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As of 1 January 2025, a total of 151,242 large families have opened deposit accounts in Belarus under the family capital program, including 82,600 deposit accounts to the total amount of $826 million and 68,600 deposit accounts totaling Br1.83 billion, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Labor and Social Security Ministry.
As of 1 January 2026, a total of 101,650 families applied for permission to use family capital ahead of schedule. Of them, 81,495 applied to use the money to improve housing conditions, 11,083 to pay for healthcare services, 9,065 to pay for education and seven to buy health products for disabled people.
The ministry granted permission to use family capital earlier to 98,649 applicants. The regional breakdown is the following: Brest Oblast (20,859 families), Vitebsk Oblast (9,581), Gomel Oblast (15,807), Grodno Oblast (11,791), Minsk Oblast (16,921), Mogilev Oblast (9,953) and the city of Minsk (13,737).
The Labor and Social Security Ministry noted that the family capital program applies to families raising three and more children.
The new amount of family capital, effective from 1 January 2026, will be published on the official website of the ministry by 31 January 2026. In 2025, it amounted to Br33,275.
Following an operational meeting at the Minsk City Executive Committee, Marina Tolstik, Director General of the Minsk City Housing and Utilities Administration, talked about how Minsk handled the aftermath of the Ulli snowstorm, BelTA has learned.
“Indeed, the weekend was intense. In response to the recent storm, the housing and utility sector enterprises organized extensive cleanup efforts: approximately 1,500 workers were mobilized for comprehensive cleanup operations. Other utility staff also joined in,” Marina Tolstik stated.
Every day, over 200 units of equipment were used to clear the areas. “The utility enterprises are now equipped with small-scale tractors which proved very useful. More than 120 units of such small-scale machines were employed to assist workers in the comprehensive cleanup,” Marina Tolstik said.
She also expressed gratitude to the residents who actively participated in cleaning up courtyard areas and parking spaces. “Overall, we can conclude that Minsk's housing and utilities enterprises successfully managed the weather-related challenges,” she emphasized.
However, there is always room for improvement: Minsk housing and utility sector continues its work of clearing snow from courtyard areas even today. To ensure safety and cleanliness in the courtyards, 176 units of equipment, 47 small-scale tractors and 1,813 workers for comprehensive cleaning and property maintenance, along with other employees of the housing maintenance offices, have been mobilized.
Belavia plans to continue expanding its flight network, the airline’s Director General Igor Cherginets told a press conference dedicated to the launch of flights to Thailand, BelTA has learned.
According to Igor Cherginets, Thailand is a highly anticipated destination. Load factors for the first flights are high. Plans include launching air service to Jordan and Tunisia in the spring, as well as opening up new Vietnamese resorts for Belarusian travelers. A flight program to Nha Trang is scheduled to begin on 31 March, and to Da Nang (one of the country’s five centrally-managed cities) in May.
The year 2025 was a breakthrough for the airline, with 10 new or resumed routes launched.
“We are opening flights to U-Tapao today, and to Phuket from 11 January. Thailand is our fourth long-haul destination,” Igor Cherginets said.
The airline expects the routes to be in demand. The schedule will be adjusted according to demand.
Last year, Belavia carried 2,093,224 passengers, an increase of 8.4% compared to 2024. Passenger traffic grew by 11.2%.
In June, the airline introduced its first long-haul aircraft, an Airbus A330-200. October was a busy month: Belavia’s first-ever long-haul flight from Minsk to Sanya took off on 8 October; flights to Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island began on 12 October; the charter program to Oman was resumed on 24 October 24; and Sri Lanka was added to the route network from 28 October.
The flight program is developing not only from Minsk. As many as 1,675 flights were operated from regional airports, serving 145,112 passengers.
A separate focus is cargo transportation. In 2025, the airline transported 3,308 tonnes of cargo (an increase of 59.7%), and cargo turnover almost doubled.
Children of the Belarusian diaspora from Russia attended the New Year’s celebrations held at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian embassy in Russia.
“As part of the Our Children charity campaign, children of the Belarusian diaspora from Tatarstan, Komi, Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Samara, and Moscow visited the National Christmas Tree show at the Palace of Independence. The children dove into the New Year festivities of Minsk, where they attended themed workshops and the theatrical performance How to Become the Snow Maiden?,” the embassy said.
All the young participants of the campaign received New Year’s gifts from Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The trip for children of the Belarusian diaspora in Russia to Minsk has been organized for the fourth consecutive year with the support of the Belarusian embassy in Russia and the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Belarusians in Russia.
Thanks to the acquisition of Airbus A330-200 long-haul aircraft, Belavia has for the first time begun flying to China’s Hainan Island, Vietnam’s Phu Quoc, and Sri Lanka. Flights to Thailand are scheduled for January. The airline is currently developing more than a dozen new routes for the near future, including destinations in Jordan, Tunisia, and various Chinese cities, Belarus’ Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Lyakhnovich said in an interview with the Economy of Belarus Magazine.
Belavia operates regular flights from Minsk National Airport and the airports of Gomel, Brest, and Mogilev to 22 airports in 12 countries. In 2025, charter flights were launched from Minsk to Salalah (Oman) and Ras Al Khaimah (UAE). The first regular flights also began from Brest to St. Petersburg and from Mogilev to Moscow. In December, flights resumed from Minsk to Almaty, and in January 2026 service to Israel will restart.
"In 2025, Belavia’s fleet was expanded with three long-haul Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This was a landmark event not only for our national carrier but for all of Belarusian civil aviation. The capabilities of these airliners allow long-distance flights without refueling. Two aircraft are already operating on existing routes, and another is planned to enter service by February," the minister stressed.
Given the growing demand among Belarusians for air travel and the popularity of new tourist destinations, the priority task in the near term will be further expansion of the fleet. Next year, Belavia plans to purchase several more aircraft.
The national carrier’s fleet is equipped with comfortable Boeing, Embraer, and Airbus aircraft, all meeting international safety standards.
Around 1,100 passenger cars are waiting to enter Poland, BelTA learned from the State Border Committee of Belarus.
The busiest route for passenger cars to enter the European Union is via the Polish border checkpoint Terespol (Brest on the Belarusian side), with 800 vehicles queuing. Over the past four days, the neighboring side handled 29% of the normal number of vehicles.
The fewest vehicles crossed into the neighboring territory via the border checkpoint Kuznica Bialostocka (Bruzgi on the Belarusian side): only 19% of the norm. More than 180 passenger cars queue here. Some 100 passenger cars are waiting at the Bobrowniki border checkpoint (Berestovitsa on the Belarusian side). The Polish side has allowed 77% of the standard traffic volume from Belarus through this checkpoint.
Furthermore, about 40 passenger cars have been registered at the Lithuanian border crossing Medininkai (Kamenny Log on the Belarusian side).
Belarusian Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin has visited the Ivenets Children’s Home Kindness of Hearts ahead of New Year as part of the Our Children nationwide charity campaign, BelTA has learned.
“I have come to wish you all the best for the upcoming New Year. This institution exemplifies the state’s commitment to caring for every child. I remember my first visit here, and what struck me most was the children’s remarkable optimism. Their positive energy is truly inspiring. We have accomplished much together. With this wonderful winter weather, it feels like a real fairy tale. I sincerely congratulate you and wish you happiness, wellbeing for your families, and that all your dreams come true,” Aleksandr Turchin said.
As part of the visit, the children received gifts, including computers and sweets.
The celebration’s sound engineer was children’s home resident Matvei Burenkov. He shared his love for the New Year season, which he looks forward to starting from autumn. “The holiday lights and the glow of the New Year tree fill me with joy. We receive guests who bring sweets, and we write letters to Father Frost. I also wanted to buy a New Year tree, I worked in the greenhouse and earned money for it,” he said.
Deputy Director of the children’s home Anastasia Zenko highlighted a key recent achievement: the opening of a rehabilitation and habilitation department. “We now accept children not only for permanent residence but also for 27-day rehabilitation courses. Children live at home with their parents but come to us for comprehensive social, medical, and psychological support. This is a vital development, offering additional rehabilitation to more children and helping our permanent residents broaden their social connections,” she said.
The Ivenets Children’s Home Kindness of Hearts has been operating since 1962. Its new rehabilitation department, opened on 1 October 2024, has already provided comprehensive psychological, pedagogical, and social adaptation services to 286 children with disabilities and 118 parents. The home currently has 38 resident children with disabilities, including nine wheelchair users, with an average age of 15.
The facility is fitted with modern medical equipment and provides a full spectrum of medical care, including prevention, in-depth examination, consultation, treatment, and health improvement.
Plans are underway to establish a rehabilitation and habilitation center for children with nervous system and musculoskeletal disorders from Minsk Oblast on the institution’s premises. The center is scheduled to open on 1 June 2026.
The government has approved the Ecology state program for 2026-2030. The corresponding resolution was signed by Belarusian Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin on 30 December, the press service of the Belarusian government told BelTA.
The goals of the state program are to improve the quality of environmental protection and ensure rational natural resource management.
The state program comprises six subprograms aimed at implementing a number of tasks and achieving target indicators. For instance, the Hydrometeorology and Climate subprogram is designed to improve the quality of hydrometeorological observations, regulate climate impacts, and enhance water resource management, with the following target indicators by 2030: increase in the accuracy of short-term weather forecasts by region – 97.75%; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (compared to the 1990 level) – 37%; change in the area of water-related ecosystems (compared to the 2017 level) – 30%.
The Persistent Organic Pollutants subprogram focuses on fulfilling obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, particularly, on decommissioning of equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls, achieving a 100% rate compared to the 2025 level.
The Biological and Landscape Diversity subprogram is aimed at increasing the proportion of protected natural areas in the country’s total area to 9.4%.
The Environmental Protection subprogram involves ensuring sustainable nature management, with the following target indicators: increase in the share of periods with very good, good, and moderate air quality combined per year – 93%; increase in the share of water bodies with good water quality – 80%.
The Ecology of Regions subprogram aims to ensure environmental safety, with the focus on maintaining the index of insufficiently treated wastewater discharge into water bodies at 30% compared to the 2015 level; maintaining surface water bodies in proper condition and their improvement; performing liquidation plugging of decommissioned water wells not subject to further use, 90% out of the total number of such wells as of 1 January of the respective year.
Furthermore, Target 99 envisages maximizing the involvement of municipal waste in economic circulation (target indicator: level of municipal solid waste utilization – 70%) and reducing the negative environmental impact of waste.
The funding volume for the state program is Br1.616 billion.
The large-scale exhibition My Belarus continues its work at the Minsk International Exhibition Center. BelTA found out what the country offers tourists to see.
One of the central themes of the project is tourism. Each region has presented its most iconic landmarks, traditional crafts, industrial tours, and various types of recreation - from eco-tourism to wellness tourism.
The Brest Oblast pavilion features a scaled-down replica of the main entrance to the Brest Fortress in the form of a star with a multimedia screen at its center. The Granit enterprise is among the industrial tourism sites. The Mikashevichi quarry is the largest deposit of construction stone in Belarus and one of the largest in Europe. The main attraction is not its size but the waterfalls cascading down rocky steps. The enterprise is visited by about 11,000 tourists annually.
“We have developed seven different tours. We invite you to discover the unusual landscape, the technological process, visit the observation deck and the equipment exhibition. You can learn more about the profession of a walking excavator operator and take a ride in a BelAZ truck. An updated museum will open soon. We also organize photo sessions,” Aleksandra Pavlusevich, a guide for the enterprise, said.
The Animal Park has prepared an interesting attraction. This popular tourist complex, which is among the top three most visited tourist sites in the region, brought its furry residents to the exhibition.
The Khovanshchina Memorial Site surprised guests with a huge Christmas tree, where both children and adults were greeted by a partisan-style Father Frost with a beard made of oakum. As explained by staff from the Ivatsevichi Historical and Cultural Museum, Khovanshchina is a partisan land where everything is preserved to help visitors feel how underground Belarus lived and fought. Last year, the complex was visited by over 41,000 people, mostly guests from Russia. Tourists also came from Lithuania, Poland, Kazakhstan, and other countries.
Vitebsk Oblast has focused its presentation on memorabilia from the Slavianski Bazaar, the legacy of Marc Chagall, and Orthodox shrines. Visitors can see life-sized replicas of local art installations: the Polite Streetlamp ready for a handshake, a mosaic bench, and a miniature model of the ancient city. Modern art and the region’s brand – carpets - are also on display.
“We explain what there is to see in the region and suggest various vacation options. We also present our festivals and natural sites. For example, the Yelnya Landscape Reserve is located in Miory District and Sharkovshchina District, and is a popular destination for tourists. Numerous farm stays operate there,” said Oksana Filipenok, a representative of the region’s tourism sector.
Grodno Oblast has showcased models of the Lida, Novogrudok, Grodno, and Mir castles, the Augustow Canal, landmarks of Volkovysk District, the recently renovated bridge in the town of Mosty, the Holy Dormition Zhirovichi Monastery, and other holy sites. Visitors can see artifacts from archaeological excavations and an exhibition of glass art from the Neman Glassworks.
The Minsk Oblast’s space is divided into two zones. One is dedicated to architecture and cultural heritage, the other to innovation. An interactive LED screen shows videos about the region’s spiritual sites and tourism highlights. Exhibits include a gallery of models titled Multi-Confessional Minsk Oblast, a fragment of a Slutsk sash, a Belarusian duda (bagpipe), and Ivenets ceramics. Each item is accompanied by a QR code.
Thanks to VR stations, visitors can take a virtual journey to medieval Volozhin and ancient Zaslavl. They can also see a rotating display case with a model of a multi-tonne BelAZ truck and test a training simulator from the Belaruskali railway car. The Nesvizh Museum-Reserve introduces guests to its new services and tours.
The Belarusian capital Minsk has presented itself through education, urban culture, creativity, and youth initiatives. Guests can participate in workshops and see costumes, props, and set pieces from the Belarusian films Homeroom Teacher and Turning Point. The city’s identity is revealed through models of its iconic landmarks and artistic projects. The display includes models of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, Victory Square, and the Trostenets Memorial Complex.
Gomel Oblast and Mogilev Oblast have showcased the richness of folk traditions, highlighted key landmarks, and presented rituals and holidays, including the Kupala Night festival in Alexandria. Central to their exhibits are models of the Gomel Circus and the palace and park ensemble in Zhilichi. The recently opened Mogilev Oblast Glory Museum is also on display.
The entire exhibition is designed as a grand journey across the country. All stands are unified by a common visual style - Belarusian vytinanka, the traditional art of paper cutting, which was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024. Interactive stands dedicated to natural beauty are on show. Ecological installations allow visitors to feel the atmosphere of Belarusian nature and listen to birdsong.
The From Heart to Heart New Year’s charity campaign has officially started at the Minsk City Community Center, BelTA has learned.
More than 650 people attended the opening ceremony. A big concert was prepared for them, featuring popular Belarusian performers, with a repertoire focused on nostalgic songs.
Svetlana Kavetskaya, one of the participants, noted that this was her first time attending the event. “Now that I no longer work, I want to connect with people and feel the holiday spirit,” she said. She added that she is glad for the opportunity to participate in such events, as it allows her to better experience the festive atmosphere.
Nina Komik attended the opening ceremony with her friend Maria Shelest. The friends shared that they have known each other since childhood and frequently attend cultural events. “Just yesterday we were at the theater, and today we are at the opening ceremony of this campaign,” said Maria. She also noted: “This is not my first time taking part in the From Heart to Heart campaign. Last year, thanks to this campaign, I visited the Bolshoi Theater and saw the ballet The Nutcracker.”
The friends expressed their delight at the substantial attention being given to the older generation in the country. “It’s wonderful. Now we have a life of freedom, as our children have grown, our grandchildren can also do without us. We are free from work, we have ample time, and we can truly afford to relax,” emphasized Nina Komik.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Minister of Labor and Social Protection Natalya Pavlyuchenko. She noted that the unity between the older and younger generations is especially felt during these days.
Minsk Deputy Mayor Andrei Strigelsky added that Minsk is home to more than 100,000 people with disabilities and over 300,000 elderly individuals. “They look forward to this campaign which goal is to provide attention, care, and support to those who need it most. Numerous activities are planned as part of the campaign: we will visit care homes and local social service centers. A wide range of organizations and enterprises has responded to our call, offering their assistance to the elderly in recognition of their invaluable labor. This is our asset, and we understand that it is these people who have made a significant contribution to making our country what it is today. They labored in our factories and plants, building the foundation of our Belarus. It is now our solemn duty to care for them, to offer our utmost attention, and to extend our heartfelt wishes for a Happy New Year,” he said.
The From Heart to Heart campaign started in Belarus on 23 December and will run until 14 January. It will reach more than 1.6 million people aged 65 and older living in the country. More than 27,000 senior citizens and volunteers are expected to participate. 
