Belarus may not be at the top of most people’s holiday destination wish lists, but when I got the opportunity to go to Minsk this summer I leapt at the chance.

True, the country is often associated with stereotypes of grey communist tower blocks, statistics about agricultural and industrial production and unsuccessful protests by the opposition. But then I remember my first trip to Russia, when I frequently had to explain that contrary to popular belief, London was no longer covered in smog and Britain doesn’t come to a standstill at 5 o’clock for everyone to have afternoon tea!

I will concede that Minsk is probably a very different beast in summer than it is in winter. Strolling around the city for a few sunny days in August, it looked very pleasant. Cleanliness is obviously a big priority to the city authorities and there was a relaxed, calm atmosphere. Small groups of people gathered in beer tents and the locals were open and friendly.

In the city centre, the old town area, near the Nemiga metro station is a must-see, as is the Isle of Tears with its memorial to Belarusian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The communist architecture of the Palace of the Soviets and surrounding October Square are also essential viewing. The museum devoted to World War II history unfortunately only has captions in Russian and Belarusian, but if you speak either or have a translator, it’s worth a look. The graphic photographs of wartime in Belarus explain themselves and justify the entrance fee even if you can’t read the text. At times it does feel like you’re wading through layers of propaganda.

There is a large TV screen opposite the Palace of the Republics, which when I was there showed extensive coverage of President Lukashenko’s every movement and Belarus’ record harvest – so maybe the stereotype about agricultural statistics isn’t that wide of the mark after all…

Souvenir hunting

Minsk is a difficult place to buy souvenirs as I discovered after a fruitless few hours searching for something, then anything, I could present to family and friends back home. There are some options though. Vodka is a good bet. It’s widely available, with good Belarusian brands of both clear and flavoured vodkas sure to satisfy your more hedonistic friends back home. Try Minskaya Kristall if you’re looking for something from the capital. There’s a good range of crafts available as well, with souvenir shops stocking typical Matryoshka dolls, Belarusian linen and traditional shawls. Other than that it’s tough, Belarusian literature is hard to come by in English translation and I couldn’t find any films with English subtitles. If you want to get a taste of shopping in the USSR, check out the Tsum or Gum department stores.

Eating and drinking

Karl Marx street has a number of good, upmarket options for eating and drinking. At no. 34 News Café felt like a godsend. With wifi and a decent glass of white wine available, I was able to catch up with my emails and enjoy unobtrusive but decent service. Next door at no. 36 is the bizarrely named My English Granny which served tea and cakes your Granny would be proud of. Another good option for sustenance in the city centre is Lido. Located on the central street, Prospekt Nezavisimosti 49, it serves a range of Russian and Belarusian food. It’s good value and self-service, so if you don’t speak the language you can pick out what you want and hand the cashier your money without having to speak a word. Soup in Belarus is generally very tasty, and a good option if you’re struggling to find something vegetarian. Do be sure to check before you order as many soups advertised as vegetable contain meat as well. The national dish, draniki, are potato pancakes. Although they’re very heavy, you should probably try them at least once when you’re in Belarus.

A day trip back in time

I was keen to take a day trip outside of the capital and having flicked through the guide book, there was only one real contender – Khatyn. Now a memorial complex commemorating Belarusian villagers killed by the Nazis in World War II, the village’s history is harrowing.

On 22 March 1942, Nazi soldiers, angered by a recent ambush by Belarusian partisans,  rounded up villagers on 22 March 1942 and drove them into a barn, which they then set on fire. When people tried to escape they were gunned down by soldiers. The youngest villager to be killed was only 7 weeks old. 5 people survived, 4 of whom were only children at the time. Two young girls managed to escape the shed and crawl to a nearby wood. Burnt half to death they were found by inhabitants of Khvorosteny, a nearby village. Taken in by villagers, they were killed when Khvorosteny met the same fate as Khatyn later in the war.

Of the two young boys to survive, 7-year old Viktow Zhelobkovich fled the barn with his mother. When she was fatally wounded by a Nazi bullet, she fell on top of her son. He sheltered under his mother’s corpse until the soldiers had gone. 12 year-old Anton Baranovsky was also shot escaping the barn and badly wounded, was mistaken for dead. The boys were rescued and brought up in an orphanage in nearby Pleshinitsy.  The only adult to survive, Joseph Kaminsky, was a 56-year old blacksmith. Badly burnt, he recovered consciousness when the fascists had gone. Returning to the barn he found his son, fatally wounded but still alive, who died in his arms. Kaminsky’s story was the inspiration for the only figure at the memorial. Entitled “The Unconquered Man”, it is an enormous statue of a man cradling a child in his arms.

The memorial reflects the fact that as horrific as Khatyn’s fate was, it was by no means unusual. Hundreds of settlements in Belarus were burnt to the ground during World War II, sometimes more than once.  The memorial today is vast and incredibly moving. With the sound of bells ringing intermittently and a series of monuments representing Belarusian citizens who lost their lives in the conflict, it is the most affecting war memorial I have ever been to.

My guide book (the only guide book about Belarus printed in English) gave no instructions as to how to get to Khatyn, so having sought the advice of a local, my companion and I got as far as Lagoisk. Lagoisk  is not a town used to tourists and many people we asked seemed surprised that anyone would want to go to Khatyn . With our enquiries about public transport or taxis coming to nothing, we started to hitch. Glad our mothers weren’t there to see us, we hopped into the first car to screech to a halt in front of us. Allaying our fears, Dima and Misha, two furniture makers, turned up the Russian rock music to maximum volume and told us Khatyn was worth the trip, driving us right up to the entrance. Getting back to Minsk proved to be easier – a friendly couple with a disturbing penchant for new age music, took us all the way back to Minsk!