Belarus, March 2006

[Maris VX]

This wasn`t my first visit to Belarus. This time I visited capital city Minsk, Gomel city and Gomel region in the south east of the country. I haven`t much time for photograpghy though...


OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission HQ in hotel Belarus - highest building in the center of Minsk


Svisloch river and Sports Palace


Hotel district - hotels "Yubileinaja" and "Planeta"


Hotel Belarus from Hotel Yubileinaja


Poster "For "Belarus" - this administrative campaign started in autumn 2004, unofficially promoting leader of the country


Typical voter information point in the countryside


Typical "back to USSR" information stand


Rogachov town, Gomel region


Rogachov, local power centre and territorial election commission, I experienced some brainwashing there during election night and met Olympic champion (1972 Munich) Nikolay Gorbachev


Candidates, not in alphabetic order, opposition candidate is in the far right side


Odd entrance into the polling station; signs "bar", "toilet", "wardrobe"


Polling station in the quiet countryside, it`s not allowed to take any photos inside


Soviet style fast-food eatery


Commieblock for everyone


Lenin kolkhoz


Each town and village has a club of its own - this was a brand new one


Authoritarian leader himself


Day after, City of Gomel (2nd biggest in Belarus)


Milinkevich - opposition leader


Ministry of Information and Ministry of Culture


Central Minsk, view from hotel Belarus - Afghanistan memorial, Old Town (that`s what`s left from it after the WW2), Palace of the Republic, October square and presidential residence - all in one


Tent city in the October square - first hours of 80 hour long protest


Founder of the KGB - Felix Dzerzhinsky - there are hundreds and hundreds of Dzerzhinsky and Lenin monuments throughout Belarus


Luka loyalist government and puppet parliament HQ in the (Soviet Belarus) Independence square


Minsk City council in the same square, square itself and underground mall is under construction now


Heart of the Old town


Hotel Belarus and Svisloch river from the Old Town


Central Election commission HQ - police officers ordered to erase this photo...


Typical grand Stalinistic architecture from the 1950s, two central streets of Minsk are monuments to Soviet 1930-1960 monumentalism




Tent city

[Mantas]

Paldies par loti labas foto

[Edd]

Very interesting thread, it seems that time has stopped in Belarus.

[Whose Homepage]

Aciu, Mari!

How utterly depressing ... although you bring a sense of humor to things.

Via est vita ... thanks a lot, but no, thanks! I reject their via because it leads to a miserable vita.

[Maris VX]

Aciu, Mari!

How utterly depressing ... although you bring a sense of humor to things.

Via est vita ... thanks a lot, but no, thanks! I reject their via because it leads to a miserable vita.

Yes, actually centre of Minsk in the evening (contrary to grey morning) is not depressing at all, what`s most depressing is the political system there (I feeled more free and happy in Russia afterwards).

More interesting threads are coming - I will visit Konigsberg soon (never been there so far - need to close this gap).

[Karletas]

Wonderful reportage Maris, thanks a lot! And I look forward to your next visit to Kaliningrad, another very interesting place as well as whole Belarus... places where time seems to have stopped... but at the wrong moment!

[satama]

It's always interesting to see pictures from rarely seen places.


These houses look awfully cute and just awful at the same time

[99]

/\
personal commie

[dariusn]

Nice photos I'm glad that Lithuania passed this sh.t

[Raptor]

It's always interesting to see pictures from rarely seen places.

Atvaizdas

These houses look awfully cute and just awful at the same time

I'd say dat they're apartments rather than private houses....u no how poor this country is like (no offense 2 Belarussians, i'm just telling the truth)

[oranger]

Atvaizdas