Minsk
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It was close to midnight, wet snow melted on my jacket. I had no rubbles on me, the exchange offices were closed and all the banks I had cards with are boycotted for use in Belarus. My data didn’t work, as I was abruptly cut off from the European Union… to such a degree that my government had hysterically published on their website that I was in a “red no-go zone”, denied of any help in case of emergency. I didn’t speak the language and they didn’t speak mine.
I smiled. I couldn’t believe I was here.
Being rather spoilt with traveling the world with a Western European passport, it was a sobering experience to have to go through actual effort to get a visa for this Russian puppet state during war time. But I made it, I was exactly where I wanted to be. Eager to peak under the veil of mass media, anxious to meet the Belarusian people and hear their real stories.
People walked slightly slower when they approached me, trying to hide their confused looks when letting their eyes swiftly glide over my huge backpack. Probably because unknowingly I was having a patch of the most illegal symbol of Belarus (a white-red-white flag) sewed right in the middle of my backpack*, but that aside. My face must have looked equally confused, as during the hour-long walk that was ahead of me to reach my accommodation, I was not seeing anything I had anticipated. Did I accidentally take a van headed for Vienna? I walked through wide, stately avenues, everything immaculately clean and orderly. Majestic opera houses and neoclassical state buildings were elegantly lit up to underline their magnitude. And wait what, my Cyrillic skills are minimal, but does that read “KGB”? Isn’t that some scary thing from like, the 80s?** Honestly, I didn’t know what I was expecting exactly… maybe some Eastern European city like Belgrade or Tirana, I don’t know, but definitely not this. Minsk, I am so ready for you.
* Besides the prime symbol of nationalism in an era of forced russification, and the most powerful sign of protest, it’s also the trail sign of a hike I did. It’s good for a few years in Belarusian jail. Before I figured out the real meaning, I also got my foot tattoo of this exact same symbol touched up right in the middle of Minsk. Fun times with Steph.
** Nope. This is not a museum or memorial. The highly corrupt and undemocratically “elected” Belarusian president Lukashenko still keeps the KGB alive and highly active as an official national body of state administration and security, spying on their citizens and robbing them of free speech.
I smiled. I couldn’t believe I was here.
Being rather spoilt with traveling the world with a Western European passport, it was a sobering experience to have to go through actual effort to get a visa for this Russian puppet state during war time. But I made it, I was exactly where I wanted to be. Eager to peak under the veil of mass media, anxious to meet the Belarusian people and hear their real stories.
People walked slightly slower when they approached me, trying to hide their confused looks when letting their eyes swiftly glide over my huge backpack. Probably because unknowingly I was having a patch of the most illegal symbol of Belarus (a white-red-white flag) sewed right in the middle of my backpack*, but that aside. My face must have looked equally confused, as during the hour-long walk that was ahead of me to reach my accommodation, I was not seeing anything I had anticipated. Did I accidentally take a van headed for Vienna? I walked through wide, stately avenues, everything immaculately clean and orderly. Majestic opera houses and neoclassical state buildings were elegantly lit up to underline their magnitude. And wait what, my Cyrillic skills are minimal, but does that read “KGB”? Isn’t that some scary thing from like, the 80s?** Honestly, I didn’t know what I was expecting exactly… maybe some Eastern European city like Belgrade or Tirana, I don’t know, but definitely not this. Minsk, I am so ready for you.
* Besides the prime symbol of nationalism in an era of forced russification, and the most powerful sign of protest, it’s also the trail sign of a hike I did. It’s good for a few years in Belarusian jail. Before I figured out the real meaning, I also got my foot tattoo of this exact same symbol touched up right in the middle of Minsk. Fun times with Steph.
** Nope. This is not a museum or memorial. The highly corrupt and undemocratically “elected” Belarusian president Lukashenko still keeps the KGB alive and highly active as an official national body of state administration and security, spying on their citizens and robbing them of free speech.
Minsk
I spent the night in a hostel without walls. Only curtains separated the dormitories and the hallways. But hey, I had a bed right in the city centre for 7 quid a night, pretty hard to beat. I had booked this 100% refundable hostel on Hotels.com, the only booking engine not participating in the global boycott of this country, and I had reserved here for all the nights granted on my visa. In reality I was going to crash on the couches of local people from the Couchsurfing network all over the country, but the Belarusian immigration office isn’t particularly cool with that. They’re making a case of only handing out visas if you have everything pre-booked with officially registered lodgings. So I did, and cancelled once I crossed the border (same with the obligated Belarusian travel insurance). Minus my days in Minsk, as I felt I at least owed them those for unknowingly helping me out.
4 days I had in Minsk. More than generous. Don’t get me wrong: the city is huge, with the incredibly cheap (officially the cheapest in Europe) and very efficient metro line as a necessary way to get around from one district to the other… but once at the central area, most sights can be seen in one long city walk. Let me help you with that. In this 2,5hr walk, you definitely cover the highlights and my personal favourites:
I spent the night in a hostel without walls. Only curtains separated the dormitories and the hallways. But hey, I had a bed right in the city centre for 7 quid a night, pretty hard to beat. I had booked this 100% refundable hostel on Hotels.com, the only booking engine not participating in the global boycott of this country, and I had reserved here for all the nights granted on my visa. In reality I was going to crash on the couches of local people from the Couchsurfing network all over the country, but the Belarusian immigration office isn’t particularly cool with that. They’re making a case of only handing out visas if you have everything pre-booked with officially registered lodgings. So I did, and cancelled once I crossed the border (same with the obligated Belarusian travel insurance). Minus my days in Minsk, as I felt I at least owed them those for unknowingly helping me out.
4 days I had in Minsk. More than generous. Don’t get me wrong: the city is huge, with the incredibly cheap (officially the cheapest in Europe) and very efficient metro line as a necessary way to get around from one district to the other… but once at the central area, most sights can be seen in one long city walk. Let me help you with that. In this 2,5hr walk, you definitely cover the highlights and my personal favourites:
Looking at the logistics, it makes most sense to start in the outskirts, at the Ulitsa Oktyabr'skaya (a.k.a. Vul Kastrychnitskaya). The morning light will also accentuate the colors on the large series of brilliant murals and street art masterpieces that can be traced down here. That said, it does come with the risk of checking off what’s likely going to be your favorite sight of Minsk right from the get-go. Make sure to go for a gander in the entire area, which Lukashenko strictly reserved as the only space for creative expression within the city. Keep your ears open while at it, as it’s the only environment where you’ll hear people talking in the oppressed Belarusian language.
If you cross the Svislach River and bend to the left, you’ll soon arrive at the station area… a place you’ll very likely see again, as train transportation is the most efficient, straightforward and cheapest way of getting around in Belarus, if I may share that opinion. The route from the newly renovated railway station to the downtown area is dramatically marked with the pompous Minsk Gates, a classicist souvenir from the Stalinist era. If you want to check out a memento from his comrade, peep right around the corner: A giant Statue of Lenin rises up in front of the grand Government Building (as to lead and inspire?). During my time in Belarus I learned that this is a shared decoration element of any self-respecting city in the nation: Each and every central square either has a Lenin sculpture, a tank or both. Cute.
If you cross the Svislach River and bend to the left, you’ll soon arrive at the station area… a place you’ll very likely see again, as train transportation is the most efficient, straightforward and cheapest way of getting around in Belarus, if I may share that opinion. The route from the newly renovated railway station to the downtown area is dramatically marked with the pompous Minsk Gates, a classicist souvenir from the Stalinist era. If you want to check out a memento from his comrade, peep right around the corner: A giant Statue of Lenin rises up in front of the grand Government Building (as to lead and inspire?). During my time in Belarus I learned that this is a shared decoration element of any self-respecting city in the nation: Each and every central square either has a Lenin sculpture, a tank or both. Cute.
If you belong to the niche, you can pop into the Museum of the History of Belarusian Cinema right here, or you can continue on to the Belarusian National Arts Museum, which is with over 30,000 artworks by far the country’s largest (an alternative is the Galereya Art Belarus, which you’ll eventually pass following this itinerary). The Palace of the Republic (in a country that really doesn’t operate as a republic) on the Independence Avenue (in a country that’s definitely not independent from Russia), is another example of Stalinist Classicism. In front of it you can find Kilometre Zero, marking the source of every road in Belarus. The very heart of the country. It also forms the start of the Old Town area, “Vierchni Horad”, which feels actually rather fresh and new. That’s not surprising, considering that the original 17th and 18th century houses were rebuilt from scratch in the 1980s, after the Nazis bombed the city to pieces. The oldest building still standing is the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, built in the early 17th century (whereas I visited the oldest building of the entire country in Grodna: the Kalozha Church of Saints Boris and Gleb, built in the 1100s). Original or not, the district is prided as Minsk’s nicest, so it’s worth to dedicate some time to it for a walk-around. I can recommend the self-guided free walking tour provided by the Izi Travel App, which gives the background story of the main Old Town sights.
I visited the DK Gallery, which doesn’t exceed the rating of “alright.” It wasn’t terrible, yet I wouldn’t qualify it as art I would pay to see. The Cat Museum isn’t a museum at all, as there are no exhibitions besides some random posters hanging around. It’s not really a “cat café” either, as the paid ticket just includes one cup of instant coffee you have to make yourself. I guess it’s just a misleading marketing approach to aid raising funds for the shelter, which I don’t mind supporting though.
On the way out you’ll stumble upon the Nyamiha metro station, with its Memorial to the 1999 Nyamiha Stampede Victims in front of it, remembering the 53 deathly victims and 250 wounded as a result of a sudden thunderstorm during an anniversary concert of the Mir Radio Station. In a sudden rush to seek shelter, the 2500 people attending the event hurried down into the metro station’s underpass, which poor design and lack of handrails caused people to fall down on the slippery tiles with the masses still streaming in and running over them. Another grim sight will shortly follow on the presented itinerary: Lee Harvey Oswald’s Former Residence, the man who murdered J.F. Kennedy. Not sure how seeing his house will do anything for you, but it seems to attract the occasional dark tourist.
Across the bridge you’ll find the Trinity Hill suburb. Just like the Old Town area it contains full-on replicas of the 17th and 18th centuries houses which were wiped from the face of the earth during WWII. On the side you’ll find the tiny Island of Tears, with the Fallen Soldiers Monument on top of it, depicting grieving women around a chapel. It commemorates the fallen Belarusian soldiers in the war of Afghanistan of 1979-1989 and the families they left behind. It’s not far away from the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet, an impressive yet terrifying building built in the rather intimidating soviet style eastern Europe is marked by. It’s still operational and a quick look on their program taught me it’s specialised in your everyday Russian classics, with headliners such as Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. As classical music and ballet doesn’t impose a language barrier, it might be interesting to attend a show.
On the way out you’ll stumble upon the Nyamiha metro station, with its Memorial to the 1999 Nyamiha Stampede Victims in front of it, remembering the 53 deathly victims and 250 wounded as a result of a sudden thunderstorm during an anniversary concert of the Mir Radio Station. In a sudden rush to seek shelter, the 2500 people attending the event hurried down into the metro station’s underpass, which poor design and lack of handrails caused people to fall down on the slippery tiles with the masses still streaming in and running over them. Another grim sight will shortly follow on the presented itinerary: Lee Harvey Oswald’s Former Residence, the man who murdered J.F. Kennedy. Not sure how seeing his house will do anything for you, but it seems to attract the occasional dark tourist.
Across the bridge you’ll find the Trinity Hill suburb. Just like the Old Town area it contains full-on replicas of the 17th and 18th centuries houses which were wiped from the face of the earth during WWII. On the side you’ll find the tiny Island of Tears, with the Fallen Soldiers Monument on top of it, depicting grieving women around a chapel. It commemorates the fallen Belarusian soldiers in the war of Afghanistan of 1979-1989 and the families they left behind. It’s not far away from the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet, an impressive yet terrifying building built in the rather intimidating soviet style eastern Europe is marked by. It’s still operational and a quick look on their program taught me it’s specialised in your everyday Russian classics, with headliners such as Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. As classical music and ballet doesn’t impose a language barrier, it might be interesting to attend a show.
Moving northwards we’ll pass by a bunch of budget lunch/dinner options to consider. Belarus is by default already dirt cheap for the average western tourist, with restaurant prices beating the cost of low-quality take-out junk food back home. Yet, if you really want to go rock-bottom-budget here, head into one of the university cafeterias’, for which no student ID is needed. The Canteen of the Belarusian State Medical University is located in this area. Another option is the Komarovsky Farmers Market, with endless options of fresh produce and local specialties. A street nicknamed the “Kebab Mile” is located just at its side, stuffed with cheap and filling street food options that definitely won’t break the bank. If you’re looking for traditional Belarusian food (find an overview in this article), I don’t recommend the Lido restaurant with the giant mill on the top. Unless you like chewy, bland-tasting, mass-produced dishes that have been steaming under a TL-light for the last 12 hours. Instead, spend your rubbles at one of the Vasiliki establishments. A bit more upclass is the Flame Space I randomly bumped into, operating as a restaurant, co-working space and contemporary art exhibition area. It’s not far away from the Alivaria Beer Museum, a 155-year-old full-Belarusian brewery offering tours and (most importantly) tastings.
There are a couple of sights beyond walking distance from the downtown area. Well, I walked it through ice and snow, but I realise not everyone digs pumping out 20-30km on their average urban exploration. If I go all travelblogger-style with you and shove my “absolute-must-see-once-in-a-lifetime-you-haven’t-seen-minsk-if-you-haven’t-seen-this-bla-bla-bla” down your throat, it’s probably the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War. Which is, after further research, how this government dramatically labels the Second World War. Come one, Belarus, this was a European thing, not just Belarusian. Another rather comical observation as that they call the Nazis the “Hitlerites”. Never heard that term before. But that’s it, that’s why I’m recommending this museum specifically. Not only because big money has been pumped into it and it’s one of the most over-the-top, grotesque thing you can find in the country, covering a topic that must at least strike the slightest interest to anyone who’d visit (I mean, the presentation of the artefacts alone are worth a peek)… but mainly because it gives an insight into the governmental narrative and tweaked storytelling of international history that’s extended in today’s day and age to serve present interests. It’s of course a characteristic of about any government worldwide, moulding history into a digestible form to celebrate the national successes and muffle away the more embarrassing bloopers, but usually it’s just not so out in the open and right-in-your-face.
Less interesting I found the Belarusian National History and Culture Museum, which was chaotic and all over the place, lacking focus. I can’t really recount what I actually learned here, besides seeing a dude making paper in the traditional way. Nice enough, I guess. Honestly, I got a better insight in traditional culture by visiting the National Library, hosting exhibitions of traditional Belarusian folk costumes. Besides, literally, 10 million other items. The building alone is worth the metro ride (Uschod stop), with night time the best moment to watch its unusual diamond shape (a rhombicuboctahedron, to be exact) lit up by neon. For a bird’s eye view of Minsk, you can get a ticket to go up to the observation deck.
Less interesting I found the Belarusian National History and Culture Museum, which was chaotic and all over the place, lacking focus. I can’t really recount what I actually learned here, besides seeing a dude making paper in the traditional way. Nice enough, I guess. Honestly, I got a better insight in traditional culture by visiting the National Library, hosting exhibitions of traditional Belarusian folk costumes. Besides, literally, 10 million other items. The building alone is worth the metro ride (Uschod stop), with night time the best moment to watch its unusual diamond shape (a rhombicuboctahedron, to be exact) lit up by neon. For a bird’s eye view of Minsk, you can get a ticket to go up to the observation deck.
Belarus counts 5 national parks: the Belaverzhskaya Pushcha National Park (Brest/Grodno), the Braslau Lakes National Park (Vitebsk), the Prypyatski National Park (Gomel) and the Narachanski National Park (border area with Lithuania). None of them is incredibly close to the capital, but some greenery and one-with-nature-kinda-experiences can be traced down in the huge Victory Park or the manicured Belarusian Central Botanical Gardens (ticketed), both within the city ring. It doesn’t replace the national park experience by all means, you still have those as firm items on your Belarus Budget Bucket List, but it’s nice to know that there are some “outdoorsy” options.
UNESCO Daytrips: Niasvish & Mir
Belarus has a total of 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One is a natural one: the Bialowieza Forest on the border with Poland, a 141,885ha area selected for its unique biodiversity conservation properties. The second one, the Struve Geodetic Arc, is also shared with other countries… it contains a long line of measurement points placed by astronomer Struve in his successful attempt to determine the Earth’s meridian for the first time in history. Pretty cool background story, but after seeing a bunch of them in the Baltic States, I can confirm that seeing those sights “live” is pretty underwhelming (if that doesn’t stop you, find the coordinates here). That leaves us with two worthy, cultural ones, at a stone’s throw away from one another: the Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (Neshvish, Niasvish, Niasviz, whatever, the cyrillic-to-alphabetical-translation isn’t too exact) and the Mir Castle Complex. Both castles, both reachable from Minsk.
And from Minsk only. I learned that the hard way, wasting a valuable day of Belarus-travel-time trying to hitchhike from Babruysk to Niasvish (as there is no public transport on this trajectory) on what Google Maps told me was going to be a 2.5-hour-journey (188km). Punchline of this not-so-funny-joke: it was not. Even though there is an actual road going there, which wasn’t even in such a deplorable condition, the snow just doesn’t get removed here in winter, which is why no one ever goes here. After 2 hours of standing in a snowstorm and people giving me 5-minutes-rides I gave up and returned to the main highway to Minsk. From there you must take a minibus, which sounds easier than it actually is. Reservations had to be made on the phone, exclusively in Russian, after which they give you some number plate and very vague location (“the exit of a certain metro station” – cool, there are 4 different exits). Standing in the -13 degree cold and continuously asking around, I still easily missed this bus. The second one I found by accident, after overhearing someone talking to the driver. I read someone taking the van from the Tsentralnyi Central Bus Station, where you apparently can buy a ticket at the desk, which I would by all means recommend (although I haven’t done it myself, so I can’t verify the correctness of this information). I arrived with the latest bus from Minsk and exhaustedly dropped down in the comfortable bed of my 14-euros-hotel. Rough day at the office.
UNESCO Daytrips: Niasvish & Mir
Belarus has a total of 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One is a natural one: the Bialowieza Forest on the border with Poland, a 141,885ha area selected for its unique biodiversity conservation properties. The second one, the Struve Geodetic Arc, is also shared with other countries… it contains a long line of measurement points placed by astronomer Struve in his successful attempt to determine the Earth’s meridian for the first time in history. Pretty cool background story, but after seeing a bunch of them in the Baltic States, I can confirm that seeing those sights “live” is pretty underwhelming (if that doesn’t stop you, find the coordinates here). That leaves us with two worthy, cultural ones, at a stone’s throw away from one another: the Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (Neshvish, Niasvish, Niasviz, whatever, the cyrillic-to-alphabetical-translation isn’t too exact) and the Mir Castle Complex. Both castles, both reachable from Minsk.
And from Minsk only. I learned that the hard way, wasting a valuable day of Belarus-travel-time trying to hitchhike from Babruysk to Niasvish (as there is no public transport on this trajectory) on what Google Maps told me was going to be a 2.5-hour-journey (188km). Punchline of this not-so-funny-joke: it was not. Even though there is an actual road going there, which wasn’t even in such a deplorable condition, the snow just doesn’t get removed here in winter, which is why no one ever goes here. After 2 hours of standing in a snowstorm and people giving me 5-minutes-rides I gave up and returned to the main highway to Minsk. From there you must take a minibus, which sounds easier than it actually is. Reservations had to be made on the phone, exclusively in Russian, after which they give you some number plate and very vague location (“the exit of a certain metro station” – cool, there are 4 different exits). Standing in the -13 degree cold and continuously asking around, I still easily missed this bus. The second one I found by accident, after overhearing someone talking to the driver. I read someone taking the van from the Tsentralnyi Central Bus Station, where you apparently can buy a ticket at the desk, which I would by all means recommend (although I haven’t done it myself, so I can’t verify the correctness of this information). I arrived with the latest bus from Minsk and exhaustedly dropped down in the comfortable bed of my 14-euros-hotel. Rough day at the office.
Fresh and well-rested I hopped out of bed the next day to explore the Niasvish castle, the former residence of the filthy rich Radziwill family, who owned the estate since 1533. They had this lavish palace built in 1584 and lived in it up until 1939, when the Red Army kicked their asses out and turned it into a sanitorium. After the fall of communism in 1991 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the estate got declared a historical and cultural heritage, which was picked up by our friends from UNESCO in 2006. Nowadays, the chateau and its landscaped gardens are the pride of many a Belarusian, and generally referred as the country’s prettiest.
I can’t deny that Niasvish exceeds Mir in beauty. Even though in my opinion it’s overly restored, changing the original appearance, which defeats the purpose. Mir is more pragmatic and robust, less Louis XIV. To me, that’s definitely an USP. The castle, which seems to be the less-touristy of the two, stems from the same era as the Niasvish one, and was originally built in the Belarusian interpretation of the Gothic style. It changed hands from the Ilynich Dynastie to one of the Radziwil’s, who added Renaissance elements to the mix. The place was abandoned for almost a century after suffering great damage from the Battle of Mir (1812), which also killed its owner, but was passed down within the family. The last owner was Mikolaj Sviatapolk-Mirski, who kept it until the Soviet proletariat knocked on his door. It’s last practical use is of a rather grim nature: the Nazis (or “Hitlerites”) gathered the Jews inside of its walls, before finishing them off. In 2000 it rode along on the UNESCO wave as Belarus national heritage, years before Niasvish grabbed all the attention. As it’s only a short ride (or in my case: hitchhike) away from Niasvish, I recommend throwing it in the mix.
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Quick Budget Fact Overview
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Belarus Facts
Short History Recap
1918: End WWI, independence as Belarusian National Republic. ’19: Russian Red Army conquers Belarus again and establishes communist rule. ’21: Treaty of Riga divides Belarus between Poland and Russia. ‘30s: Elimination of intellectuals and political opponents under Stalin →100,000+ people executed in Belarus, 1000s sent to labour camps. ’41: WWII, Nazi Germany invades. More than 1mln million killed. ’44: Red Army drives Germans out. 60s: Policy of Russification: Belarusian language and culture second-class status. ’86: Belarus heavily affected by Chernobyl disaster → 20% of agricultural land contaminated. ’88: Belarusian Popular Front / nationalist revival. ’90: Belarusian becomes official state language. ’91: Belarus declares independence as Soviet Union breaks up. ’94: Lukashenko wins first presidential election, campaign against corruption and re-establishing close ties with Russia. ’95: Friendship and cooperation pact signed with Russia. Referendums restore Russian as co-official language, boost presidential powers. ’96: Economic union signed with Russia. ’98: Belarusian rubble value halved. Food rationing imposed. 2001: Lukashenko re-elected undemocratically. ’02: Lukashenko rejects Russian proposals for unified government and parliament. ’04: Referendum allows president to serve more than previous limit of 2 terms, opposition gets zero seats. Rigged elections keeping Lukashenko in power continue for another 20 years, always followed by demonstrations and mass arrests. ’06:EU imposes visa ban on Lukashenko and numerous ministers and officials. New media law restricting online reporting and private media funding. ’10: Tensions with Russia over gas dispute. ’11: Explosion busy metro station in Minsk. Devaluation of rubble against the dollar by 36%. Hundreds beaten and arrested after a month of nationwide anti-government protests. ’12: New law restricts access to foreign websites & forces internet cafes to report users visiting sites registered abroad. ’18: Scandal involving embezzlement of funds from the health service. ’22: Belarusian government allows its territory to be used by Russia's army to launch attacks into Ukraine. Most Belarusians are against it, but expressing that opinion can result in arrest, jail time and blacklisting.
- Capital: Minsk
- Language: Russian, Belarusian
- Population: ± 9.2 mln
- Sq km: ± 207,600 (Warsaw: 517.2)
- Currency: Belarusian Ruble (Br - BYN)
- Electricity Outlet: C + F / 220 V / 50 Hz. Check here.
- Country Code Phone: +375
- Emergency Phone: 102 (police), 103 (ambulance), 101 (fire)
- Visa: 30 visa-free days for most nationalities if you enter via Minsk International Airport. However, all flights from and to Europe from Belarus are suspended.
- Vaccinations: None.
- Climate: Continental Climate (Dfb)
- High season: Summer – but foreign tourism is basically non-existent in Belarus
Short History Recap
1918: End WWI, independence as Belarusian National Republic. ’19: Russian Red Army conquers Belarus again and establishes communist rule. ’21: Treaty of Riga divides Belarus between Poland and Russia. ‘30s: Elimination of intellectuals and political opponents under Stalin →100,000+ people executed in Belarus, 1000s sent to labour camps. ’41: WWII, Nazi Germany invades. More than 1mln million killed. ’44: Red Army drives Germans out. 60s: Policy of Russification: Belarusian language and culture second-class status. ’86: Belarus heavily affected by Chernobyl disaster → 20% of agricultural land contaminated. ’88: Belarusian Popular Front / nationalist revival. ’90: Belarusian becomes official state language. ’91: Belarus declares independence as Soviet Union breaks up. ’94: Lukashenko wins first presidential election, campaign against corruption and re-establishing close ties with Russia. ’95: Friendship and cooperation pact signed with Russia. Referendums restore Russian as co-official language, boost presidential powers. ’96: Economic union signed with Russia. ’98: Belarusian rubble value halved. Food rationing imposed. 2001: Lukashenko re-elected undemocratically. ’02: Lukashenko rejects Russian proposals for unified government and parliament. ’04: Referendum allows president to serve more than previous limit of 2 terms, opposition gets zero seats. Rigged elections keeping Lukashenko in power continue for another 20 years, always followed by demonstrations and mass arrests. ’06:EU imposes visa ban on Lukashenko and numerous ministers and officials. New media law restricting online reporting and private media funding. ’10: Tensions with Russia over gas dispute. ’11: Explosion busy metro station in Minsk. Devaluation of rubble against the dollar by 36%. Hundreds beaten and arrested after a month of nationwide anti-government protests. ’12: New law restricts access to foreign websites & forces internet cafes to report users visiting sites registered abroad. ’18: Scandal involving embezzlement of funds from the health service. ’22: Belarusian government allows its territory to be used by Russia's army to launch attacks into Ukraine. Most Belarusians are against it, but expressing that opinion can result in arrest, jail time and blacklisting.
PAID Sights / Activities
Full list here.
Evening Entertainment
Local Festivals
- Sights: Cat Cafe, Observation Deck of National Library.
- Museums: Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk Planetarium and Observatory, Belarusian Folk Museum of Architecture and Rural Life, Art Belarus Gallery, Alivaria Brewery Museum, National Historical Museum of Republic Belarus, Museum of Interactive Science Kvantum (for children), Vankovich Museum, Museum of Janka Kupala, House Museum I Syezda RSDRP, Museum of Football and History of Dynamo Stadium, Iron Museum, Belarus Aerospace Museum, Interactive Music Museum, Money Museum Groshi, Museum Strana Mini, Stones Musuem, Mikhail Savitsky Art Gallery, Gallery Dom Kartin, History Museum of Belarus Movie.
- Hikes / Nature: Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
- Other: Aquapark Lebyazhiy.
Full list here.
Evening Entertainment
- Nightlife Areas: Zybitskaya Street, Oktyabrskaya Street.
- Theatres: Ballet Theatre of Belarus, Belarusian State Circus, Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, Maksim Gorky Theatre, Theatre, Verhni Gorod Concert Hall, Belarusian State Puppet Theatre, Territoriya Myuzikla Theatre, Theatre of Belarusian Drama.
Local Festivals
- Terra Nova (digital art) – Jan
- Victory Day – May-9
- Minsk Street Theatre Forum – May
- Rok Za Bobrov (music) – Jun
- Independence Day – Jul-3
- MOST (music) - Jul
Budget Bites
Sleep Cheap
- Main Supermarket Chains Croatia: Santa, Europt, Korona, Almi, Gyppo, Belmarket, Vitalur, Radzivillovsky, Preston, Sosedi, Prostore, Bigzz, Green.
- Local Dishes: Draniki / Дранікі (potato pancakes), Lakshini / Лакшыны (milk soup with potato starch), Zhur / Жур (sour cereal soup), Machanka / Мачанка (cheesy stew with meat), Piachista / Пячыста (meat platter), Grechaniki / Гречанікі (buckwheat patties), Verashchaka / Верашчака (pork ribs), Blini / Бліны (thick pancakes), Syrniki / Сырники (quark pancakes), Lazanki / Лазанки (pasta), Babka / Бабка (grated potato pie), Vareniki / Вареники (stuffed dumplings), Pelmeni / Пельмени (stuffed dumplings), Zacirka / Зацірка (noodle soup), Halushki / Галушки (thick, non-stuffed noodles), Kalduni / Калдуны (stuffed dough dumplings), Shuba / Шуба (Russian herring salad with beets), Kletski / Клецкий (boiled flour balls), Smazhenka / Смаженка (Belarusian pizza with potato base), Tsibriki / Цибрики (potato balls).
- The Veg Situation: Going veg is pretty easy in Europe and also in Belarus. Every supermarket has its own vegan/vegetarian section and there are quite some restaurants… check them here. Some veg traditional Belarusian dishes: Draniki / Дранікі, Lakshini / Лакшыны, Zhur / Жур, Grechaniki / Гречанікі, Blini / Бліны, Syrniki / Сырники, Kletski / Клецкий, Tsibriki / Цибрики.
- National Drink: Krambambulia / Крамбамбуля (alcoholic mix drink containing red wine and liquors), Sbiten / Збіцень (hot winter beverage), Kisel / Кісель (frozen berries and potato starch).
Sleep Cheap
- Hostels / Hotels / Guesthouses: Hostels and alternative accommodation are pretty cheap in Belarus. However, all main booking engines boycott Belarus, except one: Hotels.com. The other option is to google accommodations and contact them (in Russian) for a reservation. Writer’s choice: I stayed in Andrew Loft Hostel, a very cheap option at a central location.
- Couchsurfing: allows you to stay with locals. Nowadays it has a moderate sign-up cost (unless you put a third-world country as homebase), but paying extra for verification is unnecessary: Positive reviews are way more important. Once active, there are no costs for staying at someone’s house. In order to get accepted, make sure to write an elaborate review explaining why you applied to this specific profile and think you and your host are a good match (copy-pastes tend to be ignored). The Couchsurfing community in Belarus is a very active one and the competition is basically zero, as there hardly aren’t any other travelers. If your’re bikepacking you can also look into Warm Showers, which is a bikepacking community focussing on 1-night stays.
- Wild Camping: is permitted on forest and public land.
Mama Said
Transport
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- Safety: The biggest threat in Belarus comes from its own totalitarian government. Arrest and imprisonment for perceived anti-governmental actions and expressed opinions doesn’t exclude foreign visitors. Stay low-key and try to refrain from openly expressing political opinions in public. Belarus is a heavily policed state, which does result in a low crime rate. You can probably leave your wallet on the ground in the middle of downtown Minsk, and no one would touch it out of fear of the consequences (cameras everywhere).
- Tap Water: is safe to drink.
- Credit cards: Check with your bank or credit card company if they operate in Belarus, as many of them don’t with the current political situation. If they do, verify the commission and exchange rate, as they tend to be unfavorable. It is usually cheaper to bring a stash of cash in dollars/euros to bring to the exchange offices in Belarus (much better rates here).
- Simcard: Public wifi is pretty terrible in Belarus. They all require time-consuming registration and once that’s finally done it usually still doesn’t work. Buying a local simcard is therefore recommended, especially since Belarus is not part of the EU and your international roaming won’t work here. The main providers are Live, A1, or MTS. Unlike many other countries, they don’t sell simcards in kiosks, gas stations or supermarkets. You have to go to a flagship store of the phone brand and not even all of them can help you (only the second one would sell one to me). Your passport is requiered. I used Live, which allegedly has he smallest network but the best rates, and I had coverage all over Belarus.
Transport
- Walking: Minsk is a very big city and distances might be rather large for the average walker. Yet, if you take public transport to the separate areas, explorations can easily be done on foot within the area.
- Cycling: Cycling is an option in summer time, when there’s no heavy snowfall. Minsk has a few bicycle lanes. Keep in mind that it’s not a very common way to get around and vehicles might not necessarily be very mindful of cyclists.
- Public transport within the city: Minsk has a very cheap and efficient metro system, for which you buy coins at the vending desks at the station. Minsk also has an urban train, connecting Minsk Pasažyrski with Ždanovičy and the Minsk Sea. Minsk as well as other big cities have trams, trolleybuses and an extensive bus network of city buses and minibuses (called “mashrutkas”). Smaller destinations only have buses and minibuses. Tickets can be bought in a vending kiosk at the stop, from the conductor or from the driver. Some transportation options in the cities accept card or phone payment, but generally it’s cash only. There are also tickets available with a certain amount of trips, or with unlimited trips for a certain amount of days. In Minsk there is also an option to buy a swipe-card (money refunded when you return the card), which includes all modes of transport and gives even cheaper rates. On the buses, the letter “C” (3-c) marks rapidness: it skips several stops on the standard route. The letter “Э” (3-э) is for express buses, the fastest option, for which you need a different, more expensive ticket. Tickets need to be validated in the yellow validator box. Google Maps or Moovit don’t properly work here, bute the Yandex app gives accurate information on routes.
- Public transport from city to city: Intercity bus tickets can be bought at the bus station, which is located next to the Plosca Lienina metro station and Vakzal metro stop. Online payment is usually only reserved for Belarusian credit cards, and all websites are exclusively in Russian, unneccesarily compicating things. Besides big buses, there are also minibuses (mashrutakas) driving from city to city. As a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language, I found the minibus system incredibly complicated. You have to reserve them on the phone somehow, speaking Russian, and then go to a very unclear and unmarked stop somewhere at a roadside that you simply “have to know”. I have missed multiple of these reserved buses, even with the help of locals. I highly prefer line buses leaving from an obvious bus station, or a train.
- Taxi / Uber: The local taxi app is called Yandex Taxi. It’s very affordable.
- Train: Traveling by train is one of the best ways to get around in Belarus. It’s comfortable, reliable and cheap. Prices and travel times vary quite a bit, depending on what type of train and what seat you choose. There are Urban Lines, Regional Lines and Interregional Lines. There are also different seats and classes available, many even offering you a full bed or bench for yourself. It’s best to buy the tickets at least a day ahead in the train station, having your info translated in advance (I’ve never encountered a single train station employee that speaks english). You can also book online or by phone with delivery (by actual paper mail) or pickup, but this just seems like extra steps. The website in Russian and Belarusian can be found here.
- Car Rental: This is pretty complicated to arrange, as most booking engines that facilitate car rental when traveling are boycotted in Belarus as well. You must contact a local company (in Russian) to get a quote.
- Airport: National Airport Minsk (MSQ). There are currently no European flights serving Belarus.
- Hitchhiking: is relatively common and easy in Belarus. I hitchhiked on several occasions and I always managed with relative ease (as a woman alone). More info on hitchhiking in Belarus can be found on Hitchwiki.
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