Minsk Fortified Region was the strongest fortified region of the Belorussian Military District. Its main function was to protect Minsk as an important economic and political centre as well as a major transport hub.

The Stalin Line is a line of fortified regions along the former western border of the USSR from the Karelian Isthmus to the Black Sea coasts. The defence line was being built from 1928 to the autumn of 1939.