Brest, Belarus in the context of "Buffer zone"

The Dnieper–Bug Canal (alternatively the Dnepr-Bug Canal), or the Dneprovsko-Bugsky Canal, is the longest inland ship canal in Belarus. It connects the Mukhavets River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Pina River (a tributary of the Pripyat River). It is managed by Dneprobugvodput.

The artificial channel dug between Kobryn and Pinsk was originally named the Royal Canal (Polish: Kanał Królewski), after the King of Poland Stanisław August Poniatowski (r. 1764–1795), who initiated its construction. It forms an important part of the transportation artery linking the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The total length of the canal system from Brest to Pinsk is 196 km (122 mi), including the 105 km (65 mi) long artificial waterway.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, which followed months of negotiations after the armistice on the Eastern Front in December 1917, was signed at Brest-Litovsk (now Brest, Belarus).

The Soviet delegation was initially headed by Adolph Joffe, and key figures from the Central Powers included Max Hoffmann and Richard von Kühlmann of Germany, Ottokar Czernin of Austria-Hungary, and Talaat Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. In January 1918, the Central Powers demanded secession of all occupied territories of the former Russian Empire. The Soviets sent a new peace delegation led by Leon Trotsky, which aimed to stall the negotiations while awaiting revolutions in Central Europe. A renewed Central Powers offensive launched on February 18 captured large territories in the Baltic region, Belarus, and Ukraine and forced the Soviet side to sue for peace.

The Mukhavets (Belarusian: Мухавец, romanized: Mukhaviets [muxaˈvʲets]; Russian: Муховец, romanized: Mukhovets, Polish: Muchawiec) is a river in western Belarus.

A tributary of the Bug River, the Mukhavets rises in Pruzhany, Belarus, where the Mukha river and the Vyets [be] canal converge, flows through south-western Belarus and merges with the Bug River in Brest.

Kobryn or Kobrin is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kobryn District. It is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus, where the Mukhavets river and Dnieper–Bug Canal meet. The town lies about 52 kilometres (32 mi) east of the city of Brest. As of 2025, it has a population of 52,432.

Brest Fortress (Belarusian: Брэсцкая крэпасць, romanized: Bresckaja krepasć; Russian: Брестская крепость, romanized: Brestskaya krepost; Polish: Twierdza brzeska; Lithuanian: Bresto tvirtovė), formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century fortress in Brest, Belarus. In 1965, the title Hero Fortress was given to the fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the first week of Operation Barbarossa, when Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. The title "Hero Fortress" corresponds to the title "Hero City" that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union awarded to twelve Soviet cities.

The Principality of Turov, later called the Principality of Turov and Pinsk (Belarusian: Турава-Пінскае княства, romanized: Turava-Pinskaje kniastva; Russian: Турово-Пинское княжество, romanized: Turovo-Pinskoye knyazhestvo; Ukrainian: Турово-Пінське князівство, romanized: Turovo-Pins'ke knyazivstvo), also known as Turovian Rus', was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' from the 10th century on the territory of modern-day Belarus and northern Ukraine. The princes of Turov often served as grand princes early in 10th and 11th centuries. Its capital was Turov (Turaŭ), and other important cities included Pinsk, Mazyr, Slutsk, Lutsk, Brest, and Volodymyr.

Until the 12th century, the principality was very closely associated with the principalities of Kiev and Volhynia. Later for a short period time until the Mongol invasion it enjoyed a wide degree of autonomy when it was annexed to the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. In the 14th century, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex and World Heritage Area straddling the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more than 800 European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal.

The forest has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an EU Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation. The World Heritage Committee, through its decision of June 2014, approved the extension of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland", which became "Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland". It straddles the border between Podlachia historical region in Poland and the Brest and Grodno Oblasts in Belarus, and is 62 kilometres (39 miles) southeast of Białystok, Poland and 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Brest, Belarus. The Białowieża Forest World Heritage site covers a total area of 141,885 ha (1,418.85 km; 547.82 sq mi).Since the border between the two countries runs through the forest, there is a border crossing available for hikers and cyclists.