Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's partly because it's one of those counties that don't stand out in anything- either good or bad. Note that Olga Korbut, the lass who popularised gymnastics in the 1972 Olympics and Viktoria Azarenka, the world tennis number one , are from there. Maria Sharapova's parents are also Belarussian, though she was born in Siberia due to Chernobyl.
Jezer, thank you for doing that. Could you expand on their experiences in that one month? I know a Belarussian couple (the husband 's my hubby's ex-colleague).
Belarus president Lukashenko is considered to be the last European "dictator", and because of that the country gets a lot of negative coverage in western media.
We worked with a local charity that had links in Belarus.
They brought around twenty children each year and those kids stayed with families in our area.
During that month many trips were arranged. Some were to tourist attractions, others just to the beach, which they adored, as Belarus is a land locked Country.
One visit, which occurred every year, was a visit to an incredible privately owned house where the owner got the kids a barbecue and let them loose to run around the grounds and use their swimming pool.
The doctors gave free health checks and an opticians gave free tests and spectacles if required.
It was a humbling experience though sadly this particular group is now disbanded.
We were told that a month away from their home area added a year to their life expectancy.
If the country's leader is a ruthless dictator who tolerate no opposition, frequently violates human rights, is banned from entering any EU country and whose only friend is Hugo Chávez - the country should be overlooked.
I am from Belarus, live in Minsk all my life so you can ask me anything if you are interested in my country...
Yes, politics probably play a role. Belarus has a negative image in the West because of Lukashenko, and there are reasons for that. But even if we had another president, I don't think Belarus would be much more popular in the outside world.
To attract immigrants, we are not rich enough. As for tourists... We are a landlocked country, no sea, no mountains, no major attractions, Minsk is a pretty big, nice and clean city, but it's not very historic as it was destroyed during the wars and also partly by communists.
However, quite often, when foreigners come here they are surprised in a good way. Maybe because it doesn't look as bad as they'd imagined
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,037,872 times
Reputation: 11862
Nothing really stands out about it. It could just be another part of Russia. Dare I say maybe it would be better off as part of Russia?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
