Following on from our Belarus Exclusion Zone tour, we offer an extension to the infamous Stalin Line! Known as the ‘Soviet Military Disneyland’, this is a park set on the former bunker complex known as the Stalin Line that once defended the borders of the USSR but was defeated during Operation Barbarossa in WW2. At the Stalin line are hundreds of Soviet tanks, vehicles, weapons, aircraft and missiles. Don’t be alarmed if you hear machine gun fire and artillery rounds being fired, this is a specially made range for visitors which allows you to fire everything from Kalashnikovs and MP-40’s to Soviet artillery guns and even tanks!

We’ll then board a Soviet night train to the city of Brest on the Polish border, it was here that the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa took place. The Soviet defenders of Brest fortress received no warning of the attack but held out for several days in a gruelling fight to the death. The fortress is a sacred place in Russian and Soviet history and today is a memorial complex with some of the most striking Soviet monuments in existence. After the fortress we’ll see the Soviet locomotive museum and tour the quaint old town of Brest before having a traditional Belarussian feed on a lake and heading back to the station for our night train back to Minsk.

Highlights:

• See decades of Soviet military history in place and have the rare chance to fire heavy weapons of the Soviet era
• Explore the bunker complex of the former Stalin Line that was the first line of defence in the USSR and the scene of brutal combat during the early days of WW2
• Explore the war ravaged Brest Fortress and the Soviet monuments inside.

Duration: 2 nights / 3 days

Date: May 25th – May 27th 2020

Price: €245 Euro

Day 1

• After returning to Minsk from the Belarus Exclusion Zone, we’ll grab breakfast nearby and relax for a while.
• We’ll then store our bags at the station and board our private car to the Stalin Line which should take around 40 minutes – 1 hour depending on traffic.
• On arrival, we’ll register at the first checkpoint before entering the Stalin Line and our first stop will be a photo opportunity at the monument to the man himself, Josef Stalin! This is one of the only surviving Stalin monuments left standing in the USSR.
• We’ll then begin our tour of the bunker complex that was the first line to get hit during Operation Barbarossa in the early days of WW2, inside you can get a first hand account of how the brutal fighting raged against the seemingly unstoppable German war machine!
• We’ll then tour the tank track, full of war ravaged WW2 vehicles, tanks and planes. We’ll stop for a photo stop at one of the road signs that says: ‘’Beware! Tanks!’’
• We’ll then stop for a trip highlight: The firing range! Your first five Kalashnikov rounds are on us, but you have the additional chance to climb in a tank and fire a blast from the turret, fire a 50. Caliber shot from a Soviet anti-aircraft gun and get your hands on Soviet artillery and blow up a Nazi tank! Prices are very affordable for such an epic video and photo opportunity!
• With adrenaline running, we’ll then continue our tour through the mass of Soviet tanks, planes, choppers and weapons scattered all over the complex.
• We’ll then stop for lunch in a military themed cafe for some traditional WW2 style Red Army food.
• You’ll have the chance to stop at the souvenir to pick up some war themed souvenirs.
• We’ll head back to Minsk arriving in the afternoon where we will have some free time to grab supplies before our 3-hour train to Brest
• On arrival in Brest we’ll check into the Bug Hotel, a delightful Soviet time warp with comfortable, refurbished rooms.
• Dinner and overnight in Brest

Day 2

• We’ll grab breakfast at the hotel.
• We’ll then head to the trip highlight: The infamous Brest fortress! The war ravaged Prussian fortress still bears the scars of WW2.
• Inside you have the chance to dress up as a Red Army commissar complete with a machine gun.
• We’ll visit the two museums inside, a Soviet style museum and a more modern multimedia style museum.
• We’ll stop for photo opportunities at the two impressive Soviet monuments called ‘Thirst’ and ‘Courage’, often the statues have an eternal guard of young cadets with Kalashnikovs.
• We’ll have lunch at the fortress before heading to the Soviet train museum, a huge collection of classic, enormous Soviet locomotives.
• We’ll then tour the quaint downtown of Brest.
• We’ll stop for a photo at the city’s Lenin outside the local KGB HQ and then head for a traditional Belarussian dinner on a lake near the station.
• Board the night train to Minsk
• Overnight on the train.

Day 3

• Early morning arrival in Minsk
• End of tour with YPT able to arrange onward travel arrangements.

Inclusions:

• Transport and entrance tickets to the Stalin Line and Brest Fortress
• Registration of passes to the Stalin Line
• All museum admission fees
• 5 Kalashnikov rounds to fire on the range
• Guided tour of the bunker complex

Exclusions:

• Food, Souvenirs and other expenses.
• Tank drive, artillery firing, tank firing and other weapons.