Thanks for the advice both of you.
Well they don't speak English.... It's the same in most of Europe, apart from the North Western parts. In some parts they don't speak it because they don't want to (despite actually knowing a fair bit). But in Eastern Europe and most parts of Southern Europe, people generally can't speak English to a useful level.
I noticed that some younger people in Kiev spoke English though - people who worked in shops. Hotel receptionists speak it, but even at this excellent hotel the level is quite basic.
The staff at the tourist office in Gomel could not speak English - in fact I am not even sure if the place I visited even was a tourist office at all, despite the claim from the guide book that it was.
They had some leaflets in English though.