SOVIET BELARUS

Belarus, a very closed off country until recently, now has a handy 30-day visa-free entry for a vast number of countries provided you enter and exit via Minsk airport. We offer an unbeatable and affordable tour package of this incredible country that few people ever visit. Belarus is a country that has been described as the last corner of the Soviet Union, and this is no exaggeration!

Soviet Wastelands have been working in Belarus for a number of years and have fine-tuned our adventures in the country. On our Soviet Belarus tour, we visit Soviet military Disneylands, Lenin monument workshops, mega dump truck factories, and infamous WW2 battle sites among other things!

Day 1:

• Fly into Minsk airport where our driver will be waiting in the arrivals and will transfer you
  to our centrally located hotel.
• Overnight in Minsk

Day 2

• Breakfast at the hotel
• We’ll head out to explore the thriving capital of Belarus. Our first destination will be the
  Azgur Museum. Tucked away behind a Soviet housing block, this huge room used to be
  the workshop of Soviet sculptor Zair Azgur, and there are still hundreds of different sizes
  busts of Soviet leaders staring down at you as you walk around.
• Along the way, we’ll see the Communist KFC, the functioning KGB HQ, the former
  apartment of Lee Harvey Oswald, the incredible National Library building, the Gum
  department store and the eerie abandoned crane yard.
• After lunch, we’ll meet our driver and transfer to the ‘Soviet Disneyland’ known as the
  Stalin Line. The drive should take around 40 minutes – 1 hour depending on traffic.
• On arrival, we’ll register at the first checkpoint before entering the Stalin Line and our first stop will be a photo opportunity at the monument to the man himself, Josef Stalin! This is one of the only surviving Stalin monuments left standing in the USSR.
• We’ll then begin our tour of the bunker complex that was the first line to get hit during Operation Barbarossa in the early days of WW2, inside you can get a first-hand account of how the brutal fighting raged against the seemingly unstoppable German war machine!
• We’ll then tour the tank track, full of war-ravaged WW2 vehicles, tanks, and planes. We’ll stop for a photo stop at one of the road signs that says: ‘’Beware! Tanks!’’
• We’ll then stop for a trip highlight: The firing range! Your first five Kalashnikov rounds are on us, but you have the additional chance to climb in a tank and fire a blast from the turret, fire a 50. Caliber shot from a Soviet anti-aircraft gun and get your hands on Soviet artillery and blow up a Nazi tank! Prices are very affordable for such an epic video and photo opportunity!
• With adrenaline running, we’ll then continue our tour through the mass of Soviet tanks, planes, choppers, and weapons scattered all over the complex.
• We’ll then stop for lunch in a military-themed cafe for some traditional WW2 style Red Army food.
• Evening meal at a Minsk institution serving traditional food.
• Overnight in Minsk

Day 3:

• After breakfast, we’ll meet our driver and head to the Belaz plant and begin a bizarre tour
  of the factory producing the world’s biggest dump trucks. This is symbolic of a trip to
  Europe’s last dictatorship and is dump truck crazy. We’ll enter the factory itself and climb
  on one of the enormous trucks before having tea and cookies (in the shape of a dump
  truck) in the staff canteen.
• We’ll then head to the town of Nesvizh and visit the incredible castle there. Once a
  Luftwaffe hospital and KGB resort, the history of this castle runs deep. We’ll do a guided
  tour of the castle.
• Return to Minsk in the evening and have dinner.
• Overnight in Minsk

Day 4:

• Leave first thing in the morning to catch the train to Brest.
• On arrival in Brest, our first stop will be at the Brest Fortress, or Hero Fortress as it is
  often known. A 19th Century Russian Fortress, this spectacular example of Soviet
  architecture is now a war memorial commemorating the first battles of WWII featuring
  two of the most amazing Soviet monuments in the former USSR.
• The next stop will be at the train museum, an open-air museum featuring primarily Soviet
  locomotives from throughout the 20th Century.
• We’ll take a walking tour of the quaint, very European-feeling old town. After passing
  through Lenin Square, we’ll meander down the Alley of Lights, a street lined with unique
  lanterns all designed by local artists, and every one of which is totally unique, from a
  nose wearing a suit, to a shoe-polisher whose chair you can sit on, to a horse and
  carriage. You can even put your foot in a giant boot!
• After exploring the cobble-stoned, cafe-lined streets, we’ll finish the tour with the daily
  lighting of the lamps – a famous Brest tradition.
• For dinner, we have the option of Tractor, a local restaurant famous for authentic
  Belarusian cuisine and homemade flavored vodkas. The horseradish one will definitely
  put hair on your chest!
• Spend overnight in the Bug Hotel, a comfortable, Soviet themed guesthouse.

Day 5:

• Return to Minsk on the train
• End of tour with the Soviet Wastelands team able to offer onward travel arrangements or tour extensions