Originally Posted by drbobguy

IIRC I was trying to book a flight there with AA miles at some point and couldn't find anything on any partner carrier.

Lots of the former Soviet Union has become more inaccessible by air than it was 20 years ago. I think Belarus used to have 4-5 passenger airports (I'd say commercial but there was no non-state commerce...). Now there's only one as far as I know. There are similar defunct airports in Ukraine and in Russia.

And yes, as stated above there are many, many places in Russia that are a dozen (or more) hours by ground transport to the nearest commercial airport. Even in European Russia that's true.

Having lived there for two years, including six months in provincial Russia, it amazes me that a country so large with a history of aircraft production and a large aerospace sector relies so heavily on trains for long-distance passenger transport. I understand the economics but it's to the point that even economically it doesn't make much sense.