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After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. To be updated

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By hauteboy
May 9th 2009

Victory Day in Minsk Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

Belarus dancers

May 8, 2009 Flight: Kaliningrad (KGD) to Riga (RIX), Air Baltic, F50, economy Flight: Riga (RIX) to Minsk (MSQ), Air Baltic, F50, economy Hotel: Hotel Yubileiny, Minsk, $67 I boarded the airBaltic Fokker 50 flight to Riga, the flight was about an hour and otherwise uneventful. By the time the flight arrived in Riga, I was starving and hoped I could find a restaurant. However the next flight to Minsk left from the gate right next to where we arrived.. it was a sterile area but no restaurants, just a vending machine that luckily took a 2E coin for a candybar. [View Full Entry]

By Islandboy
November 3rd 2008

Japan to England, Overland - Part 8: The Girl From Minsk Europe » Belarus » Hrodna Voblast » Hrodna

Entrance to Brest Fortress

Come to Belarus! Part of the axis of evil? The Last Dictatorship in Europe?? The Only Surviving Remnant of the Soviet Union???" "Where?" Indeed, when I first heard that to reach Europe from Russia, I would have to get a transit visa through a country called Belarus, quickly I decided that A; Because I had never heard of the place, it would make more sense to divert north from Moscow to St Petersburg and come out by the Baltic sea, and explore Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania instead, countries which had at least, had something enough to [View Full Entry]

By Hannah and Ben
September 21st 2008

Minsk.... Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

Last we saw of England

So here we are. Minsk. Who would have thought a place with such an amusing name could be so grey. And that goes for the people as well as the weather. We have arrived safely, if a little tired and dizzy spending 21hours cramped into a tiny cabin with the bag lady from Moscow taking up all available space and not a soul speaking English - which would have been ok if we weren't glared at by every person in the carriage every time we walked anywhere - or anyone walked passed us (aparently a glare is the same as "please [View Full Entry]

By Jai Essex
September 12th 2008

Part 10: Brest (Days 22 and 23) Europe » Belarus » Brest Voblast » Brest

Lenin statue
Statue of Lenin standing proud along the appropriately named vul. Lenina

Regular readers will already be aware of the childish undercurrent to my sense of humour, so when the opportunity arose to explore a bit of Brest I was not going to turn it down. We did not want to milk it though, so we stayed in the small south western border town for just 20 hours. We had enjoyed a first class four hour journey from Minsk. It only cost 11 pounds but we didn't get any food. We did, however, enjoy the screening of 101 Dalmatians in Russian. Fortunately it's not a deep film so we could work out what [View Full Entry]

By Jai Essex
September 10th 2008

Part 9: Minsk (Days 19, 20, 21, 22) Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

Welcome to Minsk
The grand Soviet architecture hits you as you leave the station.

Arriving in Minsk on a warm Monday afternoon, I half-expected the place to be set in black and white like an old war film. I expected serious, moustachioed men in beige trenchcoats and sunglasses to exchange briefcases in dark alleyways, stopping only to utter something like "Red Fox, November in Sevastopol is always clement" before scurrying off. For Belarus is technically a dictatorship, run by controversial president Aleksander Lukashenko, who encourages homophobia, xenaphobia, and has gotten away with tweaking the constitution to ensure he has stayed in power for 14 years. The KGB is [View Full Entry]

By fiona adam
August 15th 2008

Belarus Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

Again we must begin with apologies to our regular readers for the lateness of todays entry. We have made it to the Crimea, but the lack of internet facilities in the resort town of Yalta is quite astounding...more on this southern tip of the Ukraine at a later date though, as we must fill you in on one of the most interesting places we have visited thus far... Minsk, Belarus All the guidebooks (including the one that was unfortunately stolen from us) have 'warned' that Belarus, and especially its capital, is like a soviet time-warp. We can but confirm that philosophy. [View Full Entry]

By dream0nstars
June 4th 2008

So many planes, so little internet. Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

Minsk Airport
Our view driving away from a somewhat dark and dingy airport.

I'm listing this as Belarus since I'll have plenty of time to list for Poland again since today is my first day of that two week vacation. Our trip was fantastic. It started out in Krakow with some typical large group drama. We had about a million walking tours and went to Aushwitz as well. After 3 days there we flew back to Warszawa to take another flight to Minsk. Both the Minsk airport and Krakow airport are tiny. Warszawa airport, on the other hand, has undergone serious renovations and the security there now rivals that of the US. What insanity [View Full Entry]

By JackTravel
April 22nd 2008

Belarus Europe » Belarus

Minsk
Lenin still stands

BELARUS On arriving in Minsk I was pleasantly surprised by the modern central station. It had all the facilities one could ask for. I sat with my backpack in the main concourse. It was 8:10 a.m. on a sunny August morning. Studying the map of the downtown area in my guidebook, marking places of importance. I would shack-up at the Hotel Jubileynaya. Reservations had been made. The station was busy, people on the move, others waiting patiently for their train. Arrival passengers been greeted by loved ones. I glanced at the vast timetable, destinations in Cyrillic: St. Petersburg, Brest, Mos [View Full Entry]

By Bellcore
January 10th 2008

Into Belarus Europe » Belarus

Statue at St Pancras - big

I'm now in Moscow safe and sound. I enjoyed the train journey and would certainly recommend it. Talk about it being a small world. The first time I spoke to travellers was in Cologne station. They were waiting for the same train as me as they are doing a similar route. The Irish guy asked me where I was from so I told him Carlisle, expecting him to have never heard of it, but it turned out the girl he was with is from Carlisle. Bizarre. The standards went down somewhat when I got to Warsaw. The East station I had [View Full Entry]

By Sabah Thorny Stick
December 15th 2007

Belarussian Babooshkas and Sizzling Saunas Europe » Belarus » Minsk Voblast » Minsk

The Sauna Group
Artur on the left, me somewhere in the middle!

It was a short train journey from the Polish border to Brest, and the train was crammed with lots of bulky women, but possibly more packed with their even bulkier bags. It seems this border is a major smuggling and trade route, with goods unobtainable in Belarus being bought in Poland, then sold on. However, this is soon set to stop with Poland entering the Schengen area, making the visa process for Belarussians far more difficult. I was later told that the cross-border Belarussian traders have to change their passports every two weeks, as they are so quickly filled with Polish [View Full Entry]

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