Minsk Residents Have Come Up With A Way To “revitalize” Oktyabrskaya Square

• 29.09.2026, 15:21

Half a century ago, it looked much cozier.

Minsk residents are discussing how to make the “empty” Oktyabrskaya Square more attractive. Photos of proposed improvements were posted by Threads users.

“I’ve come up with an idea for what to do with this,” writes julia.maravilloso. Here in Minsk, the square at Kilometer Zero near the Palace of the Republic is always empty. It’s a huge space, but most of the time it’s empty.

Why not put some benches there? Why not move those trees in square containers over there? It would be beautiful—a green space right in the center. The trees in the cubes look interesting next to each other. The square wouldn’t be empty, and it wouldn’t look gloomy and lifeless. In the photo, it’s as if they’ve found each other—like a puzzle that’s fallen into place.”

“I think it would be nice to highlight the ‘zero kilometer’ marker. Ideally, move it to the center. And in the winter, you could put up a Christmas tree there,” added dimkakrauch.

Social media users posted photos from the middle of the last century, in which, according to them, October Square looks much more beautiful and cozy than it does now. The website Charter97.org shares some comments from under the posts:

— It was even greener back in the Soviet era.

— Interesting idea! It looks cozier and livelier.

— I totally agree! The only thing left over from the Soviet era is the trend for huge, empty squares.

— Interesting idea. I remember there used to be benches, flower beds, and a little boulevard there—a nice little spot not too far from the avenue. During events, cordoning off the area and restricting access to those not participating would be perfectly manageable. It’s a good idea.

— We should move the ones that are standing there shabbily by the road and put them there, near the Palace of the Republic; in any case, the trees will be a little better off there than standing stunted along the road.