Wikivoyage

Belarus: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Older editNewer edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by Garrens433 (talk) to last version by Rich Farmbrough
Tag: Rollback
(48 intermediate revisions by 18 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{pagebanner|Strusta Lake banner.jpg|caption=Strusta Lake, Braslau Lakes}}
'''[https://en.belarus.travel/ Belarus]''' ([[Belarusian phrasebook|Belarusian]]: Белару́сь,and [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]: БелоруссияБелару́сь) is a [[Soviet Union|former Soviet state]] whose history begins in the 10th century CE. While not on most tourists' radar, Belarus preserves beautiful castles, pristine nature, and Soviet heritage. It maintains close ties and an open border with its neighbor [[Russia]]. The name of the country literally means "White Russia" in the Russian language.▼
 
▲'''[https://en.belarus.travel/ Belarus]''' ([[Belarusian phrasebook|Belarusian]]: Белару́сь, [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]: Белоруссия) is a [[Soviet Union|former Soviet state]] whose history begins in the 10th century CE. While not on most tourists' radar, Belarus preserves beautiful castles, pristine nature, and Soviet heritage. It maintains close ties and an open border with its neighbor [[Russia]]. The name of the country literally means "White Russia" in the Russian language.
 
==Regions==
Line 44 ⟶ 43:
 
==Cities==
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Minsk]] |lat=53.9 |long=27.566667|wikidata=Q2280 }} ([[Belarusian phrasebook|Belarusian Cyrillic]]: Мінск) — the Belarusian capital and largest city, with over 2 million inhabitants.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Brest (Belarus)|Brest]] |lat=52.0976214 |long=23.7340503|wikidata=Q140147 }} (Брэст) — regional capital on the [[Poland|Polish]] border with impressive architectural sights.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Polotsk]] |lat=55.4831573 |long=28.7990619|wikidata=Q200797 }} (По́лацк, ''Polack''Полацк) — the oldest Belarusian city, notable for interesting buildings.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Gomel]] |lat=52.4411761 |long=30.9878461|wikidata=Q2678 }} (Гомель, ''Homieĺ'') — the second largest city in Belarus; located in the east.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Pinsk]] |lat=52.116667 |long=26.1|wikidata=Q204150 }} (Пінск) — informally known as the capital of Belarusian Polesie (Pinsk, or Pripyat, Marshes).
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Grodno]] |lat=53.6693538 |long=23.8131306|wikidata=Q181376 }} (Гродна, ''Hrodna'') — the last capital city of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (18th cent.) with rich history and well-preserved architecture.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Mogilev]] |lat=53.9007159 |long=30.3313598|wikidata=Q154835 }} (Магілёў, ''Mahilioŭ'') — third largest city in Belarus.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Nesvizh]] |lat=53.2226038 |long=26.6766138|wikidata=Q201230 }} (Нясві́ж, ''Niasviž''Нясвіж) — with a [[UNESCO]] listed castle.
* {{marker |type=city |name=[[Vitebsk]] |lat=55.1848061 |long=30.201622|wikidata=Q102217 }} (Ві́цебск, ''Viciebsk''Віцебск) — the city of Marc Chagall.
 
==Other destinations==
Line 67 ⟶ 66:
 
====Early history====
The earliest precursors of what now is known as Belarusians were SlavonicSlavic and Baltic tribes inhabiting the contemporary territory of Belarus. The first Belarusian city mentioned in historical writings was [[Polotsk|Polack]]. The Principality of Polack produced the earliest known Belarusian literature, architecture and art.
 
====Grand Duchy of Lithuania====
Belarus remained free from the Mongol invasion, which badly affected other east SlavonicSlavic peoples. Instead, in the 13th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania started forming in the western parts of contemporary Belarus. The first capital city of the Duchy was Navahrudak. Its rulers attracted the principalities of [[Polotsk|Polack]], [[Vitebsk|Viciebsk]], [[Smolensk]] and others to defend together against invasions of the Crimean Tatars, Mongols and Teutonic knights. The Polish Kingdom became the main ally of the Duchy.
 
In 1323, [[Vilnius]] became the capital city. Ruthenian, the language of Belarusians and Ukrainians of that time, was the main literary and official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until Polish political and cultural influence prevailed in 17th-18th centuries. Many literary works were composed in Ruthenian, as well as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; some of the greatest European legislative texts. They evidence a broadly secular, tolerant and plural society. The Duchy provided asylum for many ostracized people from neighbouring countries, for example, Old Believers from Russia. Tatars imprisoned during wars were allowed to settle down together and they produced fascinating translations, known as Al-Kitabs, of sacred texts into Ruthenian, but in Arabic script. From those translations, we know what the spoken Ruthenian of those days sounded like; it had all the main features of the contemporary spoken Belarusian.
Line 77 ⟶ 76:
 
====Russian Empire====
In 1795, the whole territory of contemporary Belarus became part of the [[Russian Empire]]. The new country was by far less tolerant than the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The state machine promoted the idea of Belarusians, alongside with Ukrainians, being a constituent part of the grand Russian nation. For the first time, Jews were not free to live where they wished; they had to pay twice as much in taxes as Christians. After the 1864 appraisinguprising, no Belarusians were allowed to take posts of responsibility in the state administration.
 
By the end of the 19th century, three-quarters of peasants spoke Belarusian and identified themselves as Belarusian. Fewer than 15% of the urban population spoke Belarusian which reflected the mass Polish and Russian assimilation, as well as the population move from the Russian to Belarusian towns. Interestingly, over half of the population of Belarusian cities and towns of that time were Jews.
 
With the liberalisation of life in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, Belarusians seized the opportunity to establish their first national party, newspapers and publishing houses. In theThese first place,appeared they appearedin multi-ethnic Vilnius, which at that time was the main center of the Belarusian cultural life; also, in [[Saint Petersburg|Petersburg]], the capital of the Russian Empire, and Minsk.
 
====First independence and USSR====
Line 112 ⟶ 111:
*'''October Revolution Day''' (''Дзень Кастрычніцкай рэвалюцыі'') - '''7 November''' - Belarus remains the only country in the world celebrating the anniversary of Russian Revolution (1917) as a national holiday.
*'''Christmas''' (''Божае нараджэнне'') - '''25 December''' - though Catholics are a religious minority in Belarus, Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar is a national holiday and widely celebrated by non-Catholics too.
 
===Visitor information ===
*[https://www.belarustourism.by/en/ Belarus Tourism Agency]
 
==Talk==
Line 118 ⟶ 120:
'''[[Belarusian phrasebook|Belarusian]]''' and '''[[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]''' are the two official languages, but Russian is more widely spoken. Although a majority of Belarusians (54% in 2019) consider Belarusian their native language, only 26% normally speak it at home. You will not hear much Belarusian in the street, except in rural villages. In rural areas, pure Belarusian tends to be spoken by the elderly, while younger people typically speak a mixture of Russian and Belarusian known as '''Trasianka''' (трасянка).
 
Belarusian is most similar to [[Ukrainian phrasebook|Ukrainian]], and more distantly related to Russian; all three languages make up the East Slavic language family, though Belarusian and Ukrainian also exhibit substantial influences from [[Polish phrasebook|Polish]] that are not found in Russian. Ukrainian speakers will be able to understand Belarusian for the most part, while Russian speakers would generally be able to understand about half of a Belarusian conversation, and. Polish speakers may be able to puzzle out some basic expressions when spoken slowly, though having a conversation would be close to impossible.
 
German was taught in school. Many people will know a few German words. [[Polish]] is spoken in the western parts, especially around [[Grodno]], but most local Poles use their own dialect with Belarusian as the base and with only some Polish words and sounds.
 
Although English is widely taught throughout the country, very little of it is spoken, even in the capital city – you will require a good knowledge of Russian or Belarusian. Place names can be confusing for English speakers, as they can be Romanized either from their Russian or Belarusian names, with seemingly no consistency. For instance, you will see both "GrondnoGrodno" (the Russian name) and "Hrodna" (the Belarusian name) referring to the same town.
 
==Get in==
[[File:Visa policy of Belarus.png|thumb|375px|Visa free access for all entiresanywhere for citizens of countries marked in green. Visa free entry for entry through Minsk Airport only for countries marked in ochre]]
[[File:Праабражэнская царква.JPG|300px|thumb|Church of the Transfiguration, Rakaŭ]]
 
Line 210 ⟶ 212:
 
===By plane===
{{cautionbox|On 24 May 2021, a Ryanair plane flying on an intra-Schengen Area flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk while flying in Belarusian airspace where a Belarusian opposition activist was arrested when landing in Minsk. In response to this incident, the EU has ''banned'' all Belarusian-operated airlines from using EU airspace and has also banned all EU airlines from operating in Belarusian airspace.
{{cautionbox|Due to the closure of Belarusian airspace, all flights to/from Belarus are cancelled until further notice.
 
On 24 May 2021, a Ryanair plane flying on an intra-Schengen Area flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk while flying in Belarusian airspace where a Belarusian opposition activist was arrested when landing in Minsk. In response to this incident, the EU has ''banned'' all Belarusian-operated airlines from using EU airspace and has also banned all EU airlines from operating in Belarusian airspace. It is no longer possible to fly to Belarus via the EU, ornor from the UK due toas the routes goinggo through EU airspace as well as due to the ban from EU-based airlines from entering into Belarus. Your only options to travelfly to Belarus are via the Middle East, Turkey, or Russia (except via Kaliningrad which flies over EU Airspace) although the process for transiting via Russia might be a problem.
 
PeopleThe process for transiting via Russia might be a problem: flying to Belarus via a transfer at a Russian airport, you must get a Russian [http://www.kdavia.eu/article/34 transit visa], which, generally, must be obtained in your country of citizenship or residence. Flights to Belarus use the domestic terminal at Russian airports and you therefore must pass through Russian customs and transfer to the domestic terminal. If you do not have a transit visa and are lucky, you can expect many hours of bureaucratic delay or else, in many cases, be forced to find another flight without leaving the international terminal. Therefore, direct flights to Belarus from Middle Eastern airports, including Turkey are '''highly recommended''' if you do not have a Russian visa.
|lastedit=2024-03-31}}
}}
 
[http://www.airport.by/ Minsk National Airport]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, approximately 40 km from Minsk, connects the Belarus's capital with a number of destinations. Airlines that fly to Minsk includes Aeroflot, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, Ural Airlines, and Uzbekistan Airways.
 
The only national airline, [https://en.belavia.by/ Belavia] offers competitively-priced direct flights. Flights from Vilnius costs as low as €40 and little advance purchase is required.
 
===By train===
Line 248 ⟶ 250:
 
====Customs controls on the train====
{{cautionbox|If you are simply passing through Belarus, even if your train makes no stops, you must obtain a transit visa in advance. The AmericanU.S. embassy warns that many customs agents have threatened persons lacking a transit visa with jail or extorted "fines". Such threats are fake. Do not give any money to border agents, as they cannot give you a transit visa or charge fees; they may only refuse entry to you. If you do pay and are allowed entry without a visa in your passport, contact your embassy immediately, as trying to exit ''will'' lead to fines and jail.
}}
 
Line 280 ⟶ 282:
From [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]], there are [https://www.tpilet.ee/en/timetable/tallinn/minsk-central-coach-station direct buses to Minsk].
 
From Baltic countries: [https://www.busbud.com/en/bus-company/olimp-latvija Olimp], [http://www.nordeka.lv/public/index_en.html Nordeka], [http://www.eurolinesflixbus.eecom/index.php?id=&lang=en EurolinesFlixBus], [http://www.ecolines.net/index.php?s=83 Ecolines].
 
Taking the bus from [[Vilnius]] to Minsk takes 4 hr and is a 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 [http://www.autobusubilietai.lt/index.php?cl=planning&lang=1 here]. Journey takes about 5.5 hr. 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 and 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 Belarussian embassy or consulate.
Line 359 ⟶ 361:
| currency=New Belarusian ruble
| currencyCodeAfter= rubles
| date=January 20232024
| USD=23.53
| EUR=23.76
| GBP=34.12
| RUB100 = 3.4 rubles
| source=[https://www.xe.com/currency/byn-belarusian-ruble XE.com]
Line 373 ⟶ 375:
Exchange rates fluctuate. Check particularly the "spread", i.e. the difference between "buy" and "sell" for foreign currency.
 
WithinAs punishment for complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus has been cut off from the international financial system. This means that Western credit cards like Visa, youMasterCard canand buyAmerican rublesExpress (butdo not work in Belarus, you seldomcannot westernwithdraw currencies)money from ATMs using westerna credit orforeign debit cardscard, and wire transfers to and from Belarusian bank accounts are not possible. Therefore, make sure you bring all the money you need '''in physical cash'''. You can also change U.S. dollars and euros into rubles and vice versa at exchange kiosks in Minsk airport, main railway stations and big city centres. Convert leftover cash before you leave, as changing rubles outside of Belarus will be difficult and of poor value, except in the bordering post-Soviet countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Moldova.
 
Exchange kiosks will not exchange notes that are damaged or marked, or may charge extra commission for doing so.
Line 391 ⟶ 393:
If you are looking for a national gourmet meal, then you are in the right place. Most of the products and ingredients are organic, and radiation levels are constantly checked in the food to avoid contamination.
 
:''Take fresh aurochsbison, 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, with similarities to the [[Russian cuisine]]. But the main methods of traditional Belarusian cuisine are carefully maintained by the people.
Line 439 ⟶ 441:
 
==Stay safe==
[[File:Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991–1995).svg|thumb|The old Belarusian national flag, which is widely used by the opposition]]▼
{{Cautionbox|Due to the political situation and the war, many governments advise '''against all travel''' to Belarus, in particular, the border areas with [[Ukraine]]. Law enforcement may be arbitrary, Russia has used Belarusian territory for its attacks and projectiles have landed in Belarus. Your country may not be able to provide consular services. Belarus has also suspended flights after closing down its airspace. See [[war zone safety]].
{{Cautionbox|Some governments advise against all travel to Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arbitrary enforcement of laws and the potential for civil unrest.
| lastedit=2023-12-08
| au=https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/belarus
Line 447 ⟶ 450:
| us=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Belarus.html
}}
▲[[File:Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991–1995).svg|thumb|The old Belarusian national flag, which is widely used by the opposition]]
 
Belarus is generally a safe country, largely because crime is punished severely by the government. Street-level crime is rare and usually does not affect tourists. You should still apply common sense and be vigilant of your surroundings.
Line 471 ⟶ 473:
 
=== LGBT travellers ===
Many Belarusians, including most of the younger generation, do not approve of same-sex relationships. LGBT visitors are unlikely to encounter violence, but they may encounter aggression, cold looks and hostility, mostly from men over the age of about 25. If you are LGBT, it is recommended that you '''do not show your feelings''' in public. Now the criminal article on sodomy is excluded from the criminal code of the country, but many people know the attitude of President Alexander Lukashenko to homosexual men. He has even said the following: "it is better to be a dictator than a homosexual".
 
=== Driving ===
Line 489 ⟶ 491:
 
==Respect==
Belarusians are similar to other Europeans in their mannerisms and etiquette, but tend to be more traditional than Western Europeans.
 
Although Belarus has a close historical and cultural relationship with Russia, Belarusians ''are not'' Russians; they're a distinct ethnic group. Similarily, the Belarusian language ''is not'' a dialect of Russian.
It is important not to conflate Belarusians with Russians, as some Belarusians may take offense to this. Belarusians regard themselves as a distinct people. It is likewise disrespectful to refer to the Belarusian language as a dialect of Russian. Likewise, do not refer to the country as ''Belorussia'' (''Белору́ссия''), while usage is still relatively common in Russia, the official name in both the Russian and Belarusian languages is ''Беларусь''.
 
Women are traditionally treated with chivalry. Female travellers should not be surprised or alarmed if their Belarusian male friends take the initiative to settle bills in a restaurant, open doors for them, or assist them with carrying objects. Male travellers should understand that Belarusian women will anticipate these subtleties.
Line 511 ⟶ 513:
==Connect==
There are 3 major GSM providers in Belarus, all of which offer prepaid SIM cards for Internet access and phone calls.
* [https://www.mts.by/en/ MTS]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} - Has the best coverage
* [https://www.a1.by/en/ A1] - Has good coverage
* [http://life.com.by/en/ Life:)]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} - Has the worst coverage of the 3 providers
Retrieved from "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Belarus"