Minsk
To say that I was apprehensive about visiting Belarus would be an understatement. I was worried about pretty much everything: crossing the border into the country, crossing the border out of the country, the language barrier, tourist police, being arrested for taking photos of the wrong building, being arrested for reasons that I didn’t understand, not being able to leave the country on time and being stuck in Belarus with an expired visa.
In fact, just getting the visa was a massive headache. Unlike Russia, who seems quite happy these days to just have a vague plan of an itinerary, Belarus requires you to have official signed and stamped confirmed hotel reservations for every night of your stay, and will then issue a tourist visa for those days, no more.
So visa in passport, and slightly freaking out, I boarded the night train from Lviv to Minsk. And the train ride did not put me at ease at all.
Things got off to a bad start when the conductor for my carriage did not recognise my British passport and asked me what country I was from. It wasn’t much better at the Ukrainian border. I had to explain what month I was born in, there was a big debate about whether England and the United Kingdom are the same thing, and when they tried to enter my details in their computer, it crashed. Luckily I had made friends with an English speaking girl who is the organiser of the Lviv Film Festival, and she helped to translate for me.
The Belorussian border was surprisingly more organised than the Ukrainian one. There was a couple of hours gap between the two, although it felt a lot longer, and we reached Belarus at about 2am. They questioned everyone, about their plans, where they were going next, and wanted to see my medical insurance. It seemed like everything was in order, and finally, with a decisive orange stamp, I was officially in Belarus!
With a flag modelled on what looks like Granny’s curtains, Belarus is often described as ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’ due to the authoritarian regime of Aleksandr Lukashenka. The KGB still puts dissidents in prison, and quite shockingly, Belarus still has the death penalty. You don’t hear too much about the country in the news, but knowing that Minsk was flattened and rebuilt in a socialist style post World War II, I was expecting a dull drab place populated entirely by miserable people. It wasn’t like that at all.
Minsk is actually quite pretty. Of course, the buildings are big and blocky, but they are ornately decorated. The city is nice to walk through, but there aren’t a lot of ‘must sees.’
This is the underground shopping mall, that for some reason reminded me of Central Square back home. It’s funny how all shopping malls look the same, isn’t it?
This is the Isle of Tears, a memorial to the soldiers who died in the Afghanistan war in the 1980s. It’s comprised of weeping mothers, sisters and widows, and despite being renovated when I was there, it’s one of the more moving war moving war memorials that I have seen.
The Metro is really nice, and it is worth taking a ride to see the stations, like in Kiev, you must buy plastic tokens to use the Metro.
The exchange rate is very difficult for someone as mathematically challenged as I am. When I was there, one pound equalled thirteen thousand rubles. Making me a millionaire. That’s right, guys, I am a millionaire in Belarus, if nowhere else!
And what of the people? I found that throughout Belarus, people were incredibly friendly and helpful, even the train ticket sellers. English isn’t really spoken, but a few words of Russian go a long way. There are shops selling all of the things that you can buy in the west, and young people on trains are permanently glued to their Iphones and Ipads. Everyone looks happy, but I am curious how they really feel about their political system. Is it ok to have no real say, as long as your life isn’t negatively impacted too much, or is a messy democracy the best way to go?
Seeing Minsk, made me really glad that I had come to Belarus to see it for myself. Be warned, the country really isn’t set up for international tourists. Signs are in Belorussian, and if you can’t read Cyrillic, you will find it a struggle to get around. Getting from city to city is straightforward, but getting out of Minsk for a daytrip is difficult. Khatyn, for example, the site of a Soviet massacre is inaccessible by public transport, meaning that you have to take a guide. Even getting out to Mir to see the castle there is tricky. I love to explore, but draw the line at sitting for two-three hours on a bus to see something described as ‘mediocre’ and risk being stranded in the countryside overnight. I expect that the tourist situation will improve after Minsk hosts the Ice Hockey World Championships next year, and would improve even more dramatically if Lukashenka is ever replaced by someone pro-Western who wants to welcome tourists to the country, instead of discourage them with complicated and expensive visa applications. But if that happens, it won’t be the same Belarus that you’re visiting!
Tips and Tricks:
- Apply for your visa early. It will take a while to get all of the paperwork together. Even now, I’m still confused about what you actually need for a visa, as rules change frequently. Once you have the paperwork together, the rest is straightforward, just go to the consulate to apply. In London, visa applications are accepted until 12:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (working in a consulate sounds like a really cushy job!). Get there early, there will be a queue. When you are collecting your passport, just push to the front of the queue and you will be served next.
- Be prepared for questions at the border crossing. To be fair, I don’t think many western tourists use the crossing that I took so both sides were a bit unsure of what to do with me. Make sure that you have a copy of your medical insurance with you. It’s also a good idea to have a copy of all your documents such as letters of invitation and confirmed reservations. I didn’t get asked for them, but you will need to know your inviting agency to fill in the immigration card.
- Make sure that you keep the second part of the form as you will need it for visa registration and for leaving the country.
- Bear in mind that just like this video, Belarus is almost ‘normal’ but every now and then you will see something that reminds you that it’s not normal at all!
Buses and Bedhopping 
I think this destination has made me the most jealous so far! Really enjoying reading about your trip 🙂
Minsk is pretty cool! It’s an interesting place to go, that’s for sure, not super easy to get around, but I like a challenge!! Glad you’ve been enjoying it!!