I am attaining a much deeper understanding about the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union on this area of the world. In Australia, we learned about the Berlin Wall coming down, the fall of the Iron Curtain, the liberation of millions of people from communism. However, the reality for Armenia and Georgia was quite different.

In 1990, this region was full of enormous factories, such as those for extracting copper and producing steel. Along the coast and in the mountains, huge Intourist resorts were under construction, and the Georgian mountains were the training grounds of the Soviet Olympic skiing team. Nuclear power provided electricity across the region, and cheap gas was supplied from the Russia SSR.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the simmering discontent in the region plunged into civil war, rife with ethnic cleaning and countless refugees. Armenia went without electricity for five years, and without gas for ten years. All construction stopped, and the factories shut down. Each country had been specialised to perform a specific function, and now that the supply lines had been cut, everything was paralysed.

Driving through the Caucasus, it is hauntingly easy to imagine life immediately after 1991. The giant factories still stand as monoliths on the outskirts of the cities, and the concrete skeletons of giant holiday resorts still ring Lake Sevan.

Now these countries must slowly rebuild themselves, redefine their identity and find a way to sustainability and progress, all while dealing with internal and external conflicts. Belarus has done an amazing job, and Minsk glimmers with promise and affluence. Armenia still bears the deepest scars of poverty and conflict, and has allied itself with Russia, its major acceptor of its exports.

Georgia has lost much from its war with Russia, and now looks to the West for its future, with many signs in English and Council of Europe flags visible throughout the city. Tbilisi has a very pleasant feel to it, with streets lined with cafes and wide boulevards for evening promenades. Georgia has a way to go before it is eligible for EU membership, but it is encouraging to see it inching away from war and slowly towards open communication and dialogue.

On our next day in Belarus we ventured outside the capital to see some of the historic structures of the region with our guide Natasha. Our first stop was Nesvizh Castle (Нясвіжскі замак), home of the Radziwiłłs from 1533 to 1939. This family were the richest landowners in the region for centuries. Even as the land around them moved from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Russian Empire, the same family remained in power. This castle was their winter residence, and is surrounded by vast parklands.

The Radziwiłłs were avid hunters, and we saw a photo of a room filled with antlers and other hunting trophies. We heard a story about an elderly Radziwiłł who still insisted on hunting even though he was wheel-chair bound. His grandsons lured an old bear our for him to shoot, but the bear was not killed instantly and lunged towards the old man. His hunting dog leapt to protect him, killing the bear but losing her life in the process. The old man commissioned a statue of the dog, and now she sits overlooking the parkland, a medallion draped around her neck.

Around 2pm I asked Natasha if we were going to have lunch, and she looked surprised. Even though this was a six hour tour, no meal was scheduled. We didn’t end up eating until we got back to Minsk in the late afternoon. Our patterns of life are a little different from the Belarusians.

Next we visited the Mir Castle, which was also claimed by the Radziwiłłs in 1568, and was often used a summer house. There was a long line to get into the interior courtyard. Natasha and I tried sneaking in the exit, but Adrian hung back, and we were shoed out by a staff member. Natasha argued fervently in Russian, but the staff member stood their ground. So she took us on a tour of the exterior, and then we had a long drive through green meadows back to the capital.

We have just begun our three week vacation exploring a few ex-soviet countries. Our first stop is Belarus. I must admit, I did not know very much about Belarus before we landed. However, I was encouraged by their excellent Eurovision entry, 3+2 singing Butterflies. With costumes like this, it must be an glamorous country to visit.

Photo from eurovision.tv

After a long flight via Warsaw, I paid my 2 euro compulsory medical insurance, had my visa scrutinised by passport control, and I was permitted to enter Belarus. As we drove from the airport to the hotel, we were astonished. I had expected Minsk to be a crumbling vestige of the soviet era, but it was bright and spotless. Tall, brightly painted apartment blocks sprung out of the ground, separated by spacious boulevards and perfectly manicured gardens. Minsk was completely decimated by the Nazis in 1941, but rebuilt by Stalin in the 1950s as a model of a prosperous Soviet city.

Photo by novocortex

The USSR may have crumbled, but Minsk is thriving. Every street we walked down was perfectly maintained, the roads were wide and smooth, the parks full of flower gardens. The entrances to the Metro stations were glad in red marble, and many new apartment building were under construction. Independence Avenue is 48 meters wide including spacious pavements. The soviet aesthetic was very apparent, with the architecture a fusion of strong lines and open planes. Our hotel, Planeta, built in 1980 for the Moscow Olympic Games, has 310 rooms, and is only one of many other giant hotels situated around the capital.

Photo by Jassy-50

During our first evening we strolled through the nearby park, soaking up the warm evening sunshine. The Belarusian Rouble has quite high denominations, useful as our hotel room cost around 100,000 Roubles. Interestingly, the banknotes go all the way from 100,000 down to 1 Rouble. This means that at a wishing well, locals throw notes into the fountain.

Photo by Bogsnes

The park was full of groups of very glamorous women, while most of the only men that we saw were clustered around an outdoor screening of the World Cup. I felt so frumpy in my travel clothes. The Belarusian women displayed their tiny figures and long legs in short dresses and high heels, getting dressed up to the nines even for a stroll by the river. Maybe the butterfly wings only come for very special occassions.