CAPITAL MINSK - POPULATION 9.7 MILLION - AREA 207,600 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE BELARUSIAN
Belarus has something of an image problem. Presided over by a virtual dictator who's conveniently dismissed the in-for-two-terms-only rule, it's the last Stalinist state in Europe – a grim flashback to a 1980s Soviet Union. Can tourism ever flourish here? Yes, according to the incumbent minister of tourism, who's convinced Belarus has the ecology and culture to attract many more visitors. It does have four World Heritage sites, one of which – Belavezhskaja Pushcha National Park, a vast tract of ancient woodland roamed by deer, wolf and bison – celebrates its 600th anniversary as a protected area in 2009.
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