Independence Square, Minsk

This card was sent to me on 20 November 2009.  It is a very large one, and was sent inside an envelope, so no postmark.

From the back of the card:
Independence Sqaure
Minsk's Independence Square is one of the largest in the world, measuring an impressive 450 by 150 metres.  The administrative centre of the Belarusian capital was outlined in 1929-33 when the monumental Government Seat was built to a design of architect I. Langbard.  The Lenin monument sculptured by M. Monzier, appeared in the square in 1933.  In the 1960s the face of the square changed dramatically: older houses dating back to the XIX and early XX centuries were knocked down to have enough space for the new high-rise buildings of Minsk Executive Committee, Minsk City Council and main building of Belarusian State University.  Minsk Subway Directorate and the tower of Minsk Pedagogical University were built twenty years later, in the 1980s.  Stolitsa, a modern underground three-level trade and recreation centre with a marvellous pedestrian precinct on the surface, was completed in 2006.  St Simon and St Helen Roman Catholic Church, one of the most touching symbols of the capital, also known as the Red Church, was erected in the early XX century.

I can't help wondering what the old houses that were knocked down to make way for the development looked like.  But at least the Red Church remains, and it does make a lovely contrast.