Karol Hutten-Czapski

In 1890 he was elected President of Minsk for his first term. He finalized the construction of the Municipal Theatre(today the Janka Kupala National Theatre).[8] In his first year the telephone was brought to Minsk, and a public telephone system was installed.[8] In 1892, a tram pulled by horses was introduced.[11] He built shelters for the homeless. He implemented a system for urban growth control and building approvals. He created a Health Committee, and in 1893 had a bridge built over the Svislach river.[8][11] He created a series of ditches and walls to ease flooding, a usual problem in Minsk.[11]

During his second mandate, he renounced his state salary and continued his reforms. He created various schools, approved a new plan for the city (which began a period of rapid expansion), built a maternity ward, and created a credit institution for mortgages. He established insurance for agriculture, and the creation of a municipal slaughterhouse. He improved the sewer systems. He created a modern urban water supply system. In commemoration of the installation of the water supply, a fountain featuring a boy with a sawn was created.[12] He established pawn shops, so that the poor were able to raise credit. He established a sports society and created a bicycle track around the main park.[12] In 1894 the first power generator was installed.[8][13]

He began his third and last mandate, with a new urban plan. He opened a second school for women. In 1900 the Minsk Public Library was inaugurated. He improved the roads and pavements. He founded two newspapers, the "Minsk Provincial Newspaper" and the "Minsk Paper".[8] In 1898 a hospital for prostitutes was opened.[8] While serving as President of Minsk he lived on his estate in Stankow and went regularly on horseback to Minsk, regardless of the weather. He continued managing the family properties, establishing a hospital for infectious diseases for the employees of the estate. Many of the projects for the city were financed from his own resources, which was not without great prejudice to the family finances. Because of the great effort in both managing his family properties and serving as President of Minsk, he weakened and fell ill. He spent some time at a sanatorium in Baden, Germany. When he returned he founded a society for the protection of women. In 1901 he organized in Minsk an industrial and agricultural fair. He participated in the fair, showing thoroughbred cattle, pedigree horses and dogs, as well as bricks and ceramics, all coming from his Stankow estate.[8]

Karol had to resign because of health reasons in 1901, and in 1904 he died of tuberculosis, in Frankfurt, Germany. During his eleven years as president, Minsk underwent the period of its greatest economic and cultural growth. He contributed greatly in modernizing the city. He put all his personal strength as well as his finances to develop and transform Minsk. Thanks to his efforts, it became a "European" city, in terms of buildings, services, amenities, industrialization and culture. Being an aristocrat, after Belarus came under Soviet influence, Czapski was seen as the "enemy" and largely forgotten.[12] Today there is a resurgence of recognition for his work and a street has been named after him.