BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/02/2006

Vacation in an outpost of tyranny

By Janek Lasocki

Special to St. Petersburg Times

The hardline repressive regime than runs Belarus is a distraction from the more subtle charms of Grodno, Khatyn and Minsk.

Dubbed the last dictatorship in Europe, Belarus is an authoritarian state where little political freedom exists. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice lumped it with Syria and Cuba as "an outpost of tyranny."

Belarus is also, however, a beautiful country at the crossroads of Eastern and Western Slavonic cultures. Today, untouched countryside, the legacy of Polish and Russian sovereignty, and rebuilt cities with a new Belarusian identity, make Belarus an undiscovered treasure trove in the heart of Europe.

In the west lies Grodno, on the river Nioman. Its beginnings lie in the old castle that takes a commanding position over the river. Originally built by Kievan princes as the key to the amber route, its defense against Teutonic knight invaders was led by David Gorodnienski, grandson of St. Petersburg's own Alexander Nevsky.

Today little remains of the original castle but a section of the walls from which you can overlook the Nioman. However, the inside boasts an exhibition of the city's ecology and history, both prehistoric and more contemporary (entry: $0.25).

Across a small stone bridge is the New Castle, originally the royal palace of King Augustus III of Poland. Rebuilt after the Red Army left it in ruins taking the city from the Germans, it now holds the city's main library. Past the synagogue and through the park stands the small Church of Saints Boris and Hilb. Built in 1180, it is the second oldest surviving church in the country.

It was because of its outstanding architecture that Grodno was added to the Braun encyclopedia of Cologne in the 16th century as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. And having survived the war better than any other Belarussian city, today a walk around the centre from Sovyetskaya Ploshchad will charm any enthusiast of Eastern and Central European architecture.

Grodno was long an important city of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its Polish Catholic influence is easily felt. The Jesuit "Farny" cathedral is said to be the most impressive in Belarus. Inside stand fourteen baroque and roccoco altars crowned by the huge central altarpiece, to the right of which can be found the Virgin Mary of Rome, famously housed here.

At any time of day you can hear quiet prayers or hymns in Polish, indeed all signs and inscriptions are in Polish. The church's regular visitors, however, seem to include many who no longer speak the language but know that their roots are in the culture embodied in the cathedral.

Further down the square is the equally impressive Bernadine Church and Seminary. Renovated at various stages in different styles, it was the venue for the wedding of Eliza Orzeszkowa, Grodno's gift to the literary world. Directly opposite, in contrast, stands the regional Drama Theater, whose concrete, spider-like structure is definitely memorable if not for the beauty of its design.

Directly to the east of Grodno is the Belarussian capital, Minsk. Today's territory of Belarus stood exactly between the worst fighting of the Great Patriotic War, and 95 percent of Minsk was left destroyed, hardly a building remaining standing. Following 1945 Moscow architects were given free rein in the city's reconstruction. Central boulevards tripled in width and most of the centre became a showcase for Stalinist architecture. As a result Minsk has a totally different feel to any other city around it.

The look of the city, for those who aren't big fans of Soviet architecture, is a pleasant surprise, mainly because of how clean and tidy it is. You can see no broken glass or bottles, no cigarette butts and few beggars. Also drivers seem friendlier, although whether this is out of courtesy or fear of arrest is hard to tell.

Minsk is walkable but its efficient public transport (including a two-line metro) allows you to skip parts of the grand boulevards to save time. The beginning of Prospekt Nezavisimosti (or Prospekt Francyska Skaryny, some streets still carry old names) is a good place to start.

Ploshchad Nezavisimosti (Independence Square) is dominated on three sides by Belarusian government buildings and the state university. The Soviet monumentalism is broken by the red brick Catholic church of Saints Simon and Elene. Built by Polish nobles in 1910 it closely resembles old Teutonic churches in northern Poland. It was used as a cinema before 1990 and a meeting place for the political opposition before it was supressed.

A walk down the street sees the classical Soviet blocks become shops, cafes and department stores all the way to Oktyabrskaya Ploshchad (October Square). The Palats Respubliki (Palace of the Republic), an enormous cube-like building on the square, looks somehow out of place. It took fifteen years to build and was opened to great fanfare in 2001 as the premier venue in the capital.

On the opposite side of the square is a little park whose trees hide a better view of the presidential palace, just beyond. Unlike in most countries, the residence of the head of state is avoided by tourists and Belarussians alike. The square also houses the Museum of the Great Patriotic War ($2.50) which is well worth a visit.

Past the circus and across the Sfisloch river is Ploshchad Pobedy (Victory Square). Like the cities of Leningrad and Smolensk, after the war Minsk was awarded the title of Geroy Gorod (Hero City). The giant obelisk in the centre of the square pays homage to all of those cities and all who fought and died defending them, an eternal flame burning at its base. May 9 commemorations, when former Soviet states celebrate the end of World War II, are held here every year.

Crossing the prospect is the newly renamed Prospekt Pobyedityly (Victors' Boulevard). Until recently the boulevard was named after a popular former mayor, but today no-one quite knows which victor the new name refers to and some say President Alexander Lukashenko is preparing to rename it in his own honor.

At the beginning of long boulevard is all that remains of the old town. Troyskoe Predmestiye (Trinity Suburb) is actually a 1980s reconstruction of what the area looked like in the 19th century, although today it is simply a cluster of souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants.

Just poking out of the old town, on an artificial island, is probably the most beautiful monument in Belarus. The Ostrov Slyozy (Island of Tears) has a chapel in its center dedicated to the fallen of the war in Afghanistan. A bell tolls inside the tall blue structure as people stand inside looking at the murals of crying mothers. It could not be more different from the giant concrete monuments constructed in the U.S.S.R. after 1945.

An hour north of the capital is the memorial complex of Khatyn (not to confused with Katyn, near Smolensk, where thousands of Polish officers and 'enemies of the people' were shot).

Although difficult to reach without private transport, Khatyn has to be visited, if only because of what it means to the Belarussian people. On March 22, 1943, the 149 residents, including 75 children, were rounded up into a barn. The barn, along with all 26 houses, was burned to the ground by a German punishment battalion.

More than 600 Belarussian villages were destroyed with their populations in this way. Khatyn is one of 186 villages that was never rebuilt. Instead it stands as a memorial to the nation's suffering.

Twenty-six brick chimneys - all that remains from the log houses - today stand as they did, although a bell has been attached which tolls every few minutes, creating an eerie break in the silence. At the entrance stands a tall sculpture of the one survivor, Josef Kaminski, who was away and returned to his village to find his dead son's body and home in ash. He chose to stay in Khatyn until he died. The eternal flame burns above the number that every Belarussian knows by heart: every fourth inhabitant - 2.2 million in total - perished during World War II.

Source:

http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=16774