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The national airline is Belavia. The main Airport is Minsk, which offers flights to destinations including Kiev and Stockholm, plus international flights to regional cities. There are flights to Minsk, but it would be cheaper to fly into a neighboring country and take the train or bus to your Belarusian city of choice.

All trains arrive and depart from Minsk Central Railway Station located in the center of Minsk. There are several lines from Berlin via Warsaw and Brest with connections to Minsk. Another line runs from Vienna via Warsaw and Brest. Further direct trains are available from other cities, including Kaliningrad, Moscow, Odessa, Riga and Vilnius.

Buses are also in plentiful supply but can be dirty and overcrowded, and it’s often an ordeal getting a ticket. The most popular international bus routes are between Minsk and Vilnius (Lithuania) and Minsk and Bialystok (Poland). Trains come into Belarus from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine via 10 border crossings, and there are also about 10 border crossings open to private vehicles.

Renting a car can be cheaper than hiring taxis but driving in Belarus is problematic: fuel and spare parts are hard to come by, roads are in poor condition, and traffic police checks will be frequent and irritating. If you want to drive, do it on the right side of the road. If you want to drive, do it on the right side of the road.

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk — other major cities include Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Bobruisk.

The majority of the population of Belarus are native Belarusians, who comprise 81.2% of the total population of 10,293,011 people. Russians are the second largest group, making up 11.4% of the population. Poles and Ukrainians account for 3.9% and 2.4% of the population, respectively.

Languages commonly spoken in Belarus are Russian and Belarusian. Both are the official languages of Belarus.

The Belarusians were converted to the Russian Orthodox Church after Belarus was taken from Poland after the Partitions of Poland. Belarus’ Roman Catholic minority, which makes up perhaps 10% of the country’s population and is concentrated in the western part of the country, especially around Hrodna, is made up of a mixture of Belarusians and the country’s Polish and Lithuanian minorities. A small minority belong to the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church.



Full Name: Republic of Belarus
Capital City: Minsk
Area: 80,154 sq miles
Population: 10,400,000
Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 2 ()
Languages: Belarusian (official)
Russian (official)
Russian is more widely spoken.
Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholic
Currency: Belarusian Ruble (BR)
Electricity: 220V 50HzHz
Electric Plug Details: European plug with
Country Dialing Code: 375

Belarussians were pagans and they believed in the God of Sun - Yaryla, celebrated seasons of nature according to sun and moon calendar. The cycles of folk songs that were sung at these celebrations still exist. "Spring Greeting"- is a cycle of celebrations designed to awake mother Earth from the winter sleep which was important for such agricultural people as belarusians.

Kupalle - is the most loved and cherished pagan holiday in contemporary Belarus. The tradition is very ancient. Under different names this holiday is celebrated by all peoples of indo-european group. During the summer Solstice, Yaryla was reaching its biggest power. Kupalle - is a hedonistic summer celebration of the lands fertility in the name of a female God - Kupala.

Dzyady - prechristian celebration, originating from the cult of ancestors. It is a ritual dinner for commemoration of the dead relatives. The special ritual food is cooked for dinner and according to the tradition part of the food and drink is left in a special plate and glass for the dead. At this day families are going to the graveyards to take care of the graves. Sometimes the have food by the grave. Then it is customary to pour some vodka on a grave.

Kaliady - prechristian celebration of the end of year. The ritual food was cooked for three ritual dinners and folks would dress themselves as animals and fantastic beasts, carry the sun and the goat’s head on a stick and visit different houses trick-or-treating. They would sing special carols and the youth were playing games, perform in folk theatre plays for public, "skamarohs" would entertain the crowd, play jokes on people.

Shopping
Wooden caskets, trinket boxes, straw items, decorative plates and other handicraft items are good buys. Typical Russian souvenirs like the wooden matreshka dolls and original samovars are also available. Some shops are closed on Sunday, but tourist shops are usually open every day.

Currency Information
The official currency in Belarus is the Belarusian Rubble (BYR). Foreign currency should only be exchanged at banks, money-changing kiosks and official bureaus de change, and all transactions must be recorded on the currency declaration form which is issued on arrival. It is best to change money in US dollars, Euros or Russian rubles since travelers may encounter difficulties with other currencies.

Credit Cards and Traveler’s Checks
Major international credit and debit cards are accepted in some larger hotels and at foreign currency shops and restaurants. There are a number of ATMs in central Minsk. Traveler’s Checks may be accepted at larger banks, but cash is easier to exchange. To avoid exchange rate charges, traveler’s checks should be taken in US Dollars or Euros.

Tipping
10 per cent is usual. In some hotels in Minsk and other cities a 10 to 15 per cent service charge is added to the bill. Porters expect a tip of US$1-2.