Around Victory Day

Dear Friends,

It’s time to recapitulate the last few days…Tuesday I, and for the better part my helpers in the bank, spent with getting me registered at the police as otherwise I’d be an illegal alien and ready for deportation… Ivan also thought that I should maybe plan to stay a little longer and therefore extend my health insurance. Anyway, the registration was done in record time (usually takes 3 days) and so there was no more hindrance to get registered at the university and start the program. At least that was what I thought… Wednesday everything was shut as it was one of the highest holidays in this country: Victory Day!

It’s actually quite understandable if one realizes that 80% of Minsk was destroyed during the war and the Nazis committed incredible atrocities in this country so that the liberation by the Soviet troops indeed was an extremely welcome event. The fact that Stalin also suppressed the Belorussians pales against that. Also few people in the west probably realize that the German (and Austrian) prisoners of war were obliged to help rebuild much of what they (and the Russians, of course) had destroyed before. In this context it was interesting to hear from one of my supporters here that her parents live in an old house that after the war was rebuilt by German prisoners of war and that sticks out through superior build quality that has only required minor restoration work over the years.

So there was a parade of  the second WW veterans which I went to see. The access wasn’t that easy as security was very tight (the government district was totally closed to low level aliens like me) but everybody was very friendly about it. Lots of children and young people were there, both at the parade and as spectators. It was all very relaxed and only the very first detachment of the army was in parade step, the rest didn’t even march militarily although they were playing marches… It really was more like a strolling of thousands of people to honor those that had died for their country. Quite impressive…

Then I changed location to Komsomolskaya Lake where the celebrations continued in the form of  food and drink and folklore programs. Actually quite nice, I listened to the Belorussian State Choir which contributed both patriotic but also folk song and dances in quite splendid costumes. I did some videos but haven’t figured out yet how to upload….

After that I went “home” to fix some damage of my motorcycle carrier that I had inflicted during reversing in a tight spot (despite my rear view camera). Now it’s back to how it was before (almost ;-) ). And yes, my motorcycle proves to be a brilliant investment: just the right thing to get around town efficiently and comfortably as the public transport system appears to be quite efficient, but rather crowded at times. Surprisingly there are few fellow 2-wheelers, and if yes then on rather heavy equipment like Honda Goldwings and the like. On the other hand you see hardly cars that are older than 5 years and I think I have seen less than 30 old cars of Russian build (apart from trucks). Traffic is heavy at times but seldom stuck as the almost total destruction during the war was used to redesign most of the town with rather big avenues.

Equally the reconstruction has resulted in some big Stalin-style buildings in the inner city and apartment complexes in the suburbs. The architecture is mixed and I must admit that not many of them are attractive to my eyes (but neither are those in Vienna or elsewhere). To their credit it must be mentioned that some of the destroyed buildings now are being reconstructed, apparently to give the inner city some more atmosphere again. What really sticks out is the construction activity everywhere: underground lines, office buildings, apartment buildings, streets. The whole place is full of cranes and deviations…

Otherwise it is clean and I feel safe although being told to watch out, but really couldn’t see for what yet. What impressed me also was the number of banks and casinos (maybe related). For a country that has gone through several crisis and whose people aren’t exactly that rich it must be also for the visitors from the East as I didn’t notice too many from the west yet. What I have never seen before elsewhere are ‘flat screen’ traffic lights. They are the latest technology with LEDs instead of bulbs and look quite smart.

Yes, and in the evening there were big, impressive fireworks…

So today I was at the university for the first time. No, not to get taught but to get registered. Well, so I thought… I was missing a translation of my passport which has to be notarized which hopefully will be done by tomorrow…. Only then I can pay and then I’m really in business… The rest of the day I spent exploring the shopping situation which is less impressive than say NY, London, Paris, or Amstetten … but I’m not here for shopping and so far I have found really everything I needed (and that included some tools and other normally hard to find things). People here seem to be less concerned about ‘shopping’ and spend their time with getting together with friends etc.

Now that I’m settled I’ll probably check out some of the museums and other cultural spots so if you want to find out more stay tuned….  

This got a bit long, but you don’t have to read it anyway if you get bored…