area of 19 km² and has a population of 61,800 (2010).^[3]

History

It is one of the newest cities in the country; its construction began in 1963.

Geography

The city, the most populated in the Smalyavichy Raion, is situated 50 km (31 mi) in north-east of Minsk and 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Barysaw. It is crossed by the Plisa river and has a little lake in its southern suburb.

Education

There are nine schools, two high schools, one professional lyceum and Zhodzina polytechnical college in the city. Currently, there are no higher educational institutions in the city.

Economy

The BelAZ automobile factory (The Belarusian Automobile Plant) is the largest employer in the city, and with about 11,000 workers, about one-sixth of the local population work there. Every third mining truck in the world is produced by them - their biggest weighs 360 tonnes and can carry 450 tonnes. Another important factory is the clothing manufacturer "SVITANAK", which produces children's and adults' clothes. Its products are exported to European countries.

Transport

Zhodzina is served by the M1 motorway, part of the European route E30, an international highway^[4] that links Berlin and Warsaw to Moscow. It counts two railway stations (Zhodzina and the stop of Zhodzina Yuzhny^[5][6]) on the international line Minsk-Moscow; and its main station is served by some international trains as the Sibirjak Berlin-Novosibirsk. Minsk International Airport is in 40 km (25 mi) from Zhodzina.

Sport

The local football club is the Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino, playing in the Belarusian Premier League. Its home ground is the Torpedo Stadium.

Personalities

• Mikalay Kashewski (b. 1980), footballer
• Nastassia Novikava (b. 1981), weightlifter

Twin towns

• Vénissieux (France)

Notes and references

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
2. Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script
3. "2010 Belarus population statistics" (in Russian). Archived from the original (RAR) on October 30, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
4. partly under construction
5. Zhodzina South
6. "Map of Minsk suburban railways on www.parovoz.com" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2012-03-08.

External links

• Zhodzina official website