Belarus Travel Guide

Belarus Travel Guide
	by our Belarus expert Conrad Freethy For long known to the West as ‘White Russia’, Belarus lies slightly uncertainly balanced between the Baltic and the Black Sea. The main river – the Dniepr – flows south-eastwards into the Black Sea while the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania are the closest neighbours. Once linked politically with Lithuania and Poland, the modern country was shaped by its years as part of the Soviet empire – notably its frontline role in World War II in which it lost a quarter of its population. Latterly it has had a reluctant news prominence for the Chernobyl disaster. The capital Minsk blends medieval reminders such as a Society of (Teutonic-style) Belorusian Knights, with some spectacular architecture – notable a National Library that seems to float as a polyhedron in space. Outside the capital, there are nature reserves such as Pripet in the south and a number of castles and forts – Mir and Brest are good examples, the latter still showing signs of its battering during WW II. Pedestrians in Minsk should take note that Saturday nights see fully-organised Street Racing in standard production cars!

Belarus Facts


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