Thread: Travel Blog; CIS/ex-USSR countries (i.e. Russian speaking)

I think this lady was a postman.

And I don't know how service "Экспресскурьер" works. But it seems that they received your documents and sent a telegram by post that they received them and now they are waiting for your call to know what to do with them.

MY PROBLEMS SOLVED, AND INVESTIGATION OF RUSSIAN COURSES IN MINSK

Thanks Dmitry! I have recieved the card now, am very pleased!

"ExpressCourier" is in fact DHL. If they had mentioned that in the telegram, I would have known exactly what to do. I called up and ask for someone who speaks English, and fortunately they had somebody there. They gave me the address to the depot. I have noticed a tendency that things are slightly less crispy new and well maintained outside the city. Many of the apartment buildings look very worn and the pavement could do withsome maintenance. I got a lift back into the city from a super kind guy who drove me all the way to my front door and refused to take any payment.

People here are just so kind, all the time!

Yuri finally came and also was a really nice guy.

Because he didn't check me in to the flat himself as he normally does, there had been some communication problem, otherwise he would have sorted out the Registration a long time ago. For 20 Euro he'll register it for whatever time I want, that's part of the service when renting a flat from their company.

It also turns out that there is cleaning service included in the flat, I had just started to look for some cleaning equipment and realised there is hardly any. So that's nice - no cleaning on my holiday!


Russian Courses for foreigners in Minsk:

I went to the SOL centre, which turns out, is literally across the yard from my building. This is a private establishment. They have no classes, just individual lessons. Not sure what kind of teachers they use - I definitely want somebody professional. The price is 20 EUR per 80 minute lesson. About the same as a driving lesson in the UK... I'll consider it. With this, you can decide the time yourself, and the intensity of the tutoring.

After that I went to the Linguistic Centre at the Belarussian State University. Also very close to where I am staying. It took a while to find the office that I needed. When I got there, a German man was already there, determined to enroll in a 10 month course. He told me the bureacracy was devilish - he had had to have a whole bunch of fairly irrelevant documents translated into Russian (professionally) and he'd just been asked to do an HIV test. But he thought Minsk was the right place to do a Russian course in, he had a very high view of the city and people.

I spoke with the clerk there, and she said I could take a month long Russian course which starts in June, provided I can get a copy of my secondary school leaving certificate. (Why this is relevant, I can't understand!)

My university record was not needed, and the school certificate needs to be translated into Russian. My school leaving grades are rather BAD and unfortunately Sweden has exactly the same 1-5 grading system as the CIS countries, so the bad average score would be immediately obvious to anyone here who saw it. (I got into university in Sweden based on entrance test, not grades because they were so bad...)

I asked her whether it mattered what type of visa I have. She seemed to think it's fine as long as it is registered in Minsk, which it hadn't been.

The course at the state university is more of interest to me - I like that idea better, and then you know you are taught by professional language teachers.
The prices for this course are fantastic - can't remember the exact price, but something like 300 USD for a full month of 20 hour weeks. Not sure if I can commit to as long as a month though, time-wise. Need to think about this...
Either way, I think I'll give my school a ring and ask them to send over my leaving certificate.

I am considering the options now, and there are a few more places to check out.
Any advice or thoughts would be very appreciated. I am not sure what to do.

I must say that anyone who can manage to get himself accepted to the Minsk university course is making a very good deal. A top university in a capital city, in a Russian speaking country, for such a small fee! The Linguistic faculty is in a very nice building, everything looks in great shape, this is probably a five star Russian class. Recommended!

Some photos from Minsk, Belarus

My pictures seem a bit unfocused! There is supposed to be auto focus on this camera!
No idea what's wrong but sorry about the poor quality!



Two people who died in the Metro bombing in Minsk, at the Oktyabrskaya metro station:



Very touching memory wall for victims of the bombing. It is much larger than this:




A famous landmark in Minsk: The Red Church:



Government building complex (National Assembly) that was built just after the war, without using any proper tools, just using "communist enthusiasm" according to Andrei, the guide. This building is quite unique in it's kind.



In Belarus they like to HIDE the places where people shop (seriously!), and sometimes also the shops and their content.... LOL - why not! So, underground in central Minsk, with no properly advertised entrance, you can find the city's best "mall" (there is not a lot of competition) with excellent shops. I really liked the decoration and the window (above) to the Lenin Square.



Minsk has an outdoor market called the Kamarovskiy Rinok. I actually liked the market in Gomel better - that was awesome. But this one was cool too. Here is a part of the meat market, covered:



MORE LATER!!!

We had 1-5 grading system, but now we are using 0-10 grading system, so your marks will look a bit better

State University of Minsk? May be it is Belarussian State University?

Government building is The National Assembly (parliament).

Thanks! I changed the name of the university in my post and add the Parliament building's name!

Maybe you can answer this?
When I was calling the number 2781108 from my Velcom mobile, it did not work.
I tried putting o in front but that did not work either. Then I went to the post office to ask what to do, and the woman dialled something else on my mobile. It is registered as #2781108 in the log. What should I have done when I tried to call that number?

MINSK PHOTOS CONTINUED:


This Circus building is really elegant and what a pretty statue!
I really want to see a show!



Behind the circus is a park, called the Children's park. It is quite big. The first thing you notice is this building, for a football team "Minsk Youth"




Close to the Ferris wheel in the park, are the graves of two people who I am guessing are some kind of youth heroes from the war. The writing is in Belarussian. I don't understand it but I took the photo out of respect for these people.



In the ex-Soviet area there are little amusement parks everywhere. As someone who comes from a country with 3 amusment parks in total, I just can't resist these!
This is a very big Ferris wheel. I took a ride in it:






Leaving the youth park.
Note the women walking in front of me. Both are wearing incredibly high heels. Very common in the ex USSR countries. Personally I wouldn't walk around the block in heels that high. Some women in Minsk dress very stylishly according to me but many are very keen to show all they've got... Anyway, many are on a tight budget and are doing a fantastic job at looking stylish. So many women here sew - the fabric and haberdashery section of the TSUM department store is awesome. I like sewing too, but i almost never have time.




War memorial obelisk close to the apartment I am renting. There is an eternal flame in front of it, and also an mock eternal flame (sounds terrible, but it looks cool, in a 50s style) in the underground passage underneath. There is a lot of the Soviet Union still around in Belarus, many signs and emblems remain and are well looked after.

When you are calling by mobile phone, you can use only the same operator's numbers without prefixes. When you are calling to other operators or city numbers you should use complete phone number +375(Belarus international code) xx(city/operator prefix) yyyyyyy(phone number).

For example: Calling to Minsk city number 2781108 (17 - is city prefix) +375172781108. But you can call to local city number using prefix #. For example if you are in Minsk using #2781108 you will call Minsk city number 2781108. When you are in other city it will call to that city number 2781108. (But there are no more cities in Belarus that have 7 digits phone numbers )

Translation of grave's description is:
Воин Советской Армии
Иванков Герасим Андреевич
Погиб в бою с немецко-фашисткими захватчиками
14 июля 1944 года

Soviet Army Warrior
Ivankov Gerasim Andreevich
Killed in the battle against the German fascist invaders
July 14, 1944

He was usual soldier, but they all were heroes.

Thanks for explaining about the mobile phone numbers. I could never have guessed that!

About Belarussian; I am sure it's easy to understand for someone who already speaks Russian... But for me, it's really confusing. It's not used a lot though, so not a big problem. Biggest issue is with street names.

And LOL the metro station names in Minsk!!! There is one name on the map, another in the metro itself, and a third being used in announcements inside the metro.... Kupalinskaya/Lenina station is the worst example I think! I kept thinking I somehow got off at the wrong station.

For my Russian lessons.... I am thinking, perhaps I could find someone who is a Russian teacher for foreigners, who'd give me lessons for 10-15 USD /hour instead. Does that sound like a reasonable price or am I just being stingy? It seems to me it should be a good fee for the teacher, and it is much more affordable for me.

I think the SOL Centre is asking for a price which would be OK in England but is rather inflated for Belarus and I don't care to give money to the owner of that place, I'd much rather my money went to the actual teacher.

But how to find a teacher...? Maybe there is some forum or something... I'll check if there is an expat forum.


And does anyone know precisely how to get to МИНСКОЕ МОРЕ with public transport?
I think there is a train or something, but where can I by tickets, how long does it take to get there etc?

Originally Posted by Hanna

Thanks for explaining about the mobile phone numbers. I could never have guessed that!

But how to find a teacher...? Maybe there is some forum or something... I'll check if there is an expat forum.
And does anyone know precisely how to get to МИНСКОЕ МОРЕ with public transport?
I think there is a train or something, but where can I by tickets, how long does it take to get there etc?

If I've not mistaken I had already posted that I can ask my friend (a teacher from State Linguistic University) to connect with you. I don't know if she would like to teach you but she probably can recommend someone. If you are still interested - you are welcome.
You can by tickets from central railway station (metro Площадь Ленина ) to the station "Минское Море" if you want civil plages or to "Ратомка" or "Зеленое" and go by suburban train in the Молодечно direction. Usually they go from lines #22-23 (I'm not sure in numbers though) to the right from the station building (As for me the best way to reach Минское море is to rent a bicycle, it's about 5 km from Minsk). By the way "Площадь Ленина " it's an old sovietic name, after USSR had collapsed there was a high tide of self consiousness of belarusian society and during this time many old sovietic names were renamed. So it happend to "Lenina place" it became an "Independence place" but all the interior decoration in the metro was connected with Lenin image so it was the reason I think, why the government decided to leave the old name of the station and now there is a such confusion for foreigners )

In my mind, $10 per 60 minuts is a very low price. I take more. Maybe in Belorussia it's OK, but in Moscow you cannot find a teacher for such a low price.

Yeah, you are right, I meant Euro anyway, so that's would make it 20-25 USD. I never use USD so I forget the value.
The thing is I have to be careful with my money because I am not working right now...

But for Belarus, think about the State university INDIVIDUAL course (one student, one university level tutor, at the top university). 560 USD per month for 20 hours, a week.
That's under 6 USD per hour. And that is the fee that you pay to the university. The teacher probably doesn't get all of that.

Additionally, that is a VERY good university, no doubt about it.
I got a very good impression of it.

You can understand why that German guy was so keen on getting accepted.

Yes, you see, Hanna, how convenient is to study Russian. An average Belorussian or Russian cannot go to a European country and take courses there.

Originally Posted by Marcus

Yes, you see, Hanna, how convenient is to study Russian. An average Belorussian or Russian cannot go to a European country and take courses there.

Yes, I take your point. It's completely true and I would want for anyone in Russia or Belarus to be able to save up like I have done, and go on a trip like this, to any part of Europe that interests them, and study any language they want. Or work anywhere in Europe that they want. To be honest I just don't understand what level of income and expenditure normal people here have. I don't think the information from the guidebook can be true though.

The visa policies going both ways should be changed. It should not be hard to travel East or West. We are all Europeans and have so much in common, there should not be any restrictions in travelling or working between our countries. Also, Europe should not try to tell Russia or Belarus how to run their countries.

The economic difference between different countries in Europe is not something I feel responsible for, but I am aware that the differences are sadly there at present, and I hope they will disappear as soon as possible. I should clarify that I personally have a reasonably well paid job in IT management and not a lot of financial responsibilities. That's why I was able to save up.

As you have probably noticed I am not a big fan of globalism or unbridled capitalism but since we are stuck in this type of society I will take advantage of what opportunities are there.
Hope you don't think I am a terrible person because of that. I have reflected on these matters quite a bit.

How hard would it be for you to get a 3 month Schengen visa and travel around a bit in Europe and stop in Germany (for example) to take a langauge course?

If in the future, any of my friends from the forum needs a sponsor or any kind of paperwork or other nonsense for a Schengen visa, just let me know I don't mind helping out with that at all. Send me a pm.

Kupalinskaya/Lenina station? You are wrong.

may be Oktabrskaya/Kupalovskaya? It is station, where metro lines cross, so station at one line is Oktabrskaya, and at second - Kupalovskaya.
About Belarussian names - it is government policy to save Belarussian language, because very few amount of people uses it.

Originally Posted by Dmitry Khomitchuk

Kupalinskaya/Lenina station? You are wrong.

may be Oktabrskaya/Kupalovskaya? It is station, where metro lines cross, so station at one line is Oktabrskaya, and at second - Kupalovskaya.
About Belarussian names - it is government policy to save Belarussian language, because very few amount of people uses it.

Yes, I see that I am wrong about the Ploschad Lenina station, I just looked at a map and there is a station which is clearly marked with that name and nothing else. For some reason I thought it was called something else too.
I had trouble with this in Kiev too, and indeed got confused by the Kupalovskaya station in Minsk.
The station that am staying at, is called Ploschad Pobedy. But on the metro map, it is Ploschad Peramori.
In Kiev, I stayed a a station called Dvorets Sporty / Palats Sporty - did not realise it was the same at first, until I counted the stations on the map and realised it had to be.

You know, when you speak a language POORLY like I do, then everything is really complicated and you can't really ask people around you for help either....

Originally Posted by Dmitry Khomitchuk

About Belarussian names - it is government policy to save Belarussian language, because very few amount of people uses it.

) Actually it seems to me that the government policy do everything to destroy Belarussian language as well as every little bit of Belorussian self-consciousness. Just IMHO

I understand. "Peramoga" is "pobeda" in Belarussian.

Dmitri, are you in Minsk? Would you like to meet up for a coffee or a glass of wine? Let me know!
PM me if you have the time! No worries if you don't...

Can people in general speak Belarussian? Do you learn it in school, or what is the arrangement?

I can guarantee you that I would love it, and really support it if it wasn't for the reason that I am trying to learn Russian. That's the only reason I am commenting on it

I am really falling in love with Belarus - it is such a nice country with fantastic people. I will definitely advise friends and family to visit here. About the politics I will say nothing, because frankly I can't really understand it. My aunt, for example would LOVE it - so safe, so clean, so many beautiful churches and nice nature and park. Lots of historical sights which she loves.

This is NOT a "little brother" of Russia, it is much, much more and I think it's different from Russia. It IS more European, yet it is Russian and it's got a unique character too.

Walking around, I feel like it's 20% any random Northern European country, 10% nice and modern version of the USSR, 50% unique and cool modern country unlike any other, 10% reminds me (in a good way) of my childhood in Sweden for lots & lots of different reasons.

Belarussian is learned at schools at the same level as Russian, when I was in school I spoked both languages at the same level, but after 5 years without practice it became hard. Also there are Belarussian schools, where all subjects are studied in Belarussian (Math, Physics etc). I don't know situation now, but 5 years ago in cities main schools where Russian-language with small amount Belarussian-language, and there were some Belarussian-language classes at Russian-language schools. Village schools were mainly Belarussian-language because in villages people speaks some dialects, Belarussian-Ukranian for South parts of country and Belarussian-Russian at Eastern.

By the way Belarussian language is young language, it was officially formed at the end of XIX - start of XX. And there are 4 main cultural regions of Belarus where Belarussian has some difference. Also there where latin and cyrillic versions of writing. Influences of Ukranian, Russian, Polish and Lithuanian. All is complicated.

To know problem of Belarussian language you should know history of the country, and it is hard to tell because of my poor language.