Belarus - Minsk

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with its capital in Minsk. Belarus is bordered by the Russian Federation to the east and north, Ukraine to the south, and Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia to the west. Nearly 80% of the population is native Belarusian, while the main ethnic minorities are Russians, Poles, and Ukrainians, in that order. Since 1995, Belarusian and Russian have been established as official languages. The Belarusian Constitution does not specify a state religion; the majority of the population is Russian Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, Roman Catholic, and a number of Christian holidays (e.g. Easter) have been designated as national holidays.

Entering Belarus from Russia

The 2018 FIFA World Cup was held in Russia, and I spent more than a month in Moscow during the World Cup due to work. After the World Cup on July 15, I took my annual vacation and started my private trip, the first stop of which was Belarus. Make sure you have a Russian visa if you transit in Russia: visaexpress.com/visa-for-russia-from-us

A one-way ticket from Moscow to Minsk costs 90USD (including taxes and fees) and takes about one hour to sail. During the World Cup, visa-free travel from Russia to Belarus is available (up to five days).

When you leave Moscow airport, you will have to use the international exit channel and you will be considered as having left Russia.

Arrival at Minsk airport is through the domestic airport channel, without passing through immigration and directly out of the airport.

Renting a car in Minsk

The rules for renting a car in Belarus are exactly the same as in Russia, as are the local traffic conditions and the rules for driving a car. I rented a small car for a day for less than 400 RMB on the car rental website (the limit is 250 km per day, beyond 250 km there is an additional charge). In Belarus, the maximum speed limit is 120 km/h on highways, 70 km/h outside the city limits and 50 km/h inside the city limits.

It is worth noting that Belarusians are very lazy and gas stations are often closed for no reason (the attendants are on break), so don't wait until you run out of gas to find a gas station.

Minsk

Minsk airport is more than 40 km from the city, and it takes almost an hour to get there by car.

Minsk is much cheaper than Moscow. The 5-star Marriott Hotel Minsk has a room rate of less than 1,000 RMB for one night, and breakfast is included. It is estimated that there are not many tourists in Minsk, and there are few residents in the city.

The island of tears in Minsk is a small island on the Sverdlovsk River, with sculptures and buildings built in memory of the Belarusian soldiers who died during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The main building in the center of the island is a memorial to the more than 800 soldiers who died in the war, and when the monument was built, the mothers of those who lost their sons called the island "the island of sorrow and tears", which later became the name of the island in the heart of the river.

Belarus is most famous for its ballet, the National Theatre ballet, is their regular performance program, to Minsk must consider buying a ticket to enjoy a little, the ticket price is very good value.

There is an avenue in downtown Minsk called Prospekt Nezalezhnosti Avenue, which has a subway underneath. After touring this street, you have basically seen the whole city of Minsk. On this street there are the famous "Independence Square", "Victory Square", the Parliament building and Gorky Park. Driving back and forth on this street, you can see the whole city in a very short time.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes