Belarus is perhaps the most inaccessible, unknown and misunderstood country in Europe. Bradt Travel Guide: Belarus – the first to focus on the Republic of Belarus – therefore offers a rare opportunity to study a country and its people as they really are, before the rest of the world catches on. Anyone with an interest in history and sociology will be fascinated by the continuation of traditional rural pastimes and industries; there are also vast areas of marshes, lakes and rivers, which are of particular appeal to ecologists and environmentalists.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part One: General Information
Background Information
Geography and climate; History; Government, politics and administration; Economy; People; Language; Religion and education; Culture; Natural history and conservation
Practical Information
When to visit; Highlights; Suggested itineraries; Tour operators; Red tape; Embassies; Getting there and away; Health; Safety; Focus for specific groups; What to take; Electricity; Money and budgeting; Getting around; Accommodation; Eating and drinking; Shopping; Arts and entertainment; Photography; Media and communications; Business; Buying property; Society and customs; Giving something back
Part Two: The Guide
Minsk City and Oblast
Geography and climate; History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Minsk
Brest City and Oblast
History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Brest
Grodno City and Oblast
History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Grodno
Vitebsk City and Oblast
History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Vitebsk
Mogilev City and Oblast
History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Mogilev
Gomel City and Oblast
History; Getting there and away; Getting around; Tourist information; Where to stay; Where to eat; Entertainment and nightlife; Shopping; Other practicalities; What to see and do; Outside Gomel
Appendices
Language
Further Reading
Index
Nigel Roberts is a lawyer by profession, but he has now turned his back on the law to concentrate on a writing career as well as the work of the charity he co-founded 12 years ago, the object of which is to promote sustainable development projects with rural communities blighted by the Chernobyl catastrophe in a rural district in the south-east of Belarus. He has travelled extensively throughout the country and is a Russian speaker. He knows the district of Vetka particularly well and is always welcomed into the heart of the community by the same local family as if he were a son of the soil. He has written on Belarus for the magazines Abroad (based in Dublin) and hidden europe (based in Berlin). He also contributed a bus route to Bradt's recently published Bus Pass Britain Rides Again.
'Authoritative, insightful and helpful for travellers to the country.' Hidden Europe