Best no-snow places in Minsk (photo)

21/01/2013 - 06:23

"We worked at night also, but we cleaned the main roads by morning. Later, we cleaned all the remaining roads, leaving unattended just small streets, probably", - they told us in the Dzeravyanchytsy rural council.

This village is located in Slonim districts, these are poorly inhabited places. However, the local authorities report that the snow is cleaned away even in the farthest and least populated villages. The capital can only be jealous of that.

However, there are some places in Minsk, where the snow either doesn't fall down or is cleaned operatively. One of such places is the area around the Presidential Administration. I approach the place from the side of the Officers House and see absolutely clean stairs and pathways. No one around. I wonder, whether it is true that the snow doesn't fall here. I find the solution round the corner - 5 trucks with snow and 2 snow-cleaning machines, plus a dozen of people with shovels, in the bright-orange uniform.

Probably, the necessity to clean the presidential administration area from snow is prescribed by a special order, maybe even a decree? The Frunzenski district city road construction service's officials disappoint me - they say that, according to the rules, the streets where public transport circulates should be cleaned first.

"The so-called "skeleton" streets, stops and pavements - where the public transport goes - are cleaned first. The public transport shouldn't stop. Therefore, all forces are thrown there. As soon as we grant the non-stop movement of the public traffic, we clean other streets".

I try to recall which buses and trolley-buses go to Lukashenka's Administration but in vain. I find no public transport stops near the Ministry of Agriculture either, but the approaches to it are being cleaned by two tractors at a time. Rather big areas around the House of Government and the Minsk city executive committee are also clean.

Some institutions struggle with nature by themselves. For example, a squad of soldiers with shovels protects the Ministry of Defense area from snow. The situation with the streets which do not belong to ministries or administrations is worse. I see a great 1-meter high pile of snow in the middle of the Independence Ave, near the state circus. People can pass it only if they jump. A real circus, in a word.