Belarus city tours

Minsk city tour, Minsk guided walk and Minsk city tour at night

Soviet Minsk tour

Forty years ago Minsk was introduced as the capital of BSSR – the Soviet Republic of Belarus. Today many guests who travel to Minsk agree that it has kept the best features from the Soviet times: wide and clean avenues and squares, safe streets and metro, vast green parks. The tour of Soviet Minsk will show you how much of that has survived.

We will start this tour in Independence Square. Formerly Lenin Square, it looks almost like before 1991, save for a few things: the Red Church no longer houses a filmmaking studio. You will learn about the Government House (you’ve seen it many times in the chronicles!), Belarus State University, Minsk Hotel and Metro Headquarters. The square reflects the evolution of the Soviet architecture between the 1930s and the 1970s. A short walk away from the square are the buildings of the KGB, National Bank and GUM. We will visit the latter shop to recall what kind of shopping our ancestors enjoyed in the 1970s.

We will proceed to Victory Square down the ideal Soviet street. Today’s Independence Avenue was conceived as the first step to renew the war-torn Minsk and was called Stalin Avenue until 1962. In Victory Square we will discuss the war issues for Belarus by the eternal flame. If we’re lucky enough, we might see the change of the Guards by the Eternal Flame.

A walk away from the Victory Obelisk is the restored building of the first session of the Russian Socialist Democratic Labor Party (held in 1898). A great opportunity to see the origin of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and discuss the alternative ways Belarus might have taken in the 1920s. Overlooking the museum is the apartment block of the so-called Stalin Empire style. It was home to Lee Harvey Oswald who didn’t quite take to the Soviet ways after all.

We will take a few stops by Minsk metro. Naturally, Minsk metro system didn’t get all the investment that Moscow did but some of its stations boast of a pretty interesting design. Yakub Kolas Station is a must-see for its folklore-Soviet theme while Park Chaluskintsau features a modest but elegant design.

A short ride from there is Komarovsky Food market where vendors from different sections offer dairy products, meat, vegetables and fruit. It’s a great place to visit to feel the local ways and try some foods. Also, a place to start with if you care for a cooking tour! While tasting and haggling, you have every chance to address the people of all ages selling their stuff about the good old times, their benefits and drawbacks.

A cherry to our cake is a visit to the Museum of Z.Azgur full of statues of different Soviet politicians. Just the right place to discuss their accomplishments from any perspective. Book your private Soviet Minsk tour now to learn of what was behind the Iron Curtain!

The biggest war survivors in Minsk (Soviet tour)