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Some things you may want to know about your destination:
Republic of Belarus
 The republic of Belarus (formerly the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR) is situated in the center of Europe. The capital is the city of Minsk. Belarus is landlocked between Poland in the west, Lithuania and Latvia in the north, Russia in the east, and Ukraine in the south. Today you will not hear the name Belarus in media reports of political and civil unrest - it is one of the most stable and secure countries in Eastern Europe, in many ways similar to Switzerland.
The state language is Belarusian and is closely related to other Eastern Slavic languages, most notably Russian and Ukrainian. Typically it is written in Cyrillic, but an alternate Latin based writing system does exist, though it is very seldom used. Russian is also a widely spoken language, as a remnant of the times when the Soviet leaders forced schools to teach in Russian and all business and government writing to be in Russian. With the independence of Belarus though, the state language was made Belarusian and the country's city, street and other names are starting to change as well as education focusing more on Belarusian history and literature.
Brain power from Belarus
 1999 INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT FOR BELARUS pointed out that "...BELARUS HAS A HIGHLY SKILLED AND WELL-EDUCATED WORK FORCE, DUE TO ITS EXCELLENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER AND SPECIALIZED EDUCATION...". Many U.S., Canadian and European educational and business institutions greatly benefit from partnerships with world renowned Belarusian engineers, scientists and physicians.
 Belarusian Arts
 You will be hard pressed to find an educated person who never heard of Mark Shagal, known today all over the world as Marc Chagall a Belarusian-born French painter. While in Belarus you may wish to visit the Belarusian Museum of Arts to enjoy some of his masterpieces. Marc Chagall's most famous paintings include such titles as 'The Circus', 'La Mariee', 'Bouquet of Flowers' and 'Lovers in Moonlight'. Two of his enormous murals are displayed in the foyer of New York's Metropolitan Opera House. At the age of 90 Chagall became the first living artist to be exhibited at the Louvre. Chagall museums are located in Nice, France and his native town Vitebsk, Belarus.
The writers that come from Belarus are notable for being some of the best in the region. Belarusian bibles were some of the first books printed in Eastern Europe and Belarus has a long history and rich traditions of philosophy and poetry.
The Belarusian Ballet Theatre is one of the best in the wrld, along with Bolshoj Theatre Ballet in Moscow and Mariinskiy Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Natural Beauty of Belarus:
 A national park "Belavezha" is the only place in the world where you can see a relict European relative of buffalo - Belarusian Zubr or European Bison. This park is shared by Belarus and Poland and is probably the last piece of primeval European forest.
Belarus has a lot of small quiet resorts on lakes and rivers in beautiful pine forests. The real treasure of Belarus is gorgeous birch trees. Legend has it that Belarus (White Russia) owes its name to its wealth of these spectacular species of nature. While relaxing in a quaint and charming bed and breakfast you will have an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery and taste the birch juice that is known for its miraculous healing power. And of course Belarusian vodka deserves a special mention. International experts have awarded the best in the world title to several brands of Belarusian vodka.
Attractions in Belarus:
http://www.belarusguide.com/travel1/Attrctn.html
http://www.belarustourist.minsk.by
http://www.belarustourist.minsk.by/photo/places/index.shtml
All questions related to traveling:
http://www.belarustourist.minsk.by/info/faq.html?PHPSESSID=52aa8744e833186a6d1ec2f92cc4d150
Map:
http://aci.byelarus.com/index.php?p=3
Pictures:
http://aci.byelarus.com/alb2/index.php?folder=/06-04v
Culture of Belarus:
http://www.belarusguide.com/culture1/index.html | | |
