Hurricon

Belarus is dealing in roubles, an intermediate currency unit that replaced the Soviet rouble. The bills have animals on them, and the Minsk Survival Guide describes the value system as follows: Three hares equal one beaver. Four elks are one bison, while five railway stations would suffice to make one Supreme Soviet. The squirrel on the 50-kopek note is worthless.

As in the other former-USSR republics, the money market has been liberalised. Although you still receive a customs declaration form when passing the border, the exchange of money is without government control.

Every two weeks the prices of food, public transport and the like go up. However, the situation seems to get better. When we visited Minsk the exchange rate for the rouble went up a little, because of excessive demand for the Belarussian rouble. On some days it was even difficult to get hold of the local currency. Apart from the excessive demand, changing cash is no problem in Minsk. The most widely accepted currencies are DM, US dollars and to a lesser extent the British pound and the French franc. Travellers’ cheques cause more problems and the only place we could find which would exchange these was Hotel Jubileynaja, but they only accepted cheques in DM and US dollars.

International train tickets and reservations can be made at Francyska Skaryny Prospekt no 18. The Belintourist office (which has replaced the old USSR Intourist office) next to Hotel Jubileynaja doesn’t seem to provide this service any more.

The public transport system is excellent, with a bus line along almost every street. It will soon be even better, as the metro system is being expanded with an east-west line; the five planned stations should be open by the spring of 1995.