Minsk. The Central Botanical Garden.

April 17, 1932 is considered the official date of the Garden's formation. 106 hectares of territory were allocated for the construction of the Garden near the Park of Culture and Recreation (modern park named after Chelyuskintsev) at Borisovsky tract, 90. These lands were incorporated into the city of Minsk relatively late. On the plans of Minsk in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it can be seen that this territory was located outside the city. There were forests and fields of the Slepyanka estate. It is known that until the XVIII century the estate belonged to the princes Radziwills, and then, until the beginning of the twentieth century. – Vankovich. In 1923, it was decided to expand the urban area at the expense of these nationalized lands and in the late 1920s their development began.

The main activities of the Garden were identified: the formation of collections of woody and herbaceous plants useful for the national economy, the study of the flora of the BSSR, the introduction and selection of fruit and berry crops of horticulture, educational and economic activities, the development of the territory designated for the botanical garden.

The geographical area was divided into sectors: flora of East Asia and the Far East, flora of North America, flora of Europe and Siberia, flora of the BSSR, Crimea and the Caucasus, flora of Central Asia and rock gardens. In addition, a tree nursery with a school and a site for experimental work were provided in the Garden. It was planned to build exhibition greenhouses and a lake.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Garden was severely damaged. Office buildings with scientific equipment, archives, a library, a herbarium, a meteorological station, and a fence were blown up and burned. Most of the woody plants died, the rose garden and the collection of herbaceous plants were completely destroyed. Most of the territory was used for growing vegetables for the occupiers.

Immediately after the liberation of Minsk, in July 1944, the Garden resumed its work. The structure of the Botanical Garden in 1947 included the following departments:

· Flora and herbarium

·                    Dendrology

·                    Pomology

·                    Ornamental plants

·                    Indoor plants

·                    Plant taxonomy

In Soviet times, over the years of hard work, a large-scale reconstruction of the Garden was carried out, the structure of scientific departments was significantly updated, the main collection funds of plants of open and protected soil were formed, and the Botanical Garden itself became one of the best gardens of the USSR. Today, the Central Botanical Garden is a leading institution in the field of experimental botany not only in Belarus, but also among the countries of Eastern Europe.

The Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the country's largest center for the conservation of biodiversity of living plants, a leading scientific institution in the field of introduction, acclimatization, physiology, molecular biology, biotechnology, biochemistry and plant ecology.

Research and practical work in the field of plant introduction has ensured the creation of a gene pool of decorative and economically useful introduced plants from more than 15 thousand names, which is the national treasure of the Republic of Belarus.