Hi Carmen!

I'm a native Belarusian. We all speak Russian and most of us don't use Belarusian in everyday speech although we do understand Belarusian. In our country these languages are both official and taught at schools but Russian is traditionally dominant. Very often people even get confused if they hear someone speak good Belarusian. Our attitude to Russians is difficult to describe in one word since all peole think differently, but in general I'd say it is positive. The times of the USSR greatly unite our peoples and especially it's true with respect to the older and middle-aged generations.

You may probably enjoy Nabokov's "Lolita". It had originally been written in English (since Nabokov was bilingual) but was translated into Russian by the author himself. Also, the Strugatsky brothers -Братья Стругацкие (they have written a lot, for example  "Roadside Picnic" - "Пикник на обочине"). Don't read Dostoevsky in Russian at first, it is not an example of modern speech though it's interesting. Better try Pushkin, but prose, not poetry ("The Captain's Daughter" - "Капитанская дочка", for example). I like Tolstoi very much but he may seem difficult. Good luck! Ask about whatsoever you need-)