Reflecting the lack of atmosphere in an empty stadium, the opening exchanges were flat with neither side able to assert any dominance.
After taking a little while to get going, the game almost burst into life just before the half-hour mark when Scott McTominay prodded Max Johnston’s cross just wide.
That appeared to spark some life in Belarus, who had a big chance of their own, but Max Ebong drilled the ball straight at Angus Gunn from a narrow angle.
Steve Clark’s side started to turn the screw heading into the break, and Billy Gilmour came close after Fyodor Lapoukhov unconvincingly turned his drive onto the post.
The pressure was building, and the breakthrough finally arrived moments before HT.
McTominay showed his intelligence to head the ball back across goal from a tight angle, and Ché Adams was on hand to poke the ball home from a yard out.
The interval disrupted Scotland’s momentum, and they needed an enormous slice of luck to double their lead with 25 minutes to go.
A slick move saw Gilmour latch onto a looped pass, and his attempted headed across goal took a massive deflection off Zakhar Volkov before nestling in the back of the net.
Belarus struggled to pose any threat, and only a heroic goalline clearance from Pavel Zabelin prevented Adams from getting his second goal after he showed great feet to go round Lapoukhov.
With only two games played, it may be too early to count Belarus out, but back-to-back defeats have left them rooted in last place.
Scotland’s start has been more positive, however, as they sit joint-top on four points with Denmark.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Billy Gilmour (Scotland)
