Belarus by Michael Fitzgerald

Things to Watch out For

2016-01-26 12:46:41 UTC

Legal Theft

When you are staying in a hotel in Belarus watch out for "Legal Theft". Some maids in Belarus have found a way to steal peoples belongings legally. They will hide your valuable items in a very obscure spot in your room. After you leave, not having found your item, the maid will put it in the lost and found and after a few days have the right to claim it as their own. This is completely legal, and a terrible loophole in the system. Do not let this happen to you by either keeping valuable items in the hotel safe or on your person at all times.

Money

Whenever you want to change in your money for Belarussian rubles be sure to give them the right kind of money. If the bills you give them are in any way bent wrong, marked, or ripped then they will not accept them. Be careful with this and make sure that you keep your bills flat all of the time in your wallet.

Geography

2016-01-26 13:32:41 UTC

The country of Belarus is normal when it comes to geography. It is only slightly smaller than the United Kingdom with a square area of 207,600 square kilometers. Over 40% of this landlocked country is forested. It borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Its capital city is Minsk and the other districts in Belarus include Homiel, Brest, Hrodna, Vitsbesk, and Mahiliou. Belarus is home to about 42 rivers and streams, and about 11,000 lakes. Belarus’s major rivers are the Neman, Pripyat, and the Dnieper. The highest point is Dzyarshynskaya Hara at 345 meters and the lowest point is on the Neman River at 90 meters. The climate in Belarus is between the continental and maritime climates, with an average temperature of 18 Celsius in the summer and -6 Celsius in the winter. It receives a range of 550 to 700 millimeters of precipitation and is sometimes in excess.

Economy

2016-01-26 13:33:59 UTC

The economy in Belarus is in general not so good. In the entirety of its independence the economy has not fared well.The stress in the economy is mostly because of oil reserves.Belarus only has small reserves of crude oil and used to refine oil from the Russians for a cheap discount on actually getting their own oil in return. In 2006 Russia held back on giving Belarus much oil. In 2010 the whole system started up again. In 2011 Belarus made the same kind of deal and gave their shares in a natural gas pipeline operator in return for bigger discounts on the oil and natural gas. One big loan was given to Belarus in 2012 but their entire currency crashed because of it and over 60% of it was completely used up and lost. But because of their standing relationship, in 2013-2014, Russia gave Belarus a loan of 2 billion dollars. Belarus entered 2015 with a steady economic growth and was by far the most economical growth that Belarus has ever had.

History

2016-01-26 13:34:15 UTC

The recorded history of Belarus begins in the early centuries A.D. when the Baltic and Slavic people settled there. Belarus was originally part of one country called Litva in the 9^th century. This country consisted of the modern day Lithuania and you guessed it, Belarus. Belarus’ religion was catholic until the Russian empire suppressed it. One member of the Catholic Church was Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a driving force in the American Revolution. The Belarusian people were occupied by Russia from the 18^thcentury until 1918, but there freedom in 1918 was not long lived. From 1918till 1944 Belarus was in very bad positions and eventually was forcibly taken control of by the Soviet Union. From 1944-1990 Belarus was controlled by the Soviet Union. They declared independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union as well independence as a country. It has been run by authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko since 1994

Travel Information

2016-01-26 13:34:25 UTC

Minsk, Brest, and Gomel are popular choices where you'll probably see a lot of other tourists, but they are still worth going to because of their rich history.

Lake Narach is good to go to in the summer with its beaches and river cruises.

On the other hand, Silichy is nice in the winter having many ski resorts and slopes.

Grodno has many historic building like churches castles and cathedrals.

Mir castle, Dudutki, and Marc Chagell House Museum are personal picks that just seem cool,

I also highly recommend the Białowieża Forest in the southwest on the border of Belarus and Poland. It is a national park that is quite beautiful.

Language

initz — 2016-01-27 11:39:05 UTC

Good phrases to start learning to help you when you get to Belarus

Demographics

initz — 2016-01-27 12:05:45 UTC

In the People and Society section statistics can be found

Prices

initz — 2016-01-27 12:27:43 UTC

This page shows you all of the prices you might need to know moving here

Sources

mafjr — 2016-01-27 12:28:24 UTC

http://www.factrover.com/history/Belarus_history.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bo.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/belarus/indicators

And all of the sources in the attachments above

GDP

initz — 2016-01-28 12:32:20 UTC

Chernobyl

initz — 2016-01-28 12:34:40 UTC

Explination about the disaster that effected the southeastern part of Belarus

Itinirary

initz — 2016-02-01 13:40:51 UTC

1.
Arrive
in Minsk

2.
Minsk-Church of Saints Simon and Helena, Victory Square, National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus, National Library of Belarus, Island of Tears, Minsk-Arena Complex

3.
Depart
for Brest, go through Pinsk and Natsionalnyy Prirodnyy Park

4.
Brest-Memorial Complex Brest Hero Fortress, Brest Railway Museum, Lights Alley, Sovetskaya Street, Saved Artifacts Museum, Berestye Archeological Museum, The 5th Fort Museum, Resurrection Church, Brest Fortress

5.
Depart
for Grodno, go through Belavezsszkaja Puscsa Nemzeti Park

6.
Grodno- Kalozha Church Boris-Gleb Church, Zhiliber's Park, The Watchtower of the fire department and a Fire Museum, Pharmacy Museum, The Old Castle, Great Choral Synagogue, The Jesuit Catholic Church

7.
Depart
for Lake Narach, go through Lida

8.
Depart
for Bilieva(Marc Chagall Museum), then
on to Gomel

9.
Gomel-Gomel Palace & Park Ensemble, Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace, Peter and Paul Cathedral, Observation Tower, The Chapel and the Burial Vault of the Paskevich, Clown Karandash

10.
Depart for Mazyr, go through Polesky
State Radioecological Reserve if you’re feeling up to it

11.
Depart for Minsk, go through Mir(Mir
Castle Complex) and Dudutki(Kraft
Museum)

12.
Leave back to your home, wherever
that might be

initz — 2016-02-03 11:43:47 UTC

initz — 2016-02-03 11:46:00 UTC

initz — 2016-02-03 11:47:46 UTC

initz — 2016-02-03 11:50:38 UTC

initz — 2016-02-03 11:51:22 UTC

initz — 2016-02-03 11:52:34 UTC