MINSK, Belarus — A city where people don’t litter, and the police are watching you; where young people enjoy nightlife in modern bars and clubs, and the police are watching you; and where friendly people are ever willing to strike up a conversation, and the police are watching you.
The former Soviet republic of Belarus sometimes feels like the least former of the lot.
The country of just under 10 million people has been stuck in the past, at least politically speaking, since 1994, when a collective farm director called Alexander Lukashenko became president and started a run of spectacular election wins. He’s into his fifth term now, and shows no sign of being prepared to stop serving the nation.
Of course, elections in Belarus are travesties of democracy, and Lukashenko’s political opponents are usually either imprisoned or forced into exile. A number of them have disappeared, presumed murdered. For that reason Belarus — a nasty little police state by anyone’s standards — and its capital Minsk are not the first places that spring to mind when thinking of tourist destinations.
But those who do go might be in for a surprise: pleasant bars and clubs, friendly people, good-quality food and very clean streets await the intrepid traveler.
Law and order
The term “very nice police state,” though incongruous, is nevertheless an apt one for Belarus.
The wide streets of the capital Minsk, lined by imposing, old Soviet-era buildings built during the late 1940s and mid‑1950s, are the distinguishing features of Minsk — most of the city was reduced to rubble during World War II.
These rebuilt streets are kept astonishingly clean — the first notable difference in comparison to Kyiv. In fact, it was hard to spot any litter at all in any public spaces. The neatness is partly due to the efficient public services, and partly to the frequently patrolling police cars, which are far more numerous than in other European cities.
And unlike in many other European cities, the sale of alcohol is permitted at night. Just don’t think of opening a can or bottle of beer on the street — the police will be there instantly to dish out a fine.
Reminders of the Soviet Union are literally on every street corner: Independence Street — formerly, Soviet Street — runs right through Independence Square, where of course there’s a monument to Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin Street, Engels Street and Marx Street are just a few blocks away. Lenin Street also intersects with Ulyanov Street, named after Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov — yes, Lenin again.
In fact, all but a few of the streets are named after communist leaders — there’s also an Internationale Street (named after the international organization of world communism) and a Komsomolskaya Street (named after the Soviet youth organization), but as a concession to the fact that this is not actually the Soviet Union, or indeed Russia, the names are written in the local Belarussian language: For example the square named after the October Revolution is called Kastrychnitskaya Square (from “Kastrychnika” — “October” in Belarussian.)
Otherwise, a tourist in Minsk will only encounter the Belarussian language occasionally — perhaps a person in a bar speaking Russian with a slight Belarussian accent. Government officials prefer Russian as well, and Belarus has both Belarussian and Russian as official state languages.
Most TV channels, banks, gas stations, and other large companies use Russian almost exclusively.
Food and sightseeing
Belarussian cuisine is very similar to that of Ukraine. Borsch is described as a traditional Belarussian dish, as is creamy mushroom soup and draniki, a type of potato pancake (known in Ukraine as deruny).
Prices are 10–15 percent higher than in Kyiv, with a three-course meal costing around 30–40 local Belarussian rubles, which is about $15. (My grandmother used to tell me that a loaf of bread in the Soviet Union cost 1 ruble, and in Belarus that is still the case, with the exchange rate standing at 2.14 rubles per dollar.)
The most interesting section of Minsk for sightseeing is the Upper Town — the historic center, with its narrow pedestrian streets, old buildings, and wide selection of bars and restaurants.
The jewel of Minsk is Freedom Square, the entrance to the Upper Town, located not far from the banks of the River Svislach, which runs through the center of Minsk. The square is surrounded by a number of Catholic churches that have been converted into Orthodox cathedrals.
The square’s main attraction is the Holy Spirit Cathedral, with its double bell tower. On the square, an old Soviet bus has been turned into a souvenir store, with most of the souvenirs connected to the Soviet Union in one way or another.
When I curiously pick up a fridge magnet featuring Joseph Stalin — the Soviet dictator responsible for the torture and deaths of millions of people — a saleswoman immediately asks if I want to buy it:
“No. I don’t like Stalin.”
“Why not?”
“He’s responsible for millions of deaths, he starved millions to death.”
“Well, yes… he’s part of our history. Where are you from?”
The Lenin fridge magnets were sold out.
Night life
But when the sun goes down, Minsk transforms from a Soviet nostalgia theme park into a modern, young-people’s city.
Bars open their doors, offering live music and serving a range of tasty cocktails. The streets are packed with young people moving from one bar to another.
Live music is played inside the bars and on the streets, where street musicians compete for attention. One building at Internationale Street 25a (behind the cat museum) is a nightlife goldmine, with a U.S. themed bar called Honky-Tonk, an expensive club, a top-notch wine bar, a cocktail bar, and a Peruvian restaurant all under one roof.
If the weather is good, there’s the chance to dance outside to garage bands playing popular Belarusian songs.
The difference between the daytime scene and nightlife, and conversations with locals gives a real sense of two parallel realities existing in Minsk, and Belarus — one in which the Soviet Union never really went away, and another in which young people enjoy life and look to the future, rather than the past.
A round trip from Kyiv to Minsk will cost you Hr 4,500 ($160) on average. Renting a place through AirBnB for two nights in downtown Minsk will cost around $25 per night. Museums worth visiting are the Belarus National History Museum (12 Karl Marx Street) and The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus (20 Lenin Street).
