Belarus

Land of Castles and Forests – Where Medieval Fortresses Rise from Endless Plains

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⚡ Key Facts

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Minsk

Capital

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9,200,000

Population

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207,595 km²

Area

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BYN

Currency

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Belarusian, Russian

Language

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Continental

Climate

🌏 Overview

Belarus is a landlocked Eastern European country bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Under President Lukashenko's long rule, the country reveals complexity to visitors: immaculately clean cities, vast pristine forests, war memorials of staggering power, and warm, hospitable people. Minsk was rebuilt after WWII as a showcase of Stalinist architecture.

Beyond the capital, Belarus is surprisingly wild — one of Europe's most forested nations with ancient Białowieża Forest harboring bison, wolves, and lynx. The Pripyat Marshes form Europe's largest wetland. Mir and Nyasvizh castles are UNESCO sites, and Brest Fortress is one of WWII's most powerful memorials.

Minsk at Night

Romantic sunset on the promenade 🪲

✍️ Author's Note

Belarus is not an easy destination—reaching it requires navigating complex visa processes, understanding contested political realities, and accepting infrastructure limitations. But for those who make the journey, the rewards are profound. Here is a land where Soviet history stands frozen in subtropical humidity, where mountain lakes reflect peaks that have witnessed millennia of human drama, and where the questions of nationhood, identity, and belonging are lived daily rather than abstractly discussed.

The Belarusns who greet visitors with genuine warmth are a people caught between past and future, between recognition and isolation, between a Soviet golden age and an uncertain tomorrow. Their hospitality, their wine, their spectacular landscapes—these remain, regardless of political status. Visiting Belarus isn't just travel; it's stepping into a story still being written.

Beneath the Soviet surface — surprising warmth

—Radim Kaufmann, 2026