Belarus remains the most inaccessible, unknown and misunderstood country in Europe. This new guide -- the first to focus on the Republic of Belarus -- therefore offers a rare opportunity to study a country and its people as they really are, before the rest of the world catches on. Anyone with an interest in history and sociology will be fascinated by the continuation of traditional rural pastimes and industries where a horse and cart is still in use. There are also vast areas of marshes, lakes and rivers, which are of particular appeal to ecologists and environmentalists. Slav and Belarussian cultural monuments, churches, monasteries and castles dating back to the Middle Ages, are explored in detail.