Minsk

Hagrid and Madame Maxime passed through Minsk on their way to meet the giants in the mountains, and in fact while there Hagrid “had a sligh’ disagreement with a vampire” (OP20). Minsk is the capital of Belarus, a nation that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. The fact that Hagrid and Madame Maxime passed through Minsk means that the mountains they were visiting were very likely in Russia, and that they travelled – mostly as Muggles – across the entire length of Europe.