On 25 May the final game between the teams of Russia and Finland brought the Ice Hockey World Cup in Minsk to an end. The biggest international event in Belarus’ sovereign history lasted for 17 days and turned Minsk...
While the group stage of the IIHF 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus is finished, the most interesting play-off matches, including the finals, are right around the corner. This is a great opportunity to visit Minsk which has already...
The Ice Hockey World Championship have dominated the news coverage on Belarus' Channel 1. Journalists regularly report on the games, but also praise the event's organisation. The official celebrations carried out on Victory Day, held annually on 9 May, were another popular topic. The Belarusian head...
On 9 May the World Hockey Championships officially started in Minsk. Belarus hosts the largest sports event in its history and the largest inflow of foreign tourists ever. Belarusian authorities endeavoured to make tourists' life comfortable and even allowed them to...
Foreigners coming to Minsk for the Ice Hockey World Championship get useful tips what to see and do in the city. Digital magazine 34mag.net has revised its Minsk guide for English-speaking tourists Budzma launches a new cultural campaign ‘Be Belarusian Women’. Movaveda, a new language...
In this issue of Belarus Civil Society Digest: demands for a special amnesty on the occasion of the ice hockey championship, training for social activists, competition for bike-friendly companies, discussions of Belarus investment possibilities and transparency of university budgets....
More than 70 thousand tourists are heading to Belarus ahead of the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship. Many plan to take advantage of the temporary visa-free regime this May. Though numerous wars and rebellions have resulted in the destruction of many architectural landmarks, Belarus has plenty of...
Yesterday Aliaksandr Lukashenka asked officials to make sure that foreign journalists would face no restrictions on media coverage of the Ice hockey World Championship in May. Next month Minsk will host a major international sports event for the first time in the history of independent Belarus.
It jumps out at you right after you come back from a foreign land: Minsk is not like Vilnius, Warsaw or Prague. Indeed, it is not like anywhere else. And obviously, this concerns not only its "deserted streets" or the...
Eastern Europe is central to Jewish history, but the region today lacks Jewish heritage sites. Very few landmarks commemorate the millions of Jews exterminated there during WWII, or their role in local culture and society before the Holocaust. A new...
Leading up to New Year's Eve and throughout the first week of 2014, employees of the Minsk municipal ambulance service launched a protest. They are demanding a raise in salaries and improved labour conditions. The healthcare sector in Belarus remains financed...
Over the recent months the rate of economic growth in Belarus has been gradually declining. For eleven months the GDP grew only by 0.9%. A decline in industrial production had a detrimental effect on economic growth. Despite the decrease in...
On 17 August, Minsk cycling fans gathered to make an unusual ride – they agreed via social network to dress in 1950s style clothes. Around 50 people participated in the event, and it even drew the attention of Belarusian media.Yet on 2 September police summoned Iryna Bijnik, the organiser...
Establishing oneself as a foreigner in a new city can be a challenge, not only because of cultural and linguistic barriers, but also due to social norms. It’s often easier to meet and befriend fellow expatriates or members of the...
