Although not a common
tourist destination, Belarus has attractions
including wooden villages, picturesque forests
and rolling green and black fields. Much
of the Belarusian culture, in the form of
traditional crafts and historic buildings,
survived the Soviet era, although the capital
remains an example of Soviet Style urban
planning. A series of concerts are held
each January, the Expolingua international
language festival in April and a festival
of Russian and Belarusian poetry is held
on Lake Svityaz in June. A festival of classical
and folk music and dancing takes place each
November.
Capital City: Minsk
Population: 10 million
Area: 207,000 sq km
Geography: Belarus is a flat country
and located east of Poland.
Getting There: Visitors from most countries will require a visa
to enter Belarus and must take out state medical
insurance, for which there is a small fee. There
are road and rail links from neighbouring countries
and border control checks to pass through.