As a matter of fact, post is not mine — прочел
Further — the text of the author of the post, spelling saved… From the link above and comments. Locals do not like Old Man, and the Russians are great for him. Generally — just wondering, how people perceive our capital…
Judging by some photos — a man walked for hours in 5 am =)
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Yesterday I returned from Minsk, where he spent 4 of the day. Went there just to see the city and relax. What did I do there? First of all, certainly, гулял. Walked in the center, from the center to the outskirts, from the outskirts to the center. Walked on average 12 hours a day. Visited several museums, several parks, Botanical Garden, zoo, rode two ferris wheels.
I liked the city - beautiful, clean, well maintained, spacious, динамичный, развивающийся. There is nothing to find fault with.
Well about that, that Minsk is a clean city, I heard a long time ago. And really clean. And it's clean everywhere, not just on the main streets. Everything is neat and clean in the yards too. Even in courtyards on the outskirts. As it seemed to me - you can call in any area, turn to any nook and cranny, to any yard, and everything there will be clean and tidy. Perhaps except for those places, where the construction is taking place, pipes are being shifted, roads are laid, etc..
The whole city is designed in the same style, but nonetheless diverse. There are few typical buildings, or is it hidden out of sight in the depths of the quarters. Almost all buildings, especially new, lining the main streets and avenues, - various. Architecturally different from each other, or at least decorated differently. In general, the city is like this, colored and different, but it all looks very harmonious. Center resembles Peter. Most of the sidewalks are paved with paving stones. Even on the outskirts. Even there, where no one goes, for example, a sidewalk at some overpass junction (in Moscow, there are usually no sidewalks in such places, not to mention the paving stones). The paving stones, again, are varied, often lined with patterns, or so that one part of the sidewalk, for example, is white, and the other is red. Имеются, certainly, various street sculptures, памятники, монументы.
The city is dynamic - there are a lot of people on the streets, machines, cyclists. But I didn't see traffic jams. Don't be confused by, that in my first pictures the streets are empty - these pictures were taken about 7 Saturday mornings. People look happy, not confused, and cheerful, many youth, strolling mothers with strollers, couples, etc..
Active construction is underway everywhere - a lot of cranes. Residential buildings are being built, офисные здания, торговые центры, roads. But on the side of the site, usually, neat, локальны, and do not litter everything around.
Crime level, they say, low.
Housing prices. They say a one-room apartment in a residential area can be bought for 1.5 million. rub. In the center - behind 3 million. But I myself have not checked these numbers yet.. I lived in the very center, in a high-quality one-room apartment with a good renovation, кухней, мебелью, бытовой техникой, advanced shower, Wi-Fi. Withdrew through booking.com. It cost me 180 bucks.
Metro and transport. Ground transportation - modern and tidy. Metro - normal, nothing special. Two branches with one intersection. Fotat in the subway is forbidden for some reason, ко мне 2 once the employees came up and strongly advised to remove the camera. By the way, there are toilets in the subway, unlike Moscow.
People. Well, as I already wrote - cheerful. Almost all of Slavic appearance. Wipers, fitters, painters, cashiers, saleswomen, the attendants are also all Slavic in appearance. Everyone speaks pure Russian, and among themselves too. But many inscriptions and signs are in Belarusian. And in the metro stations are announced in Belarusian. It's not even clear why and for whom ... I just think so that they don't forget the language. Or maybe it's just Minsk so Russian-speaking, and other Belarusian cities are Belarusian-speaking, I don't know.
Casinos in Belarus are not prohibited. And they are there. But I've only seen a few of them. And I have not seen any eatery with slot machines. This is how it should be - solid casinos, and no eateries. We have splashed out a child with water, absolutely all gambling establishments were closed. What, I think, stupidly.
There are many temples in the city. Mostly Orthodox. But the Catholic also saw. Everyone is very well groomed. There are almost no beggars near the temples (saw one or two). Such temples even me, atheist, for some reason do not enrage 
There are interesting traffic lights in Minsk, I have not seen such before. Flat and thin, as thick as an LCD monitor.
All in all, Minsk is a city, where you want to live. Осесть, to have a family and children ... I'm even thinking of moving there someday. I liked him much more, than Rome. Although it is probably not entirely correct to compare these cities. Rome is ancient, with narrow old streets. And Minsk was rebuilt almost from scratch after the Great Patriotic War..
The only thing, what i regret, that didn’t come there a little later. There are many flower beds in the city, decorative greenery, fountains, but the time has not yet come for them - there are no flowers, the greens did not turn green normally, fountains don't work. In a month there will be Paradise at all I would especially like to visit the Botanical Garden in the summer. Which is beautiful now, but without flowers - not that.
And the zoo in Minsk is so-so - small, nothing special.
Well, if they put a knife to my throat and on pain of death demanded to find flaws in Minsk, I would note the small number of grocery stores and supermarkets, especially in the center. Ресторанов, cafes, pizzerias, liquor stores, fashion boutiques, beauty salons - as many as you like. But the grocery store on the first day I was looking for an hour all over the district. In the end, I really found a department store not far from my house.. More money - little things in coins they have, as I understand, No. All in denominations. There are bills 50, 100, 500 Belarusian rubles. 50 Belarusian rubles is about 20 Russian kopecks. And this is such a full-fledged bill. I had to carry a bundle of bills with me, in which I am constantly confused.
Here. It seems to have written everything, what I wanted ... And, still Minsk in 2014 will host the Ice Hockey World Championship. And if Lukashenko ran for the presidency of the Russian Federation, I would probably vote for him.
