The country of Belarus is in Eastern Europe. It has borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania andLatvia.

Understand

Originally part of Kievan Rus, Belarus was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Polish Partitions in the 18th century. After over a hundred years of Russian rule followed by seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. However, under authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko (since 1994), 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 steps towards implementation have seen limited success. The economy is completely dependent on Russia, and the Belarusian government is open to western government and people stance (if they are open minded and have good goals).

The country has not seen much structural reform in the past few years. Political and journalistic activity is tightly controlled. The country was the most developed republic (excluding the three Baltic states) in the former USSR, the country has a lot of remains from its socialist past and can not be regarded as materialistically backwards.

Cities

(Officially) geographical names should be transliterated from Belarusian to Latin script letters according to the”instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script”, although very often you can see other ways of transliteration.

• Minsk– the capital
• Brest– regional capital on the Western border with Poland with impressive architectural sights
• Homiel– also spelled Gomel
• Hrodna– also often spelled Grodno
• Niasviž– also spelled Nesvizh, Njasvizh or Nyasvizh
• Polack– also spelled Polotsk, Polatsk, the oldest city in Belarus (first mentioned in written sources in IX century) with some interesting historical architecture
• Lida– a medium-sized city with a well-preserved medieval castle.
• Viciebsk– also spelled Vitsebsk
• Mahilioŭ– also spelled Mogilev, Mahilyow

Other destinations

• Bielaviežskaja Pušča National Park— on the border with Poland, this primeval forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Mir Castle Complex— another UNESCO World Heritage site. Tours to Mir often visit additionally the nearby city of Navahrudak, a once important location with impressive ruins of a gothic castle.

Regions

Get in

Visa requirements, basic information

Eight steps to get a visa

1.    Find an Belarus travel agency. Plenty of them can be found within first few hits on Google. E-mail the agency info they need, typically: names, arrival and departure dates to/from Belarus, dates of birth, and the numbers of passports of visitors.

2.    The agency books a hotel for you (your group) for these days or offers you a list of hotels to choose from and they send you the confirmation (invitation letter) with a bill for you to settle (you can also pay the bill in cash on arrival). Note that the agencies book hotels that they cooperate with and it is highly unlikely that they’ll book you a cheap hostel from booking.com. Be prepared you’ll have to pay a normal hotel room price, not a budget dorm.

3.    After you have settled the bill the agency sends an invitation and a copy of the tourist services contract to the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in your country. Alternatively, if you note the agency that you plan to apply for the visa on arrival, they will send the documents to the consular office at the airport and a copy to you.

4.    In the Embassy you fill in the form, pay the fee and obtain a visa as quickly as you want (up to 48 hours).

5.    If there’s no Belarusian embassy in your country, you can also obtain a tourist visa at the Minsk National Airport on arrival. The procedure might take from ten to more than ninety minutes. Take care to get ALL details right when trying to obtain a visa at the Minsk National Airport. For example, if an invitation is needed, then it has to be sent to the visa office at the airport at least three days before your arrival, and the invitation must fill all formal requirements, e.g. it must be stamped by Notarius Publicus. Visa applications delivered at the airport are often rejected, and in this case the visitor will be sent back with the first possible plane. While waiting for the plane the visitor will be kept in a room under strict police control, without food and with drinking water available only from a sink at the toilet.

Several tips on applying in MSQ Airport will save you precious time.

1.    After having obtained a short-term visa (valid for 30 days and cannot be extended) you arrive in Belarus (e.g. in Minsk) and check in the hotel that has been booked for you.

2.    You are registered in the hotel for the whole period of your stay there automatically.

3.    If you want to rent a private apartment after this, you should register with the local Migration and Citizenship Department OGIM (you can learn details in your travel agency). It would take some time and about $15.

4.    Note, that there is NO Belarus tourist VOUCHER any more and all offers to sell one are outdated to say the least.

Visa free entry

The following countries do not need a visa. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil (90 days) Cuba (30 days), Ecuador (30 days), Georgia, Israel (90 days), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Macedonia(with a private invitation or tourist voucher), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro (30 days with a private invitation or tourist voucher), Qatar, Russia, Serbia (30 days), Tajikistan,Turkey (30 days), Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela (90 days). An up-to-date list of visa-exempt countries can be found here: [1].

Visa at Minsk National Airport

Belarusian visas at Minsk National Airport (MSQ) are issued to nationals of countries with no consular offices of the Republic of Belarus at €90. However, the prices for nationals WITH a Belarusian consulate in their passport country are rather high – €180 when they apply at MSQ on arrival. Standard documents like a letter of invitation have to be provided, too – a hotel booking is not enough, at least for a tourist visa, but not other entry points. See the visa price-list in English

For nationals of other countries (Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Estonia, Egypt, France, Hungary, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Republic of South Africa, Slovak Republic, Montenegro, Switzerland, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA), visas may be issued upon arrival on an exceptional basis only. However, this option will be unavailable to people with Belarusian embassies in their countries starting from 1 September 2012, except if the reason for entry is urgent (such as illness or death of family).

Visa from Belarusian Embassy

You can apply for a visa at a Belarusian Consulate or Embassy. The list can be found on the Foreign Affairs Ministry website. Quick visa processing is more expensive, but you will get it within half a day.

There are visa fees and processing changes, so make sure that you check with the local embassy or consulate before you plan your trip. A visa will take a full page of your passport so make sure you have at least 1 page free.

Note: There have been numerous reports of people following ALL application protocols as regards visa applications for Belarus, but ending up disappointed. One common example is the refusal by the Embassy to accept crossed postal orders i.e. a postal order made payable to Embassy of Belarus. If at all possible, you should use a Visa processing agency who can liaise with the consulate on your behalf. This will cost you more but its worth it OR visit the embassy nearest to you in person to organize your Visa.

Communication with the embassies/consulates in Kensington (London, England), Vilnius (Lithuania), Moscow (Russia) can be poor especially by e-mail, post and via telephone. In addition, there have been reports of e-mail queries going unanswered and express Visa applications not being processed in the 48 hour period. They may call you with an update on an application but the communication can be poor or unclear with the caller not identifying themselves.

In addition the offices close on Wednesdays.

From experience, applying for a Visa for Belarus can be a very customer unfriendly experience. If you do not live in London or you are in a hurry, you SHOULD use the help of a Visa Processing Agencies where you can for a smoother experience.

Visa fees

Normal fee for Belarusian private or business single visa can vary from USD40-80. Visas for children under 16 are issued free of charge; a visa processing fee can be levied in this case by certain Belarusian embassies or consulates.

Visa fees are generally as follows:

• transit (B) visa – USD25 (for UK citizens: GBP55)
• short-stay (C) visa – USD70 (for UK citizens: GBP75)

Japanese and Serbian passport holders are exempted from visa fees.

There is now a trend to spare the transit tourists from a need to apply for a transit visa at MSQ Airport. There is no document with guidelines available to public, but if you come from a migration secure country and travel with Belavia via Minsk to the third destination it is highly unlikely that you will need a transit visa. ALWAYS check with the Minsk Airport Consulate.

Time needed

Belarusian visas are issued in 5 working days; there is also a possibility to get it urgently (in 48 hours) by paying a double fee.

Documents required

In order to get a visa you will also need a passport and an invitation, other papers depending on the type of visa you apply for. There is a compulsory statemedical insurance for visitors to Belarus if you do have a policy valid in Belarus. The fee for this insurance is USD0.50 per day rounded up to the nearest US dollar (eg 1-2 days: USD1; 3-4 days: USD2; etc.). Citizens of the UK are the only nation exempt from this procedure. Even if your medical insurance is valid in Belarus, it is common for customs control to insist you purchase insurance at the airport. This can be purchased just before you go through customs, so it is important you carry a few euros on you.

To get a Belarusian business visa a foreigner has to present an invitation of any Belarusian legal entity officially registered in the Republic of Belarus. The invitation is to be written on letterhead paper and should contain name, personal and passport details as well as purpose and duration of visit. The invitation is to be signed and bear official seal of the inviting organization. Embassies or consulates (with the exception of Consular office at the National airport) can often except invitations received by fax. Multiple business visa is obtainable against payment of USD300 from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consular department upon presentation of all required documents (contact phone + 375 17 222 26 61).

To get a short-term visa for private purposes (visiting Belarusian relatives, friends, other private matters) with a validity of 30 days, maximum for 1-, 2- or multiple entries for citizens of the EU as well as nationals of several other countries, such as Australia, Andorra, Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, Croatia, Chile, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Swiss Confederation, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Uruguay, Republic of South Africa and Japan, no visa support documents shall be required (letter of invitation etc. documents). However, the consulate may decide you do need a letter of invitation anyway. So don’t be too confident that you can get a Visa without documents. For example, Canadian citizens are not guaranteed to get a short term visa for private purposes without a letter of invitation. Short term visas are available from Minsk airport, consulates and embassies.

To get a visa for private purposes a foreigner who is planning to stay in the country for more than 30 days has to present the invitation issued for a Belarusian resident by his citizenship and migration office. The original invitation should be handed over to the embassy/consulate or Consular office at the National airport in this case, any fax or photocopy is excluded. Multiple private visa is issued upon presentation of the original invitation to foreigners, visiting their close relatives. Very often Belarusian consulates grant private visas to the nationals of migration secure countries without any invitation papers.

Visas can be valid for one, two, three or multiple entries. They are to be used within the period indicated therein.

Some agencies provide letters of invitation, apartments, airport transfers etc. Any good search engine should provide links. Avoid belarusrent.com, however. Reports have been received of them taking money through paypal, though not delivering on services and refusing refunds.

Registration and visa extension in Belarus Foreigners visiting Belarus must register within a period of 5 business days with local Migration and Citizenship Department and have registration put in their migration card. If you are staying in a hotel, this will be arranged by the hotel. A police registration form can be found here[2].

If needed, private or business visas can be extended up to 90 days when staying in Belarus. It will be done by Minsk city citizenship and migration office (contact phone + 375 17 231 38 09) or Regional citizenship and migration office in Hrodna, Brest, Minsk, Mahilyou, Homel upon presentation of all required documents.

Exit permits required for all foreigners intending to leave the country with expired visas. They are issued by Minsk city passport and visa office or Regional passport and visa offices in Hrodna, Brest, Minsk, Mogilev, Homel.

ENTRY FROM LITHUANIA

It is only in Consulate in Vilnius that you can submit your documents applying DIRECTLY for a visa to Belarus. They issue all visas on the same day – if it is urgent you pay twice as much, get the visa on the same day and it is valid from tomorrow (for example), if not, you pay a normal fee, still collect it on the same day, but travel only within one week (for example).

It is very unlikely for the visa regime to become any softer for EU citizens in the near future. First attempts for visa free travelling are made in the Polish and Lithuanian border areas where people (who reside there permanently) will be able to travel visa free in the 50 km border area.

Tips

There is no possibility to get a Belarusian entry visa on the border (except for the Minsk National Airport)

Latest prices and procedures are available from the Embassy Sites [3]. Pre-issued visas save a lot of time on entry.

By plane

If you do go through Moscow via Sheremetyevo airport, there are two terminals and you will need transportation from terminal 2 (the international terminal) to terminal 1 (the domestic terminal). There is a free shuttle that runs between the two terminals every 30 minutes. You can catch the Aeroexpress shuttle bus on the ground floor of the recently completed airport train station. Taxi fares between the two terminals can be high, but you can easily negotiate lower fares with individual drivers.

Several European airlines have flights to Minsk (operating at National airport Minsk [4] situated approximately 40 km from capital Minsk). Belavia and Gomelavia, both local, as well as Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Lot Polish airlines, Air Baltic, Czech Airlines, and some other carriers offer this destination. You can find a list with all direct flights to Minsk here. [5] The only national airlines – Belavia [6] and Gomelavia [7]- could be competitive due to attractive ticket prices. If you opt to land in Minsk National Airport, you should be aware of certain issues that might keep you slow when going through the airport procedures.

Flying directly to Belarus is expensive if you do not book tickets early in advance. For example, Estonian Air [8] sells tickets for €92 if you make reservations 4 months in advance. If you buy the same ticket a week before the trip, the price is much higher.

If you have time and want to save some money, fly to Vilnius or Kaunas, (both in Lithuania) and take a train to Minsk. The train ride from Vilnius is only 2.5 hours and generally trains leave five-six times per day. You will save a great deal of money compared to a short notice direct flight. Visas are, of course, still required.

By train

Some of the entry/exit points along the Poland/Belarus border include:

• Kuźnica-Białostocka/Hrodna
• Terespol/Brest

You can take a local train between the two corresponding border towns.

Taking the Vilnius<->Minsk express train is the fastest way to travel between Belarus and Lithuania (~2.5 hours). You can buy the ticket online onhttp://poezd.rw.by/?lang=en. Don’t forget to enable the electronic registration, otherwise you’d still have to visit the ticket booth to acquire the ticket itself (if travelling from Vilnius, this may even not be possible!). Try not to book the transit Russian trains – these are slower and don’t always have the electronic registration option.

Timetable information are available on sites like:

• Deutsche Bahn (DB)[9],
• Polish trains PKP (english)[10] (polish) [11],
• Belarussian railway timetables:[12]
• Commonwealth of independent states (CIS) trains (and others)[13],
• Latvia trains 1[14],
• Latvia trains 2[15]
• Lithuania train timetables[16]
• trains and bus timetables at Baltic countries[17]
• Estonia train timetables 1:[18]
• Estonia train & bus timetables 2:[19]

N.B. There is no direct train from Estonia, but via track Tallin-Tartu- Valga/Valka (Valga/Valka is city at the Estonian/Latvian border. There are a few trains that go to Riga. The name of the train station in Valka is Lugazi. There are plans that direct trains will start in 2010, removing the need for changing in Valka/ Valga, from Estonia, Tallin to Latvia, Riga.

Passport, customs controls

Passport controls happen in the train itself. When going into Belarus, they typically happen before the train leaves the station in Poland.

Customs controls happen in a room of the train station in the Belarus train station. As of 2005, you are most likely to have a short chat with a customs officer – the system of green (nothing to declare) and red (something to declare) streams and random checks of suspicious looking people in the green stream – everyone is presumed to be suspicious. In practice, the rules seem to be fairly standard – declare expensive goods, you can import/export a small quantity of alcohol, cigarettes, computer equipment for personal use. However, the formal content of the customs form asks whether you are carrying anypublications. So if you have, e.g. a US passport and are carrying a whole bunch of do-it-yourself-colour-revolution materials and you have that subversive look about you, then you will probably be giving the customs people a legal reason to detain you and/or deport you.

Warning: the customs room in the train station where you exit Belarus may be difficult to find (especially if you walk around the station rather casually and your Cyrillic is weak) and it closes a long time before the train leaves; if you arrive only 10 minutes before the train leaves, you will be refused customs control and access to the train. Customs may also be carried out at the border while on the train. It adds over an hour to the trip, but other than that, the officials are efficient and friendly.

On a local train between two border towns, chances are high that you will be accompanied/befriended by women trading underpants, soap powder, strawberries, cigarettes etc across the border. They may be friendly and casual or (leaving Belarus) they might put pressure on you to help them in their trade by carrying cigarettes over the border for them – the idea is that you buy it cheap in Belarus and that you resell it to them once you’re in Poland. Chances are also good that their friendly mafia boss is with them and you’ll all travel together in the same train carriage, so chances of you getting away and reselling the cigarettes independently are probably weak. Instead, just smile, use your common sense and probably best not to provoke them. If you take their cigarettes, make sure not to take more than a legal allowance and return them to the women in Poland. Don’t expect to be paid for it. Don’t look to the border guards for help. They know the women traders and seem to have some informal deal with them (e.g. not being strict about visas, etc) – the Belarus border guards are worried only about political subversives; they have higher priorities than defending you against women trading underpants and cigarettes.

By car

At the Terespol/Brest crossing, there are about six different controls. As of August 2009, the Polish side seems to work quite slowly. Being on the outer border of the European Union, they check whether one isn’t exporting a stolen car, isn’t wanted by European authorities etc.

After crossing the bridge over river Bug and getting on the Belarusian side, one has to show passports and gets a piece of paper with the car’s registration mark on it. Then one goes to either green or red channel depending on whether a customs control is needed. In the green channel one has to complete two checks, the completion of each check is recorded on the paper received on entering the Belarusian side.

First passport/visa/migration card checks are done by an officer who comes towards your car. They also check medical insurance and it is quite likely you will be forced to purchase the state compulsory medical insurance at the border. The cost for two weeks was about 5 euros.

Second is the transport/car check, for which one needs to go to a special window towards the end of the customs area. You will be required to produce a “green card” (proof of insurance) valid for Belarus, or will have to purchase a compulsory car insurance at the border. In August 2009 the insurance for 14 days was 17 euros and there was no problem buying it at the Terespol/Brest crossing. You will also get another piece of paper with your car registration mark. You will need to show this one on the way back.

With the stamped paper, one can go forward towards the last barrier. The officer there just takes the paper, checks that you have completed the controls, and lets you into Belarus.

It would be nice to believe that there’s a geiger counter to check for stuff which is radioactive from the Chernobyl accident, but it’s unclear if this is used in practice – it’s not done in any obvious way.

By bus

Taking a bus from any border of the country of Belarus is easy. From all the Baltic countries there is a lot of bus traffic to Belarus here are some samples:

From Tallinn (Estonia) there are direct buses to Minsk [20] and [21], as from Riga (Latvia) [22].

From Baltic countries bus companies that operate to Minsk include: Olimp [23], Nordeka [24], Eurolines [25] Ecolines [26]
Taking the bus from Vilnius to Minsk is a quick (4 hours) and fairly comfortable ride, as long as you stick to western international carriers such as Eurolines. From Kaunas you may travel to Minsk by Kaunas based Kautra company. It’s advisable and cheaper to book tickets in advance by internet [27]. Journey takes about 5,5 hours. Buy your ticket in advance. Before beginning travel to Belarus remember to check that all your papers are in order meaning you have valid visa & Belarus state travel insurance for your trip. For example quick, easy and comfortable way to begin trip is to begin trip from one of the Baltic cities that have Belarusian embassy or consulate.

By boat

Belarus shares many rivers with its neigbouring countries, so it’s no big surprise that in Belarus each major city has a riverport and possibilities for river cruises. The easiest way to check departure times, routes and availability is to call Belarussian River Steamship Company [28] and/or Belarusian tourist companies [29]. PLEASE NOTE! Cruise inquiries are recommended to do with phone. If you cannot reach one number it is good to call other numbers that same company have (Phone numbers and e-mail addresses change in rapid phase in Belarus)

Belarusian border crossing cruises are such as from Belarus, Polotsk into Latvia’s Daugavpilis and Poland’s Augustow chanel. Augustow chanal cruises departure from Belarusian city called Grodno and the route is via Neman river.

By a canoe

Kayak paddling, rowing and canoeing are popular hobbies in Belarus.

In some cases with special pre-planning and preparations with the authorities and tourist agents one can cross the border also by canoeing.

By foot

If you’re at one of the double town crossings, e.g.

• Kuźnica-Białostocka/Hrodna
• Terespol/Brest

there may be some places where you can cross by foot – e.g. because you’re on the last day of your Belarus visa and you want to be sure not to overstay – but more likely you’ll have to befriend some people in a car who will adopt you for a few hours and will (implicitly) pretend that you’re travelling with them. The border guards have no problem with this. Remember that the people in the car are taking a risk as well as you – as far as they know you might be a National Endowment for Democracy agent who will be discovered by the Belarus border guard and get them into a heap of trouble. So if they are Belarusians and they ask for a fee of US$5 consider it fair. See the section By car above for what happens in your adopted car.

Get around

Belarus is not a large country, and a traveller can reach from one side of its border to the other in less than a day.

By train

Travelling by train around the country will get you to a lot of desired destinations relatively cheaply and quickly (make sure that you book an express train). Also, you will get a chance to capture a glimpse of Belarusian nature, as the forests and plains often start right on the edges of the cities. Notice how there are almost no elevations in this part of Europe – it is all vast green plain. Do not count on being lucky to spot wild animals by the railway tracks – they are normally afraid of loud noises and savage passengers.

Regional trains (‘diesels’) run during the day. They’re not quite as fast as buses, but make up for it in price. Long-distance trains mostly run during the night. The standard class is плацкарт (platskart) formed of bunks all along the carriage, while купе (kupe) offers individual compartments with just four bunks. The lowest class is общий (obshchy) which is seated, so make sure not to book this if you’re going to be travelling all night, unless you’re on a really tight budget! Train tickets are best bought a few days in advance.

By bus

Travelling by road will get you far, since the infrastructure in Belarus was well developed after World War II. Inter-city bus tickets can be bought from the bus station (which is easily found in all big cites) and rarely sell out before the day of departure. Buses leave from ‘platforms’ which are numbered, so check your ticket for the platform number. There may be as many as 20 or more platforms, many of which aren’t immediately visible, so don’t just stand outside and wait for the bus to pull up. A fare for a long-distance journey might be around BYR100,000 (about USD11) if bought from a bus station. There are local buses too in towns (larger cities may have trams and/or trolleybuses, and Minsk has a metro too) which run fairly frequently: simply get on and the conductor will come and find you. Fares for these are typically not more than BYR2000 (USD0.25).

There are also a network of little minibuses (known as a маршрутка, marshrutka), typically painted yellow, which are generally cheaper than (local authority) buses. Seats on inter-city ones can be reserved by phone. Local ones work like buses, only smaller.

By car

You can rent cars in Minsk at the airport or city from the major international rental chains or smaller local companies. Petrol is relatively cheap by European standards. 1 litre is <USD$1 (as of April 2010). All petrol stations have the same prices (mandated by the government), so no need for shopping around. But be aware that drivers have a much less developed sense of road safety than travellers from the west will be used to. See also Stay safe.

Please note that, since July 1, 2013, On the Toll roads, foreign vehicles and all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes have to have an On Board Unit in the car. You can buy it at a Costumer Service Point. The rates and places of Costumer Service Points are on the website BelToll System

Talk

Belarusian and Russian are the two official languages. Both languages are part of the Slavic language family and are closely related, and there are many similarities in those languages. According to the 2009 official census, 53.2% of Belarusian residents considered Belarusian to be their native language. However only 23% predominantly speak it at home, and these are for the most part older inhabitants of rural villages where the intense Russification of the soviet era was less strongly felt. Polish is spoken in the western parts, especially around Hrodna. But most local Poles use their own dialect with Belarusian as the base and with only some Polish words and sounds. There is a similar mixture of Belarusian and Russian, called Трасянка (Trasianka). Towards Belarus’ southern (particularly southwestern) border, Ukrainian will occasionally be spoken, but is much less common than Belarusian and Russian.

At least some knowledge of Russian is essential for an independent traveller, but if you do know Russian, you’ll find that it, rather than Belarusian, will get you everything you need. There is little practical point in learning Belarusian, unless you want to impress the cultural elite or join the political opposition (which is highly inadvisable). The authorities (and some of the trendier shops in big cities like Minsk) make an effort to use Belarusian, but it’s mostly a token one and any information you actually need to know will most likely be in Russian. Expect to speak Russian, not Belarusian, in shops, museums, and on the street. Information in museums and other places of cultural interest will most likely also be in Belarusian, but if you have a good working knowlege of Russian, then understanding the gist of Belarusian speech is not difficult. Reading presents a bit more of a problem as Belarusian spelling rules are different to Russian, but if you say the word out loud with a Russian accent, in most cases the equivalent Russian word will become obvious.

English is not widely spoken in Belarus, especially not by people born before the fall of communism. Although in theory everyone learns English in school from the age of 7, in practice a combination of bad teaching and having no one to practice on means that a lot of people have a very good vocabulary and can understand you if you talk slowly, but will struggle to put together a sentence in reply. Among the older generation, German is a more common second language. As Western tourists are so rare, every English speaker you come across will jump at the chance to practice their English on you, and if you agree, then it may very quickly become quite a big commitment on your part.

See

Belarus is visited by about 100,000 tourists annually; during the same period about 12 million people went from the country as tourists. The profit from foreign tourism amounts to less than USD200 per each tourist. The volume of tourism in total export makes up 1%. The most popular among the visitors are: Minsk City — 40% of visitors; Grodno – 32%; Brest – 22%, Vitebsk – 5%.

• Khatyn Memorial– This is one of the many WWII memorials in Belarus. The site of the former village is now the Khatyn WWII Memorial, which was opened in 1969. The only remaining structures from the original homes are the brick chimneys, which now hold bells that sound occasionally.
• Mount of Glory– This hill, topped by four bayonets, was built from the scorched earth of the nine “Hero Cities” of the USSR and battlegrounds of WWII in honor of the Red Army. It was built in the area of the last battle in Belarus.
• Stalin Line– The museum of the largest defence line build before the WWII. Presents the collection of weapon of all the XX century.
• Minsk at night– The excursion is created in order to show the most significant and beautiful places of Minsk at night-time. Privokzalnaya square, The “City Gates”, Nezavisimosti square (a political and administrative center of the city), the House of the Government, the Red Catholic Church and so on are included into the list of the objects on route. [30]

Buy

Note that starting from July 1, 2016, Belarusian ruble underwent denomination, so 1 new Belarusian ruble (BYN) = 10000 old Belarusian rubles (BYR), smaller amounts are represented by newly-minted coins. Until the end of 2016, two sets of currency will be used in parallel, so pay attention to which ones are you getting/using! New banknotes are somewhat similar to Euros in design, the digits and fonts are bigger, and are stamped with year 2009 (the year the denomination project was conceived).

Inside of Belarus, you can get Belarusian rubles (but NOT always US dollars or euros) from automatic bank machines for standard types of credit/debit cards, and you can change US dollars and euros into Belarusian rubles at many exchange kiosks in big railway stations and centers of big cities. Note that you will need to show your passport when exchanging Belarusian rubles back into dollars or euros. Most larger supermarkets, stores and hotels have credit card terminals, but smaller shops often do not. Visa and Mastercard are accepted, while American Express is not.

If you live in the UK or another country where the currency isn’t US dollars, Euros or Russian roubles, you should buy some US dollars before you leave as you will most likely not be able to exchange your local currency inside Belarus. Similarly, you won’t be able to pay by card or take money out at an ATM and will need to go to a bank with proof of ID to withdraw money from a card. You will be charged a commission of 1-2 per cent.

Converting Belarusian rubles back into hard currency outside of Belarus is extremely difficult (except in Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, strangely enough). However, if you exchange all your rubles before leaving, any last-minute purchases (or fines for overstaying, customs, whatever) would have to be paid in dollars/euros.

Be very careful: exchange kiosks will not exchange any bill that is damaged or marked. About half of the bills you currently have in your wallet will be rejected for exchange in Belarus. Be sure to take only relatively new and undamaged foreign money with you.

Prices are typically much lower than in Western Europe, especially for supermarket food and service industry. Although 1 US dollar is equivalent to BYR10150 in practice about BYR3000 will buy you one US dollar’s worth of locally produced food or goods. Foreign imports, though, will often be closer in price to what they sell for in their country of origin. Although it is possible to find hotels that are cheaper than western Europe, the quality may be significantly lower too. For a western standard hotel you’ll have to pay western prices (and quite often a lot more than you would pay in neighbouring Poland). For a western restaurant-standard meal, you will have to pay comparatively large sums of money (which may sometimes be as high as western prices). A cheaper alternative is a local cafe or столовая (stolovaya, self-service cafe/dining room), where you can get a meal for only USD2-3 .

Eat

Potatoes, pork, bread, & beef – in a nutshell. Most of the products and ingredients are organic, and radiation levels are constantly checked in the food to avoid contamination.

“Take fresh aurochs, and if you do not have any, you can use the elk instead”. 

From an 18th century

Belarusian cookbook

Modern Belarusian cookery is based on old national traditions, which have undergone a long historical evolution. But the main methods of traditional Belarusian cuisine are carefully kept by the people. Common in Belarusian cuisine were dishes from potato which is called among people “the second bread”. The Belarusians bring fame to their beloved potato in their verses, songs, dances. There are special potato cafes in the country where you can try various potato dishes. Potato is included into many salads and it is served together with mushrooms and/or meat; different pirazhki (patties) and baked puddings are made from it. The most popular among the Belarusians is traditional draniki (known as “latkes” to North Americans, but eaten only with sour cream, never apple sauce), thick pancakes prepared from shredded potatoes. A wide spread of potato dishes in Belarusian cuisine can be explained by natural climatic conditions of Belarus which are propitious for growing highly starched and tasty sorts of potatoes.

Meat and meat products play a major role in the diet of Belarusians, especially to the pork and salted pork fat. One of the people’s proverbs says: “There is no fish more tasty than tench, as well as there is no meat better than pork”. The salted pork fat is used slightly smoked and seasoned with onions and garlic. Pyachysta is one of the traditional holiday dishes. This is boiled, stewed or roasted sucking pig, fowl or large chunks of pork or beef. Dishes prepared from meat are usually served together with potatoes or vegetables such as carrot, cabbage, black radish, peas, etc. It is characteristic that many vegetable and meat dishes are prepared in special stoneware pots.

Among dishes from fish, the Belarusians prefer yushka, galki and also baked or boiled river-fish without special seasonings. In general, the most common seasonings are onions, garlic, parsley, dill, caraway seeds, pepper; they are used very moderately in Belarusian cookery. The national dishes are hearty and tasty. There are choices of fresh, dried, salted and pickled mushrooms, and also berries such as bilberry, wild strawberries, red whortlberry, raspberries, cranberries and some others. Of flour dishes, the most popular is zacirka. Pieces of specially prepared dough are boiled in water and then poured over with milk or garnished with salted pork fat. The Belarusians prefer to use whole milk, which affected some methods of making yoghurt and the so called klinkovy cottage cheese. In Belarusian cuisine, the milk is widely used for mixing in vegetable and flour dishes. Myadukha, berezavik, kvas, and beer are traditional Belarusian drinks.

As of September 2012, current international chain restaurants are comprised of McDonald’s and TGI Fridays. Many of the restaurants featuring foreign cuisine are Italian or French in origin although some Asian and American cuisine is also available. Pizza is a popular meal in Belarus and travellers will generally find a significant number of restaurants offering pizza in the larger cities such as Minsk or Vitebsk.

Drink

You can get soft drinks and beer everywhere in Belarus. Taste kvass – a non-alcoholic fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread. In summer times you can buy draught kvass on the street. As well as at supermarkets you will always find bottled kvass.

Vodka, bitter herbal nastoikas (especially Belavezhskaja and Zubrouka) and sweet balsams are the most common alcoholic drinks. Krambambulia is another famous herbal nastoika.

Sleep

“Legal theft”. Most hotels in Minsk are safe. However, be aware of the Belarusian trick. Since Belarusians are very afraid of the authorities and thus of committing a crime, some corrupt hotels may practice a very annoying way of stealing, so called “legal theft” involving maids (often in conspiracy with the reception personnel). While cleaning your room (in your absence) they may hide your personal belongings in the most outrageous parts of your room, combining bizarre sets of items, such as a cellular phone with a piece of bread, a wallet with a cheap magazine or a pair of glasses (!). The trick is: if you miss them, the maid will come and collect them later, if you report the items missing (or find them by yourself) you won’t be able to do a thing (since the items never left the room, it is not considered a theft). The personnel may also ridicule your allegation by pointing out why on earth they would want to hide some bread or a hotel magazine – they just accidentally tucked the items away while cleaning. Avoid such unpleasant situations by always locking your valuables in the hotel safe or at least taking them with you. Before checking out, always search the room thoroughly (wardrobes, cabinets, deep shelves, behind sofas and radiators).

• Apartments & Hotels in Minsk and Belarus,Nezavisimosty 45, ☎ +375299145555, [31]. checkin: 13:00; checkout: 12:00. Apartments for rent and hotels in Minsk and all over Belarus. 40.
• Apartments Service Minsk(apartments for short term stay in Minsk), Lenina str.4 (Minsk), ☎ +375299088167, [32]. checkin: 00; checkout: 12.00.Comfortable apartments for rent in Minsk city center. Economy, business class and luxury accommodation. Visa support, transfer service.

Learn

Russian language courses at the Belarus State Economic University [33] and the Minsk State Linguistic University [34].

Stay safe

Belarus has a comparatively low level of street crime. Most commonly are mugging and pickpocketing, occurs near public transportation venues, near hotels frequented by foreigners, and/or at night in poorly lit areas. Crime in Belarus is severely punished by the government and little organized crime is active within the country due to the government’s efforts to curb these activities. Travelers should be aware that drug use of any type, including marijuana, is met with very severe penalties.

Pedestrian crossings in Belarus are very common. Jaywalking is illegal and can land you a fine if you are caught. Although some Belarusians will cross where there is no crossing provided there are no police around, crossing at a red light will get you some very strange looks and is highly inadvisable when with locals. Pedestrian lights in Belarus, like much of eastern Europe, may allow cars to turn across your path even when the light is green for you. When this happens the cars are required, just as at zebra crossings too, to give pedestrians the right of way. However this doesn’t always mean stopping, but more commonly hastily changing lane to cut in front of you. To get a car to wait, you have to walk forwards quite determinedly, but be aware that if the car doesn’t stop you will have to get out of its way quickly. As a general rule, when not at a pedestrian crossing, cars will make no allowances for you and will not change speed or direction to allow you to cross.

Driving in Belarus is not for the faint hearted. Drivers will change lanes at will, often without indicating, and drive very close to the vehicle in front. On long-distance country roads with only one lane each way, some cars may expect you to move over to the right (onto the verge if needs be) so that they can overtake, and it is probably best not to argue with them. Also be aware that drivers may try to overtake when there are cars coming towards you, and that you may need to suddenly slow down to allow them in front of you.

If you participate in a street demonstration with political banners, expect to be detained within minutes. Westerners especially should avoid any political discussions, protests, etc. due to the government’s keen opposition to dissenting views. With that said, many Belarusians freely express their political views during regular conversation without fear of immediate arrest or some type of governmental retribution. Active demonstrations against the government are certainly inadvisable; however, foreigners should not feel unduly threatened by any restrictions on freedom of political speech. Aforementioned demonstrations can be identified by seeing a red and white banner, a white background, with a strip of red going horizontally across in the center, forming a white red white flag. If you see said flag, do your best to stay away from the demonstration.

It is illegal to be outside after 11pm if you are under 18. Young people may be stopped and required to prove their age, and failing to produce a passport if asked to will be interpreted as being under 18 and you will be fined.

Security personnel may at times place you, as a foreigner, under surveillance; hotel rooms, telephones, and fax machines may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched. Taking photographs of anything that could be perceived as being of military or security interest may result in problems with authorities; these sites are not always clearly marked and application of these restrictions is subject to interpretation.

Belarus police organizations are well trained and professional, but severely restricted by an un-reformed Soviet-era legal system, corruption, and politicization of the police force and other government authorities. Sophisticated criminal investigations are often inconclusive because of a lack of resources and/or political will.

Stay healthy

Historically, Belarus maintained an excellent health system. Call 103 for ambulance. Normally an ambulance should reach a patient within 15min in cities and 30min in countryside [35]. The fastest way to secure Western-level care is medical evacuation to the European Union.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious health concern in Belarus. Though the illness-level is the same as at the Baltic states. Vaccinations against this disease is highly recommended. You need to consult to a doctor first and get the vaccination before entering Belarus.

In Belarus, there is a big institute and lots of funding for studying the after effects of the Chernobyl disaster, which happened in 1986 in a nuclear power plant on the Ukraine-Belarus border, in the food chain. In principle, food inspectors check food not only for bacterial contamination but also for radiation levels, and except for the banned region within about 50km of the Chernobyl plant itself and a second hotspot starting from the point where Russia, Ukraine and Belarus all touch each other, and running roughly 100km to the North of this point, food is considered safe.

Respect

Since Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian cultures are very close and thus share much in common, many of the same principles of behaviour that can be applied to Russians and Ukrainians, are also applicable to the Belarus populace.

Communication

There are 3 major GSM providers in Belarus:

• MTS[36]
• Velcom[37]
• Life:)[38]

All of them offer no-contract GSM SIM-cards and USB modems for Internet access. Cellular communications are very affordable and popular in Belarus. Each of these companies has numerous stores in Minsk, Brest and other regional centres. You will need your passport to purchase a SIM card, but many tariffs are available only to those who are registered with the authorities in Belarus. However, a stamp by your hotel on the back of the immigration card in your passport is sufficient to be registered, and this is routinely done by hotels upon check-in. See Prepaid with Data Wiki and PrepaidGSM.net for more information in English about buying SIM cards.

Internet & WiFi

It’s quite hard to find an valid internet connection in Minsk (in the countryside is almost impossible), the most connections are quite slow, especially the upload speed is limited for some reasons… Average speeds: Download 3mbs; Upload 0,5mbs; Ping 200ms (which is really slow)