Belarus. Part II. Passing .by

January 15–16, 2015

An innovation: the yellow circle around the green light warns pedestrians that they might encounter turning cars while crossing.

Orsha

Past.

Present.

A bus stop.

A pedestrian crossing.

Minsk

There’s nothing left of the really old Minsk, but even post-war Minsk was still quite decent. Too bad there’s so little of it.

Nowadays, it’s a city of unattractive standalone buildings.

That’s why a decision was made to urgently dress up the unattractiveness with some exceptional miscellaneous hideousness.

And it was set in motion.

And it took off.

And it continues.

Baranovichi

A city with very beautiful and tall trees.

Nine-story-tall trees.

And where the buildings are lower, the trees are lower as well.

A trash can.

Recycling containers.

Brest

Belarusian tastes.

A multi-stage pedestrian crossing.

Attention! Multi-Stage Crossing

A utility sign.

Gas

Signs in a building lobby.

Children! Avoid causing damage to the walls, handrails, windows and doors in the stairwells. Citizens: Keep the stairwells clean and tidy. The stairwell is part of your apartment.

The cornerstone of Belarusian cleanliness and tidiness.

3rd Floor Cleanup Schedule

New housing developments attempt to mimic old construction.

Truly old construction—inherited from the Polish—is gradually disappearing.

One of the few remaining old buildings.

A boulevard.

It’s a quick ten-minute drive from here to Poland.