Text 7. My Home Town

Well, my home town is Orsha. First of all, I'd like to tell you some common information about my native town.

I've been born here and I am a long time resident of this city. Orsha is situated in Belarus on the banks of the river Dniper. It is divided by the river into two unequal portions, the more important part with the majority of the chief buildings and plants standing on the right bank. Orsha extents for 9 km from East to West and 15 km from North to South. It covers an area of about 180 square kilometers and has three suburbs. The population of the city is about 132 thousand citizens.

Orsha is governed by Orsha council (Orsha town's executive committee), which is responsible for traffic control, major road construction and maintenance and big housing developments. The municipality is headed by the mayor of the city. We have a twin city in France and keep close contacts with our friends abroad.

So, maybe you are a little bit bored by the statistics, and I'd rather tell you about the history of my home town.

First of all, I'd like to mention that it has a very long history and old traditions. It was founded over 900 years ago by Slavonic tribes that used to live on the banks of the Dniper at those times. The important trade routes from Varigians to Greeks passed through the area and newly founded township soon became a busy trade and marketing centre. A fortress was built for protection of the citizens and merchants. Several times it was completely destroyed by the invaders, coming from all over. The town stood on the borderline between Poland and Russia and the wars were frequent, but the advantages of the geographical position and trade exchange were the decisive incentives for the development of my home town. Years and wars passed by, the town was built and rebuilt. Before the revolution it was quite an ordinary small rural township, dull and provincial, where poverty and decease were rampant. It had a lot of churches synagogues cathedral Jesuit College, two monasteries, two prisons, though only one hospital, two gymnasiums and a real college.

After the revolution Orsha began to develop rapidly, many new factories and enterprises appeared. During the Great Patriotic war the citizens of the city became soldiers and partisans. Under Nazy occupation a lot of resistance groups were organized. They rendered resistance to the fascists, organized the railroad war and other clandestine operations, Many of the participants of these actions are awarded orders and medals. Everyone in Belarus knows the name of the Hero of the USSR K. Zaslonov, legendary commander of the partisan's brigade, who heroically died in one of the combat operations.

After the war my city was completely destroyed. The inhabitants began to restore it…And of course, the restoration could have been impossible without fraternal assistance of the Russian people. Very soon, Orsha became a highly industrialized area. The biggest railway station in Belarus is situated here. Orsha's industrial enterprises produce the sewing machines radio devices (walkie-talkie for militia, metal processing tools, flax fabric, tools, instruments and even PCs).

The social sphere of the city is highly developed, to my mind. We have a lot of hospitals, policlinics, cultural centres, movie houses etc. The surroundings of Orsha are very beautiful, lovely are the forests where you can pick up berries, mushrooms, the lakes are full of fish. There are a lot of camps, tourist centres up there.

But lately the community of Orsha faced many problems which piled up during the years of stagnation. First of all, my city lacks architecture, sport and cultural clubs. The problem of juvenile delinquency is also very sharp.

If I were a mayor, I would plant trees and create many parks. I'd make many shining ads, because I like neon lights glittering. And the inhabitants could see many advertisements in the street at night. I would also construct drama theatre and found Philharmonic Society. I'd built the central museum with the information about my home town.

There is no trolley- bus line in Orsha and I would let trolley-buses in go.

If I were a mayor, I think I could do everything for Orsha would become a modern, cosy town, lovely and comfortable for its citizens.