Entertainment
Minsk, the capital of Belarus and this year's host city for the Eurasian Economic Forum, boasts a rich historical heritage and a vibrant cultural life.
We invite our guests to discover Belarus by visiting the city’s museums, exploring local attractions and theater playbills, and taking a journey through time to Mir Castle and Nesvizh Castle, which date back to the sixteenth century.
As an EEF participant, you can visit the museums and castles listed in this section free of charge with an EEF badge from June 24 to June 27, 2025.
Theaters
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Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus Address: Parizhskoi Kommuny Sq. 1 Website: www.bolshoibelarus.by |
The opera and ballet theater was established as an independent cultural institution in Belarus in the nineteen thirties. By that time, music and theater had been developing in Belarus for many centuries. Currently, the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus includes about ninety operas and ballets, featuring national productions, world classical masterpieces, and modern works. The theater stages between four and six productions annually. Its performers tour extensively and have visited more than thirty countries to date. The artistic director is Artem Makarov. Recommended plays: June 26, 2025 at 7 PM King Stakh’s Wild Hunt (opera) June 27, 2025 at 7 PM Anna Karenina (ballet) |
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Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater Location: Myasnikov St. 44 Website: www.musicaltheatre.by
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The Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater is one of the largest theatrical and entertainment institutions in Belarus and one of the most popular and frequently visited theaters in the country. It enjoys a strong reputation among peers in the field worldwide. The theater’s current repertoire includes more than forty multi-genre productions, such as classical operettas, musicals, musical revues, musical comedies, rock operas, ballets, musical performances for children, and a variety of concert programs. The artistic director is Adam Murzich. Recommended plays: June 26, 2025 at 7 PM Blue Cameo (musical) June 27, 2025 at 7 PM Kupalle (ballet) |
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Belarusian State Academic Theater for Young Spectators Location: Engels St. 26 Website: www.beltuz.by |
The Belarusian State Academic Theater for Young Spectators in Minsk is one of the oldest theater institutions in Belarus, with a history spanning more than half a century. The theater building on Engels Street is a unique architectural landmark. The theater’s repertoire has always included plays for young children, as well as for teenagers and adults. In February 2018, the Theater for Young Spectators was awarded the prestigious title of “Academic” in recognition of its significant contribution to the development of theatrical arts in Belarus. The Theater for Young Spectators is not limited to theatrical productions; it also regularly hosts guided tours where visitors can explore behind the scenes, see how plays are created, and learn about the theater’s history. Recommended plays: June 26, 2025 at 7 PM Peter Pan June 27, 2025 at 7 PM The Canterville Ghost |
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Belarusian State Youth Theatre Location: Kozlov St. 17 Website: www.bgmteatr.by |
The Belarusian State Youth Theater has been a prominent part of the Belarusian theatrical scene for over thirty years. Honored Artist of Belarus Alexander Sharov, along with Anna Laukhina, Raisa Sidorchik, Elena Khristich, and Natalia Podvitskaya, were among the theater’s very first actors and continue to work there to this day. Over the years, the Youth Theater has earned the love of the public, gained the attention of the theatrical community, and received official recognition for its achievements. In 2018, the staff of the Belarusian State Youth Theater was awarded the title of “Honored Collective of the Republic of Belarus”. Recommended plays: June 27, 2025 at 7 PM The Millionairess |
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M. Gorky National Academic Drama Theater Location: Volodarsky St. 5 Website: www.rustheatre.by |
The Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theater in Minsk was founded in 1932. Traveling actors led by Vladimir Kumelsky originally established the theater in Bobruisk. In 1947, the theater relocated to Minsk; in 1955, it was named after Maxim Gorky; in 1994, it received the status of an Academic Theater; and in 1999, it became the National Drama Theater. The Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theater has a distinctive artistic identity, known for the high caliber of its actors’ performances, the originality of its directors’ interpretations, and its thoughtful approach to developing its repertoire. The latter combines classical works with the best examples of modern domestic and international plays. For nearly a quarter of a century, the theater has been led by Eduard Gerasimovich, Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. Recommended plays: June 26 and 27, 2025 at 7 PM Khanuma |
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Film Actors Theater Location: Masherov Ave. 33 Website: www.teatrkinoaktera.by |
The Film Actors Theater was established in 1980. The original staff consisted mostly of actors from the Belarusfilm studios. Later, graduates of the Belarusian State Theater and Art Institute, as well as graduates of VGIK (S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography) and actors from other theaters, joined the company. Today, the theater is considered one of the most exciting and well-attended in the country, with its own repertoire and dedicated audience. It is the only surviving theater of its kind in the post-Soviet countries. The theater’s actors have appeared in nearly all the famous and beloved films produced in the Soviet Union. Today, they continue to star in various national and international films, upholding the traditions of the Belarusian national film school. To broaden interest in theatrical arts, the theater not only stages plays but also hosts concerts, film music performances, and recitals featuring actors and well-known cultural figures. Recommended plays: June 26 and 27, 2025 at 7 PM C'est jamais facile (It's never easy) |
Museums and castles
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Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War
Location: Pobediteley Ave. 8 Website: www.warmuseum.by |
The Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War was the first museum to open during the difficult years of the war. Its collection was established in 1942. On October 22, 1944, the museum opened its doors to the first visitors in the newly liberated city of Minsk. Over its long history, the museum has occupied several buildings and now welcomes residents and visitors of the capital at Pobediteley Ave. 8. The museum’s exhibits depict a timeline of events beginning with the pre-war period and military actions and concluding with the post-war rebuilding of the entire country. The collection includes more than eight thousand items that tell the story of the heroic deeds of the Soviet people, who made invaluable contributions to the victory both in their homeland and far beyond its borders. |
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National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Location: Lenin St. 20 Website: www.artmuseum.by |
The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus houses the country’s largest collection of Belarusian and international art. It is a modern scientific, educational, methodological, and restoration center with strong research capabilities, as well as an exhibition complex. The museum has three branches: the House of Vankovich Museum, dedicated to the culture and art of the first half of the nineteenth century, located in Minsk; the Museum of Belarusian Folk Art in the village of Okolitsa outside Minsk; and the V.K. Byalynitsky-Birulya Museum in Mogilev. |
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National History Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Location: Karl Marx St. 12 Website: www.histmuseum.by |
The National History Museum of the Republic of Belarus is the country’s largest historical museum. Its collections and exhibition spaces feature a unique array of treasures from across Belarus, including valuable documents, old printed books, belts made in Slutsk, a collection of musical instruments and weapons, fine porcelain, and more—totaling over 500,000 items. The National History Museum comprises five branches, each reflecting different aspects of Belarusian society and culture: the First Congress of the RSDLP Museum, the Museum of the History of Belarusian Cinema, the Museum of Theater and Musical Culture of Belarus, the Nature and Ecology Museum, and the Museum of Modern Belarusian Sovereignty. |
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The State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature
Location: Maxim Bogdanovich St. 13 Website: www.bellitmuseum.by/ |
The State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature is one of the largest literary museums in the country and the only one that documents the literary process in Belarus within a broad historical context—from the invention of writing to the present day. The museum’s collection, along with those of its branches, includes rare editions from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, old printed artifacts, manuscripts, documents, photographs, and personal belongings of Belarusian writers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It also houses autographed books, rare iconographic items, and illustrations by famous Belarusian artists related to Belarusian literature.
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Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum
Location: Yanka Kupala St. 4 Website: www.kupala-museum.by |
The Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum was established in 1944. It stands on the site of Kupala’s former house, which was destroyed in the early days of the Great Patriotic War. The museum preserves items of spiritual and material culture related to the life and social activities of Yanka Kupala. Yanka Kupala’s work has earned worldwide recognition, as evidenced by the strong public response it has received in many countries. The works of this Belarusian poet have been translated into nearly one hundred languages. |
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Yakub Kolas State Literary Memorial Museum
Location: Akademicheskaya St. 5 Website: www.kolasmuseum.by |
The Yakub Kolas Museum is a national cultural center that carefully preserves not only the history of the life and work of one of the founders of the Belarusian literary language but also his poetic world and the poetics of the Belarusian language. The concept for the literary-documentary exhibition was developed by the museum’s research team and, according to the authors’ vision, serves as a “poetic introduction” to the memorial section of the museum. The house, as it appears today, was built in 1952 to commemorate Yakub Kolas’ seventieth birthday and was decorated to reflect the social status of its owner. Visitors—especially those unfamiliar with the writer’s life and work—should be able to perceive, through the monumentality of the walls and the room decorations, the challenging life journey of the village boy Kastus Mickiewicz before he became Yakub Kolas, the national poet of Belarus. |
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Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Life
Location: Ozertso, Minsk District Website: www.etna.by |
The Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Life is an open-air museum, also known as a skansen. Such museums aim to preserve and display historical and cultural monuments in settings that closely resemble their natural environments. This museum showcases the country’s traditional folk culture along with its regional and local characteristics. It is one of several national ethnographic museums in Belarus. Compared to similar institutions worldwide, the Belarusian skansen is relatively young, having opened in 1976. An important feature of the open-air exhibition is the surrounding landscape, which enhances the museum’s natural environment. |
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The Mir Castle Complex Museum
Location: Krasnoarmeyskaya St. 2, Mir, Korelichi District, Grodno Oblast Website: www.mir.museum.by |
The Mir Castle Complex is a unique monument of national culture and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architectural ensemble includes the castle, dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, with restored interior exhibitions from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, earthworks, the Chapel-Crypt of the Svyatopolk-Mirsky Dukes, picturesque parks, and a pond. Today, the museum complex features well-developed infrastructure, including two conference halls for major events, a sixteen-suite hotel, a national cuisine restaurant, and a museum store offering products made by Belarusian craftsmen. |
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Nesvizh National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve
Location: Leninskaya St. 19, Nesvizh, Minsk Oblast Website: www.niasvizh.museum.by |
The Nesvizh National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve was established in 1993. It includes three main tourist attractions: the Palace Ensemble—an architectural monument dating from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries that served as the residence of the Radziwill family for several centuries (in 2005, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site); the Town Hall—an architectural monument from the sixteenth century and the oldest preserved town hall building in Belarus; and the Slutsk Gates—an architectural monument from the late sixteenth century. The museum’s collections include more than 28,000 objects, organized into twelve collections. |
