ABSTRACT
In 1993 the Miensk-based rock group krama released "Vodka on Ice" through the British firm REX Records. The observable physical duality of the city shapes the understanding of the urban Belarusan culture in a time of transition. It is around the apartment that the lines of public and private are most obvious. Ironically, those urban areas open to general public scrutiny are still managed by city workers and some private citizens. In Belarus, when the outlook on economic change was analyzed as positive, democracy was carefully praised. In 1993 the nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl marked its seventh anniversary. Chernobyl has entered everyday language, for example, at the dinner table: "have some red wine, it is good for radiation" or "be careful, radiation is good for fertility".
