Mazyr is a city in Gomel Region of Belarus on the Pripyat River about 210 kilometres (130 miles) east of Pinsk and 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Chernobyl. The population is 111,770 (2004 estimate). The total urban area including Kalinkavichy across the river has a population of 150,000. Mazyr is known as a center of oil refining, salt extraction, machine building, and food processing in Belarus. It is home to one of the largest oil refineries in Belarus, pumping out 18 million metric tons per year. The Druzhba pipeline carries crude oil from Russia splitting in two at Mazyr. One pipeline branch is directed into Poland and the other one to Ukraine.

The right bank of the Pripyat River, where the city is located, is elevated above the left bank at substantial height (up to 80 metres (262 feet)). The overfall of surface of that scale is assumed to be a consequence of a glaciation: the Pripyat River is running right along the edge where an ancient glacier was located. Since both banks of the river are sandy, the right bank is cut through by a number of great ravines (more than 2.5 km (1.6 mi) length, up to 200 metres (656 feet) width). The city is also located on the ravines, so its streets look much like streets of a mountain town. One of the ravines is proclaimed a reserve. Some of the nearby ravines are currently also equipped with ski lifts and transformed into skiing winter resorts.

Mazyr once had a sizable Jewish population. During World War II, many Jews were murdered by the Nazis during mass executions. There are several memorials devoted to this in the modern city. As with other Soviet cities, during approximately the last 15 years of the Communist control, a large proportion of the remaining Jews have relocated abroad, mostly to Israel and United States.

In 1986, the city suffered from heavy radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident.

Places of interest:

• A monument for Jews at the place of a mass grave
• A monument composed of black polished granite, commemorating the aforementioned "Belarusian Masada"
• A monument placed at the point of mass executions
• The incredibly beautiful Mazyr Castle, dating back to 16th century
• The Pkhov river port, the biggest port of Belarus