• Norway!

    Norway: Sunnylvsfjord. Go Now!

    Norway
    Known for its natural beauty, Norway is home to isolated villages, fjords, and mountains that create a culture and landscape without compare. Begin Your Journey!

  • Vatican City!

    Vatican City: Vatican Museums. Go Now!

    Vatican City
    The smallest country in the world offers the heart of Catholicism and among the world's finest art collections, including the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms (ceiling pictured). Go to Vatican City!

  • Macedonia!

    Macedonia: Traditional architecture. Go Now!

    Macedonia
    Macedonia is a country still finding its unique identity, but its architecture is already one of a kind. Explore Macedonia!

  • Austria!

    Austria: Belvedere Palace. Go Now!

    Austria
    Belvedere Palace (pictured) is just one of many palaces found in Vienna. The capital is a good start to Austria, which also features the Alps, the Lakes District, and incredible history & food. Go Now!

  • Spain!

    Spain: Guell Park and Gaudi architecture. Go Now!

    Spain
    Fusion foods, lively music, historic ruins, and cultural events like the Running of the Bulls and La Tomatina make Spain and Barcelona (pictured) a favorite tourist destination. Explore Spain!

  • Ukraine!

    Ukraine: Traditional Village. Go Now!

    Ukraine
    Ukrainian culture is based on village life, particularly that found in the Carpathian Mountains (pictured). Begin Your Journey!

Social Life in Belarus

Behavior

The people of Belarus maintain much of the Soviet mentality as they rarely get involved in other people's personal affairs and tend to keep to themselves when in public. Due to this attitude, the people take offense at few things. Although everyone will notice odd behaviors and cultural abnormalities, rarely will anyone point out your cultural mistakes.

As a visitor to Belarus try to follow the lead of the locals by dressing in alike manner (see below for details), dining in the local etiquette (see our Belarus Dining & Food Page), and avoid sensitive conversation topics, such as politics, finances, and business unless initiated by your local counterpart. Also try to avoid being loud, rude, or showing off wealth.

Dress

The traditional dress in Belarus is rarely seen today, but can still be found in some villages. For women this dress includes smock called a kashulya, over which is a skirt that is traditionally pleated or striped, an apron, a belt, and generally also a waistcoat. Women also usually wore a bonnet and unmarried girls wore a light scarf on their heads. However, the styles and designs of these items vary by region and over time. Men generally wore a simple collared shirt with pants and perhaps also a short coat called a kamiselka. Men often also called bags and wore hats on sunny days. Again, the designs of these clothes varied, but for both men and women white, black, and red were common colors for clothes.

Today few people still wear this traditional dress, but it can be found in some places and is also worn by many people on some special holidays. It is more common for the people of Belarus to wear modern western-styled clothing today. This is the result of the Soviet rule as well as globalization as today all sorts of clothing is worn, essentially based on personal tastes and preferences.

As a visitor to Belarus you are free to wear nearly anything you want, but try to dress for the weather and the occasion. Entering churches requires long pants and preferably also long-sleeved shirts, but going out dancing seems to require little of anything at all for many women, although to avoid the attention that comes with this it's better to dress more modestly.

This page was last updated: November, 2013