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Newly-weds come here to give the statue a quick grope (it's supposed to be good for fertility).
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| Belarus has a very weak economy, and we were expecting a rather run-down city, something like the other ex-Soviet cities we'd visited (see Moscow, Kyiv, Chisinau).
Inexplicably though, it actually seemed surprisingly prosperous and, in the centre at least, clean and smart.
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The KGB headquarters.
I understand there's an extensive prison below the building.
The country is ruled by Lukashenko, who describes his rule as "authoritarian".
Condoleezza Rice (US secretary of state) called Belarus "Europe's last dictatorship".
She also described the country as one of the "Outposts of tyranny"
(see also: Cuba, North Korea)
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| Outside the City Hall (rebuilt 2003)
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| The monument to the Hero Cities
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| 18th century cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary
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Troetskoe Predmestye - a small area of the city reconstructed in the old style.
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