Common Physical Geography

Situated in the centre of Europe, Belarus is bordered by the Russian Federation (East), the Ukraine (South), Poland (West), Lithuania (North West) and Latvia (North). The surface is a hilly plain. One third of the territory (more exactly 36%) is covered with forests.
The biggest rivers are the Dnieper, the Neman, the Western Dvina, and the Pripyat. There are more than 10 thousand lakes in Belarus. The largest is Naroch Lake — 79.6 sq. km, the deepest — Dolgoye Lake — depth 53.7 m). The inalienable part o Belarusian landscape is bogs and swamps, which cover about 13% of the total area and have a large climatic and hydrological significance. The Belarusian swamps are often called “the Lungs of Europe”
The area of Belarus is approximately equal to the area of Great Britain and Romania. Belarus is a bit bigger than Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, and Czech Republic. The city of Minsk, which may be considered as the geographical center of Belarus, lies roughly on the same latitude as Hamburg, Dublin or York. From East to West Belarus covers 650 km, from North to South — 560 km.
The accurate geographical centre of the Republic of Belarus lies in the centre of triangle formed by towns of Cherven, Ossipovichy and Klichev and to be more exact on the northern edge of Krupki village, 2 km North from the right bank of the Beresina river. This centre lies on the crossing of longitude 53°31’00” North and latitude 28°54’30” East.
There are 104 towns and cities, 108 town-type settlements and 24,222 village populated areas in Belarus.
Flora of Belarus includes up to 11.5 thousands species; 214 species of plants are protected by the State. The modern vegetable cover of Belarus occupies 65.9% of the territory.
Fauna of Belarus includes more than 81,000 species.
There are 59 species of fish in the reservoirs of Belarus.

Administrative Division and Major Cities

Belarus is subdivided into 6 regions: Brestsky, Gomelsky, Grodnensky, Minsky, Mogilevsky, and Vitebsky. They are named after the most significant cities of Belarus. Each of the region in its turn splits up into 16–22 districts. The capital of Belarus — Minsk — has status of an independent administrative-territorial unit.
Let’s briefly get acquainted with Regional centres of Belarus located along the border of country.
Minsk, capital of Belarus, was first mentioned in chronicles in 1067 as Menesk. The city has seen a lot during its long history. Many conquerors have passed through Minsk. In 1499 the city was granted the Magdeburg Rights. The World War II destroyed it almost completely. It stood all trials and revived like Phoenix bird. The city is located in a picturesque place on the river Svisloch. This river was one of the busiest trade routes connected the Baltic and the Black seas. The city of Minsk is possessed of best pieces of Belarusian cultural heritage: museums and exhibitions, world famous Belarusian Ballet, etc.
Brest is situated on the border with Poland. Brest was first mentioned in 1019 as Berestie. Many times it passed from one hand to other: it was held by Turov Princes, then Kiev Grand Princes, later belonged to Grand Duchy of Lithuania renamed into Brest Litovsky, and to Rzecz Pospolita. In 1390 the city was granted the Magdeburg Rights. Brest was attached as just all the Grand Duchy lands to the Russian Empire in 1795. In the White Palace in 1918 the Brest Peace Treaty was signed between the Soviet Russia and Germany. In 1920-1939 Grodno was a part of Poland. Since 1939 — a Belarusian city again. During the World War II, the Brest Fortress became famous for its heroic defence. In December 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha near Brest, the leaders of Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus signed an agreement on abolition of the USSR and foundation of CIS.
Gomel was first mentioned in chronicles in 1142 as Gomiy. Gomel belonged to Chernigov Principality, then the part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then Rzecz Pospolita and in 1772 became the part of the Russian Empire. Following that, the Russian Empress Catherine II the Great presented lands in the city to the hero of the Russian-Turkish War, Marshal Rumyantsev who initiated the construction of the Palace — Park Ensemble. In the town of Vetka (18 km from Gomel) there is a museum of old icons and manuscripts.
Grodno was first mentioned in 1128. In 1391 the city was granted the incomplete Magdeburg Rights, and in 1496 — the complete ones. Later in 1576 it became the Second capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the residence of Stephen Batoriy, the King of Rzecz Pospolita. In 1795 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In 1920-1939 Grodno was a part of Poland. Since 1939 — a Belarusian city again.
Mogilev was first mentioned in 1267. Once belonged to Grand Duchy of Kiev and later to the Vitebsk Princes, then to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rzecz Pospolita. In 1577 the city was granted the Magdeburg Rights. In 1772 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. The last Russian Tsar Nikolay II spent much time there.
Vitebsk was first mentioned in 1021. It is situated on the crossroads of trade routes and the city had commercial relations with Riga, the capital of German Livonian Order, and German cities. In 1597 the city was granted the Magdeburg Rights and in 1772 it formed a part of the Russian Empire. Nowadays it’s well known as the birth place of Mark Chagall, the outstanding artist.
Among the other biggest towns the following ones should be mentioned (in brackets the population in pax is indicated):
Bobruysk (228,000), Borissov (154,000), Pinsk (134,000), Soligorsk (102,000), Lida (101,000), Baranovichi (174,000), Orsha (139,000), Mozyr (110,000), Novopolotsk (101,000).

About Transliterating of Geographical Names

Belarusians speaking both Russian and Belarusian easily comprehend and read the names of Belarusian cities and streets in both languages. However, the foreigners may feel embarrassed to find on some maps the geographical names of towns, rivers or streets transliterated into Latin form from Russian, and on the others maps — from Belarusian. More over, the grammatical cases in Belarusian and Russian introduce the additional difficulties. For instance, the avenue named after Peter Masherov (Belarusian politician) we name “Masherau Praspekt” in Belarusian or “Masherov Prospekt” in Russian, and also often use the mixed form of transliterating: “Masherau Ave.” or “Masherov Ave.”.
Further we will be utilize the Nominative case of geographical objects’ names in Russian and specify the kind of the object by English word (“Masherov Ave.” from the example above).
Here are else some examples of cities names:
Hrodna (BY) = Grodno (RU), Mahileu or Magileu (BY) = Mogilev (RU), Minsk (BY) = Minsk (RU);
examples of streets names when grammatical cases are used:
“Peramogi pl.” = “Peramogi Sq.” = Peramoga Sq. (BY) — “Pobedy pl.” = “Pobedy Sq.” = “Pobeda Sq.” (RU) and all these names signify “Victory Square” in English (the variant we utilize is “Pobeda Sq.”).

Map of Belarus

Climate and Required Clothing

The climate of Belarus is moderately continental and humid. The average monthly temperatures in Minsk are:

-6°C in January	-3°C in February	+1°C in March
+8°C in April	+13°C in May	+17°C in June
+18°C in July	+17°C in August	+14°C in September
+7°C in October	+1°C in November	-1°C in December

The day temperature (under the shade) of Summer, 2002 is mostly about 32–36°C in July and 24–28°C in August at the very infrequent rains. In Summer, 2003 the temperature was slightly lower.
Annual average precipitation is from 550 mm to 700 mm.
To see the current weather forecast in Belarus please address to: www.meteo.by
Required Clothing: from light and medium in summer to heavyweights in winter. Umbrellas and waterproofs are advisable throughout the year.

Political Structure

Belarus is a Presidential Republic since 1994. The President of the Republic of Belarus is the head of the state. The executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The highest legislative body is the National Assembly that consists of two Chambers — the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. Judicial power is vested in law courts. The Constitutional Court supervises and controls the legality of all Acts. The Prosecutor General supervises accurate and uniform execution of laws by all state control bodies, legal and physical persons.
Nowadays the President of the Republic of Belarus is Alexander Lukashenko, the Prime Minister is Sergey Sidorsky (acting as), and the Prosecutor General is Viktor Sheyman.

State Symbols

National Arms of Belarus
The State arms is the symbol of the state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.
The arms is a special green contour of he Republic of Belarus lighted with golden rays of sun above the Globe. A five-pointed red star crowns the arms. The arms is framed with a wreath of golden ears. The ears are interlaced with flowers of clover and flax. A red-green ribbon with a golden inscription “The Republic of Belarus” twines round the ears.
The present-day State arms of the Republic of Belarus is the historical symbol of the adherence of Belarusians to creative work, its faith to justice and deserving place in the world community.





National Flag of Belarus
The State flag is the symbol of the state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.
The national flag of the Republic of Belarus is a rectangular consisting of two horizontal coloured stripes: the upper red one makes up 2/3 of the width, and the lower green one makes up 1/3 of the width. The flag is held on the flagstaff, which is coloured in gold. Placed along the flagstaff red-white Belarusian national ornament makes up 1/9 of the flag length. The ratio of the flag width to its length is 1:2.
The red colour on the flag symbolizes the glorious victories of the Belarusian troops in all the years of the Belarusian Statehood.
The green colour is the colour of hope, spring and rebirth, the colour of forests and fields. The Belarusian ornament is a symbol of the ancient culture and spiritual wealth of the nation.

Language

Belarusian is a Slavic language. It is ancestor of Russian that resembles Belarusian. Belarusian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet plus “i”, “¢” letters and “ ’ ” symbol.
After the final incorporation of Belarus into the Russia Empire in 1795, the Russian language began to spread in the Belarusian territory. After 1840 printing books in Belarusian were forbidden, teaching and educational establishments were to be in Russian only. As a result, today the majority of Belarusians use Russian in everyday communication, though after the declaration of independence the Belarusian language has tended to be spoken more often. Most of signboards in towns are in Belarusian, the National radio and TV broadcast in Belarusian.
The Soviet government had discouraged use of Belarusian and promoted use of Russian. In 1990 Belarusian became the official language of Belarus. It replaced Russian. However, since the spring of 1995 referendum which gave the Russian language the same status as Belarusian. Belarusian is mainly spoken in the countryside. In Minsk and other major cities almost everyone communicates in Russian.
The long period of being a USSR republic, the existed restriction of foreign travel and any contacts with foreigners have led to the fact that comparatively few people speak foreign languages. However, at present many people try to study foreign languages, mostly English and German.

Here are Belarusian and Russian equivalents to some English words and phrases:

Behaviour

Among the people of ex-USSR, Belarusians enjoy a good reputation. They are considered to be educated, kind hearted, hard working people. Indeed, most of Belarusians are affable and hospitable, and we sincerely wish you to find friends in his country. If you are asked around, you will most likely find a hearty meal as dictated by the national traditions, even though the hosts may not be well-to-do people (the average monthly salary is about USD 100–150).
Belarus is not ranked among highly criminal countries. However, you are advised to be careful of course.

Religions and Churches

In Minsk and in other cities of Belarus you will find Christian churches (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant), Synagogues, Mosques.
At present there are more than 20 confessions in Belarus. The most influential of them are Christian Orthodox (1081 communities) and Roman Catholic (389 communities) faiths. In accordance with the Law “On Liberty of Conscience and Religious Organisations”, the church is separated from the state.

Museums and Theatres

In Belarus there are 149 museums and 24 professional theatres, including the Belarusian Ballet Theatre - one of the best in the world.

Money

The monetary unit in Belarus is a Belarusian rouble (BYR) issued as a banknote of the National Bank of Belarus. No coins are used. The currently used notes are printed in 2001 of 5; 10; 20; 50; 100; 500; 1,000; 5,000; 10,000; 20,000; 50,000 denominations.
The exchange rates of EUR and USD are constantly rising, being about 1 EUR = 2,960 BYR and 1 USD = 2,170 BYR in January, 2005.
Heading to Belarus, you should better stock up on USD, EUR or RUR (Russian roubles) which can be easily exchanged for Belarusian roubles at numerous exchange offices at hotels, shops, just in the street. As for other currencies, there may be some problems, since only few big banks buy them, and the exchange rate may not always please you.
Don’t change currency in the street! Changing money in the street is illegal and might cause problems with the police.

Credit Cards, Cheques and ATMs

Visa, EuroCard/MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, Visa Electron, Cirrus, EC credit cards are accepted in larger hotels and in some of restaurants and shops in major Belarusian cities. BELTOURIST is ready to receive the payment for its services with a credit card.
Thomas Cook Traveller’s Cheques can be encashed in banks but are useless in the retail world.
There are a number of Automatic Telling Machines (ATMs) in the downtown of Minsk including of course at hotels. ATMs accept the credit cards mentioned above.

Getting to Belarus by Air

Minsk has two airports.
“Minsk-2” National Airport (50 km from the downtown of Minsk) links Belarus with the largest cities of Europe, North America, Middle East and CIS by regular flights of Belavia (the National Carrier), Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, LOT (Polish Airlines), EL AL (Israeli Airlines), Lithuanian Airlines, Estonian Airlines and some others. Direct flights from Minsk to Berlin, Frankfurt-on-Main, Kiev, Istanbul, Larnaka, London, Moscow, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw, Tashkent, Tel-Aviv are offered to you. Other regions can be reached via Warsaw, Frank-on-Main, Moscow, and Vienna. Airports facilities include bank and exchange office, post office, taxi service, nursery, restaurants, bars, duty-free shops.
According to the official rates taxi ride to or from Minsk-2 is about EUR 20.
“Minsk-1” Airport is situated not far from the downtown of Minsk. It was recently opened again after a long reconstruction. The flights to Stockholm and Kiev are carried out from “Minsk-1”.
There are also airports in all regional cities (Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Vitebsk) for domestic flights inside Belarus.
To book air tickets contact BELTOURIST.

Getting to Belarus by Rail

Direct international express trains operate between Minsk and practically every European capital. From Minsk you can take a train to any other city in Belarus, Baltic States, or CIS countries.
All trains arrive to and leave from the Minsk Central Railway Station. Its new recently completed building is situated in the very center of Minsk.
To book railway tickets contact BELTOURIST.

Getting to Belarus by Coach. Schedule of Routes

Getting to Belarus by Car. Check-points

If you are travelling by car, the below information for you.
E30 European motorway Paris–Berlin–Warsaw–Brest/Belarus–Minsk/Belarus–Moscow/Russia is the most convenient route to arrive at Belarus from the Western Europe. If you are travelling from/to any of the Baltic States or the Ukraine there will be no problem as the motorways in every direction are good enough. Petrol and diesel oil are available at the multitude of the filling stations along all the roads. Payment accepted in cash or by credit cards.
While crossing the border an owner of a car has to include information about his vehicle into the custom declaration. All tourists travailing by a car are to obtain insurance of their vehicle at border crossing point only from a Belarusian insurance company. Belarus is not included in the validity zone of foreign vehicle insurance policies so far. The charge depends on the period of stay in Belarus: from EUR 4.8 (up to 15 days) to EUR 53.1 (for a year). The charge is accepted only in EUR, USD or RUR!

The main check-points for vehicles on the Belarusian border:
with Poland —
1.  “Berestovitsa — Bobrovniki” for all types of vehicles
2.  “Peschatka — Polovtsy” for cars of Belarusian and Polish citizens
3.  “Kozlovichi — Kukuryky” for trucks
4.  “Warsaw Bridge — Terespol” for cars and coaches
5.  “Domachevo — Slovatyche” for cars
with the Ukraine —
6.  Tomashevka
7.  Mokrany
8.  Verchny Terebezhov
9.  Rovaya Rudnya
10.  Novaya Guta
with Latvia —
11.  Urbany
with Lithuania —
12.  Kamenny Log
13.  Benyakony
with Russia —
custom check-points are removed, however sporadic control may be take a place.

Important: BELTOURIST clients (groups 6+ pax) are able to receive our assistance to avoid waiting in line during on the border check-points when travelling by motor roads. We are ready to issue a relevant confirmation which together with our reference number would give the right of priority (“Green Line”) to complete the formalities both on arrival and departure from Belarus.

Traffic Rules

While travelling a driver should have driving license, documents for the car and a letter of attorney in case he is not the owner of the car. The speed limit is established 60 km/h in inhabited areas, 100 km/h on motor highways, and 90 km/h on other out-of-town roads. Speed limit excess by 10 km/h is normally not fined. Special attention should be paid to traffic signs: in comparison with European roads they are not always perfectly noticeable. The quality of roads is considered among the best within the CIS, but certainly inferior to that of the Western Europe.
Please strong follow the traffic rules which strictly controlled by the road police. Its posts are indicated “ÄÀI” in Belarusian or “ÃÀÈ” in Russian. Remember that in Belarus consumption of any quantity of alcohol (including beer) by a driver is serious violation of the laws!

Passport and Visa Regulations

All tourists travelling to Belarus are to have a valid passport and a Belarusian entry visa (if there is no visa-free entrance agreement between Belarus and the respective country). Your tourist visa can be issued by a Belarusian Consular Office in your country provided that you have the confirmation of tourist services you book with BELTOURIST (voucher). Alternatively, you can receive your tourist visa at Minsk-2 National Airport on your arrival at Minsk. A Russian visa is valid for Belarus for a period of 48 hours for transit travelers only. Belarusian transit visa is required when crossing Belarus to Russia.
More details you will find on our website page Visa Support.

Customs Regulations and Duty-Free

On entering the country tourists are to complete a customs declaration form (in English), which must be retained until departure. This records the import of articles intended for personal use, including currency and valuables.
The rules of transferring property across the state frontier of Belarus coincide mostly with the International regulations. Personal (not for commercial activities) things valued below EUR or USD 1,000 are duty-free. The following goods are allowed duty-free with limitations: 200 pcs cigarettes or 200 g of tobacco products; up to 3 litres of alcoholic beverages, 20 litres of petrol, 1 video-recording and 1 video-playing device per pax.
Importation of foreign currency to Belarus is not limited, however, in case you import an amount exceeding USD 1500, you have to enter this sum into the declaration. At your departure the declaration is the document for unimpeded exportation of the remaining money: currency exportation is limited to USD 1500.
Prohibited import/export items are those internationally recognized (scrap-iron and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, firearms, military ammunition and equipment, radioactive and explosive matters, narcotics, psychotropic, poisonous; printed, video- and audio information that may cause detriment to the interests of the Republic of Belarus; lottery tickets).
Transfer across the Belarusian border of works of art and antiques is forbidden unless permission has been granted by the Ministry of Culture. Expertise takes up to 10 days. It concerns masterpieces of fine or decorative and applied arts, musical instruments and similar articles of such types.
For transferring animals and plants across the border a permit from the veterinary and phytosanitary control service are required.
Vehicles that are imported for the period of less 3 months are free from custom charges, though they should be enter into the declaration.

Medical Aid and Insurance

The first medical aid is available free of charge. However, to avoid any problem with medical care we would recommend that visitors have medical insurance from a reliable insurance company of their choice.
Mandatory medical insurance and insurance of the travelers' vehicle are to be obtained from a Belarusian insurance company at border crossing point of entry for the entire period of stay in Belarus without fail. Besides, foreign visitors are to pay a medical insurance starting from EUR 1 (for the period up to 10 days) to EUR 85 (for the period of a year) depending on the duration of stay in Belarus.
Note: all tourists travelling by road are to obtain insurance of their vehicle at border crossing point only from a Belarusian insurance company. The charge depends on the period of stay in Belarus: from EUR 4.8 (up to 15 days) to EUR 53.1 (for a year). The charge is accepted only in EUR, USD or RUR!

Electricity/Voltage

Measures

In Belarus, as well as in the majority of countries of the continental Europe the Metric system is used: grams, meters, litres, and degrees Celsius.
Some equivalents:
Weights:
1 pound (GB, USA) — 454 g, 1 once (GB, USA) — 28.35 g
Cubic measures:
1 barrel (GB, USA) — 163.6 l,
1 gallon (GB) — 4.544, 1 gallon (USA) — 3.785-4.621 l,
1 pint (GB, USA) — 0.473-0.567 l
Linear measures:
1 foot (GB, USA) — 30.47 cm, 1 inch (GB, USA) — 2.54 cm,
1 mile (GB, USA) — 1609.1 m, 1 yard (GB, USA) — 0.914 m
Temperatures:
°C  0      10  20  30
°F   32    50  68  86

Local Time

Belarus is in the Eastern European Time Zone: GMT + 2,
and GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October (summer time).
When it is noon in Minsk, it is:
02:00 in Los-Angeles
05:00 in New-York
10:00 in London
11:00 in Berlin, Paris and in Rome
12:00 in Kiev
13:00 in Moscow
The watches are switched over hour toward (summer time, GMT+3) on the last Sunday of March, whereas the last Sunday of October a one hour shift back is to be done.

Business Hours

In the most cases business hours are:

Offices		09:00 a.m. — 06:00 p.m. Monday — Friday
Banks		09:00 a.m. — 05:00 p.m. Monday — Friday
General shops		09:00 a.m. — 09:00 p.m. Monday — Saturday, 09:00 a.m. — 06:00 p.m. Sunday
Food stores		09.00 a.m. — 08.00 p.m. daily (a number of food stores in big cities are open 24 hours)
BELTOURIST		09.00 a.m. — 06.00 p.m. Monday — Friday

Public Holidays 2004

Communications

Phone dialling method:
International call to Belarus: +375 — city code (without first 0) — subscriber’s phone number. For instance, dialling the Minsk number 26 98 40 from a country but Belarus: +375-172-269840.
International call from Belarus: 8 — wait for the continues dial tone — 10 — country code — city code (without first 0) — subscriber’s phone number. For instance, dialling the Moscow number 626 00 11 from Minsk: 8-10-7-095-6260011.
A call within Belarus: 8 — wait for the continues dial tone — city code (city code’s first digit must be 0) — subscriber’s phone number. For instance, dialling the Minsk number 26 98 40 from Vitebsk: 8-0172-269840.
A call within the town of Belarus: direct town subscriber’s phone number you want to call. Minsk numbers begin with digit 2 (this digit belongs city code of Minsk — 172). For instance, dialling the Minsk number 26 98 40 within Minsk: 2269840. As a rule, Minsk numbers are specified consisting of 7 digits, from those “2” is the first: 226 98 40.
Regional city codes are: Minsk 172, Gomel 232, Mogilev 222, Vitebsk 212, Grodno 152, Brest 162.
Booking calls within Belarus and CIS: 071
Booking international calls: 080
Inquiry on city and country codes: 053
Information on billing the calls: 054

The Main Post Office is situated in the center of Minsk near the Railway Station: 10 Skorina Ave (open 08 a.m. — 08 p.m.). Here you will find all the communication services — telephone, telegraph, fax, Internet.
Fax: Services are available in all larger hotels in Minsk and other big cities.
Telegrams: Can be sent from hotels or any post offices. Also you may book telegrams by phone: 066.
Post: Regular mail can be sent from hotels or any post offices.
Express Delivery is rendered by DHL Worldwide Express,
Federal Express (FedEx), TNT Express, United Parcel Service (UPS), EMS Express Delivery around Belarus, and MEKUS companies.

Cellular communication is rendered by “Velcom” — “Mobile Digital Communication” JV, GSM-900/1800 standard; “Belcel” — “Belcel” JV, NMT-450 standard (since 2003 — CDMA'2000 standard also); “MTS” — “Mobile Telecommunication Systems” JV, GSM 900/1800 standard (it is Russian cellular operator started working June 26, 2002). All of them provide international roaming service.
International call to subscribers of belarusian cellular networks: +375 —29 — subscriber’s phone number. For instance, dialling the "Velcom" subsriber's number 6 10 20 30: +375-29-6102030.
Paging companies: “BelRadioPage”, “MDF-Communications”,
“MobilCom”, “Solid”, “Vesso-Bel” , “RadioPage”, and many other.
Internet: Internet communication services can be found in the post offices and hotels, in every district of the city. The central one is the Main Post Office. Besides, you may visit a number of Internet-cafes and clubs. There more than 35 Internet Service Providers in major cities and towns of Belarus.

Emergency Telephone Numbers

Public City Transport

Metro (or Underground, or Subway) — Minsk only — admission by counter operation gates against tokens purchased at the entrance to the station (one token irrespective of the distance or changing the line). Runs from 05:30 a.m. to 01:00 p.m.
Buses, Trolleybuses, and Trams — ticket system: tickets should be purchased beforehand at the stops or from the driver. Run from 05:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cost of one trip is about USD 0.12.
Taxi — (full capacity of taxicab is 4 pax) could be easily identified by the sign taxi on the roof top. 24 hrs a day.

Food and Drink

When in Belarus, you should not miss to taste the specialities of the area, like Belarusian borsch (beetroot soup served with sour cream), draniki potato pancakes, or machanka (pancakes served with thick gravy).
“Belovezhskaya Bitters” is a local alcoholic beverage made on the basis of 100 herbs. Please do not miss to taste the century-old beer brewed in Belarus (“Lidskoye”, “Alivariya” or from “Rakovsky Brovar” restaurant in Minsk).
A great variety of dishes with potatoes is the speciality of Belarusian national cuisine. Belarusian men prefer vodka to other strong drinks.
The best Belarusian vodka are “Kristall”, the silky “Belaya Rus”, and “Charodey” which was the only official vodka at Oscar’99 ceremony, as well as at the New Year party of prince of Monaco in 2000.
There is also a good selection of international specialities in the numerous restaurants and cafes of Minsk and other cities of Belarus.
More about national cuisine you will find in Section Belarusian Cuisine.

Shopping

Your visit to Belarus will be unforgettable if you buy the souvenirs of the country — wood-carved and straw inlaid articles, straw-woven dolls and caskets, linen goods, etc. Traditional Russian souvenirs like matreshka nested dolls and original samovars are also available.
Of course, a wide range of goods such as watches, cameras, dresses, foot, wines, technichs, optical and electronic devices, furs, ceramics and glass, jewellery and toys may be bought.

Tipping

The service charge is included in the final bill at restaurants, hotels and in the meter reading in taxicabs. Though not obligatory, an extra tip will be appreciated.