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BelarusThe Inside StoryYou will be forgiven for thinking that the Soviet Union isalive and well in Belarus, but that is the charm of the place.Minsk may still proudly show its Communist-era buildingsand statues of Lenin but you will notice that smart shops andgood restaurants have popped up across the city.Still a largely rural economy, Belarus is a land of picturesquevillages, forests, lakes and national parks where bison, bearsand wolves can be found. Polotsk, the oldest city in thecountry, boasts an ancient cathedral, fortress and convent.In Nesvizh the former palace home of the Radzivills issurrounded by formal gardens and Mir is home to a fairytalecastle.Belarus may not be the most talked about of countries butit does have its place in history. Twentieth-century artistMarc Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Brest, on the border withPoland, enjoys a WWII hero city status, and Russia signed theagreement to bring the dissolution of the USSR in Viskouli.Storyto tell -ChristinaGibbonsWhy I loveBelarusThe history of theSoviet Union has alwaysintrigued me andtravelling to Belarusis like stepping back intime to a bygone era.Society here is incrediblysafe and well-ordered; Ialways feel extremelywelcomed andcomfortable inBelarus.1067First mention of Minskin the Hypatian Code1307Belarus fully incorporatedinto the Grand Duchyof Lithuania1654Minsk conquered bytroops of Tsar Alexeiof Russia1863Anti-Tsarist uprisingled by Kastus Kalinouskiquashed1921Treaty of Rigadivides Belarusbetween Polandand Soviet Russia1129‘White Russia’ absorbedby the Grand Princesof Kiev1569Poland annexes Belarusafter the Treaty of Lublin1793Minsk annexed by Russia asa consequence of the SecondPartition of Poland1918Proclaimsindependence asthe BelarussianNational Republic