Independence in 1991 and the need to construct a new national identity have drawn the attention of national post-Soviet political elites to the capital cities. Minsk was unique in this process because the set of possible cultural interpretations was initially limited there to post-war architecture that represented the Soviet power and its attributes. In this study, I analyzed cultural narratives in the space of Minsk as represented by the names of the places, the outer look and decorations of the city.
Shirokanova, Anna. Making Sense of the Post-Soviet Capital: Politics of Identity in the City of Minsk, The Anthropology of East Europe Review, 2010, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 355-387.