Home Sweet Home (1)

Belarus seems like a place stuck in time. While Poland, Czech Republic and even Russia are very different now than they were 5 years ago, and mostly for the better, Belarus has defied change, and it is hardly a positive thing. Same gloomy, unfriendly faces in the streets, same indifferent attitude from the staff in stores and restaurants, same cheerful posters on the streets praising the "course for independence" and featuring same old communist flags (sans sickle and hammer though), same monument to Lenin on the main square in Minsk, same ominous edifice of the KGB (we are the only place where it still goes by that name), same tasteless assortment of Belarusian-made souvenirs in the shops. Western goods and foods are available now, it's true, but mostly for the prices unaffordable by 90% of the population.

And yet there's hardly visible poverty in the streets. I remember seeing a lot more beggars 3 years ago than now - it's almost as if they magically vanished. Or perhaps the crime of begging is being prosecuted more vigorously. Instead of the bums, the streets are full of police. Belarus is the only country I have visited that has more cops around than the US, which I have always considered a police state. The streets are clean, almost sterile. Pedestrians are disciplined and never cross streets on red. Drivers are relatively polite, too, considering the part of the world, especially on the central avenues where there's a chance of a presidential escort passing. There is still the old reluctance to use seatbelts, especially among men. When I fastened my belt in a taxi I flagged during the heavy rain, the driver looked at me funny and actually asked, "What's the deal with the seatbelt?", as if by the sheer act I was insulting his ability to drive a car.
People seem strangely content - neither happy, nor unhappy. It is almost as if they are zombified. While the life does seem to be going on, the sense of the ever-present "big mustachioed brother" is almost tangible. Just as in the US white people instinctively lower their tone when talking about someone's being black, people here mute their voices whenever a subject of Belarusian politics comes up. And tha'’s only among the close friends. You will never hear a stranger talk about the president, let alone criticize him.

On the other hand, it seems to have gotten a little bit safer in Minsk. Perhaps the abundance of police has its positive effects after all. I was rather reluctant to take too many pictures in public though, for the concern of both people and police start asking questions.

The main positive change in Minsk is girls. They seem to look even better than before, perhaps due to better skin care products and diets available. Straight blonde hair seems to be the hit this year, and strictly in line with their Western counterparts, local girls don hip-hugging jeans, short skirts and stiletto heels. Except that unlike in the West, they, as always, overdo the revealing part of their outfits. The low-cut jeans are sometimes so low it is a miracle one cannot see pubic hair (which is probably shaved off to pull the pants down even more), and the skirts are so short that it is not unusual to see girls'’ underwear when walking behind them upstairs. Basically, most girls that walk around Minsk are pretty and many are drop-dead gorgeous, and they wear outfits that in San Francisco you'd see only on hookers in Tenderloin. I'm loving it.


There is a good explanation to this guys' paradise. In Belarus, as well as Russia, Ukraine and Poland, there is its fair share of good-looking women, who, on top of their looks, from the young age are brought up to be caring girlfriends, loving wives and mothers. Men, at the same time, are submerged into an entirely different subculture - that of toughness, violence, carelessness and machismo. By the age of 30, many men are simply drunkards, some are involved into some kinds of criminal activities, and almost all are disillusioned and pessimistic about their futures. As a result, there is a shortage of decent, attractive guys in Belarus (and Russia). So the competition among the women is fierce, and they go out of their ways to look their absolute best literally at all times.

All that is in sharp contrast to the US, where it is so hard to find a feminine, caring, capable woman that it is men who have to compete them, and as a result, even very average in all aspects women get heaps of attention and frequently get spoiled rotten by it.

Of course, I may be idealizing the situation. Many women in Belarus these days are somewhat emancipated, fewer and fewer have any use around the kitchen, many smoke and even though their clothing tastes have improved, for many women, especially provincial ones, Turkish and cheap Chinese clothes with plasticky bling accessories remain the pinnacle of fashion. That was witnessed particularly in one of Minsk nightclibs called 'Overtime'. The place was packed solid with pairs of very young girls, seeking out foreigners in the crowds (apparently Italians are on the top of the foodchain), hoping to get at least a few of their night's drinks for free. Most were dressed not just scantily, but actually tasteless even for my liking of minimalist outfits. The dancefloor music, played by DJ Mahmoud (or something like that) from Azerbaijan, was quite fitting and almost amuzing in its amateurishness...