10%

Belarus

Four days in the last European Dictatorship - 07/2016

By Beyond All Maps - Portraits of our Planet by Thorsten Mehret

February 6^th, 2017

Honestly, I was not waiting eagerly to find an opportunity to visit Belarus. It happened more by chance joining my girlfriend on a business trip out of pure curiosity. Belarus is an independent state since 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. It has been ruled by President Aljaksandr Lukaschenka since 1994 and in Western media is often considered as the last European dictatorship. Enough to arouse my interest. In four days I could get a short glance of the capital Minsk and the two UNESCO World Heritage sites of Mir and Nesvizh Castle nearby.

Minsk

Wow, its tidy, very clean, almost spotless - this was my first thought walking around the city. Wow, no police on every corner, in fact few police around at all (at least not in uniform) was my second thought. I don´t know why, but somehow that took me by surprise.

On the other hand, the monumental soviet architecture around the city took me less by surprise and didn't fail to create an kinda repressive atmosphere. 80% of the city was destroyed in the WW2 and the best and most famous Soviet architects totally rebuild the "Hero city" directly after the war.

Write your story here. (Optional)

Write your story here. (Optional)

Money Matters

A couple of days before my arrival a big monetary reform had taken place, cutting four decimal digits (10,000 rubel became 1). The old banknotes were replaced by new notes and coins, looking similar to the their Euro counterparts. A sign of geopolitical orientation? Who knows? As both were in circulation and prices sometimes were mentioned in the old, the new or both ways, this was kinda confusing.

For European standards Belarus is cheap, a filling meal with a beer in a good restaurant in Minsk downtown will set you back around 10 EUR. But considering that the average income is around 500 EUR/month, this is a fortune.

100 old Rubel = 0,005 EUR (To pay a coffee with this notes, you would need a bag)

Food and Drinks

I can´t say that the "typical" local food I tried (dumplings, sausages, sauted mashed potatos, etc.) was a culinary highlight, but it was a proper filling. The better restaurants in the city center had menus in English or at least pictures. This was handy as otherwise ordering from a menu in Cyrillic would be a real gamble. But ordering in other restaurants or even in a coffee shop can be challenging. At least the the word "Cappuccino" seems to work worldwide. Don´t bet on English speaking staff. Nevertheless I read that the service culture in Belarus is, er...., lets say not very developed. However everyone treated us well and tried their best, definitely exceeding my expectations.

Ordering in a coffee shop. Hope for english speaking stuff or order Mokka or Cappuccino.

Heroic Moments

In summer 1941, Belarus was conquered by the German "Wehrmacht" and severely devastated. 25% of the population died. After a fierce guerrilla war, the country was freed in 1943 by the Red Army. There are many monuments around Minsk commemorating the heroic moments.

Write your story here. (Optional)

Write your story here. (Optional)

Minsk at Night

Write your story here. (Optional)

Churches

Write your story here. (Optional)

The National Library

According to our guide, one of the 25 most impressive building in the world. I didn't ask who made up this ranking... well, you judge!

Impressions

It´s not possible to get a real insight within four days, but at least a glimpse. What really surprised me: compared cities of a similar size, street life rarely seems to happen. I found myself several times looking around, wondering where all the people are. I mean, around two million inhabitants live in Minsk and I only saw empty parks, empty squares and empty wide main streets in the inner city. Saturday didn't bring a big change. Apart from few souvenir shops, no streets vendors were around, and almost no coffee bars with street sitting areas. Events like in the picture below, with spectators watching a street performance, were limited to Saturday in a small entertainment area. Maybe I was not at the the right spots at the right point in time, but the impression remains: Minsk is an empty town.

Love

Write your story here. (Optional)

Outside Minsk

Our hotel arranged a car and driver for a day tour to visit two UNESCO World Heritage sites outside Minsk: Mir and Nesvizh castle. Our driver (the brother in law of the the hotel receptionist) was very nice, he even stopped to buy some delicious forest berries for us. Unfortunately, he spoke only very limited English, but thanks to Google translator, we had a funny time. The landscape outside Minsk is flat and rather boring. Streets are good, traffic is low, and within 1.5 hours we reached our first destination, Mir castle. From there it´s only 30 min to the Nesvizh. Both castles are from the 16th century and, although not spectacular, definitely worth a visit. Nesvizh castle seems to be very popular for wedding pictures, as several bridal couples with photographers were around.

Mir Castle

Write your story here. (Optional)

Nesvizh Castle

Write your story here. (Optional)

Button Label

Story Told With

Start publishing stories like this