Minsk as a city is very much the product of the post-war Soviet era, and in comparison with some other Eastern bloc capitals we’ve visited, such as Tallinn, the process of changing and becoming more “Westernised” still has a long way to go. It’s not by any means a tourist destination and there’s not a huge number of visitor attractions; much of the architecture is classically Stalinist, and the city has been described as one of the most highly policed cities in the world. Nonetheless, we’ve been assured that it’s not like Moscow, and generally the people are likely to be welcoming and friendly, even if that’s not the first impression picked up on the streets.
Still, a bit of common sense doesn’t go amiss, so we’d suggest avoiding any unnecessary contact with the policing authorities. Don’t, for instance, take photographs of government buildings, and especially not the KGB building on Prospekt Nezavisimosti. Being drunk is not particularly likely, in and of itself, to get you into trouble, but being disorderly will.
The Belarusian currency is the rouble (BYR), and currently converts at around 4,000 to the pound. There are no coins, just banknotes in denominations ranging from BYR 100,000 to BYR10 (a quarter of a penny note!). It is illegal to import or export the currency, which means you can’t get it in advance, and you’re not allowed to take it out of the country with you.
Cash can be withdrawn safely from ATMs, and US dollars and Euros can be changed at bureaux de change. Be sure to use officially licensed booths; do NOT be tempted to change money informally on the street.
Main Tourist Sights
If you only go to one museum, visit the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Few countries were as devastated as Belarus by the Second World War, and the full horror is depicted within. Although not in English, most of the exhibits will be self-explanatory (including those on concentration camps and the invasion of Belarus). Take a look out the back of the museum at the large number of military vehicles on display. The museum is on Ploshad Oktyabrskoy, which is the huge open space about 100 yards from McDonalds.
The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit looks down across the river Svisloch, and is one of the city's oldest buildings having been originally completed in 1642. This is well worth a visit.
In order to orient yourselves a bit with the layout of the city, an interesting 'cartoon' map of the city can be found here.
Getting Around Generally
Most of the places you’d want to go to in Minsk are within walking distance but for the more adventurous who want to go further afield, the Metro system is cheap, reliable and fairly easy to work out. It runs between 5.30am and 1.00am.
Taxis can be flagged down in the street, but it may be worth carrying the name of your destination written down in Cyrillic script to show the driver: very few will speak English. They should have the meter on, but many will try to avoid that as soon as they spot you’re foreign. One way to make sure you only pay the metered rate is to get your hotel to book the taxi for you.
It's handy to have some idea of the Cyrillic alphabet before travelling to Belarus, as English is not widely spoken, and there is very little signage in English either.
A brief guide is below:
Letter
Sound
English equivalent sound
А а
a
a as in bat
Б б
be
b as in bit
В в
ve
v as in vet
Г г
ge
g as in goat
Д д
de
d as in dot
Е е
ye
*
Ё ё
yo
*
Ж ж
zhe
zh as in pleasure
З з
ze
z as in zoo
И и
i
i as in ski
Й й
i/krat/ka/ye
y as in toy
К к
ka
k as in king
Л л
el
l as in lift
М м
em
m as in my
Н н
en
n as in not
О о
o
o as in more
П п
pe
p as in put
Р р
er
r as in rib (rolled r)
С с
es
s as in sun
Т т
te
t as in ton
У у
u
u as in put
Ф ф
ef
f as in fun
Х х
kha
ch as in Bach
Ц ц
tse
ts as in bits
Ч ч
che
ch as in chip
Ш ш
sha
sh as in shop
Щ щ
shcha
*
Ъ ъ
tvyor/dih znak
This means that the consonant before it is pronounced softly
