# Forum About Russia Travel and Tourism  Travel Blog; CIS/ex-USSR countries (i.e. Russian speaking)

## Hanna

I'll be travelling in some Russian speaking countries and will share my experiences as often as I can/want to. Watch this space! 
I am a single woman in my 30s, nationality Swedish, occupation; IT project manager - normally living in London, United Kingdom.  
I might need help from native Russian speakers!! I have been studying Russian as a hobby on and off for ~2 years but unfortunately I still have to rate myself as a beginner. I can communicate with people, I think, but only just..  
My reasons for travelling in this area is: 
1) Practice Russian
2) Interested in history and culture of Russia and nearby countries + am aware that there are some fantastic sights to see in this region.
3) Get away/relax/de-stress...

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## gRomoZeka

I can't wait to hear about your adventures.  :: 
Good luck!

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## Ann

I'm envious!  Please post often.

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## WhiteKnight

Hi! I'm from Belarus. And I'm going to trevel to Crimea soon! If you'll need some lingual help or advice you're wellcome. You can bravely phone/SMS me +375297633689  ::  I'll be glad to help you with russian. In exchange for your English  ::  You also can contact me either on Skype "iWhiteKnight" or ICQ 114623496 or by e-mail: lozhkindenis(antispam)gmail.com

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## opal

Hello from Ukraine,
I would be glad to help with Russian in exchange on your English.
Post your questions in private or public here on this forum.
Regards

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## kamilion

I'm really looking forwards to reading about your trips, Hanna  :: 
I myself have managed to visit 4 post-soviet countries so far, but really hoping to see more of them, pretty much for the same reasons you have enumerated. 
Do you travel on your own? Are those trips organised by travel agencies, or do you do it all by yourself?

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## chaika

Hanna, I'm interested too. Planning a trip to Moscow/SPb in the fall. Where you going?

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## Hanna

*ROMANIA* 
Romania is always presented in a bad light in European media; the gypsies, poverty, crime etc. 
But really, it is a beautiful country (landscape) with interesting history and many sights to see. I am glad I went here.  
To my big surprise, there is a border control when entering Romania from other EU countries. I was in a sleeping car on the train, and woken up by border police to check my passport at 2 in the morning. 
The people here are incredibly helpful and kind. The go out of their way to help a traveller and do not expect anything in return.  
A lot of Romanians (like many Eastern Europeans) are very well-read, intellectual and interested in philosphy, politics, religion, good literature. They've been through crazy times in the 80s as the Ceaucescu regime failed the people, a violent revolt took place and crazy cowboy capitalism in the 1990s. Now they have the same split of newly rich people and really poor people as Russia etc. They do not trust politicians.  
I was surprised to learn that most people in Romania are very suspicious against the EU. Nevertheless the EU flag is hung along the Romanian on many buildings.  
Romanians are both nationalistic and quite religious. Some are Catholics, some Orthodox. 
Today I just popped my head in a cathedral in a city called Iasu. But I ended up having a *fantastic experience*: 
A nun _(an Orthodox nun! They wear completely different habits than Catholic nuns)_ noticed that I was a foreigner; went and got an English speaking priest who gave me a private tour and taught me a lot of things I did not know about Christianity in general and Orthodox Christianity. He was an incredibly smart and inspiring person; chatting with him really strenghtened my faith. 
It was the first time for me, visiting an Orthodox church.  
All day today I have been stupendously tired because of a crazy mixup that happened yesterday as I was taking the train from Bucharest to Iasi. Romania's trains are very old and dated. The stations are not maintained to a European standard. There is no public announcement system on the train and the staff do not speak any foreign languages whatsoever. The train stations are  very poorly lit in the evening. On the platforms, there are hardly no signs to say what station the train is at.  
For this reason, I as a foreigner was sitting in the wrong carriage (the first class) which detached from the rest of the train and sent on a branch line which was near impossible to get back from. It cost 8 hours, in the evening and night.  
In the poorest country in the EU - frankly I was just waiting to get robbed. But instead kind people on the train called friends who spoke English, rallied up a school boy on the train who could speak English and managed to explain the situation to me, and what I'd have to do.  
The only foreign language that a few people can speak, is.... Italian! Which I do not really speak. 
Of course, there are some similarities between all Euro languages, and many words you can guess if you know a few langauges... 
I think it's the influence of Christianity and perhaps the experiences of communism that have made people rally together to sort out a problem and help someone. I don't think a stranger would have been so well treated in the UK for example. Whatever it is, it's a really nice thing.* The language barrier has been really tricky while being in Romania* and people have gone to extreme lengths to help.  
The train I travelled on, when returning from the branch line, was so scruffy I was surprised that it was even running... 
It was like a ghost train in the dark, hardly lit, with interior from the 50s. 
In the end, 3 different people chatted with me during this branch line experience- keen to talk politics. 
To sum up their views; _Communism was good in many ways bad had some bad points. Capitalism is generally crap, but has a few good points. Their country has been screwed over and the people's property was stolen. The revolutions in Eastern Europe were staged by some mysterious force, particularly the one in Romania, and they offered some quite convincing "evidence". The EU should be treated with suspicion, Gorbachev was possibly a CIA spy and Russia has "stolen" Moldova from 
Romania._ 
I arrived at my 4 star hotel in Iasi at 3 in the morning. Nice hotel - Grand Hotel Traian. At which point* my wallet somehow went missing*, just after I paid a taxi driver. I did not have my main cards or cash in the wallet so it was an inconvenience, rather than a serious risk. I only lost two cards, a Visa debit and an Amex which I never use anyway. The Visa replacement card can apparently be DHLd anywhere in the world. Amex "Platinum Service" is a joke  - I will never use Amex in the future.  *
MOLDOVA*  
I decided to move on - to Moldova as planned. 
I ended up in a taxi with 2 other girls and a guy. I am pretty sure I paid many times more than what the others paid for this journey. Still, 25 Euro is no big deal.  The journey takes 3-4 hours and involves leaving the EU, and entering Moldova. 
The driver was funny though; He was driving his car to Moldova, because some auto repairs could be done there for 1/3 of what they cost in Romania. He was in fact a doctor though, and told me his interesting story in a mix of French and Russian. He had been educated in Moscow (being Moldovan), then emigrated to Romania. 
When he realised that I was staying at a hotel called "Cosmos" he got very nostalgic since it was the grand "hotel de ville" in his childhood. After we arrived, he bought me a drink in the hotel lobby, then I excused myself.  
This hotel is actually very Soviet style so I can see his point. Not exactly a chic hotel, but it is as central as you can get in Chisinau, and has free wifi. *A totally crazy thing happened in this hotel:* 
I accidentally went to a room at the exact opposite end of a long corridor, to my actual room. I did not notice at first - put my key in the door and turned - and realised I was in the wrong room!  How could the key work there too? 
I had walked straight into someone elses room  - luckily they were not there. *
In Moldova, everyone can speak Russian*, it seems. Great!  
This is indeed the poorest country in all of Europe. There are no motorways, many people drive old horse carts. 
Charming in a way, but of course, many people are no doubt suffering badly from poverty.  
Both the men in the car started telling me that it had once been quite nice in Moldova - in the 70s and 80s. 
- good roads and much better opportunities for people. They seemed a bit ashamed that I, a foreigner should see the problems in the country. I, on the other hand, felt embarrassed that I am better off - these are fellow Europeans, possibly both smarter and more hard working than me.  
Everyone seems super-religious here, crossing themselves a lot, and every kilometer along the road, I saw little shrines, crosses etc. Is there an English or Russian words for this? I saw hundreds of them today. 
Too tired to continue more soon!

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## Marcus

Do old people in Romania speak Russian?

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## Ann

Hanna: Just curious, how much luggage are you taking on this trip?  Do you feel that you've overpacked/underpacked?

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## Hanna

> Do old people in Romania speak Russian?

   I don't think they do actually. In desperation, I tried Russian with  the Vienna -> Bucharest train conductor, who I was totally unable to  communicate with. I said "Может быть по-гусский вы понимаете?" He  responded with emphasis, in English "Never!" Unfortunately he  practically knew no other words in English so I was not sure what to  make of the response. I also asked an older lady on the train, in Russian, if she could speak it. She just  looked confused. 
 I don't think they speak Russian. When I studied Russian in school. one of the reasons to convince students to choose it, was "then you can speak with everyone in Eastern Europe". That is just not true.    

> Hanna: Just curious, how much luggage are you taking  on this trip?  Do you feel that you've overpacked/underpacked?

 I stuffed full a bag from Osprey, called "Soujourn". It's an 80 litre wheel/backpack combination bag. I also took a smaller day pack type rucksack from Osprey; The main bag is so heavy I could never put it on my back. That's about the right level of luggage, I think - but mine is very heavy because I bouight some Russian books (that I have not yet opened). And a laptop.    
------  
Losing my wallet put me off a bit and I am worried about going to Ukraine now. I had not even left the EU before something like that happened. The absolutely worst case scenario would be ending up without passport or a penny somewhere in the middle of Ukraine. I am really trying to be low-key and careful, but what happened with the Romanian train and the wallet was discouraging. I was really keen to see Ukraine but nobody I knew wanted/could come. Perhaps I am being naive. Maybe I should just get on a train straight to Belarus, which seems safe.  
I chatted with a girl in the taxi - in Russian. She did not seem to think it was a good idea to travel to Ukraine alone but because of my bad Russian, it was not possible to have an in-depth conversation.

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## gRomoZeka

It was very interesting! I did not realize that situation is so dire in Moldova now, but it's great that most people were friendly and willing to help.
I'm a little confused, though. Why are you so afraid to go to Ukraine? Does it have a bad reputation or something? Do you think it's less safe than Romania or Moldova?

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## Hanna

> Why are you so afraid to go to Ukraine? Does it have a bad reputation or something? Do you think it's less safe than Romania or Moldova?

 Actually, I don't know, but there are some "horror-stories" on the Lonely Planet travelling forum. I was not very worried until I read those, just recently.  
At first I thought that the people who got into trouble were just acting silly;  non-Europeams who have a different view on Europe and travelling than I do...  It seemed they were falling for obvious scams, flashing expensive gear to thieves, perhaps going with prostitutes.... One person said "anyone in Ukraine is a potential thief, I wouldn't trust anyone with any personal information or belongings..." I don't believe that at all, but the fact is, this person has been there, and I haven't! And I still remember the "Wild East" rumours from Russia and the Black Sea in the 1990s - some of the stories were probably exaggerated..... but, I am travelling alone...  
jTo be honest, I Just had a scare when I sat on that "ghost train" in the Middle of the night, not knowing where I was or was going; unable to communicate, then eventually a boy started chatting to me - specifically about gypsies who rob, rape and kill people.... Ugh! 
My friend Lilly went to Kiev a few years ago and had a really nice time - she was super impressed by architecture and nice people (she can not speak Russian at all) this was a work/tourism combination trip. She didn't even want to go on these trips at first but her work required it. She ended up really liking it and told lots of friends about her plans to see more of the CIS area, particularly the Black Sea. She hasn't got around to it yet though. 
She was also in Minsk for the same reason, and liked that a lot too, although I think Kiev was more to her tastes.

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## Marcus

> When I studied Russian in school

 Хорошо ли учат иностранные языки, кроме английского, в школе в Швеции?

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## Hanna

*
TRANSDNIESTR REPUBLIC  (!!!???)* 
It turns out that there is a "country" between Moldova and Ukraine, that is not on the map because it is not officially recognize. 
But it has its own borders, currency etc.  
I think I need to pass it to get to Odessa from Chisinau (aka Kishinev). 
The country is called something like TransDniestr Republic. It is a Russian speaking area that did not want to be part of Moldova and declared independence. Apparently there was a war about this, I did not know that. 
I know that such areas exist, but I thought they were in the Caucasus.  
Reading about the place, it sounds interesting in many ways. 
I'll get a passport stamp from a country that doesn't officially exist!  
The capital of this country is called Tiraspol. 
There is a really good 4 star hotel there - I am thinking about spending the night there before going to Odessa. Apparently the place is pretty tightly run, with lots of militia etc, therefore safe. 
Apparently crossing the border there can be problematic at times. 
Does anyone know anything about this - is it a place to visit, or avoid?

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## Hanna

> Хорошо ли учат иностранные языки, кроме английского, в школе в Швеции?

 English is compulsory. 
Everyone has to do one more language -- usually German or French. 
If you want to go to university, you have to do one more language. Usually either Spanish or Russian can be selected at academic schools.  
I only studied Russian for a short time in school, I swapped for Spanish after one term or so, because I thought Russian was too hard and I did not like the teacher. But my interest in learning it remained.  
Russian is probably the hardest language to learn in Sweden because there are not a lot of good teachers. I read that there are lots more students who would like to study it than there are teachers who can teach it. The Russian teacher in my school was an Estonian man who had simply taken a course on teaching, and was already fluent in Russian. But he was not a good teacher.

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## CoffeeCup

> Losing my wallet put me off a bit and I am worried about going to  Ukraine now. I had not even left the EU before something like that  happened. The absolutely worst case scenario would be ending up without  passport or a penny somewhere in the middle of Ukraine.  *TRANSDNIESTR REPUBLIC*
> It turns out that there is a "country" between Moldova and Ukraine, that  is not on the map because it is not officially recognize. 
> But it has its own borders, currency etc. 
>  ...
> Does anyone know anything about this - is it a place to visit, or avoid?

 I, personally, would be more suspicious to Moldova and the "Transdnestr Republic" in the point of safety. Some my friends frequently visited Ukraine last years and had not meet any problems whatsoever. I believe that the place you are staying now (Moldova and the Transdniestr republic) is the most dangerous places in that region. 
As for pickpocketing, It can happen everywhere, just be careful.

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## BappaBa

> One person said "anyone in Ukraine is a potential thief, I wouldn't trust anyone with any personal information or belongings..."

 Видимо, интурист плохо разбирается в географии, и вместо Украины съездил в Бостон. =)

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## gRomoZeka

I really can't tell how safe is Ukraine for a foreigner, because I'm a resident and some things that can be problematic for a person who is not fluent in Russian/Ukrainian obviously go unnoticed by me, or do not apply to me. 
But I agree with *CoffeeCup*. Moldova and even Romania seem more dangerous from where I stand. I'm not sure about Transdnestr Republic, I think it's about as safe as Belarus, which is pretty safe (but I've never been there). 
I visited Kiev (Kyiv) last summer. People were friendly and mellow. I was surprised by the number of people who spoke Ukrainian (about 15-20%, I expected less than that), but everyone understands Russian of course, so it should not hinder a Russian speaking traveler in any way. I stayed in a hostel, and there were a lot of foreigners from all over the world. All of them looked happy enough, I did not hear about any serious problems. Since it was center of the city, there were plenty of polcemen even after midnight (I've never seen so many of them in my city  :: ).
I can post some photos, if it can help you to make a decision. Unless (judging by your last post) you've already decided to visit Odessa?

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## Hanna

> I can post some photos, if it can help you to make a decision. Unless (judging by your last post) you've already decided to visit Odessa?

 Yes, I have decided to go there; I always knew about it and was interested in going. 
What about Yalta? Has anyone been there, and is it enjoyable? 
I have not read up about it, but from what little I know, it's know as a beach holiday destination and for the naval base at Sevastopol. Perhaps there might be a ferry from Odessa to somewhere nice on Yalta. *
@Whiteknight* - thanks for the offer, I might get in touch when I am closer to Belarus! *@Opal*, thanks a lot - will get in touch when I am in Ukraine... ! First, I have to survive Moldova and the Transdniestr Republic, LOL!  
PS - more on Trandniestr; check out their official magazine on http://www.pridnestrovie-daily.net/gazeta/default.aspx. The state emblems probably indicate the political orientation of this "country". I have no view on that, but I am trying to find out what the situation with "visa" is. It seems to be down to the individual border guards at the time. Not a re-assuring setup. Frankly I do not wish to be blackmailed by some old time border guard, or subjected to some mini-USSR charade, so if I am not more re-assured that I can cross this "border" without hassle, I might try to circumvent "Transdniestr".

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## Basil77

> Decision of building new society in the single state (note: state, communism declines states) was kept. The idea was to build socialistic society that in future will spread all over the world and make coming of communism easy. Government doctrine was never called communism. Marksism, Marksism-Lenininsm, Socialism. Bad translation and black propaganda.

  

> Первый Секретарь ЦК КПСС Н. С. Хрущёв объявил в октябре 1961 года на XXII съезде КПСС, что к 1980 году в СССР будет создана материальная база коммунизма — «*Нынешнее* *поколение* *советских* *людей* будет жить при коммунизме!».

 Коммунизм — Википедия  *Мы в коммунизме будем жить (Здравствуй, будущее!)*
Музыка: В. Мурадели Слова: Е. Долматовский           Здравствуй, Будущее, здравствуй!        
Прорвались мы в пределы твои!           
Всей страною под знаменем красным       
Сквозь лишенья, преграды, бои.           
Припев:                                  
Мы будем жить при коммунизме!           
Его рубеж не так далёк.                 
Трудом мы, подвигом приблизим           
Великий день, заветный срок.              
Здравствуй, Будущее, здравствуй!        
Сквозь огонь мы тебя пронесли.          
Ты придешь к нам не сказочным царством,  
А расцветом советской земли!             
Припев.                                  
Здравствуй, Будущее, здравствуй!        
…… ленинской сделаешь ты                
Все мечты о свободе и счастье,          
Всех времён и народов мечты.             
Припев.  http://sovmusic.ru/download.php?fname=comunism

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## Hanna

Yes, but Basil77 - Khrushchev was a politician and an idealist... Just because he said it, doesn't mean it happened! 
And I don't think Marx said that families were wrong... (Can't remember even hearing about it, other than here - but I am no expert on communism - where does this information come from..?)  Maybe it was some later communist who said that? And as far as I know, all that Marx said about religion was that it is used to manipulate people, and that it's untrue. But he didn't say to ban it, did he? (Personally I find the idea of banning religion VERY unpleasant and some of the things that the USSR did against the church are disgusting!) _
But to be honest, my knowledge about communism is a bit fluffy, I read about it a very long time ago and have probably forgotten lots of important points, and I am not interested enough to re-read anything. And regarding the USSR: I only saw the "nice" sides, since I visited as a tourist, and was a kid on holiday... And saw it on TV. It's clear that people like Crocodile and others had some truly awful and crappy experiences in the USSR, I want to respect that_.

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## bsod

I'm sorry for offtopic, but somewhere in this thread I  saw that salary in belarus is about $1500 (if i remember right). So, today i've read the news and found this: TUT.BY | НОВОСТИ - В Речице состоялась предупредительная забастовка пивоваров - Общество - 24.05.2011, 09:11. .. Numbers in this news is a little bit far from $1500

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## WhiteKnight

> 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

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## WhiteKnight

> 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 )

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## Юрка

> It's clear that people like Crocodile and others had some truly awful and crappy experiences in the USSR, I want to respect that

 У Крокодила был ужасный опыт в СССР? Можно по-подробнее, это какой такой опыт? Его заставили стоять в очереди за бананами или что-то ещё более ужасное?  ::

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## Hanna

> У Крокодила был ужасный опыт в СССР?

 Well the venerable Crocodile hasn't gone into any specific details but  he disliked it enough to leave the country, and he hasn't said anything  good about it here, ever, as far as I can recall. I am pretty sure it  was not to his taste!  *
Thanks for explaining Whiteknight*! I actually went there yesterday, but it took about 2 hours on the train station before I figured out how to get there.... (the easiest way was with a Marschrutka, but I took the train back!)  
Had a lovely time (will post some pictures) for a few hours, but after that there was an absolutely horrendous thunder storm. I got completely soaked.... Thunderstorms seem really common in Belarus! There have been 3 since I arrived, and they are massive! Thunder, flashing and the skies open up!  *
Would you still want to meet up, and have time?* Perhaps we can go for a walk, a coffee or something to drink? I'll send you a text, I think your mobile number is somewhere in this thread. 
And on the Belarus salaries: Frankly there must be quite a big variation. Some people in Minsk are clearly on much more than the 1500 figure mentioned here.... and maybe there really are people living on a few hundred "y.e." a month. Respect to them, must be really hard and frustrating. I think it depends greatly on how much they pay in rent per month.

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## Hanna

> Hi, I've just returned from Crimea to Minsk, so yesterday I celebrated The Victory day in a train . If you like, we can meet the other day I'll be glad to communicate with you! I can even order some sightseeing around Minsk if you like.  
> What's concern russian language courses - almost every foreign languages center has a russian departament for foreigners  Курсы русского языка для иностранцев.  Курсы иностранных языков Русский для иностранцев | Курсы и обучение в Беларуси - Лидер образовательный центр Факультеты и кафедры - Факультет русского языка для иностранных граждан Общий курс русского языка \\ Streamline - курсы иностранных языков.

 Yup, here is your excellent post! And while looking for it, I also found the one that you made about the shops that "might" sell soy milk . Now that I have "found my feet" here in Minsk I'll get there and check it out. I can't make up my mind about whether to take lessons or not. Still thinking about it.  
Your explanation about the Lenin Square metro station makes sense too... The only thing about these different names, like you said, is that it confuses visitors. For example, I did not know the word that that means "Independence" - and it's a different word in Russian v. Belarussian so I was not able to guess. And you are surely right about the Soviet decoration on that metro station! The other confusing place is the street that people call "Skariny" which is in fact marked everywhere on maps and street signs as "Independence" - somebody I met on the train to Minsk warned me about that though.   

> I remember a sign "Soy milk" on the Brovki  str. Between University of Informatics an Radioelectronics buildings. if  I have not mistaken right after the second block wich address is  6-Brovki str., But it was quite long time ago. I've never seen this  stuff in shops. The only thing i can think of is  here  also I know a health meal  shop in the Metro Pushkinskaya. May be there you'll find some kind of  the stuff, I'm really not sure

   

> ) 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

  Interesting viewpoint. So Lukashenko's funny comment that a Belarussian is a Russian with a quality mark did not convince you, or the "Мы Беларусь!" campaign on town? Maybe it's more rhetoric and no real action. And I sympathise with the point that you made about Belarus being "landlocked". Yes, there is something a bit sad about a country that has no coast.  
Belarus politics is too complicated for me to understand. I always take a positive viewpoint and try to look for the good points in things and there are many good things here to point at. But I can understand peoples extreme frustration at things like currency devaluation or the status of a language they love (i.e. Belarussian in your case).  
It-ogo was writing a while back how he wanted to speak more Ukraininan but somehow it just feels complicated and he sticks with Russian because it's more convenient.

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## WhiteKnight

)) Yeah our climate is under influence from Baltic but it has continental character, that differs from marine scandinavian and UK. So in may there are usually heavy rains with thunders. There is a poem by Fyodor Tutchev about this phenomenon 
Люблю грозу в начале мая,
Когда весенний, первый гром,
Как бы резвяся и играя,
Грохочет в небе голубом. 
Гремят раскаты молодые!
Вот дождик брызнул, пыль летит...
Повисли перлы дождевые,
И солнце нити золотит... 
С горы бежит поток проворный,
В лесу не молкнет птичий гам,
И гам лесной, и шум нагорный —
Все вторит весело громам... 
Ты скажешь: ветреная Геба,
Кормя Зевесова орла,
Громокипящий кубок с неба,
Смеясь, на землю пролила! 
Yeah I'd really like to meet with you! There is quite a problem to get a chance to talk with English spoken person here. So I would be very appreciated! If you have Skype you can find me there my nick is iwhiteknight

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## WhiteKnight

> It-ogo was writing a while back how he wanted to speak more Ukraininan but somehow it just feels complicated and he sticks with Russian because it's more convenient.

 It's obvious for every Belarus, I think, that without the real governmental support of the belarussian language, culture and traditions they are going to extinct very soon. The only enthusiasm of a few people is not enough. But our government do nothing to support it and as I can see by many examples such as deny of  performances, of some musical bands, theaters and so on they aim to eliminate self-conscious people from the society. It's very sad   ::  . It reminds me a social pressure in Bask Country during the WWII, but their national idea was tried to be eliminated by enemies...

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## Юрка

> I am pretty sure it was not to his taste!

 Это наверняка. Кстати, сам Крокодил мне тоже не по вкусу. Спорит по каждому поводу, зануда. Он наверное, был у нас преподавателем в ВУЗе.  ::

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## BappaBa

> Кстати, сам Крокодил мне тоже не по вкусу.

 =) Вы просто не умеете их готовить (с)

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## Marcus

I think the language situation in Belarus is similar to that of Norwey, where there are two official languages: bokmol and nynorsk. One is spoken by majority of the population, while other is created of various dialects of western coast.

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## Hanna

Norway has a completely incredible amount of very distinct dialects... It's because it used to be quite difficult to travel around the country, and people were just staying in their own village (until recently). So each place spoke in their own way and it didn't matter very much if it became incomprehensible to everyone else. Norway has belonged to both Sweden and Denmark at different times. Bokmål is not really a dialect (it means "book speech"), it's just a way of writing, which looks quite a lot like Danish. 
However, when Norwegians speak, it's much more similar to Swedish than to Danish. 
Nynorsk is a way of writing Norwegian which is more similar to how people actually speak (at least in some parts of the country). But the majority don't like this way of writing anyway, only some people do, and there is a lot of debate about it. Norwegians are supposed to learn both ways of writing and it complicates things a bit for them, and wastes time. 
The problem is that their written language (Bokmål) is designed to look like Danish, and it does not correspond to how people actually speak. I think that instead of having 2 written languages, they should have a reform and combine the two. 
Or, they could just use Swedish  ::   Norwegian is essentially Swedish with a funny accent, a few words that are different, and different spelling.

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## Basil77

> Yes, but Basil77 - Khrushchev was a politician and an idealist... Just because he said it, doesn't mean it happened!

 I never said it did, I was replying to Dmitry's post.   

> And I don't think Marx said that families were wrong... (Can't remember even hearing about it, other than here - but I am no expert on communism - where does this information come from..?)  Maybe it was some later communist who said that?

 It was Friedrich Engels' idea, he was a gay after all so it's no wonder he suggested this crap. But it doesn't matter, I'm shutting up about -isms for now. Sorry for creating another off-topic here. I'd better wait for you to post another pictures of beautiful Belorussia.  ::

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## Marcus

> Norwegian is essentially Swedish with a funny accent, a few words that are different, and different spelling.

 Or maybe vice-versa

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## Hanna

*Photos of an absolutely amazing market called "Kamarovskiy".*
Why is this market so cool? It is extremely large, completely clean, very well organised, no crooks or dishonest vendors...
I have never seen something like this in my life.             
Outside the market, a bronze horse sculpture and a fountain. 
Sorry about the bad quality, I am a terrible photographer and I have not yet read the manual for my camera    
A park named for Simon Bolivar of Venezuela

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## Hanna

A woman is reading in the park   
Nationalistic campaign that can be seen across Belarus  
In a suburb of Minsk 
Wow, it looks and feels exactly like my childhood! The layout is so similar, and the nature. 
But such suburbs are not the same in Sweden anymore.       
My outing to Minskoe More ("Minsk Sea")  *Train station after terrible thunderstorm*  
If you come from a Northern country, there is nothing more relaxing than the sight of pine trees and Birch trees (in England, they hardly exist). The nature of Belarus seems identical to Sweden's, even though Belarus is much further South. Not sure why. 
I have noticed that Belarussian shops sell juice made from Birch sap. It tastes sweet and very good.

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## Hanna

Approaching the sea    
The beach (there is much more... ) Basically they have created an artificial beach (by dumping lots of sand on the shore of the lake) for about 2 kilometres. There are some benches and tables etc for people to use while enjoying the beach. My grandfather and his neighbours created a small beach in the same way, at his summer cottage (dacha).   
By the canal-side in Central Minsk   
The Swedish Embassy (note that the building is pre-war, unusual in Minsk!)   
Palace of the Republic   *
MUST-VISIT (for Women)  IMPULSE shopping centre [Импульс]*
Near the Kamarovskiy Market is an absolutely amazing shopping centre aimed at younger women. I have never seen such a thing; Definitely not up-market but clean and well organised. It consists of little booths absolutely crammed with makeup products, clothes or jewellery. To get anything, you have to speak with the saleswoman, who gets it from the back of the shop. An amazing range of products is available - I was looking for something and found it, which frankly I had not expected. This is not a place to shop for high-end expensive looking fashion, but it's a great place for bargains and simply an experience to visit. Recommended!!!

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## Hanna

I am going to read the manual for this camera now. 
The quality of my pictures is terrible.  
I hope you got something from the pictures anyway. 
Minsk is a very pleasant and impressive city in many different ways. 
-------------------------------- 
EDIT: Apparently you are supposed to first focus on the object by pressing the button halfway down.. Then when it's focussed, you should actually take the picture. 
Hm.... 
COMING SOON: 
Pictures of places I am about to visit: 
-Botanical Gardens
-Minsk, the City of Heroes  -  War memorial 
-Troitskoe Suburb - an area restored to look like several hundred years ago.
-and Dudutki Village (a traditional Handicraft village - if I can figure out how to get there...) 
I also want to find out where the *Russian embassy* is, and submit a visa application, since I have finally got my Minsk registration sorted out, thanks to Yuri's (landlord) dodgy contacts...(according to the registration, I am staying at a hotel called "Turist".) _
There is a really horrible memorial which I don't want to go to alone, just too sad. It is called Khatyn, and it's about war crimes by the Nazis in Belarus. Among other things, inhabitants of several villages were locked inside of buildings and burnt alive.  
Almost 3 million Belarussians died in the war - that's 1 of 4 people in the country at that time. All of Minsk was destroyed. It IS surely a small miracle to rebuild and recover so quickly._

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## Basil77

> The nature of Belarus seems identical to Sweden's, even though Belarus is much further South. Not sure why.

  Because climate in Scandinavian peninsula is affected by Gulf Stream, places in Siberia and North America wich has the same latitude have much colder climate.

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## WhiteKnight

> -and Dudutki Village (a traditional Handicraft village - if I can figure out how to get there...) 
> I also want to find out where the *Russian embassy* is, and submit a visa application, since I have finally got my Minsk registration sorted out, thanks to Yuri's (landlord) dodgy contacts...(according to the registration, I am staying at a hotel called "Turist".) _
> There is a really horrible memorial which I don't want to go to alone, just too sad. It is called Khatyn, and it's about war crimes by the Nazis in Belarus. Among other things, inhabitants of several villages were locked inside of buildings and burnt alive.  
> Almost 3 million Belarussians died in the war - that's 1 of 4 people in the country at that time. All of Minsk was destroyed. It IS surely a small miracle to rebuild and recover so quickly._

 The bus number 323 Minsk-Dudutki starts from Autostation "Восточный"  near the hypermarket "Gippo" ул.Ванеева, 34 in the morning 9-40 and afternoon 12-55. The museum doesn't work in monday. 
Russian Embassy is situated on the street Гвардейская, 5a go to Nemiga by metro, then walk to the bus station in the direction of "Дворец спорта" then you should go by bus #1 or #69  past the monument "Stella - "Minsk a Hero City" , 
Right after Stella there is your bus stop (Гвардейская) quit and  cross the road to the perpendicular street, then go down this street straight forward until you see at the right hand a two level building with a russian flag. Before in this building was a kindergarten were I spent my young years )

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## capecoddah

"If you want to imagine what was Minsk at bygone times and to feel the atmosphere in which ourancestors lived, you should visit the Traetskaye Pradnestse (the Trinity Suburb), which is the restored medieval center of Minsk." 
The first paragraph of a souvenir photo book given to me by my friend Irina. She moved after she graduated college. Lovely area. 
"Let the restored area of the Traetskaye Pradmestse remind us of this town, which was lost. Lost but not forgotten." 
Last sentence of the English portion. (Written in Belorussian, Russian, English and German)

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## WhiteKnight

I can recommend a Belarusian cultural event "The Show on The Grass" Крамбамбуля і J-Морс разам зграюць “Канцэрт на траве”. : Будзьма разам!
If you need a translation I will post it later

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## Hanna

Thank you so much for the information Whiteknight! 
Today I have visited the *Troetskoe Predmestie* (Trinity Suburb), *War memorial at "Hero City",* done some shopping and been to the *Russian Embassy.* Yesterday I went to the* Botanical Gardens*, *the childrens' railway* and an large public park, and just strolled around a bit - *photos later!* 
Today at the Russian Embassy things did not go well. As Whiteknight mentioned, the consular section is located in an old school, on a residential street. My plan was to go there and pick up the application form, and maybe ask questions. I assumed that in an embassy, people would speak English.  
It took a while to find the building, it's not visible from the street. When I found it, it was quite thoroughly protected. A CCTV camera, a little gatekeepers kiosk and a locked gate. Not very inviting... 
Somebody shouted from the intercom "Yes, what do you want?!" in Russian. I replied in my bad Russian... "I am a tourist, I want a visa for Russia."The person then read something from a script, of which I only understood... "You need............embassy of the Russian Federation......." 
I tried to say that I didn't understand, but the intercom was off. I felt very stupid and got completely tongue-tied. I should have asked for somebody who speaks English.. There is a difference in the etiquette of how and when to switch to English, in this part of the world. Because they didn't offer, I assumed they couldn't speak it, or didn't want to. I left the embassy really frustrated and disappointed.  
I had a nagging suspicion that what the person might have said was something like "you can't apply for a visa here, you have to apply at the Russian embassy in your country of residence". Andrei the guide had said something along those lines, but he didn't know for sure. But why then, do they even have a visa section in Minsk in the first place? Belarussians probably don't need a visa to visit Russia. So who is this consular section serving... ? And why does it even matter where you apply! 
I will call them on the telephone tomorrow and ask. But if this is correct, then I simply won't be able to go to Russia. Unbelievable, I am just so gutted! So disappointed!  I got a visa for the USSR in a country that was not my own (Finland). No problem whatsoever and it took one day for me and 40 other kids in the same group. Why does modern Russia have to be worse than in those days!!?   

> 1. A foreign citizen can obtain a visa to Russia ONLY in the country of  his/her citizenship. Exceptions include those who have a residence  permit for a foreign country for the period more than 90 days. However,  the final decision is left up to the consulates. We recommend that you  get in touch with the Russian consulate in the country of your current  location and make sure that your application will be accepted. 
> 2. A multiple entry business visa allows nationals of all countries to  stay in Russia up to 90 days out of the period of 180 days. A multiple entry visa is only available for people who have been issued a  Russian visa before. If this is your first visit, you are only eligible  to obtain a single or double entry visa for 1 to 3 months.

 The guide book definitely did not mention this, I DID read the section about visas. It's completely normal to get a visa in a third country, I've done it several times. But for some reason, it doesn't work for Russia. I thought Russia had become more relaxed about stuff like this - but it seems that a trip to Russia needs careful planning, from home - not somewhere you can expect to just pop in for a visit. What an awful shame!  
I really liked Ukraine and I like Belarus a lot - but it's not the same as Russia.... I want to go there. 
If there was some dodgy underhand way of fixing this, I'd use that, but ultimately a visa needs to be issued by an embassy and if they won't do it, then I am stuffed. 
I wasn't going to fly on this trip, but the overland route back to Sweden without entering Russia is basically _not_ interesting for me. The Baltic states or Poland are the options. I guess I'd choose Poland because I haven't actually been there.
My visa for .by is valid until 24 July however.

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## Basil77

Sad to hear that. But no wonder in it unfortunately. Generally staff in Russian Embassies are complete assholes and snobs. All they do is telling to fvck off to everyone including their own compatriots. The roots of this phenomena go to iron curtan times and so called Soviet "blat".

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## WhiteKnight

To my mind you have 3 variations at least. The 1-st is based on the fact that there is no controlled border between Belarus and Russia. So you can go to Russia for some time, then return to cross a border with EU from permitted (by your visa) country. 2-nd do the same but cross the border of Russia with some trouble, for example to give a bribe to the custom officer or get a violation in your passport. 3-rd try to get the visa from Minsk, or from Kiev or from anywhere. I can help you with communication to the Embassy. Also I think that you should try to ask some touristic agency to do the visa for you. They usually got many advantages and "blat" in various embassies, it's their work at last, but nobody knows how much they can ask for the service, In addition you can apply in  Sweden or UK embassy, and ask to explain what's wrong with Russian visa and maybe to do some assistance with Russian embassy. If you liked the first two variants be aware that there very seldom can be a passport control of public transport on the road police post near to Moscow. So if you trap in it you should be ready to say farewell to some amount of money. The amount of money depends on how bravely you assure them that you have not any cash money but those you have in a wallet )). About "The Show on the Grass" it was denied for unknown time by government... The pressure of culture is continuing... it's very sad.

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## Hanna

I checked the page for the festival that you mentioned. Why was it denied?  I suppose if somebody wants to be an idiot bureaucrat they can say that the location is unsuitable or something. There were some comments there which seemed a bit political (I just ran it in Google translate) - perhaps they simply won't allow it because they don't like the people behind the event. That's a shame either way.  
Yes, the thought of going to Russia anyway occurred to me too... However, without a visa I probably couldn't stay in a hotel, and I couldn't cross the border to Finland as I wanted. I am almost certain you have to show a passport at a hotel in Russia. I'd have to go back to Belarus and then to Poland or the Baltics. Plus, I could be banned from entering Russia again, which I wouldn't want to risk. 
I hate the idea of giving bribes and even if I was going to try it, I would have no idea what to do! 
I've been calling the RU embassy on 3 different numbers I found online but they are not responding on either number. 
How strange. Don't know what to make of this. So I still don't know for sure what the situation is.  
The idea of going to a travel agency is really good. I'd have to find one that speaks English but it shouldn't be impossible. 
Today I will go to Dudutki Village!  *
EDIT - Oh dear, this is getting curiouser and curiouser, as Alice said....* 
I decided to call MY OWN friendly embassy instead - they are after me to register with them anyway, and they answer the phone...
On the other end of the phone I got a Belarussian woman who worked there but spoke fantastic Swedish. 
She really wanted to help and managed to call somebody who was actually the Russian consul. He told her that for Swedish citizens, there is no problem getting a Russian visa in Minsk, and I should print out the application from the website of the Russian consulate, and submit to the consular section. She said that if I had any further problems, I should either call her back from outside the embassy, or tell them that "Igor Yurievitch says it's fine". 
Interesting.  Compare with the comment from the site above! Two completely conflicting versions.

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## WhiteKnight

> I checked the page for the festival that you mentioned. Why was it denied?  I suppose if somebody wants to be an idiot bureaucrat they can say that the location is unsuitable or something.

 Unfortunately Beurocracy and Idiotism are the most remarkable features of Belarusian government  

> Today I will go to Dudutki Village!

 Good luck and have a nice day, Hanna!

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## Hanna

> Unfortunately Beurocracy and Idiotism are the most remarkable features of Belarusian government

 Hehe....  But don't forget they are rather good at renovating buildings and keeping the streets clean though! And the traffic lights for crossing the streets are 110% great. 
I would not be a rude guest and start criticising....  * 
Also, check my edit update on the Russian visa situation!*   
And I am not sure I can make Dudutki today... I might miss the bus.

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## WhiteKnight

> Hehe....  But don't forget they are rather good at renovating buildings and keeping the streets clean though! And the traffic lights for crossing the streets are 110% great. 
> I would not be a rude guest and start criticising....  * 
> Also, check my edit update on the Russian visa situation!*   
> And I am not sure I can make Dudutki today... I might miss the bus.

  ::  Actually I'm proud that you liked Belarus, and my depressive thoughts are mostly connected  with the current situation and with the obvious mistakes of the leadership that were the reason of it. My personal disgust of Lukashenko I'm trying not to show  ::  . Yeah I advice you go to Dudutki by a morning bus, by the way, tomorrow there will be an exhibition of basket weavers, I think it will be interesting

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## Hanna

> ....my depressive thoughts .....

 Looking forward to hearing about it over a glass of wine, lol.  
On the visa situation: I spoke with a woman who organises invitations to people who want to visit Russia; business or tourist. 
She thought that perhaps I can only apply in Minsk if I am a permanent resident. So that's version 3 of what the rule is....  
Oh, there is one other option actually. As an EU citizen, I am guaranteed to be able to apply at a Russian embassy in any EU country. Looking at the map, VILNIUS is not that far from Minsk. There is not a lot of extra trouble to go there, I think. Lithuania is the Baltic state that I have never been to, so it's somewhat interesting. To get the Russian visa, it's worth it. Does anyone know how long it might take to get to Vilnius from Minsk?

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## Crocodile

> tell them that "Igor Yurievitch says it's fine"

 Congrats! You started to discover how the stuff worked in the former USSR. But if you forget the Sesame's name (=Igor Yurievitch) the magic door will not open for you as you'll still be just one among the crowd who needs something.  ::

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## Hanna

> Congrats! You started to discover how the stuff worked in the former USSR. But if you forget the Sesame's name (=Igor Yurievitch) the magic door will not open for you as you'll still be just one among the crowd who needs something.

 She didn't get the surname though... and also, why is there a consul for a city that has an embassy? Normally consuls are in cities that don't have an embassy, I think. I am not completely convinced about this yet. I mean, they didn't even let me through the gate at the consulate! 
The other problem is, I can't hold down a serious conversation; nobody's going to take anything I say in Russian very seriously since it'll be riddled with grammatical errors.  
Anyway, I will have some copies of the application form printed out, and keep calling the RU embassy. 
I can't find the REAL homepage of the Russian embassy in Belarus, all I am getting is search optimised sites selling invitations, that have names purporting to be the real embassy, but are not, for example russianembassy.biz  etc. 
Oops, here it is, in Russian only. ПОСОЛЬСТВО РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ БЕЛАРУСЬ THANK YOU *YANDEX*!!!  I got only spam and junk from google.

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## Crocodile

> She didn't get the surname though...

 That's right, and technically you're not supposed to know who that is. Typically, it's a current decision-maker at that level, tomorrow it can be someone else.    

> and also, why is there a consul for a city that has an embassy? Normally [...]

 Huh? Normally? Are you still asking questions? Clear your mind from questions and enter the world of Zen!  ::    

> I mean, they didn't even let me through the gate at the consulate!

 That's because the magic door to riches opens only to those who know the current password (Sesame).    

> The other problem is, I can't hold down a serious conversation; nobody's going to take anything I say in Russian very seriously since it'll be riddled with grammatical errors.

 Use your weakness to your strength, my young padawan learner. The next time you approach that evil speaker-phone by the magic door speak only English with confidence (and don't speak Russian at all, don't even show them you know Russian) and you'll be taken seriously. Don't ask for someone who speaks English, but openly say in clear and confident English: "Good morning! I'm a Swedish tourist and I'm here to obtain the visa." And if they say anything in return (whatever) finish them with the calm and confident "Igor Yurievich said I can apply here and I have my application filled in". That will work. Be tough and may the Force be with you!  ::

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## Hanna

> Use your weakness to your strength, my young padawan learner. The next time you approach that evil speaker-phone by the magic door speak only English with confidence (and don't speak Russian at all, don't even show them you know Russian) and you'll be taken seriously. Don't ask for someone who speaks English, but openly say in clear and confident English: "Good morning! I'm a Swedish tourist and I'm here to obtain the visa." And if they say anything in return (whatever) finish them with the calm and confident "Igor Yurievich said I can apply here and I have my application filled in". That will work. Be tough and may the Force be with you!

 Thank you oh wise Master Crocodile!  
That sounds like a strategy that would work! *
EDIT:* *The truth about applying for Russian visas in CIS countries:* 
Finally I found a number for the embassy that worked. AND I managed to get myself connected with someone who spoke English. The address for  the visa section is different from the place I went to, I think. Perhaps they changed the address or something.  I spoke  with a really nice man who told me that EU citizens can apply for a  Russian visa in Minsk. However this does not apply for non-European  nationalities. Hence the confusion; a lot of the info online is targeted at Americans. 
He also gave me the name of a  tourist company in Minsk that can sort everything out for me. It takes 5  days to get the visa (maybe there is a fast track service).  
For a 30 day tourist visa, an insurance, an invitation and the visa application form is all that's needed. A business visa offers more flexibility, but if I plan my trip properly it might not be needed.   *Hurrah!* ::

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## Hanna

*Visa update:* 
After an exchange of 8 emails between me and a helpful girl called  Alexandra at a visa support company, and lots of phonecalls from her to  some Russian ministry, we have established that it takes* 6 days* to get a Russian visa *invitation*  (business) for an application in Minsk. After I have the invitation, it has to be submitted  to the Russian embassy in Minsk, together with the other forms. Not sure if I should stay in Minsk and  wait this out, or go somewhere else in the country and come back to  Minsk later...  
I am not sure, and I would recommend anyone who needs a Russian visa to  get it on their own country, to avoid the hassle that I've been through.  The amount of time I've spent on simply FINDING OUT what the rules are,  is unbelievable... and I am still nowhere near actually having the  visa.  
I put Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Kazan and Murmansk as my planned cities for visiting. It's probably not feasible to visit all of those though, and I think with the business visa it doesn't matter if you go to the places you said you were going to visit.   *
What to do next in Belarus??!* 
I have seen most of the main sights in Minsk now, and done the errands that I needed to do. But I have to stay a bit longer, because of the Russian visa situation.  
I am playing with the idea of going to a "sanatorium"...  I read the Belintourist info and got seduced  by the pictures of holiday resorts and spas in the pine forest by a  beautiful lake... just the kind of thing I was dreaming about during my  endless London commute and late evenings in the office... I have never  been to a spa in my life, actually. 
But are my Russian skills up for this... ? And would I be the only  foreigner? That would be weird...  According to the broschures, people  from Germany, Baltics, Poland and Scandinavia go to sanatoriums in  Belarus.. But I must say I have only met one person who who has ever been in a  sanatorium, and she went somewhere in Russia, not in Belarus. Judging from the  pictures, these places are not luxurious, but they are spotlessly clean  (like everything else in Belarus.... ) and in a reasonably good repair. I am not sick in any particular way, but there are a few things I wouldn't mind getting some treatment for.. Not sure whether this is a very cool idea, or very crazy, and whether I will be able to find a nice place that has a vacancy. If anyone has any experience of this, please give me some advice! 
Another option is to use the extra time to cram Russian - as it turns out, I have not been able improve my skills in Russian as much as I had hoped (although I HAVE improved.. )

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## Vadim M.

> I put Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Kazan and Murmansk as my planned cities for visiting.

 _Москва... как много в этом звуке
Для сердца русского слилось!
Как много в нем отозвалось!_
(с) А.С. Пушкин  _Я хотел бы жить и умереть в Париже, 
Если б не было такой земли — Москва._
(с) В.В. Маяковский 
В общем, в Москву - обязательно!!

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## Hanna

Well, I actually don't have a very good impression of Moscow at the moment. 
I suppose it's a matter of personal taste but the things I have learnt from this forum and from upmarket magazines etc shows a picture that is not very attractive to me..  
Too many cars, too crowded, corruption, lots of disgustingly rich people being superficial, arrogant and throwing money around them. Lots of really poor people, possibly dishonest/dangerous. Extremely commercial and very generally very expensive and flashy.  
Of course, the history, culture and architecture etc interest me, and some nice people from this forum live there. But those other things are quite offputting.

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## Vadim M.

И москвичей в Москве всё меньше и меньше. Скоро они станут реликтами.
Любимый город становится чужим.

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## BappaBa

> corruption, lots of disgustingly rich people being superficial, arrogant and throwing money around them. Lots of really poor people, possibly dishonest/dangerous.

 Народ, с какой нахрен коррупцией она может столкнуться в Москве? Запугали девчонку. Я последний раз давал взятку (пузырь водки) оценщику машины в 1993 году!

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## rockzmom

> That's because the magic door to riches opens only to those who know the current password (Sesame).   
> Use your weakness to your strength, my young padawan learner. The next time you approach that evil speaker-phone by the magic door speak only English with confidence (and don't speak Russian at all, don't even show them you know Russian) and you'll be taken seriously. Don't ask for someone who speaks English, but openly say in clear and confident English: "Good morning! I'm a Swedish tourist and I'm here to obtain the visa." And if they say anything in return (whatever) finish them with the calm and confident "Igor Yurievich said I can apply here and I have my application filled in". That will work. Be tough and may the Force be with you!

 Hanna... Croc is right about this last part... at least from my experiences in Salvador at the Embassy. There they have supposedly only Spanish speaking guards at the entrances and only wanted to let my husband in as he had the appointment. I showed them my US Passport and my husband explained in Spanish that I was his wife. They did not seem to care at all. My embassy and they would not let me in. Hubby went in without me and I went around to the American entrance side and stormed in and explained the situation. They said to go back and just tell them in English to let you in. Went back over and just glared at the guards and said, "Let me in, NOW." and showed them my passport again. They let me in without a blink of an eye. Really stupid the games they play.  
They also had a big scandal a few years ago with the officers making you pay cash when you applied for your Visa and then pocketing the money and marking your application that you had not paid so you had to pay the fee again when you picked up the Visa. Most of the locals going to the U.S. never complained because they never knew that they were getting ripped off. They all thought there were 2 fees. It wasn't until some of the more educated folks started to complain that they figured out the scam. 
So be strong!

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## WhiteKnight

Hi, Hanna. This is the link to the belarussian propaganda animation  ::  Budzma Belarusians! : Будзьма разам!

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## Hanna

Putting the video that Whiteknight is referring to here, so anyone can enjoy it.     
Belarus has really won my heart as a perfectly sized European country with great nature, nice culture, wonderful people, plus clean, good-looking, good value and safe. For better or worse, Russian is the language in use apart from a few exceptions, therefore perfect for a student of Russian. The politics are complicated, sad and rather unique - best left to the Belarussian people I think, whereas a tourist can enjoy all the great aspects of this country!

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## WhiteKnight

I've seen an ads that circus starts working 3.06.11

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## Hanna

Thanks for that information!   *I have decided to go to a sanatorium...  (in Belarus, as I still have no Russia visa... )*   _After I return, my invitation to Russia should be done, and hopefully I can get the visa quickly, but I will need to return to Minsk to go to the RU embassy. In hindsight, I think I choose the wrong visa, I should have gone with the most basic tourist visa which you can get quicker, and simply accepted the limitations._  
The place I am going to:   

> *Санаторий МВД "Белая Русь"* расположен практически на самом берегу* озера Нарочь*,  площадью более 80 кв.км., шириной 10 км., прозрачность 5-7 м. Самые  глубокие впадины озера достигают 25 м., озеро слабопроточное, вода  пресная. Множество ручьев впадают в него в северной и южной части,  вытекает одна река Нарочанка, впадающая в реку Вилия. Основная подпитка  происходит за счет родников. В озере обитает около 20 видов рыб. В  окрестностях *озера Нарочь* произрастает 800 видов растений: 32 охраняемых, 27 видов занесены в Красную книгу.    Санаторий МВД nокружен  сплошной полосой хвойного леса. С верхних этажей спального корпуса  открывается живописная панорама озера Нарочь. 
> Санаторий Белая Русь один  из лучших санаториев Беларуси.

  
Lake Naroch is famous for its beauty in Belarus, and it is in a nature reserve. This place has a beach, two very large swimming pools, a gym and lots of spa-type and health-improving treatments. I have never been to a spa, and I have never had any such treatments, so will be a completely new experience for me... 
In order to go to a "sanatorium" (in Belarus at least) you have to first do a* full medical examination*; something else that I had never done. This is so the staff at the resort will know how best to help improve the health of the guest. I went today, and did EKG, chest röntgen, cardiology, gynecology, etc, etc! I have to go back later and take some blood samples and speak with a doctor. Believe it or not, I have never actually done a full health check-up for preventative reasons. The standards of gynecology in Belarus seem to be much higher than in the UK! 
This medical centre was supposed to be English speaking... But it was not... *So I managed all of this in Russian!* I even had a discussion about a particular health issue with the gynecologist, and understood what she was saying and recommending. If you remember, ONE MONTH ago, I was super-pleased because I was able to ask for toothpaste in a shop. So I have improved!   _@Rockzmom if you are reading this; I remember that you have been suffering from some health problems... This would be such a great thing to do for you! You probably need it more than I do and it's a pity you are so far away, otherwise this would be very affordable and a really nice thing to do for you!_  
Apparently it is quite normal for people to be sent to sanatoriums by their work, and then they only pay a very small part of the price.. which is low to start with. As a foreigner I am having to pay the market price (if there is one...), but it is still cheap. Apparently this place belongs to the Belarussian ministry of interior affairs. However others can visit too.   *It was built in 1988 but has since been renovated.*

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## Basil77

> Not too sure what the Ministry of Internal Affair does

 Simple speaking it's a Police Ministry. I guess the magority of people who spend their vacations in this sanatorium are Belorussian Police officers.
_____________
I used to go to a Belarussian lake with my uncle and my dad almost every summer in my school years. We had a wonderful time living in tents and fishing there. These are the lakes I used to hike around most often:  http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Вымно  http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Лосвидо_(озеро)

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## Hanna

> Simple speaking it's a Police Ministry. I guess the magority of people who spend their vacations in this sanatorium are Belorussian Police officers.

 Oh my word, I am a crazy person!  :: 
I can't believe I booked myself on a resort for the police force of the  "Last Dictatorship of Europe".... 
Do you think it's for the "KGB" also?  
I went strictly on the facilities, this sanatorium has a fantastic location, and top facilities, particularly for people who love swimming, like I do.   

> I used to go to a Belarussian lake with my uncle and my dad almost every  summer in my school years. We had a wonderful time living in tents and  fishing there. These are the lakes I used to hike around most often:

 Yes... Belarus has no coast, but plenty of lakes.... and lots of forest.  Very much like Scandinavia, but the summer is hotter and sunnier, and there are no mosquitos (I hope!!!!)  
I love hiking too, I hope there will be somebody at this place who wants to go hiking with me. 
PS - The status of my Belarus registration is that it is not properly/honestly done. How creepy to be surrounded by policemen when you know you've done something illegal!

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## Basil77

> Do you think it's for the "KGB" also?

  No, KGB is a different organization. Simple speaking: police deals with criminals, KGB deals with spies and such. BTW, do you have something against the KGB? Then you must hate me, my dad used to be a KGB colonel in Soviet times. Soviet KGB had 9 departmens and the really nasty one was only one of them: the 5th wich dealt with political dissidents. My dad worked in the 4th one - counterintelligence, his job was to secure atomic fuel production.  

> and there are no mosquitos (I hope!!!!)

 I'm afraid I have to dissapoint you: mosquitos are quite common in Belarus, especially in swampy areas, but less common than in Northern Russia, at least from my experience.

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## Hanna

Thank you for explaining.  
No, no I personally have nothing against the KGB. For example I doubt they were worse than the CIA, at least in modern times. It's just, you know, they have a negative image... Thanks to Hollywood, largely. Like I mentioned before, I saw almost only the "sunny" side of the USSR when it still existed - the negative things that I know of are based on "revelations" in the 1990s and Hollywood films with nasty Russians.  *I am sure your father is a very nice person, since he has raised very nice son!*  ::

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## Basil77

> Like I mentioned before, I saw almost only the "sunny" side of the USSR when it still existed

 That's why Ulof Palme was killed - for showing Swedes the good side of USSR. The next step arranged by CIA to fix that was a provocation with subs.   

> *I am sure your father is a very nice person, since he has raised very nice son!*

  Thank you very much for the compliment, but not is but was. I lost him a couple of years ago.

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## Crocodile

> BTW, do you have something against the KGB? Then you must hate me, my dad used to be a KGB colonel in Soviet times. Soviet KGB had 9 departmens and the really nasty one was only one of them: the 5th wich dealt with political dissidents. My dad worked in the 4th one - counterintelligence, his job was to secure atomic fuel production.

 You might make a fun of me if I say that, but as much as I dislike the Communism, I have nothing against the ordinary people who worked in that system and protected that system after the Civil War was over. Most of them were born into that system and had no means to change it even if they disliked it themselves. It was just their job where they could apply and further develop their skills. And the KGB employed many of those with the analytical skills.

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## fabriciocarraro

Hey Hanna! 
I've just created an account here, and I read all your "blog". I must say "hurray!". What a brave girl you are! Congratulations for everything, and I'm sure you're having a great time there. 
I'm brazilian and until now I've only been to Moscow (n the east), but I most certainly intend to visit some places you've been, like Ukraine, Romania, and others you haven't, like Hungary, Bulgary, etc. 
We keep waiting for your posts =)

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## Hanna

Thank you Fabricio! Glad you enjoyed! 
I will upload more photos later... I have tons of cool photos from Minsk.

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## Hanna

Just in case anyone is wondering how I am doing at the sanatorium, or what a sanatorium is like... 
Doing very well, this is a totally unique experience - not available anywhere else in Europe.  
Feeling very relaxed and have been swimming, working out, dancing, had massage and some very funky treatments of various kinds, individually adapted based on a phys examination. ( I am not seriously ill in any way; it's more preventitive and for minor stuff).  
If anyone reading this is interested in a more detailed report, just say!  
(All my problems with booking, paying, room type etc are solved --- but instead of picking a room and paying in under 15 minutes, I spent more like 15 hours messing around...) 
Lots of Russians are staying in this place - I am sharing a table with a couple from Murmansk and a woman from Minsk. Lots of single women are staying too, so I got some company - only problem is my limited ability to communicate...  Feeling stupid that people are trying to be nice and helpful and I am have to ask them to repeat, or don't understand what they are saying sometimes. There are also a lot of single gentlemen of a certain age... definitely looking for company... Fabulous weather!

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## fabriciocarraro

Any news, Hanna? =)

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## Vadim M.

В самом деле, где Hanna?

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## Hanna

Hi! I am still at the sanatorium! It's very nice here, and this is definitely something I'd consider doing again... Either with some company, or alone again when I can speak Russian better.   _I have TONS of photos both of the sanatorium and of Minsk. If anyone has any tips on how to share without spending a day messing around with uploads, then please let me know.... I am not very experienced with photo sharing online._   *I would STRONGLY recommend anyone who lives on the European continent and studies Russian to consider a holiday like this*. It's a completely unbeatable "immersion" experience and (in Belarus) so cheap that you will feel guilty about it! You can easily travel by train to Minsk and catch a bus anywhere in the country. Or fly or drive your own car. Remember this tip when it is time to pick a holiday, although it is not recommended for people under 30. Anyone from outside the ex USSR area is a bit of a novelty in Belarus, so you could expect lots of interest and attention from people.  
 Also it would be good for your health and an interesting insight into "normal" life in this part of the world. (This is not a cool, chic or glamorous thing to do, more a really down-to-earth normal holiday, for normal people.) Those staying at this place are regular people from Russia, Belarus and the Baltic States (all Russian speaking, no English speakers). There is practically no boozing and the evening dances end at 11 and the bar closes at 12, so no serious nightlife worth mentioning.   *I've been to excursions to some churches and old manor houses* in North Western Belarus. It seems a lot of people in that area speak Polish as their first language. Also, many are Catholics and not Orthodox. People in this part of the world are MUCH more religious than I was aware of. The churches have pretty unusual stories, not only the usual architectural and religious history, but also stories about how they were used during the war (resistance activities) and what the church was used for during the Soviet time (cinema, factory etc). Plenty of drama and it is nice to see these buildings used for their real purpose again. It's clear that faith is important for many here; unlike most of Western Europe.  
There is a town near the sanatorium, called "Narach". It's a sweet town and it feels a bit like it's in it's own *time bubble - ca 1985!* Feels really strange!  *
I am completely convinced that Russians / Belarussians are among the nicest people in Europe.* You simply would NEVER get treated as well as I have if you turned up in most other European countries not speaking the language properly. Several groups of people in this sanatorium have taken upon themselves to include me in their activities and generally help me out. Scandinavians would definitely not be this nice towards strangers, and neither in my experience, would Germans or French. (My other favourite people in Europe are the Spanish - they are warm and nice people!)
It must be said that there are one or two staff members who are a bit frosty, but I have noticed that they treat everyone the same and it's got nothing to do with me being a foreigner. Most of the staff members have been super nice and helpful towards me though... I am blown away by the friendliness and sweetness of people in general.  *
I had an interesting experience speaking Russian with Polish man* who was staying at this place. He could not speak English but his Russian was (for me) very slow and clear and he said that he understood the difficulties with learning Russian. I was able to understand almost everything he said and we spoke about lots of different things. As it turned out, he was looking for more than conversation despite being married (against my principles, with married men..) Nevertheless it was really nice hanging out with him.   *I also had a flirt* with an incredibly good looking tall man Belarussian guy who worked in the communications department at the police in Minsk. As it turned out, he too was married... and I got irritated that he took so long admitting that, so now I am avoiding him. Cute or not, I am NOT that type of woman...  
 I made good friends with Belarussian woman from Polotsk and a lovely Russian couple from Murmansk and I will definitely visit them there at some point in the future  - going to Murmansk is considered a funky and interesting thing to do in Northern Scandinavia, so it would not be hard for me to jump on a tour there once I have settled back in, in Sweden.

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## Hanna

> That's why Ulof Palme was killed - for showing Swedes the good side of  USSR. The next step arranged by CIA to fix that was a provocation with  subs.
>  Thank you very much for the compliment, but not is but was. I lost him a couple of years ago.

 _Yes, I get angry just thinking about those subs... it was just so devious, and against a completely innocent country like Sweden. And much worse has been done against other countries. As for Olof Palme; they never found out who killed him. There was a main suspect for a while, he was an alcoholic and he always maintained that he was innocent. He was acquitted in a trial and died from drinking a few years ago. Palme was not particularly pro Soviet but there were many others in his government who were. However Palme really disliked the USA; he was an aristocrat but became a socialist after a trip there because he was so shocked at what he saw in terms of injustices there, and their foreign policy. I don't particularly suspect the US of this, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out either. They've done much worse things._

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## Marcus

I've always thought postsoviet countries are mostly atheist, but it turns there are even more atheist!

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## Hanna

> I've always thought postsoviet countries are mostly atheist, but it turns there are even more atheist!

 Western Europe is more atheist, I think. People are just so materialistic that there is no time or space in their lives for religion and faith.  
I don't know how religious Russians & co are though;  maybe they are just ritualistic and simply like the church and what it represents, without having much faith.  
But I am seeing a lot more faith and religion here than you'd see in England, Sweden or anywhere else in Northern Europe. 
But lots and lots of people have religious items in their cars, cross themselves when they pass a church and buy icons etc.
When I have peeked my head in at services in orthodox churches they seem packed, and that is with people standing.. In most places in Europe the church is 1/2 to 2/3 empty during the services. Another interesting thing is that people seem to have memorised all the responses in the mass - they are not using any books or leaflet that I can see. That tells me that they go regularly. Many priests and nuns seem quite young, that's also a difference with Western Europe where hardly any priests or nuns are young.

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## Marcus

> I don't know how religious Russians & co are though; maybe they are just ritualistic and simply like the church and what it represents, without having muсh faith.

 Well, people are different, but those who regularly go to the church are really religious in general. There is no tradition of going to the church in Russia because religion was heavily oppressed during the soviet period. And it is not easy to stand for hours in the church.
The number of priests grew several times in the last 20 years, that's why there are many young priests. Probably there are fewer churches in Russia than in Western Europe.
Russian Orthodox Church uses Church Slovenian (derived from Old Bulgarian) in services.

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## Basil77

> Church Slovenian

 It's called Church Slavonic in English.

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## Eric C.

> Hi! I am still at the sanatorium! It's very nice here, and this is definitely something I'd consider doing again... Either with some company, or alone again when I can speak Russian better.   _I have TONS of photos both of the sanatorium and of Minsk. If anyone has any tips on how to share without spending a day messing around with uploads, then please let me know.... I am not very experienced with photo sharing online._   *I would STRONGLY recommend anyone who lives on the European continent and studies Russian to consider a holiday like this*. It's a completely unbeatable "immersion" experience and (in Belarus) so cheap that you will feel guilty about it! You can easily travel by train to Minsk and catch a bus anywhere in the country. Or fly or drive your own car. Remember this tip when it is time to pick a holiday, although it is not recommended for people under 30. Anyone from outside the ex USSR area is a bit of a novelty in Belarus, so you could expect lots of interest and attention from people.  
>  Also it would be good for your health and an interesting insight into "normal" life in this part of the world. (This is not a cool, chic or glamorous thing to do, more a really down-to-earth normal holiday, for normal people.) Those staying at this place are regular people from Russia, Belarus and the Baltic States (all Russian speaking, no English speakers). There is practically no boozing and the evening dances end at 11 and the bar closes at 12, so no serious nightlife worth mentioning.   *I've been to excursions to some churches and old manor houses* in North Western Belarus. It seems a lot of people in that area speak Polish as their first language. Also, many are Catholics and not Orthodox. People in this part of the world are MUCH more religious than I was aware of. The churches have pretty unusual stories, not only the usual architectural and religious history, but also stories about how they were used during the war (resistance activities) and what the church was used for during the Soviet time (cinema, factory etc). Plenty of drama and it is nice to see these buildings used for their real purpose again. It's clear that faith is important for many here; unlike most of Western Europe.  
> There is a town near the sanatorium, called "Narach". It's a sweet town and it feels a bit like it's in it's own *time bubble - ca 1985!* Feels really strange!  *
> I am completely convinced that Russians / Belarussians are among the nicest people in Europe.* You simply would NEVER get treated as well as I have if you turned up in most other European countries not speaking the language properly. Several groups of people in this sanatorium have taken upon themselves to include me in their activities and generally help me out. Scandinavians would definitely not be this nice towards strangers, and neither in my experience, would Germans or French. (My other favourite people in Europe are the Spanish - they are warm and nice people!)
> It must be said that there are one or two staff members who are a bit frosty, but I have noticed that they treat everyone the same and it's got nothing to do with me being a foreigner. Most of the staff members have been super nice and helpful towards me though... I am blown away by the friendliness and sweetness of people in general.  *
> I had an interesting experience speaking Russian with Polish man* who was staying at this place. He could not speak English but his Russian was (for me) very slow and clear and he said that he understood the difficulties with learning Russian. I was able to understand almost everything he said and we spoke about lots of different things. As it turned out, he was looking for more than conversation despite being married (against my principles, with married men..) Nevertheless it was really nice hanging out with him.   *I also had a flirt* with an incredibly good looking tall man Belarussian guy who worked in the communications department at the police in Minsk. As it turned out, he too was married... and I got irritated that he took so long admitting that, so now I am avoiding him. Cute or not, I am NOT that type of woman...  
>  I made good friends with Belarussian woman from Polotsk and a lovely Russian couple from Murmansk and I will definitely visit them there at some point in the future  - going to Murmansk is considered a funky and interesting thing to do in Northern Scandinavia, so it would not be hard for me to jump on a tour there once I have settled back in, in Sweden.

 I beg to ask you what your age is. =)

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## Lampada

> I beg to ask you what your age is. =)

   ::    Что это за вопрос?

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## Hanna

@Eric: I 'll tell you my age if you tell me your nationality. Deal?  
However it should not be that hard to figure out an approximate figure based on what I've written so far in this blog. I give a pretty good clue in the first post of this "blog" too. And, yes "my young Padwean learner" (as Crocodile would say) there is life after 30....

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## Crocodile

> I beg to ask you what your age is. =)

 Never ever ever ask that question a woman in Russian!  ::   :: 
(That would sound extremely rude.)

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## fabriciocarraro

> Never ever ever ask that question a woman in Russian!  
> (That would sound extremely rude.)

 Either that, or specially her weight!  ::

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## Hanna

I am in a really nice town called *Vitebsk* at the moment. 
This town is in North Eastern Belarus, not far from Russia. 
The town is known for being an ancient city in Belarus. *
Right now the whole town is undergoing a very thorough renovation.* 
Parts of the town have already been redecorated and looks fantastic. The architecture is lovely in the older parts of town. Classic Northern European, Baltic area buildings and several fantastic old cathedrals that have also been recently redecorated. There must a a thousand people working simultaneously on fixing up houses, pavements etc! No wonder there is 100% employment...  All pavements have been re-laid and all facades painted.  *
This town could be a really nice tourist destination for people from Europe.* It is very picturesque and has many interesting historical and cultural sites. However, there is very little shopping (most shops are very old fashioned), also there are not a lot of good restaurants. Good items for shopping are fabric, linen clothes and leather goods.  
Some restaurants here are fine though; I particularly like an outdoors place which reminds a bit of a German beer garden. The selection of food is limited, but the atmosphere is very nice. I found a cafe called the Chocolate cafe, that does very good coffee and decent chocolate deserts. All and all Belarus in particular does not have a strong European cuisine - only local dishes are really good. Belarussian food is probably not that different from Russian food, which in turn is not that different from other Northern European food. All and all filling and basic food, some dishes are very cool and very tasty.  *
Two really good painters have their roots in Vitebsk: Mark Chagall and Ilya Repin.* 
I have not managed to find Chagall's house yet, but I'll go there tomorrow. I went to an exhibition of some of his litographies and Bible illustrations (they are very cool) in central Vitebsk.  
The outskirts of town have not been renovated as well as Minsk and Gomel where I have also been. Some houses really look worse for wear...  
People here are quite unused to seeing foreigners, I think. Today some repairmen were in the hotel and asked me where I came from. I told them and they asked whether I liked "their republic". I said I liked it very much. They lit up like you wouldn't believe. They said 'thank you' several times and were really pleased. Such a nice and unusual reaction! And at a cafe, the waiter spoke English, with a very strong American accent (although he'd never been to the US). He was delighted for a rare opportunity to speak English and seemed to take it as a personal compliment that I liked Belarus, and proceeded to say that he loved Swedish rock "it's sweeeeet" and Swedish socialism "it's freakin' awesome" (lol, sounded very funny when delivered in his Russian-American accent. I didn't want to ruin his enthusiasm by telling him that imho, the music is for the most part rather trashy and the socialism has definitely seen better days).  
I have heard that there is a really large water park with an olympic size wimming pool somewhere in the city. I am trying to figure out where it is because I'd love to spend a couple of hours swimming. If anyone knows anything about this, please let me know!  
Also, I am trying to figure out how to get from Vitebsk to Daugavpils in Latvia, via Polotsk (a historical city in Belarus, which has a famous monastery). 
In central town, there is a very big EU-standard Tourist info sign, which looked very promising. I keep hoping to come across that sort of place.... I went looking for the tourist info office, and when I found the house, it was the building for a government youth movement and some form of militia office. A tiny little abandoned booth was the tourist info, and he guard told me it had been closed for good.  ::

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## Hanna

Creation by Chagall   
Procession by Repin

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## WhiteKnight

> I am in a really nice town called *Vitebsk* at the moment. 
> This town is in North Eastern Belarus, not far from Russia. 
> The town is known for being an ancient city in Belarus. *
> Right now the whole town is undergoing a very thorough renovation.* 
> Parts of the town have already been redecorated and looks fantastic. The architecture is lovely in the older parts of town. Classic Northern European, Baltic area buildings and several fantastic old cathedrals that have also been recently redecorated. There must a a thousand people working simultaneously on fixing up houses, pavements etc! No wonder there is 100% employment...  All pavements have been re-laid and all facades painted. 
> [B]...
> Also, I am trying to figure out how to get from Vitebsk to Daugavpils in Latvia, via Polotsk (a historical city in Belarus, which has a famous monastery).

 Yeah there is a preparation to the famous festival "Славянский Базар" now. Public places are decorating to awesome view, and other places in the deep town stay and get old without any attention) this ridiculous feature can be seen everywhere across Belarus. In russian there is a saying about it "Без портков но в шляпе" (without pants but wearing a hat). 
There is a marshrutka from Vitebsk to Polotsk it starts from autostation.

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## Hanna

Thanks for the tip Whiteknight! I found the marshrutka!   *Greetings from NOVOPOLOTSK, a town in North Western Belarus.* 
How did I end up in this concrete 1960s place?  
Well, lots of people have been recommending visiting *Polotsk which has lots of nice cathedrals and monasteries.* It's also on the way to Latvia, so it makes complete sense.  
Unfortunately there was a bit of a glitch with the hotels. The hotel that I was supposed to stay at was running at reduced capacity as it was being redecorated,  and I had taken a chance on the booking (did not get a confirmation back). When I arrived at the Slaviansky hotel, I was told that there were no rooms and no other hotel in the whole town!  
I went to have a coffee and think about the situation. Eventually I summoned up some courage and asked a nice elderly couple if there really was no other hotel. They said there were plenty in *Novo*polotsk and walked me to the bus station to catch a bus there. To make a long story short, I ended up getting a lift there with a military officer and his girlfriend whom I had got chatting to.  
They dropped me at a hotel called "NAFTAN". This hotel has single rooms for 18 USD per night. Unbelievable! 
The standard is about the same as in the IBIS chain which is a European budget hotel chain. Only difference is, at the IBIS a similar room would be 80-100 USD. The hotel is 100% 1960s USSR style with lots of open spaces and air and 1960s decoration. It is completely clean, like everything else in Belarus, and has been well maintained.  
Same with the city of Novopolotsk which unfortunately has none of the charm of Gomel or Vitebsk and none of the modern elegance of Minsk. People are decidedly less cool/chic looking than in Minsk. The shops are decorated in 1970s-80s style! The houses are grey concrete and have not undergone the beautification treatments that most of the buildings in the larger  cities have.  
Tomorrow I will have a go at finding these beautiful Polotsk churches, and then I will leave for Daugavpils, Latvia in 1-2 days.  
In Vitebsk I bought lots of linen fabric for fantastic prices, and cute girls dresses for my niece. One of my Swedish friends want Belarussian cigarettes but I am not sure if I am willing to be dragging a ten pack around just so that she can try it. She should stop anyway!

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## Eric C.

> One of my Swedish friends want Belarussian cigarettes but I am not sure if I am willing to be dragging a ten pack around just so that she can try it. She should stop anyway!

 Is she gonna smoke them or just wants them for the collection? If the former, I can tell you that's gonna be probably the worst experience she ever had. I can tell that because I did taste that kind of thing... You might be surprised, but their local producers do not find it obvious that a cigarrette is supposed to contain tobacco...

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## Throbert McGee

> Is she gonna smoke them or just wants them for the collection? If the former, I can tell you that's gonna be probably the worst experience she ever had. I can tell that because I did taste that kind of thing... You might be surprised, but their local producers do not find it obvious that a cigarrette is supposed to contain tobacco...

 Do they still sell *«Беломорканал» папиросы* in the _byvshom CCCP_?

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## Hanna

> You might be surprised, but their local producers  do not find it obvious that a cigarrette is supposed to contain  tobacco...

 Eric, I swear you are just making comments to be provocative! Actually, I bought some Belarussian cigarettes yesterday because I got a bit stressed when I thought there was no hotel room for me. (I only smoke when I am really stressed, or sometimes at parties) 
Anyway the brand "Minsk" tastes exactly like Marlboro Lights, and since it is one of the most popular brands, I am sure it has enough tobacco and nicotine to satisfy the addicts.   

> Do they still sell *«Беломорканал» папиросы* in the _byvshom CCCP_?

 @Throbert - I don't know very much about that. All I can tell you is that there used to be some cigarettes in black cartons from the USSR, with a round emblem on them, that were sold illegally or at really cheap places, for example in Scandinavia. Maybe those are the ones you mean. Those are the only Soviet cigarettes I know of - they were a bit cult/legend in their days. I have not seen them for ages and ages though - probably they are not made anymore . They were incredibly strong cigarettes. 
Writing from the lobby of this hotel which is packed with massive green plants, making me feel like I am in a green house! Nice!  The hotel did not have a breakfast buffet, but instead you have to make an order and they cook the breakfast on the spot. Despite being quite large, this hotel isn't even listed on Tripadvisor which is the site that almost everyone in Europe uses for hotel bookings. There is a Russian hotel review site called "Komandirovka" which says it's a good hotel.

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## Eric C.

> Do they still sell *«Беломорканал» папиросы* in the _byvshom CCCP_?

 I'm not sure about now, but they definitely did in 2005-2006. Their local cigarettes aren't far away from that brand anyway. =))

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## Hanna

Leaving Belarus tomorrow with sadness, it's such a sweet country with some of the absolutely friendliest and most easygoing people I have ever met in Europe... I have learnt so much here and I can't wait to tell friends etc about my adventures!  
There are a few quirks here of course, like bureacracy and quite a lot of the old USSR around... But I have enjoyed my stay here tremendously and it had to be a substitute for Russia, which simply turned out to be too hard to get a visa for. *
I'd recommend absolutely anyone to visit BY. It's safe, it's interesting, has great people and is one of the cheapest holidays to be had on the European continent. And of course, for a Russian student - it's practically 100% Russian speaking.*  
I could write about the negatives and politics, but all that is already known to the Belarussians and Russian people reading this... And I don't want to say anything negative about a country that, on the whole, is really nice.  
Next report will be from Daugavpils, Latvia. This is supposedly a fully Russian speaking town, that's one of the reasons I decided to stop there. Over 70% there speak Russian as their mother tongue.  
Last time I was in the Baltics was about 1999.. Back then it was very much "the wild east", very much criminality and people were almost obsessively anti-Russian, at least those who I spoke with. Let's see what's happened since then.

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## Hanna

*DAUGAVPILS - LATVIA*
Daugavpils is an almost completely Russian-speaking town in Southern Latvia. It has about 100 .000 inhabitants.  
The language situation of this city is truly unbelievable. Even though nobody speaks Latvian to each other, all signs, all written information etc is in Latvian. Unfortunately Latvian is almost incomprensible to me, and I can only guess at words which are similar to German or Russian words that I recognise. I honestly can't understand why the inhabitants put up with it - it would never be acceptable to other language minorities elsewhere in the EU. They would be protesting, suing their countries and generally raising hell...  Perhaps it was very easy for these people to learn Latvian, or most of them already know it?! Who knows? The situation is completely incomprehensible but somehow life goes on in this bizarre situation.  
There is a football match in town tonight; Tromsö (Norway) vs Daugavpils. For that reason there are a few drunk people, including some Norwegians in town. Tromsö is very far North in Norway, north of the polar circle I think.  
Leaving Belarus and entering Latvia was no problem. I don't have a lot of experience of crossing land borders as an adult: We never had them in Scandinavia, and the ones that existed on the European continent mostly disappeared in the 1990s. So I have been quite nervous every time I needed to cross a real border crossing! But nothing has gone wrong.  
On the bus to Daugavpils I got chatting to a woman whose family was quite tragically affected by the new borders. She was born in Latvia during Soviet years, and then half the family moved to Polotsk and the other part stayed on in Daugavpils. Geographically not very far, but now, with a new border, she needs to apply for a visa in Minsk, every time she wants to visit her family! So not only does she have the inconvenience of travelling to Minsk, but she also has to pay 60 EUR for the visa, which to her, is a lot of money. This kind of craziness should be stopped...  
Generally, the city is very much an EU city. It's got shops that are familiar to me in their layout and what types of products they sell, and how. There are lots and lots of Swedish brands, banks and other influence visible. In the decade since I was here last, the country has changed beyond recognition! Frankly Latvia is distinctly less interesting to me than Belarus and Ukraine were. But the fact that everything is familiar is also very convenient. 
Some people here can speak English, mainly younger people, 20 and below.  
This city must have some very good lobbyists in Brussels because I have never in my life seen so many EU development project signs! I occassionally see ONE in towns I visit for whatever reason, around the EU. That is one PER TOWN. Here in Daugavpils I have seen 20 or more! Just in this one city! In Romania there were not so many, and they are a poorer country.  
So this is where my EU tax money is going... Joining the EU was clearly a smart move for the Baltics!  
In Sweden there have been lots of scandals around money that's gone to the Baltics and "disappeared" and investments that have failed, plus overexposure of Swedish banks to the Baltic economies that are a bit shaky +a few other things. Also the way that the Russian speakers are treated in the Baltic states have been getting a lot of press. 
 Daugavpils has a famous "fortress" (крепость) which I set out to view. However when I got to the area, there was a big (EU sponsored) renovation project going on. Also, the fortress was not particularly old as far as I could see. It looked 200 years, max. It just looked like a military installation (barracks, kaserne etc). Everything was VERY dilapidated.  
Next to the fortress where some houses which looked so terrible that I first assumed they were abandoned. But it turned out people still lived there! The houses were so dilapidated that they cannot be safe to live in. Rather than the EU fixing up some relatively obscure fortress, I think they should fix up the houses for those people. There were kids playing in the area, and they could easily have gone into the old baracks which smelled terrible and are probably full of old needles and broken glass. 
I saw no such misery in Ukraine (although I did not spend so much time there) certainly not in Belarus. It was really shameful.  
The rest of the town looked quite good although old houses had not been renovated as well as in Belarus. In terms of goods availble to buy, Daugavpils is not very different from towns in Sweden, apart from that it has a market, which normal Swedish towns do not have. But all the chains etc are there, there are some malls etc and modern supermarkets. Last time I was in Latvia, they had nothing like that.  
I have no idea why the inhabitants in Daugavpils speak Russian as mother tongue. Are they Russians who moved there during the Soviet years? Or are they simply people who always lived there, and always spoke Russian for some reason? No idea! Doing their military service in Latvia must be a strange experience for these guys, since the "enemy" they are preparing to potentially fight, has to be Russia. I think all the Baltic states have mandatory military service.  _Dilapidated "fortress". I don't understand why these unremarkable buildings are famous._      _Some cute girls who lived in the dilapidated buildings_  _
My tax money being spent... hm! Is anyone able to understand Latvian? It is a truly strange language! Among other things, they add an "S" at the end of all male names... For example: Vladimirs Putins, etc!_

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## Marcus

> Are they Russians who moved there during the Soviet years?

 Most of them - yes. When Latvia became independent, they did not give citizenship to those whose ancestors did not live in Latvia before 1940. Most Russians did not get citizenship (Russians were half of the population) even if they were born in Latvia. Their children did not automatically get citizenship even if they were born after independence. Some of those Russians left the country, some got Latvian citizenship, some - Russian, some remain without any citizenship. They did not have many rights (did not participate in privatization, in political sphere etc) and have been discriminated.

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## fabriciocarraro

Very interesting, Hanna! 
Are you going to any other towns there in Latvia, maybe Riga, or not?

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## Hanna

I plan to take a ferry from Riga to Åland, or directly to Stockholm. 
But first I will visit Liepaja which is famous for awesome beaches, the best on the Baltic Sea (rather large sea).  
Liepaja used to be closed to foreigners during the Soviet years, because there was a really large naval base there. There is a ferry now, to a Swedish city in the South of Sweden.  
I booked a hotel which got a negative review on Tripadvisor "all the staff speak only Russian". Good for my purposes, and the rooms look fine. Almost everything else was booked.  
There is a more famous beach on Latvia, called Jurmala. It's the biggest beach area on the Baltic, and I was there once in my childhood - a nice memory. I don't feel like going there again though - but as far I understand this area has had a bit of a renaissance lately, with buildings being renovated etc. There is a beach party there in the summer etc, and a music festival. During the 1960s, some incredibly funky and futuristic buildings were built on the beach there - I think they are finally being renovated.  
So I will have gone from the Black Sea to the Baltic on this trip! 
Too bad I wasn't able to go all the way to the White Sea, because of the problem with getting a visa for Russia. 
@Marcus - Wasn't that in Estonia? I thought the situation for the Russian speakers was better in Latvia?  _Some loud and annoying Swedish or Norwegian guys are hollering and carrying on in a room near mine! What idiots! I knew this would happen the minute I arrived in the Baltics. Sigh... _  ::

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## Marcus

> @Marcus - Wasn't that in Estonia? I thought the situation for the Russian speakers was better in Latvia?

 Maybe it is a little bit better, but in general the situation in Latvia and Estonia is the same.

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## Hanna

I think the behaviour of the Baltic States in this respect is absolutely appalling and there is no excuse. 
They should look at the situation in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Wales, Luxembourg etc, and read the EU directives on how to treat minorities. These rules are followed by all other EU countries as far as I am aware. With the amount of support that their countries are getting from the EU, the least they can do in return, is follow such directives. The EU countries have come to the conclusion that it is GOOD for a country to be bilingual, if the issue is handled in the correct way. I believe the EU is right on this. Too bad the Baltic people are too hung up on the past to realise that. It is not like the Russian speakers are any threat, are some kind of elite group in society or anything like that. Quite the opposite, it seems. All the more reason not to discriminate against them.  
If I was a Russian-speaking citizen of Estonia, I would sue the country at the European Court in Brussels, just for the heck of it! What they are doing is definitely illegal according to EU laws. Baltic people have already made their views about being part of the USSR 110% clear, and got the sympathy from Scandinavia, the EU, the US and everyone else...  Why take it out on innocent Russian speaking people that have absolutely nothing to do do with the decisions of Stalin in the 1940s.... Time to leave that behind and behave like a modern country!  
It's particularly ridiculous how a lot of information is bilingual in Latvian and English (as opposed to Russian). Despite the fact that there are very few British or American tourists in these countries! It's almost like they are trying to send a message to the Russian speakers "you don't exist".  I'd say that practically all the foreigners visiting this area are either from ex USSR countries, Scandinavian or German. Occassionally perhaps some adventurous British person (on a cheap stag night) and that is it. The written English in these bilingual messages is not good either, it's full of errors.

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## Marcus

Have you asked any russian in Latvia what they think about the situation?

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## Eric C.

> I think the behaviour of the Baltic States in this respect is absolutely appalling and there is no excuse. 
> They should look at the situation in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Wales, Luxembourg etc, and read the EU directives on how to treat minorities. These rules are followed by all other EU countries as far as I am aware. With the amount of support that their countries are getting from the EU, the least they can do in return, is follow such directives. The EU countries have come to the conclusion that it is GOOD for a country to be bilingual, if the issue is handled in the correct way. I believe the EU is right on this. Too bad the Baltic people are too hung up on the past to realise that. It is not like the Russian speakers are any threat, are some kind of elite group in society or anything like that. Quite the opposite, it seems. All the more reason not to discriminate against them.  
> If I was a Russian-speaking citizen of Estonia, I would sue the country at the European Court in Brussels, just for the heck of it! What they are doing is definitely illegal according to EU laws. Baltic people have already made their views about being part of the USSR 110% clear, and got the sympathy from Scandinavia, the EU, the US and everyone else...  Why take it out on innocent Russian speaking people that have absolutely nothing to do do with the decisions of Stalin in the 1940s.... Time to leave that behind and behave like a modern country!  
> It's particularly ridiculous how a lot of information is bilingual in Latvian and English (as opposed to Russian). Despite the fact that there are very few British or American tourists in these countries! It's almost like they are trying to send a message to the Russian speakers "you don't exist".  I'd say that practically all the foreigners visiting this area are either from ex USSR countries, Scandinavian or German. Occassionally perhaps some adventurous British person (on a cheap stag night) and that is it. The written English in these bilingual messages is not good either, it's full of errors.

 I seem to have missed your point on what's wrong with the Baltic states. Is that lack of signs in Russian on the streets or something else?

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## Hanna

> Have you asked any russian in Latvia what they think about the situation?

 No,  but I will when the opportunity arises. I haven't met anyone that I  have had a conversation with yet. But assuming these people are like  everyone else in Europe, they would probably like to see signs in their  own language, and get service in their own language where it is  feasible.  
Btw, *Riga is still looking a bit of a dump. Drunk  males of all ages walking around with bottles in their hands, without  shirts on, smelling like a vodka factory.  I assume they are unemployed.  Buildings completely dilapidated, paint peeling off the walls of buildings, lots of rubbish everywhere, broken windows and graffiti tags on the walls.*  
I  have read about the *Latvian "economic miracle"* and I really thought  that things would be in a better shape. The "miracle" has certainly not  been reflected in the state of buildings or in terms of achieving high  levels of employment. I don't know who is benefiting from this 'economic miracle', but a lot of inhabitants of Riga have clearly not been included.  
Daugavpils actually looked a bit better  than this, not to mention every town I visited in Belarus. Depressing..  This is the kind of misery I was worried about coming across in Ukraine,  when I was writing about worrying about criminality. But I did not see  it there, at least not to this degree. I would not walk alone on the  streets of Riga late at night, whereas in Belarus I would, without  hesitation, and in Ukraine too, being a bit cautious. But here -  definitely not. I am really disappointed in what I have seen so far.  
The  language situation is even more confusing in Riga. When I have asked  people in English, they don't understand in most cases. When I ask in  Russian, then many people also don't seem to understand, or the respond in Latvian which is totally incomprehensible to me.  
There is a problem in Latvia with wild dogs walking around and barking quite a bit 
I am not in the mood for quabbling with Eric.  There is clearly some law preventing the usage of Russian on signs, in shops. Otherwise Daugavpils would have been fully signed in Russian, or dual signed.

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## Marcus

> they would probably like to see signs in their own language, and get service in their own language where it is feasible.

 they would probably like more to have education in their language, better ideology and equal rights with Latvians.  

> I have read about the Latvian "economic miracle"

 The miracle was before the crisis.
A Russian from Riga told me Riga was a completely safe place, and no one is afraid of walking at night. I myself don't know the truth.  

> When I ask in Russian, then many people also don't seem to understand.

 That's strange. There are a lot of native Russian speakers (60 % in 1990) and older generation know Russian.

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## Eric C.

> Btw, Riga is still looking a bit of a dump. Drunk males of all ages walking around with bottles in their hands, without shirts on, smelling like a vodka factory. I assume they are unemployed. Buildings completely dilapidated, paint peeling off the walls of buildings, lots of rubbish everywhere, broken windows and graffiti tags on the walls.

 And you didn't see such things in Belarus? I can hardly believe that... 
By the way, in Russian they have a special term for such people, the term is "gopnik". Ask Marcus or whoever, each Russian is going to admit they have loads of them... So do they in Belarus. I don't blame those two countries for that, but it's a clear and evident fact, they are leaders of the region by the number of "gopniks"...

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## Hanna

> And you didn't see such things in Belarus? I can hardly believe that...

 I am the one who has just been in both countries. When were you last in either Belarus or Latvia? 
Either trust me, or go there yourself but please don't accuse me of lying based on anything other than your own ideas. 
Remember that you thought that people were not allowed to enter or exit Belarus! That's how up to date you were!
I think you are being provocative and trolling on purpose and I am going to stop wasting my time responding. Hardly anyone from Western Europe has such arrogant views as you do, and you are clearly not American. If you are from Eastern Europe then you are amazingly clueless about your own area. If you are Northern European then honestly: skärp dig och sluta vara en tönt!  
I was very surprised at seeing practically no drunks in Minsk and totally blown away by the good state of most buildings and pavements. It looked better than many parts of the UK for example. Some 1960s domestic buildings which could do with renovation as I have already said. However they look much better because there is no junk, litter or graffiti and they are clean. I'd say that it's the result of the 100% employment drive in Belarus. It probably looked pretty bad there about 5 years ago.  I'll post my pictures. 
Yes I am aware that there are problems with drunkenness and dilapidated buildings in Russia. Not sure how much has been renovated with the oil and gas money and whether there has been any improvement with the drinking problems. I dislike drunks, graffiti, garbage, unemployment and dilapidated buildings equally much regardless whether it is in Belarus, Latvia or Russia.

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## Marcus

> and you are clearly not American.

 He is from the USSR and a native Russian speaker, haven't you understood?  

> It probably looked pretty bad there about 5 years ago.

 Probably it looked similar. My grandmother used to say that Minsk was very clean, that the defieciency was smaller.  

> I'd say that it's the result of the 100% employment drive in Belarus.

 Where did you find this information? I don't think it is connected to employment.

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## Hanna

> Where did you find this information? I don't think it is connected to employment.

 No, no I am just guessing. "I'd say" essentially means "I am guessing that"
Do you know anything about it? Frankly I don't know what the policies were. For a country that is not rich, they are keeping it very good looking.  
But I noticed that massive areas of Vitebsk were being renovated at the same time, clearly by state employees without any private involvement. I also noticed that there were no unemployed poor people around, like you see in countries like England.  
Thanks for clarifying about Eric, it was beginning to really irritate me.

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## Eric C.

> He is from the USSR and a native Russian speaker, haven't you understood?

 Dude, you still live in the USSR? My sorry for you... 
And you're the second person here who calls me a native Russian speaker. I'd like to understand the Russian logic, is that because of my posts in Russian? I wonder then what you would think if I added a few posts in German, French, Italian, etc.

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## Hanna

> Where did you find this information? I don't think it is connected to employment.

 No, no I am just guessing. "I'd say" essentially means "I am guessing that". Do you know anything about it? Frankly I don't know what the policies were. For a country that is not rich, they are keeping it very good looking. But I noticed that massive areas of Vitebsk were being renovated at the same time, clearly by state employees without any private involvement. I also noticed that there were no unemployed poor people around, like you see in countries like England. So my guess was that the state employs people for these type of jobs. Thanks for clarifying about Eric, it was beginning to really irritate me.   

> I wonder then what you would think if I added a few posts in German, French, Italian, etc.

 Go ahead with your next post in German please and we'll see!!!  ::   
An ex-USSR nationality and troll-mode is the only explanation. Nobody  simply learns Russian as a hobby well enough to fool a native speaker  that you are also a native speaker! You had me fooled with your name though.

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## Eric C.

> An ex-USSR nationality and troll-mode is the only explanation.

 Explanation of what?

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## Basil77

Hanna, please don't spend too much efforts on the last discussion, it's typical for expats to feel butthurt when hearing something good about their former place of residence, mostly they are trying to convince not others but themselves about they did the right thing and left. ::

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## Hanna

Interesting comment Basil77.    

> Until the middle of 2008, Latvia  had the fastest developing economy in Europe. In 2003, GDP growth was  7.5% and inflation was 2.9%. Unemployment was 9% in 2003 - 2005;   
> however, in 2009* it rose to 23% and is the highest in the European  Union.* Privatization is mostly complete, except for some of the large state-owned utilities. On May 1, 2004, Latvia joined the European Union.   The Financial Crisis of 2008  is still affecting the Latvian economy, primarily as a result of the  easy credit bubble that began building up during 2004. The bubble burst  lead to a rapidly weakening economy, resulting in a budget, wage and  unemployment crisis. [9] *
>  Latvia had the worst economic performance in 2009, with annual growth rate averaging -18%.*

 This explains what I am seeing. Men who should be working are sitting around boozing and everybody's been too busy privatizing that nobody had time to worry that the roads are falling apart and the houses haven't been painted or renovated since the 1980s... 
Apparently the monthly income is about 500 - 600 USD which is about the same as Belarus, only in Belarus things like food and travelling are A LOT cheaper, other than imported technology, designer clothes etc.  
The two countries are at the OPPOSITE way of how to deal with the post - Soviet situation.  
I think that Russia has subsidized Belarus quite a bit, while the EU has subsidized Latvia quite a bit. 
To me, there are pros and cons with both systems, emotionally I am more drawn towards the Belarussian model, practically I am aware that the Latvian approach is considered by most to be sounder

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## Marcus

> I think that Russia has subsidized Belarus quite a bit, while the EU has subsidized Latvia quite a bit.

 And I think Russia has subsidized quite a lot, and it was real help to the economy (cheap gas and oil and open market to Belorussian products). It cannot be compared with the EU, which paid to Latvian farmers if they diminish the production.

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## Hanna

I am writing from the Old Town of Riga which is nice, quaint and  packed with cafes and restaurants and shops aimed at tourists. This has been made up quite nicely. This old town seems a bit bigger than the one in Stockholm, but not quite as old. 
There is a Stockmann's department store here now (Finnish) which I don't think was here earlier. There I quickly found some tops exactly like I had wanted to buy in Belarus, but could not find. Half the people shopping there were Nordics and from other neighbouring countries.  
I've also seen lots of shops for amber jewellery which I was looking for in Ukraine and Belarus, but could not find, at least to my taste. Here, there are plenty.  
The prices here are low-ISH.... but for local people on the salaries that Wikipedia list, it's not going to be cheap! I almost got used to paying [nothing] for public transport in Belarus... That was so nice!  In Riga, a trip on the tram is about 1.20 EUR, while in Minsk, it's 0.15 EUR. The restaurants in Minsk are a lot cheaper, likewise pretty much everything else.  *If I was going to live on 500 USD a month, I'd rather do it in Minsk than in Riga!* On my current salary, there is much better shopping etc available in Riga. But I would not want to live here because the city outside of the old town is not very nice.  
Another thing that I miss from Belarus is gentlemen who help women with heavy bags! Russians are more gentlemen than Scandinavians, and Baltics, for sure. I really appreciate that. Maybe it's just my prejudice against Baltic people kicking in but it feels like people are a lot less polite / more rude than they were in BY. 
The countries are quite different though... I don't think they have a lot in common, so maybe it's unfair to compare them. But I found both Ukrainians and Belarussian to be warm and friendly people and that's certainly not the reputation of Baltic ppl. 
Russian language is used to communicate between people from the different Baltic states, I have noticed. For example a Lithuanian couple at the table beside me, are speaking Russian with the waitress. Both have accents.  (The languages are not mutually comprehensible. )  *I was really enjoying speaking Russian in BY, and also in Daugavpils, Latvia.* But in Riga I had some strange reactions, so now I am switching to English and will only use Russian after I already tried English.

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## fabriciocarraro

Very interesting, Hanna! 
Just one curiosity, you said that "half the people there were nordics", how can you tell? Do you also speak norvegian/finnish/danish? Or for their looks?

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## Hanna

> Very interesting, Hanna! 
> Just one curiosity, you said that "half the people there were nordics", how can you tell? Do you also speak norvegian/finnish/danish? Or for their looks?

 To answer, I need to give a little lecture..  Norwegian, Danish and Swedish is ESSENTIALLY the same language, it's just that the spelling and pronounciation is different and, about a couple of hundred words are different (easily memorised). So I can have a conversation with a Danish or Norwegian person in my language, and he responds in his language - we both understand each other.  Our countries are not very big (population wise) and they are so similar so many people tend to think of Scandinavia as one country/are. Finnish is a completely different language, but they have a Swedish speaking minority there and everyone can understand Swedish + they have signs and information in both languages. For that reason, Finland is also part of the group. And anyway, it's a very easily recognisable language to me - I know plenty of words and phrases in Finnish - there are tons of Finnish people living in Sweden. 
Anyway, I can usually tell that people are Nordic either from their speech, or just their height/faces and looks (tall, blonde) or how they are dressed. There is a daily ferry (takes 1000s of passengers) to Riga from Stockholm and a similar one from Helsinki, and it's quite a popular budget holiday or weekend trip. Also there are flights. Some people go because there is a very large beach area near Riga - there are lots of hotels there and they are quite cheap. After the Baltic states joined the EU and people could not buy cheap alcohol on the ferries anymore, the popularity of these trips declined though!  *The beach in Liepaja at 21:00 in the evening, 3 July*   *Random shot from the old town in Riga. More than half of the people around are tourists.*    _At a street right next to the hotel I stayed at in Riga, this is a typical sight:_    
I thought they were supposed to have super fast broadband in the Baltics? I have not been impressed so far 1 MB!!!  Best broadband speed on this trip so far, was in the very cool Pridnestrovie Republic.

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## Marcus

> Norwegian, Danish and Swedish is ESSENTIALLY the same language

 Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian are essentially the same language. A man on Lingvoforum (Wulfilla) said he heard strange Swedish and it turned to be Danish.

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## BappaBa

> He is from the USSR and a native Russian speaker, haven't you understood?

 Судя по тому, что он не заметил гопоты  на Украине, он из вуйков. =)

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## Hanna

But if two people are speaking Belarussian or Ukrainian to each other, how much can you, as a Russian, understand? I understand everything (95% or more) if it's Norwegian and 85-90% if it is Danish. 
I have also been wondering whether it isn't a problem for some peole in Belarus and Ukraine that some signs are only in Belarussian / Ukrainian. I asked LOTS  of people in Belarus if they could speak Belarussian and I met only two people who said they could speak it. 
When I was in Ukraine I did not ask about it.

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## Marcus

> But if two people are speaking Belarussian or Ukrainian to each other, how much can you, as a Russian, understand?

 It depends. I had very little experiance with Ukrainian and no experiance with Belorussian. When people speak slowly, I can understand them, but I don't understand films. That's the question of practice. If you hear Ukrainian for the first time, it's hard. If you watch TV for two weeks, you start understand nearly everything. It is important to know the most common different words and to know some phonetical differences. Like Russian "o" - Ukrainian "i".  

> I have also been wondering whether it isn't a problem for some peole in Belarus and Ukraine that some signs are only in Belarussian / Ukrainian.

 Of course, it's not.  

> I asked LOTS of people in Belarus if they could speak Belarussian and I met only two people who said they could speak it. 
> When I was in Ukraine I did not ask about it.

 The situation in Ukraine and in Belarus is very different.
In Ukraine there are probably more people whose mothertoungue is Ukrainian than those whose mothertoungue is Russian. But I'm not sure.

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## Hanna

Belarus - Latvia border and one of the few remaining border crossing duty free shops on the European continent.... Haven't seen one for 15 years, probably!     
Funny do's and don'ts on trains in Belarus:   *
"Palace of Marriages"* _(Soviet idea, I think)_* in a city called Novopolotsk in Belarus.* Right behind it was a Catholic church that was being renovated.  
Some members of a historical society that was putting on a show at a  cultural event in Vitebsk.

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## Hanna

A park in Vitebsk, Belarus    
A canal running through Vitebsk, with a waterfall feature  
A memorial park in Vitebsk. All throughout Belarus there were flowers on soldiers graves. I did not see when these soldiers were killed, or where (because the flowers were obscuring the stone). Not sure what's going on with that...  
Interesting street scene from Vitebsk, Belarus: Renovation is going on everywhere... a nun is supervising the work... a married couple is walking around town to have their picture taken at various famous spots.   
Me in the village of Narach with a Russian tourist to Belarus, who could speak Swedish.  
Rural Belarus, photo from bus window. Small village that had a nice Catholic church

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## Hanna

This is the Victory Square in Vitebsk, Belarus. It looks a lot more sterile than it is! There are a few shops in the building with the slogan on. They are selling very nice linen clothes and fabrics. Also some restaurants.  
A playground near the Vitebsk Victory Square where kids can climb on real Soviet army tanks and helicopters.    
MORE LATER!

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## capecoddah

"A playground near the Vitebsk Victory Square where kids can climb on real Soviet army tanks and helicopters." 
Never happen in USA. Too many lawyers.

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## fabriciocarraro

> To answer, I need to give a little lecture..  Norwegian, Danish and Swedish is ESSENTIALLY the same language, it's just that the spelling and pronounciation is different and, about a couple of hundred words are different (easily memorised). So I can have a conversation with a Danish or Norwegian person in my language, and he responds in his language - we both understand each other.  Our countries are not very big (population wise) and they are so similar so many people tend to think of Scandinavia as one country/are. Finnish is a completely different language, but they have a Swedish speaking minority there and everyone can understand Swedish + they have signs and information in both languages. For that reason, Finland is also part of the group. And anyway, it's a very easily recognisable language to me - I know plenty of words and phrases in Finnish - there are tons of Finnish people living in Sweden.

 Very interesting to know that, Hanna! We have almost no information on those languages here in Brazil.... well, it's reasonable why, but anyway, good to know! Do you consider any of the languages easier than the others? Might be an option after I finish my studies in Russian and Dutch. 
By the way, great pictures! =)

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## Hanna

I think the situation with the Scandinavian languages are the same as with Portuguese and Spanish only they are a bit more similar, and since our countries are smaller, there is even more interaction between them.   
I think Russian and Dutch will keep you busy enough!  ::  
More picture coming soon, but here is one of the very nice beach in Liepaja. 
The temperature in the water is about 18C I think.
I have also visited the nearby "must see" attraction, an old Soviet navy base which is in a terrible shape along with the poor souls still living there. I did not enjoy the visit much so I won't write about it unless someone is particularly interested.

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## capecoddah

1 vote for a photo and paragraph about the navy base. Perhaps the name so I can look it up on-line.
And trains.
Nice beach, I guess I'm surprised at the water temp and it's being empty of people.
 We had a Latvian kid at work a few years ago but he didn't talk very much.

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## Hanna

_
Church in Karosta, an imperial Russian/Soviet ex-navy town in Western Latvia. If I understood things correctly, it was more or less shut off from the rest of Liepaja and people could not cross the bridge into Karosta unless they had legit business there. Lots of military families lived there, and some are still there._    _
Karosta is not exactly a chic place to live nowadays. _  
It was getting dark while I was getting to the military sights and I did not want to walk around there by myself so I left without having seen all of it. I am not particularly interested in this kind of stuff anyway.  
However I noticed that a few radar towers were still in use, and a large building that looked very much like a military kaserne (baracks) had been fixed up, was in use but there was no signs at all to indicate what it was for and lots of dogs were guarding it. Maybe Nato is doing something there now, what an irony!   
==================================================  ============================================= 
Sorry about my absence from this thread.    *It was very interesting to read Nulle's post. Thank you for taking the time to respond! *  
I was expressing an opinion and he was expressing another, from a much more solid perspective than me, since he is Latvian. I don't think there is any problem and I respect his opinion and everything he says.  
I don't think that the Russians in Latvia are actively discriminated against in a brutal way, or anything like that. There are more problems with this in Estonia as I understand.   The groups are mixing quite a bit between themselves in Latvia.   In Liepaja, the mix seems to be exactly 50-50 based on languages spoken in the street.    
The thing that seems wrong to me is that there isn't more usage of Russian on town. Clearly it's either banned or strongly discouraged.  Normally in bilingual countries you see both languages in use, consistently. 
However, lots of papers etc are available to buy in Russian and lots of cafes etc play Russian speaking radio stations.   
I have not watched TV but I noticed that there are plenty of Russian TV channels when I flicked through.  
  I spoke with a girl whose father was Russian and mother Latvian. She said most people who took a strong stand on this were extremists and that she could understand the arguments of both sides. However she said that in Riga there are gangs fighting each other Russians vs Latvians. But most people simply don't think about it.  
Andrei, the guide I met in Belarus was born in Latvia. He said that his family "escaped" because they were being discriminated against, language-wise. They lived in Ventspils and his dad was an operator of some piece of navy monitoring equipment.  
The view that the USSR liberated Latvia which then more or less voluntarily entered the USSR (which incidentally I more or less believed while growing up) is simply not something that normal Latvians agree with.  
  Practically nobody over the age of 25 can speak English to a useful level, but everyone can communicate in Russian, or in many cases speak native sounding Russian even though they are Latvian. I usually ask people if I can speak English with them, they usually look panicked and indicate "no" and I then speak Russian with them.  Young people are happy to speak English though. There are plenty of young Latvians who are practically trilingual - very impressive.    *
My personal opinion about this is*: 
The state should provide services in both languages, like Belgium, UK, Finland, Switzerland etc do... That is the norm in the EU which Latvia has chosen to be in. The only reason why Latvia is not following EUs standard on minorities is because of the bad reputation of the USSR.
  Anyone who was born in Latvia, or who grew up there, including in USSR times should automatically get citizenship, regardless of language skills. Anything else is discrimination in my opinion. 
Russians who live in Latvia definitely ought to make a serious effort to learn Latvian unless they have a very solid reason not to (like if they are very old or have a learning disability). It is disrespectful and arrogant not to. 
Russians who are not prepared to respect Latvia should move somewhere else.  
 I spoke with a man whose age was a bit unclear to me. We spoke in English because he wanted to practice. He said his mother was in her 50s but he looked like he was in his forties or fifties himself. He first said he could speak Latvian. Later he changed the story, it seemed, and said he could understand it but not speak well at all. He was born in Latvia, so this situation was not very impressive to me. Hard to believe he managed to learn decent English and was not a fluent Latvian speaker.  
He said that his mother was getting a pension from the state, but when she went to get it, the staff at the office refused to speak Russian with her, even though they knew it. For that reason he needed to go with her every time she had to go to this pensions agency. He himself was unemployed but if I understood him right he was a specialist on a piece of software that is used for steel production. He was off to a job interview the next day.  
I also think he said that he himself was not currently a Latvian citizen, but in the process of becoming one.   People who are not citizens have a document that cannot be used for travelling anywhere other than Russia. Of course, there is nobody to stop them going elsewhere in the EU since there are no borders anymore. But they could not for example travel to the USA on this document.  
  With a few exceptions it is almost impossible to look at people and guess whether they are Russian or Latvian speakers. Only if somebody has very dark complexion and look almost impossible as a Northern European - then they are likely to be Russian. But the dress sense is the same and peoples behaviour is similar. The Russian people seem very un-Russian in many ways. Or maybe my stereotypes of Russian people are wrong.      
I saw a churchyard where people of all faiths and backgrounds were buried together. Orthodox, Lutheran and Catholic. 
Some Russians actually had stars and even hammer and sickle on their gravestones. Hm! Communism is not the way to get into heaven! Lots of people had a photo of themselves on their gravestone. I have never seen that before. 
There was a very strange part of the church yard that consisted of about 200 white identical graves of people with Latvian names. They were all born in 1919 or 1920. An obelisk with a swastika (nazi symbol) was raised near these graves, and there were some swastikas on the gates to this area too. There was a text in Latvian which I could not understand at all. 
I have no idea what this was about. If it was something raised by the Nazis during the war, then I really can't understand that the Soviets let it stay as it was. I saw this on the way to the "Karosta" navy base town.  
My camera was having some problems, so the pictures in this post have been taken by other people.  
Basically some of Karosta has been re-instated as it was (although without any maintenance, so it looks crap...) Tourists can even sleep in a Soviet military prison, as a "hotel".  
In my childhood there were some problems with foreign (unknown) submarines sneaking around the cost of Sweden. Most people thought they were from the USSR, namely from the Liepaja navy base (i.e. Karosta). However later, long after the end of the Cold War it turned out that the majority of the incidents involved Nato submarines.         *PICTURES OF THE NICE TOWN OF "LIEPAJA" COMING SOON!*  
Now we're talking! See the upload speed. And Telia is a Swedish company, hehe!

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## Hanna



----------


## Hanna

Oh, I just have to finish this blog by saying that I have arrived in Sweden. 
At the moment I am in the rather erm... rural village.... the name translates to "Sauna-swamp!... lol!) It's literally in the middle of the forest, however it is on the main railroad connecting the North of the country with the South. I ended up here because the train had a breakdown. (Interesting that this did not happen at all in Romania, Ukraine or Belarus. The state railway has been privatized and must make a profit.. Hence they are skimping on the maintenance I imagine.  Never before can I remember a Swedish train breaking down.) 
Luckily the train was standing on this station when it broke down, and I noticed that woman was letting a cottage practically for free, so I thought, "why not"?  
Here, you cannot buy alcohol, shop on a Sunday... voting for any party other than the Social democrats would probably be unthinkable. The finest Christians don't have a TV or internet because it may lure you into sin....  People greet each other with "God's peace", even the teenage boys!  
Everybody has a snow machine and in the winter they see the Northern Lights all the time! 
It's all rather charming and this place is extremely cheap to stay in. People are super friendly and I am sorting out my affairs.My neighbours are super friendly have already invited me over for coffee several times and I have sampled some very tasty home baked bread and waffles. Half of what they are saying is very hard to understand because the speak such strong dialect and use some Finnish and Sami words. 
It's a part of my country that is very foreign to me and I would never have thought it could be so nice.   *Will upload more pictures of Belarus and Latvia as soon as I can!*

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## Doomer

> Oh, I just have to finish this blog by saying that I have arrived in Sweden. 
> At the moment I am in the rather erm... rural village.... the name translates to "Sauna-swamp!... lol!) It's literally in the middle of the forest, however it is on the main railroad connecting the North of the country with the South.

 They do have Internet as I see  ::

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## Hanna

> They do have Internet as I see

 I am using a mobile modem! Only one mobile company even covers this area. 
There is no broadband in the house where I am staying unfortunately. I might run out of allowance on this card quite soon... they don't even sell the top up cards in the local shops and I can't buy it online because I have no Swedish credit card. 
The next possible place to buy a topup is two hours away!

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## Hanna

My neighbours think that the demise of the USSR was a great tragedy and that all the bad information about it was propaganda and lies.  
When TV showed a feature about the 20 year anniversary of the August coup in 1991, they both thought it was a great shame that the coup failed! Oh dear.  
They are so incredibly friendly that I am not getting time for all the stuff that I am here to do, chatting all the time and inviting me to dinner etc. Today I got fish straight from the local lake. 
This lifestyle is really lovely. 
This is the type of fish that I ate:

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## Marcus

> My neighbours think that the demise of the USSR was a great tragedy and that all the bad information about it was propaganda and lies.  
> When TV showed a feature about the 20 year anniversary of the August coup in 1991, they both thought it was a great shame that the coup failed! Oh dear.  
> They are so incredibly friendly that I am not getting time for all the stuff that I am here to do, chatting all the time and inviting me to dinner etc. Today I got fish straight from the local lake. 
> This lifestyle is really lovely. 
> This is the type of fish that I ate:

 Это окунь?

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## Hanna

Да, правильно! Наконец слово нашла в словаре! 
Ты рыбак?

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## Marcus

> Ты рыбак?

 Нет. Рыбачил только в 12 лет, когда отдыхали на Волге. Очень нравилась рыбалка.

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## Eric C.

> My neighbours think that the demise of the USSR was a great tragedy and that all the bad information about it was propaganda and lies.  
> When TV showed a feature about the 20 year anniversary of the August coup in 1991, they both thought it was a great shame that the coup failed! Oh dear.

 After Bernard Shaw visited the USSR during the starvation, he told everyone what a nice country it was, that there was actually no starvation there, that HE'd had there the best dinner in his life (!). He also said that "any 'skilled workman...of suitable age and good character' would be welcomed and given work in the Soviet Union". When he was asked by a journalist during his press conference why then he hadn't stayed in the Soviet heaven and had still gotten back, he said something like "The Britain is hell for sure, but I'm an old sinner and supposed to be in hell". 
I guess your neighbors are the same kind of people.

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## Hanna

> I guess your neighbors are the same kind of people.

 No they have nothing in common with him. They're just working class people who have been reading a certain popular communist Northern paper all their lives. Life was tough up here when they were young and workers were not always treated that well  Then they saw reports of a modern country emerging fast in the USSR, where working class people like themselves were the heroes. Social democracy in Sweden never did away with capitalism, it was just bridled a bit. They've never actually travelled outside of Scandinavia so they are not basing their view of any practical experienes. But I was surprised to hear them both indignantly say that Gorbatjov and Yeltsin were traitors etc. It's one thing to be a communist in general, and another thing to idolize the USSR. Plus, they are also reasonably Christian, although not of the strictest kind. I don't know that it's possible to combine that with the kind of ideology that they seem to support.  
But they are incredibly nice people and they are certainly entitled to their opinion as far as I am concerned.

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## fortheether

Hanna,
   I'm hoping to visit (maybe Belarus), Ukraine (Kiev and Odessa) and Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg) in 2012.  Now that your trip is over and some time has passed - is there anything different you'd do on your trip?  Any places you recommend?  Any places you'd say stay away from?  Do you have any advice for anyone planning to go to Belarus, Ukraine and Russia?   
Thank you, 
Scott

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## chaika

You will always wish you had spent more time in X. I was just in Petersburg for 6 days, and I could have stayed another six. rushed through the Tretyakov in Moscow in under two hours b/c of time constraints. jeez!!

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## fortheether

> You will always wish you had spent more time in X. I was just in Petersburg for 6 days, and I could have stayed another six. rushed through the Tretyakov in Moscow in under two hours b/c of time constraints. jeez!!

 Did you stay in a hotel?  If so, how much was it?  How did you get your visa?  There's a site evisa.kdmid.ru to get a visa.  Ever use it?   
Thank you, 
Scott

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## Hanna

@ Scott,  here are my "lessons-learnt" :: ...... *
No 1 tip*, do not underestimate the difficulty with getting a visa to the great nation of Russia, lol!!! Start early, fill in all papers properly and generally treat the issue with great respect!  You must do it in your own country, it is extremely complicated to get the visa anywhere else.  By far, my greatest regret about this trip was not being able to get a Russian visa because I had underestimated the difficulty. If you want to travel visa-free to Russian-speaking countries, then Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the two possibilities. 
2 -  If you go to Ukraine, be aware that the majority of signs etc that you see when you walk around town, will be in Ukrainian. This is really confusing if you are trying to learn Russian. I think most people speak Russian between themselves, but *do not go to Ukraine with the expectation that it is Russian-speaking in the same way as Russia itself.  * On the other hand, Ukraine itself is a very interesting cool country with super-friendly and helpful people. 
3 - *Forget all the stories you may have heard about "the wild East".* It is basically not dangerous to travel in this area. There are no more crooks or theives than anywhere else, and the average person is MORE helpful towards strangers than what they'd be in an average Western European city, for example. There are no ticket touts and no beggars.   *4 - If you travel by train* (which is a good idea...) be sure to allocate LOTS of time to figure out how and where to get your ticket at the station, read the time table and learn train related vocabulary. The people who work in the railway industry in this area do not speak other languages, so you must be able to speak with them in Russian.  Even if some railway staff members look a bit grumpy at first sight, they are almost universally very helpful if you ask them for help in a nice way. Also remember that when there is not a convenient train, there might well be a coach for the same stretch. They usually leave from a separate coach station. 
5 - Do not comment on politics, since the politics of Eastern Europe is extremely complex and as foreigners we sound stupid and / or ignorant / arrogant almost regardless of what we say. Instead ask open and unbiased questions and simply listen to what people say. Alternatively forget about politics and enjoy the culture or history for example. *
6 - Give Belarus a chance* and you'll have a very unique experience. It's a country that has very little tourism despite being very interesting for lots of reasons. For all extents and purposes it is Russian speaking although street signs are in Belarussian. The guidebook hysteria about Belarus being Soviet-like is totally exaggerated. The only  thing that is a bit unusual is that you see quite a lot of people in military style uniforms, but I think they simply have desk jobs for the state, and are not policemen. Belarus is extremely good value for money compared with Russia. You can stay in a perfectly nice and clean hotel for USD 20 a night, just as an example. It is also an extremely safe country totally devoid of robberies or yob behaviour. Beautiful nature.     
7 - Visit smaller towns, not just the capitals.  
8 - I regret that I didn't *go to more concerts or to opera, theatre or ballet.* In Belarus in particular, it's super cheap and the quality is fantastic.  I went to a piano concerto and it was amazing. 
9 - Try to meet somebody who is local and willing to show you around. That way the city feels more real and you get a better feeling than you'd ever get from a guided tour.  
10 - The local Gum/tsum department stores are listed in all guidebooks, but they are not where the good shopping is in Ukraine and Belarus . For that, try the markets, chic boulevards with new (and expensive) designer clothes, or indoor / underground shopping centres.  
11 - The tastiest and best value restaurants are the ones serving local food. Do not have Italian, French, Sushi etc in this part of the world. For what you get, it is not good value. Be prepared for very long waits for food at restaurants and don 't get upset, it's just the norm. 
12 - Consider fitting in some fun activity, like going hiking, going to a spa, take a week of skiing or sunbathing depending on the season. 
13 - I would have loved to go to the Caucasus, to Central Asia or Russia's Far East. If you were to do something really cool, you could fly to St. Petersburg, then travel by train through Russia stopping in interesting places on the way and return to the US over the Pacific. There might well be some airline flying Vladivostok directly to the USA, else, just book a ticket with a change in S.Korea or China.  *14 - Bring and give little presents to people from your own city - it's the culture!* People you meet will be more hospitable and friendly than you could ever expect, and mutual gift giving is part of the customs, I think. I wish I had thought of bringing souvenirs to give away, but I simply didn't think of it.  If you have food on the train, offer something to everyone sitting nearby, for example biscuits or fruit.

----------


## fortheether

> @ Scott,  here are my "lessons-learnt"...... *
> No 1 tip*, do not underestimate the difficulty with getting a visa to the great nation of Russia, lol!!! Start early, fill in all papers properly and generally treat the issue with great respect!  You must do it in your own country, it is extremely complicated to get the visa anywhere else.  By far, my greatest regret about this trip was not being able to get a Russian visa because I had underestimated the difficulty. If you want to travel visa-free to Russian-speaking countries, then Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the two possibilities. 
> 2 -  If you go to Ukraine, be aware that the majority of signs etc that you see when you walk around town, will be in Ukrainian. This is really confusing if you are trying to learn Russian. I think most people speak Russian between themselves, but *do not go to Ukraine with the expectation that it is Russian-speaking in the same way as Russia itself.  * On the other hand, Ukraine itself is a very interesting cool country with super-friendly and helpful people. 
> 3 - *Forget all the stories you may have heard about "the wild East".* It is basically not dangerous to travel in this area. There are no more crooks or theives than anywhere else, and the average person is MORE helpful towards strangers than what they'd be in an average Western European city, for example. There are no ticket touts and no beggars.   *4 - If you travel by train* (which is a good idea...) be sure to allocate LOTS of time to figure out how and where to get your ticket at the station, read the time table and learn train related vocabulary. The people who work in the railway industry in this area do not speak other languages, so you must be able to speak with them in Russian.  Even if some railway staff members look a bit grumpy at first sight, they are almost universally very helpful if you ask them for help in a nice way. Also remember that when there is not a convenient train, there might well be a coach for the same stretch. They usually leave from a separate coach station. 
> 5 - Do not comment on politics, since the politics of Eastern Europe is extremely complex and as foreigners we sound stupid and / or ignorant / arrogant almost regardless of what we say. Instead ask open and unbiased questions and simply listen to what people say. Alternatively forget about politics and enjoy the culture or history for example. *
> 6 - Give Belarus a chance* and you'll have a very unique experience. It's a country that has very little tourism despite being very interesting for lots of reasons. For all extents and purposes it is Russian speaking although street signs are in Belarussian. The guidebook hysteria about Belarus being Soviet-like is totally exaggerated. The only  thing that is a bit unusual is that you see quite a lot of people in military style uniforms, but I think they simply have desk jobs for the state, and are not policemen. Belarus is extremely good value for money compared with Russia. You can stay in a perfectly nice and clean hotel for USD 20 a night, just as an example. It is also an extremely safe country totally devoid of robberies or yob behaviour. Beautiful nature.     
> 7 - Visit smaller towns, not just the capitals.  
> 8 - I regret that I didn't *go to more concerts or to opera, theatre or ballet.* In Belarus in particular, it's super cheap and the quality is fantastic.  I went to a piano concerto and it was amazing. 
> 9 - Try to meet somebody who is local and willing to show you around. That way the city feels more real and you get a better feeling than you'd ever get from a guided tour.  
> ...

 Hello Hanna,
   Thank you so much for the advice!  I'll keep it in mind.  My wife lost her passport so she has to get one then I'll start planning the trip.   
Thank you, 
Scott

----------


## Hanna

I am SUCH an idiot - I have LOST my photos from this super cool trip. 
I can't believe I call myself an IT professional and make such a basic mistake (have been on a laptop and an external drive only for the last year and a bit, since all my stuff is in storage in London - but obviously external drives too, can crash!)  
I'll have to do a data recovery in the autumn when I have settled back in the UK ££££ this is super expensive.  
My only backup is in fact this travel blog and a few photos that I sent to some friends and relatives.  
But this was a VERY interesting trip and I am FAR from finished with these countries!
Travelling alone was much more fulfilling than I had expected and it is relatively easy to meet people to talk with. It's a bit "weird" and antisocial perhaps, but it gives you total freedom too. All I was missing is somebody to discuss the exciting experiences with.  
The height of the trips were>  
1) An impromptu "guided tour" of Kiev in Russian by a Belarussian guy on a business trip, who had a day to kill and knew the city quite well. What a grand city! I had no idea Kiev had so much to see. I'll be back for sure. Not to mention Yalta which I did not get to. Can't wait!  
2) Ending up in the mysterious republic of "Pridnestrovie" by chance - a place that does not officially exist as a country, but has its own currency and border check.  
3) Speaking Russian for the first time as an adult - in Moldova!  
4) Positively surprised by Belarus - very well organised and newly renovated country. Gomel, Minsk and Vitebsk - all well worth a visit.  
5) Staying at a sanatorium - funy, relaxing and different - and really helped my migraines which have been a lot better since - went on outings and met lots of nice and interesting people.  
6) The beaches of Latvia  - awesome!

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## rockzmom

Oh Hanna, I'm so sorry to hear that! Losing photos is so difficult. People say, "Oh, well you at least went there and have your memories," but it is not the same... I know.  
So what you need to do now is download this diary, scan all your ticket stubs and anything else you have in hard copy form, and then along with all the photos you can find... save them all to a cloud somewhere so you hopefully won't lose anything else.

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## Basil77

> Positively surprised by Belarus

 It seems that your compatriots don't share your opinion  ::

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## Doomer

> I am SUCH an idiot - I have LOST my photos from this super cool trip. 
> I can't believe I call myself an IT professional and make such a basic mistake (have been on a laptop and an external drive only for the last year and a bit, since all my stuff is in storage in London - but obviously external drives too, can crash!)

 I'm a data recovery guy
Do you want my help?
I'll try to make it free of charge but shipping is on you 
If you don't want to ship, I can recommend a good data recovery company in the UK (we DR guys like mafia, know each other  ::  ) but as you already know it is expensive

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## Hanna

> It seems that your compatriots don't share your opinion

 
I know - this is so silly! 
This whole country is in the grip of extreme political correctness - you wouldn't believe some of the things... One of the basic tenets of this is a fixation with democracy as the ultimate good, and solution to all problems, according to the latest definition coming our way across the Atlantic. These people don't really know what they are talking about, wrt Belarus, or they've been drinking the US Kool Aid and think they do... If they need to worry about European countries in shambles, I'd recommend them to go to Rumania or Albania. Peopler there are _a lot_ worse off than Belarussians. They could use our economic help. Democracy is a means to an end, nothing else. If the Belarussians want to change things, let them do it themselves. It's not Sweden's or anybody elses business.  
Even sillier is that the exact same people that complain about socialism in Belarus at the moment, were falling over themselves in turning a blind eye to serious issues perpetrated in the name of socialism prior to '90, and praising or wanting to copy the latest grand project in the USSR, giving Swedish foreign aid to North Korea or Communist guerilla groups. Because this was PC back then, political struggle and equality was cool and democracy was secondary.  
In my opinion these people lack principles! They change their opinions to match whatever winds are blowing from the nearest super power at the moment... And add some homespun nonsense to it... This has unfortunately been a trend in Sweden for a century now. When is my country going to wake up and actually stand firm for a position that is rooted in what people here actually want, rather than being a pathetic copycat of whoever holds the most swing in international policy. I guess it's only a matter of time until these spineless  people start regarding China and whatever views the Chinese hold as the best thing since sliced bread...  
Either way - I can't believe a professional diplomat, the ambassador, would have anything to do with a stunt like this. Who could it possibly have benefited? Nobody.

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## Hanna

> I'm a data recovery guy
> Do you want my help?
> I'll try to make it free of charge but shipping is on you 
> If you don't want to ship, I can recommend a good data recovery company in the UK (we DR guys like mafia, know each other  ) but as you already know it is expensive

 
Wow you are so kind, thanks! Cool job, but a tough industry I guess! Any MR users in the US definitely ought to use your business as a first stop for data recovery.   
I read that there are quite a few scammers, and it's hard for the honest professionals to justify the seemingly high prices to customers.  *
 Let me get back on whether to take you up on your offer! I really appreciate it!* 
I have a lot going on at the moment, so I thought I'd take care of this in September, in the UK. 
The British company I was thinking about using is called "Kingdom Data recovery". It sounded like the name of a Christian business.. and they had some good and genuine sounding customer testimonials. I wrote there, and the guy responded back straight away, warning me that it sounded serious. *Did you here of them, or who would you recommend?* *
~ 
The technical background is this*: 
The drive in question is a Seagate 2 TB drive, internal, although it is temporarily housed in an external bay, since I am using a laptop. The drive was bought only about 5 months ago, so the problem is not down to "wear and tear".  
The fault appeared almost immediately, with about 1 hour during which is was a bit noisy (which I should have reacted on). I think it got a bump, while in use. Fell over from standing upright... My fault! 
The fault is almost certainly mechanical, although I wouldn't know what.   After plugging in the USB cable, the drive makes a squealing sound for 1/2 second, with about 1 second inverval. This carries on for about 15 seconds, then stops.I think that it can't read from the drive due to some mechanical problem, perhaps a fault with the disk itself, or the "arm".I haven't been able to test the drive connected with the SATA cable directly to a normal motherboard, because I don't have a desktop PC here. 
I have my collection of Russian films which is quite large, on this drive, as well as my collection of Asian films, photos and my Audiobook collection. Everything but the photos are replacable, although it would take significant time. Some of the audiobooks had not been copied to my ipod and could be hard to find online again.  
This data was first on a small "travel" 1 TB Samsung drive that can only connect with mini USB. I think it's a solid state drive - or a laptop drive, it is too small to be a normal internal drive. 
This drive contains almost the same data, just 5 months out of data. But it packed up too (!!!) however I was able to get the data off it in time, using recovery software "GetDataBack". But this drive is inaccessible too now, at least to me. Doing data recovery on this drive, rather than the 2 TB  would be an alternative, if the 2 TB fails. But the photos are not on it. The majority of the films are also on the hard drive of my regular PC, which is in storage in the UK.  
I wanted to ask the data recovery firm to see if there is any way they can access the content on one of one of these drives, and copy or clone it to a replacement disk. *Does that sound feasible to you, or would you recommend me to do something else? *

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## Hanna

> Oh Hanna, I'm so sorry to hear that! Losing photos is so difficult. People say, "Oh, well you at least went there and have your memories," but it is not the same... I know.

   Thanks, you are always so sweet!!! ::

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## Doomer

> Wow you are so kind, thanks! Cool job, but a tough industry I guess! Any MR users in the US definitely ought to use your business as a first stop for data recovery.   
> I read that there are quite a few scammers, and it's hard for the honest professionals to justify the seemingly high prices to customers.

 That is very much true  

> I have a lot going on at the moment, so I thought I'd take care of this in September, in the UK. 
> The British company I was thinking about using is called "Kingdom Data recovery". It sounded like the name of a Christian business.. and they had some good and genuine sounding customer testimonials. I wrote there, and the guy responded back straight away, warning me that it sounded serious. *Did you here of them, or who would you recommend?*
> [B]

 I've never heard of the "Kingdom Data recovery" company
In the UK I would recommend this company - Professional Data Recovery Service UK : Hard Drive Recovery : USB Memory Stick Recovery : Memory Cards Recovery : CD-DVD Recovery : PC Images    

> The drive in question is a Seagate 2 TB drive, internal, although it is temporarily housed in an external bay, since I am using a laptop. The drive was bought only about 5 months ago, so the problem is not down to "wear and tear".  
> The fault appeared almost immediately, with about 1 hour during which is was a bit noisy (which I should have reacted on). I think it got a bump, while in use. Fell over from standing upright... My fault! 
> The fault is almost certainly mechanical, although I wouldn't know what.   After plugging in the USB cable, the drive makes a squealing sound for 1/2 second, with about 1 second inverval. This carries on for about 15 seconds, then stops.I think that it can't read from the drive due to some mechanical problem, perhaps a fault with the disk itself, or the "arm".I haven't been able to test the drive connected with the SATA cable directly to a normal motherboard, because I don't have a desktop PC here.

 This is most likely an indicator of seized spindle problem
When you drop a hard drive, relatively heavy platters packet puts an excessive force on the spindle fluid bearing causing it to jam
The sound you hear is drive's inability to spin up *This is quite complex problem but it is good in some way because it preserves drive from further mechanical damage*
Please do not power this drive up anymore, you won't get anything good from it
You definitely need a DR professional to do this kind of job 
PS: there is also a chance that it is not a seized spindle problem but jammed heads. Newer Seagate drives have a parking ramp on outside of platters packet. If heads got between the ramp and platters, because of the excessive force they could have created media damage, in this case you data might be unrecoverable

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## Hanna

Thanks for explaining all this, and for the recommendation! Do you think my chances of recovering the data are slim, or quite good?  
Which drive do you personally think is most reliable in the 1-3 TB class, I mean what brand or type?
I thought Seagate was very good, but this is the worst crash I have ever had.

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## Doomer

> Thanks for explaining all this, and for the recommendation! Do you think my chances of recovering the data are slim, or quite good?

 It all depends on the damage, it is impossible to answer before proper evaluation  

> Which drive do you personally think is most reliable in the 1-3 TB class, I mean what brand or type?
> I thought Seagate was very good, but this is the worst crash I have ever had.

 I use WD Green family drives recently 
But neither of drives is protected against drop  ::  
All hard drives should be protected against two things: heat and vibration/shock. These are two major damaging factors

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## Ann

> In my work I have come across policies where all credit card transactions from a Ukrainian IP address are categorically denied (due to percieved risk of cyber crimes). This also contributed to making me worried, the prospect of ending up empty-handed and alone in a country where you can barely make yourself understood, is rather scary.

 Hanna:
I'm so glad that I read your post again before my trip.  I've just called my credit card and debit/ATM card company and apparantly it was a smart thing to do.  They actually asked for my departure and return dates and ran them through their security systems.

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## fortheether

I called mine also.  Luckily I had more than one credit card because one of the cards I used once and then for the rest of the trip was declined.  When I got home and called them they said even though I informed them of the countries we'd be in how would they know if my card was stolen or not.   
Good luck, 
Scott    

> Hanna:
> I'm so glad that I read your post again before my trip.  I've just called my credit card and debit/ATM card company and apparantly it was a smart thing to do.  They actually asked for my departure and return dates and ran them through their security systems.

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