beautiful

plz I can haz some potatoes?

Great set! Love the first shot.

Great pictures
Inspiring

The best reportages from all over the world only on Boston Big Picture!

Compliments for selections

Great. I like the cat. Looks peaceful.

"A Belarusian police officer stops photographers from taking pictures"

I liked this shot. The face of the policeman clearly says "Please, I'm just doing my job. Please do not make this hard for both of us. Please."

i like how the guy in the shorts made at least one soldier turn to laugh with him.

i like the motion caught in the honor guard's performance.

i like the river of candlelight.

This whole country seems interesting, and honestly I never new of it before. I'll read up on it a bit now.

Very nice!

How Gorgeous, different, exotic and rare. The feeling this evokes is a treasure.

What is wrong with these "democracies"? I'm sick and tired of these countries pretending to be democratic. You would think these people have learned communism doesn't work and be happy with a democratic process.

so Belarus is mostly military training, colourful parades, has a borderfence and restricts photography of bomb sites. how does that remind me of the US of A?

The smoke swirling around the soldier is just awesome.

I love this site. Keep up the good work.

Bernd - you can't even imagine how far Belarus is from 'oh-so-undemocratic' US of A. I don't like Bush along with many actions of his government but to making comparisions between USA and Belarus is simply stupid.

This has to be the best photo blog I have ever found.

I love how this blog shows photographers' more creative shots. This is a fantastic spread that goes well beyond normal news to display a country most Americans know little about.

Picture #11... is that Cheech or Chong?

I would like to visit sometime.

that place sucks

I know when I go to jamaica the only pictures I take are of ganja smoking rasta and the beach.

I think mine are better.

I was born in Minsk, Belarus and lived there until I was seven, when I moved to Brooklyn, NY. So these pictures have somewhat a special meaning to me, asides from being fantastically taken. These pictures are very nice.

You do realize that Belarus is a military dictatorship - the only one left in Europe - right? Pictures of poverty and extreme militarism, beautiful?

But somehow, in this beautiful country of theirs, people get stopped on the street, by police, for some stupid activities, like running a news papers, and nobody sees them ever again.... Thats a wonderful country isnt it?

those chicks are hot

be more interesting...

Beautiful! Most pics gave me a feeling of melancholy.

Why is it that many of the beautiful places in the world are within military control.
Or is it because of the controlled region, that these places are still pristine.

Either way, these photos say more than they show.

Nice job Alan Taylor and the photo journalists.

these pictures are great... but is this really "daily life" in this country? military parades, festivals and religious ceremonies happen every day there?

Shot 11, has so much going for it drama and serenity all in one.

Thank you for sharing these magnificent pictures.

Белоруссия c Россией - братья навек. Долгих веков тебе - Белоруссия.

Everybody complaining about military dictatorships... I'm sure the US of A is the greatest democracy in the world (sarcastic). Everybody in the country here are like herds of sheep. US of A is as much controlled by Big Corp. as Belarus is by a "military dictatorship". Maybe they just don't want to sell out their country like the rest of the west has done.

I usually post comments telling you how stupid or retarded you are at this point, being subjected to reading something irrelevant or looking at some stupid picture of a kitty with less then coherent and even less relevant caption...

but I must truly say thank you... I am of Slavic descent, Polish to be exact...
These pictures are beautiful, in nature of its subjects and as the purpose they serve in being a little window for the shitty world of North American Arrogance... if only to realize there is still a shimmer of real life out there...

"If there is any hope for the future, it lies in the proles."

again thank you...

Great photos

This is awful,

The U.S must freedomize and democratize these people, democratize them hard, as hard as possible, they need to feel the raw freedom as the U.S slams it into them. They need to be made as free and democratic as the Serbs, Iraqis, and Afghans, anything less would be offensive to lady liberty. 9/11 never forget.

unbelievable again.

yet again boston big picture has blown my mind.

national geographic? life magazine? nope...this is the best place to view incredible photos online!

I agree with Aaron. Seems to me like the last photograph is the only one representative of a normal day in the life of an average citizen in Belarus. The photos are captivating, though. Perhaps unsettling...

To say they are beautiful is not an endorsement of the politics of Belarus, or an acceptance of the human condition in that state.

What is beautiful about this pictures is the stark realism and breathtaking humanity. They have captured the misery and sorrow of the people, but also their hope and determination.

I look at these pictures, and I do not see villains. In the police and soldiers, I do not see agents of an evil regime. All I see are humans, more real and alive than the ones I see every day.

These are some of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen.

no wonder hleb sucks

Well done Sergei Grits, he took nearly all the pictures!

Great photos, I'm impressed by the photographers. Photojournalism at its best!

fantastic photos

In the heart of Europe? You must be American.

only the chicks with the white hats are hot

Wow, stunning images indeed. Priceless.

JT
www.FireMe.to/udi

It captures Belarus in an unexpected and rarely seen way. Great photography, great presentation.

Belarus is not a military dictatorship. It is technically a republic led by a president, which is not true of military dictatorships. Although Lukashenko, in practice, very much resembles a dictator, he is elected to his office (albeit unfairly, according to most) and is not currently a military officer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus#Politics

very nice window of the world...

Very nice. Thanks for sharing them.

Captivating...Thank you for sharing the many colors and emotions of Belarus.

Great shots.

http://www.walrusgoat.com

Your photos are amazing ... this site is truly a treasure - thank you.

These are amazing, with a really telling juxtaposition at the end. After a couple of truly lovely photos of candlelit Olympic athletes and artists dressed in costume, we see a farming couple who just want to keep the damn horse out of the potatoes. Wow.

And the guy in the shorts cracks me up.

You always do a great job with these posts, but this one is probably my favorite.

You know the photographers did an impressive job when pictures of the mundane are captivating.

While the pictures are (mostly) amazing, I don't believe they are useful to give an international audience insight into Belarus.

The country's rich traditions show up in a few glimpses, but its troublesome present is not even touched (the fence and the police officer could - as one commenter wrote - have been in the USA just the same way). Missing are the depressing cities. The stupid soviet-style propaganda in the streets.

Fantastic photos, BUT... what's the deal with all the military shots?

I grew up in a military town in Belarus, and even it did not have such a strong military presence as shown in these photos.

I think the pictures, while artistically captivating, show a very bleak perspective of Belorussian life.

For everyone out there saying things like, "We ned to democratilize dis country to maek it more like us" -- you are really ignorant, and arrogant, to boot. If only our great country (I'm a US citizen now) spent a little more money on education instead o f these overseas military campaigns, you would know what I'm talking about.

I love the US, but I hate some of the ethnocentric bastards who live here.

What I love about Belarus is the light-hearted and playful approach to religion -- the Ivan Kupala photo I believe is a bit mis-classified as neo-paganism. Ivan Kupala is no more a pagan holiday than is Halloween. It's a fun reason to dress up, drink yourself silly, and go skinny dipping.

Heart of Europe? You've got to be kidding me. Have you ever seen Europe (on a map at least)?

Anyway, very nice pictures. As usual, they show only the poor part of the country and war part of the country. So you might think they don't have electricity, still live traditionally and of course, there is a war. NOT..

Typical.

PS/ I'm not from Belarus
PS/ Keep up the good work, great site

I like this wonderful country and I live there.
Так што калi ласка у нашу краiну! Будзем пiць гарэлку i есьцi дранiкi !!!

These are GREAT...man i cant wait till i can get a passport...or my sailboat.

I really like the one where there is a border running through town.

Thank you VERY much for showing this

Damien
Tacoma, Wa. USA

dude the chick on the left in the olympic candle picture, http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/bela_07_30/bela18.jpg

is ridiculously hott

belarus in the heart of europe? ... what else nonsense do you expect from america, that puts all the money into war instead of education ... sigh ...

Americans! Stay away from this beautiful country.

amazing, i love photos like these, just makes everything so much more beautiful to the eye, real world sucks, someone give me lenses for eyes and im sorted

Thank YOU very mach 4 this series from me - Belorussian.
All it's true.
Thank's.

тема сисек не раскрыта

Belarus ... in the heart of Europe ?
Darn, I knew that most americans sucked in geography (esp. those in Fox News :), but here ? Well, check on a map, Belarus is probably among the most eastern countries of the european "continent" (with Ukraine and Turkey).

Again, wonderful set of pictures ; gotta love the kitty pic *smooch*.

Now for the reality.........
Belarus took 70% of the Chernobyl fallout, 20% of the country is contaminated and many people still die because of this disaster. We in England host many of the children for one month respite from their contaminated surroundings. Many of the children suffer very poor health and are developing cancer at an early age, their life expectancy is 40 to 50 years at most, one month in England will detox their system and help improve their health, giving them on average two additional years of life.
1000's of people are living off the land which is still very radio active, they grow fruit and vegetables which has absorbed the nutrients from the radio active soil. Over 50 tons of lead was dropped on the reactor and this just evaporated also contaminating the land. These photos are great but do not show the reality of life in much of Belarus, it is a hell hole for 1000's of people who do not even have running water.

For those with such a negative reaction to the phrase "heart of Europe", I refer you to this page, where you'll find at least eight different claimants to "the center of Europe", all depending on your definition of "Europe". The list includes a spot in Belarus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_centre_of_Europe

Belarus is a geographical center of Europe. Don't believe? - just check out: this link

My mother was born in MInsk. She's coming to see me and I'll show her these pictures.

У нас классно!!!)) Ребят, никто не хочет махнуться местожительством: Я в США, кто-нить из вас в Беларусь. Ммм?!)) С вашей доплатой естестенно)) understand?)))

@alan taylor 66 : your blog is great. It allows a lot of people to discover parts of the world through amazing pictures. It's just a small detail, but I think it could gain in quality by introducing countries a bit more accurately ; saying that Belarus is in the heart of Europe (even if a bunch of russian scientits say it is) can be quite misleading, particularly for those who lack geographical knowledge. I do agree that it depends on the way you conceive Europe, but quite frankly, ask a 10 years old to point the center on a european map (not mentioning Russia here), he would most likely aim for Austria or anywhere in this area.

Is that a "Somerfield" (the UK supermarket chain) bag the guy who is greeting the troops is swinging about ?

Great!
USA-> (_o_)

Daesn't matter where is the center of Europe nobody care here (in europe).

Beautiful pictures, they look like still living in a soviet union style.

Great photos. Memories...
I was running through these barriers, smokes and fires 10 years ago.

Thanks a lot.

Батька молодец!!!

I used to train in that sport school when I was a child. (photo #3)

Четвертая фотка крутая :-)

...the question is...can we show the life of the country in just 12 pictures? If so, I could show you a different life. And even after that there will be so much missing...

what I am most admiring is the young generation trying for a better life in such conditions. And amazingly some of them do get what they deserve. Sometimes they have to go (if lucky) and leave their friends and family... As so many others...in different countries....only more confident and with greater expectations.
This country is amazing.

Great, great quality of photos.

Vita Belorussia!

How can a country have such beautiful women and such ugly men? ; )

I love these pictures. I was born in Minsk, Belarus

Picture 11; what was the test? Whether the soldier was flammable?

I been to Belorussia, this is all BS. People live a free life up there and this American propaganda is just very dirty, i would never expect this from US, but i guess i was wrong.

What a miserable propaganda... only soldiers and peasants... where are city downtowns with beautiful buildings, and everyday people with their modern clothes and cars etc?

Quit complaining about the photos.

If you don't like them, go elsewhere. Start a blog about how you hate the photos here.

LOL

Beautiful pictures, interesting stuff.
To #31 I'd just like to propose a test, to see which country is more democratic try this. If you live in the US you're free to leave at any time, if you live in Belarus or know someone who lives there see how easy it is to leave. Get back when you have a conclusion.

I'm from Belarus. These photos are true, but they were made as a set intentionally - to show parade, military training, religion holiday and piece of regular life - that is an artistic rule - combine uncombinable. Of course there are not that much Porsches and Ferraris (actually may be two or three of them) on a streets of Minsk, but people live the same life as here, in LA - going 9-6 work, making parties on saturday nights, growing kids, shopping and all regular life. The best part of it - people have nothing in common with abroad politic of the goverment - they just don't give a s***. So you can judge politicians (they are actually sucks), but regular people - they are the same as you, not better not worse.

amazing content ..... stunning pictures of course. so glad i came upon it

I miss my home.
Wanna come back.

These pictures can't show all sides of Belarus, but on other hands they do great job with popularization, cause all around the world people just don't know this name. Belarus.

Спасибо, подрочил.

HEY PHOTOGRAPHER!!! WHERE ARE BELORUSSIANS on the Pictures? Why militarists? This is not true.

2 those who wrote

"What is wrong with these "democracies"? I'm sick and tired of these countries pretending to be democratic. You would think these people have learned communism doesn't work and be happy with a democratic process."
AND
"You do realize that Belarus is a military dictatorship - the only one left in Europe - right? Pictures of poverty and extreme militarism, beautiful?"

!!!You don't even know anything about the country. The word COMMUNISM - is the only you were taught by your "democratic" Media.

PS Look at the map. There are some other countries except US

Bugaga... really funny pics! It seems like Belarus goin' to to enslave and occupy the whole world. Civilized europeans, be afraid of us!!! False & nonsense! Belarus is not a military dictatorship country? it just trying to protect its internal politics and people from z permanent verbal attacks and threats of US and other "democratic" countries. Protects own interests like Iraq & Afgan. were not able to do.

What a dramatic collection...!!!

Glad to have come by here...!

What absurd xenophobia runs rampant in these comments. The risk, I suppose, of presenting yourself to the general public.

As a defense of a blog I enjoy reading a great deal, all of you who say this is an unfair or biased representation of the place, keep in mind that the guy who runs this blog doesn't TAKE any photos. He FINDS them on the internet. And on top of that, this blog is not an effort to show all sides of any one story, it's meant to give insight into the "Big Picture," something that the American media at large has forgotten. So, everyone needs to stop being so hateful and prideful and say "oh, what pretty pictures of a country I've never seen or thought about before. That makes me want to learn more about it." Or even if not, at least you saw and learned something. If you're from Belarus, and you're pissed that somehow 19 photographs didn't capture the country (shock), why don't you take it upon yourself to do a better job, instead of attacking "America." This blog is run by one person. Be realistic, please, if nothing else.

Hey, where are the normal faces?

Military guys and rednecks only.... That's not the country I lived in.

Bravo Sam! Never understimate the "Booo America!" crowd - they always find an angle. Although, I notice the "Heart of Europe" police quickly shut up - LOL!

Keep it up Alan - remember you can't please all the people all the time. Uh-oh, Lincoln philosophy on a Belarus blog entry - more American arrogance I suppose...

I love the 8th photo, the one of the women conversing through the border fence under the watchful gaze of the guard. Not knowing anything about the country, I'm not sure if there really is this strong of a military presence in Belarus or if that's just the aspect of their society that was focused on.

Political mini-rant (feel free to ignore): Considering the ease with which Bush and McCain are able to point out 'brutal dictators' and despotic regimes, you would think they would have an even greater love and respect for our Constitution and the Rule of Law.

...Just a suggestion, how about numbering the photos to make them easier to reference? That would help make the best photoblog on the Internets even better. :)

Беларусь у Еўропу, Лукашэнку ў жопу!!!
good photos, but they actually don't illustrate the Daily life in Belarus.
If you really want get to know about Belarus, visit our local media, or just livejournal.

http://community.livejournal.com/minsk_by/
http://community.livejournal.com/by_trash/

Belarus is NOT in the heart of the Europe.
Is it so difficult to open an atlas and have a look?

а где же пьяное быдло?

Its wonderful. The images are awesome, so does the concept
Travel Planner

It's a beautiful place. Here no dirty niggers, latinos and other asians and caucasians

"What a miserable propaganda... only soldiers and peasants... where are city downtowns with beautiful buildings, and everyday people with their modern clothes and cars etc?"

Posted by Goran from Serbia July 31, 08 04:23 PM
----

The modern people?
The people who have adopted the 'western' style of life, the American Way of life? Oh, you don't need to show them.
Every child knows that they are everywhere, literally, everywhere on the planet.

This is called cultural distribution and dominance, you know? Americas most successful effort of spreading their ideas so far.. Just happening in China again, big time.

"Belarus is NOT in the heart of the Europe.
Is it so difficult to open an atlas and have a look?"
Posted by pulsinger August 2, 08 03:15 AM
--

Fail.
Maybe YOU should open one and have a look...

Good photos :)
Too much army men, but such is our reality.

thanx, the quality of works is evident.
Not every side of our life is shown? but was it the aim? I think, it wasn't.
For me, the citizen of Minsk, the last photo is rather exotic, but on the other hand, it's an everyday life in dying villages in Belarus.
But photos are brilliant!

We don't want to develop this stupid army, we don't want to built the new nuclear power station, we want to learn OUR language and history at schools and universities!

Long live the Independent Republic of Belarus! )))

Long live the Independent Republic of Belarus! )))

Long live the Independent Republic of Belarus! )))

Обалденно!!!
и очень со вкусом .

beautifull but a lot of military presence....

@ RuslanK

If Belarus is so free, what happens when someone goes out on the street waving a white-red-white flag?

@ Alexandra from Minsk

God Bless You!!!

I am from Belarus. Love the country, hate the so called president. these photos don't reflect the real life. this set is about holidays. and yes, there are a lot of police forces on the streets, especially at Minsk. Lukashenko (president) is dependent upon those police force, and they are grateful to him, because in comparison to the other population they are well paid by the government. Real life is somewhat boring and hopeless, the last pictures has it. these is real life in belarusian villages.lots of social ads on the streets which resembles soviet propaganda that reads about Belarus being the best country in the world.
anyway, love Belarus. and love its women! love the belarusian people!
and one more time, Belarus is the geographical center of the Europe!
the photos are awesome!!!

If I had to guess (using Google Earth) where the 'fence' picture (old woman talking to her relatives across the border) I would say it's most likely

54 14' 14.46" N, 25 46' 58.98" E

Looks like a graveyard with a fence bounding it on the north.

Dear Americans,
Visit our country in the heart of "Eastern" Europe-))
Belorussians are very peacefull people and don't even interested in politics as well.
Let's be friends
Welcome

PS As a journalist i would like to say: Don't read newspapers (meadia) - they are evil

Peace

I love your topics, you really know how to fire up emotions...

#7, thanks for your comment. Everyone, read it please, and think...

Nice fotos of holidays and parades in Belarus. But the real life is quiet the same like in many others countries. The difference is that our people are very quiet and kindhearted.That's why we had no revolutions after breakdown of the USSR. It's a pity, but most of people in USofA and Western Europe think about us as they thought 18 years ago. And their kids too.We have changed a lot. If you think we are military country come and see. I don't like our president, but i hate our opposition.

файныя фоткі

Very pleased to see here photo from Budslav, 'cause Budslau's Mother of God is a careful Mother of all our country and Budslau is a blessed place, where people noticed many miracles.

God bless Belarus!
God bless America!
God bless every man in the world!!! Amen.

Ояебу!

Янки пиздуйте домой!

Belarus is the armpit of the world. I read people's comments on how beautiful this place is....and how they would like to visit. Hogwash. I have visited there....on my way to St. Petersberg, Russia -- by train. However, the woman (in Warsaw) who sold us the ticket....failed to mention that we also needed to purchase a Belarussian rail pass. The "nice and beautiful" men with guns shoved AK's to our back and marched us to a little room for 8 hours ---- and every hour they would say in a thick accent, "Next train. One Hour." This happened 8 times until we once again had guns to our backs and were escorted, AT GUNPOINT back into Poland.

This place should be wiped off the face of the earth. Never go there. Ever. The people are oppressed, beaten and subjugated. Its terrible. Thank god, everyday, that you dont live in Minsk and that you HAVE a computer to look at "these beautiful pictures."

@ Marcus Rowe.
dude, I fill sorry about your situation, and really embraced by our authorities! apologies!
but " This place should be wiped off the face of the earth" are you fricking douchebag? you showed your real arrogant face! if you had this attitude on the border I understand officials! blame plz polish cashier!!!
what would american border guards do to a foreigner without proper paperwork?

@ Marcus Rowe.
dude, I fill sorry about your situation, and really embraced by our authorities! apologies!
but " This place should be wiped off the face of the earth" are you fricking douchebag? you showed your real arrogant face! if you had this attitude on the border I understand officials! blame plz polish cashier!!!
what would american border guards do to a foreigner without proper paperwork?

+1

Beautiful and interesting photos, as always. This is kind of irrelevant, but, anyone know what kind of cat that is?

hahaha, thats funny that they held an american tourist who didn't have visa to go to the country... but so would happen to belarussian trying to go to Canada through America without american visa..... you really made me laugh....

Post's name is Daily Life in Belarus dosn't reflect everythingm only some sides chosen by the post's author. It is the same everywhere: there is no democratic country in the world. It doesn't exist. US or France or Belarus or India or... everywhere it is the same, only under different forms and manifestations. I'm Belorussian. Freedom is the same illusion as communism.
I don't like our President at all. But I don't like those of other contries! The best part of the world is the open, generous, intelligent, shining people from all countries. Unfortunately because of governments there are different percents of "best people" in every country.
I'm happy and proud to be Belorussian!

For foregners who discover Belarus: there is no war, 100% literacy, electricity - everywhere, free medecin, a lot of fresh water. But there are government's politics to make belorussian people alcoholic, blind and fool.

Long live to belorussian people. I love you and cry for you.

м-да, какая-то левая выборка, всё намного прозаичнее, приезжайте и сами посмотрите!!! хех.

Those who say the life in Belarus is normal... have you ever been there? I mean Americans, not Russians. Do you know how many homeless and alcoholics Belarus has got for the last 14 years? The nation is dying out, there are nearly NO healthy children born in the country, more and more people die of cancer. And NOTHING is being done to stop it. They only lie, lie, lie, lie... everywhere - TV, radio, newspapers. And those damn parades and festivals the only consequence (and purpose) of which is crowds of drunk people who swear and pee and vomit.... Sounds nice? Wanna visit Belarus? You're... NOT welcome, because this state is not planned to receive foreigners. Nobody speaks English, nobody smiles. Belarus is NOT a free country. It's a decaying country. Thank Lukashenka for that.

Nenna, you're being too pessimistic, it's not so awful in Belarus, as you say. And I can bet a dollar that there a much more homeless in US then in Belarus.
What about photos-everything is alerady said-we are not so militarized, and this sight on Belarus isn't as wide as it could be.

Long Live Belarus!!

Nenna made me smile. ))). we are not dying. People are dying of cancer because of Chernobyl. Children study English or other western european language in every school. Besides governmental TV we have sattelite broadcasting .Yes, the life is not easy. But ,anyway , don't help us like US helped Afghanistan,Iraq. Today Georgia began the war against Osetia ,the opening day of Olympic Games. And the whole western community agrees- that's good , that's right. This is called democracy. Do you think we need such democracy?

These photos are beautiful and captivating. I visited Belarus a month before the change in power within the country, and have not returned or heard much about Belarus since. There is so much captivating about this region and its people that I someday hope I have a chance to return. Thank you for bringing up old memories and reinciting a desire to travel more and experience more. This country and its people are in my prayers.

The 8-ht picture shows paradoxal situation how politics can divide people. The only road from that village (from Lithuanian side) many years was thru Belarussian theritory, only a few years ago they can go to shop not to another country. every time when you want to go somewhere you must pass the border control. All the history of Lithuania and Belorussia was as they were one country - Lithuania. Less than one age ago they were divided into 2 countries and now how much differencies we can find there... But the relationship between people (not politics) are still very warm.

Markus Rowe, you say "The people are oppressed, beaten and subjugated." well sweetie, how do you know? They wouldn't let you in because you didn't have the intellignece to say "hmm, I wonder if I need a visa to go to an independent sovereign country wihtha reputation for frosty relations with the west". Shame, you might have enjoyed yourself... there's more than one McDonalds to keep your brain fed. It seems "mi" is right, and you really are a "fricking douchebag". Oh, thanks for precising that you wre eon your way to St Petersburg, Russia by train from Poland. As opposed to St Petersburg Florida. That might have weally weally confused us poor, oppwessed Euwopeans. Stay in America, and keep your foreign policy there too. We have seen this week how impotent you really are, you can't even help a sympathetic state like Gerogia, let alone bring peace to Iraq.

can you move your military photos in different set ?
because those photos have different thematic
PS
military force in belarus less then police .....

Interesting, because a lot of often "hidden" things (it is not easy to make fotos of police officers and border territories in Belarus). And generally interesting and fine. But there is a lack of fotos, for example, from celebrating of March, 25...

Third Pic down is either "Kolca Slavi" or "Olimpiskiy Reservi" - both gymnastics training fascilities. Most of you think the photographer was trying to tell you a story of some sort - "what life is life in Belarus" - however I think photos are just photos and we should just enjoy the art picture taking by these talanted photographers. Belarus is my home country and I miss it very much. Thank you for wonderful work of art, a truly faschinating photo collection.
where can I find more?

Wow
Thank you for these photos - not often do I see some coverage of my motherland, let alone such beautiful pictures.
I was born in Minsk but moved to New York 5 years ago at age 18. Not that I was miserable in Belarus - actually my living conditions were probably better then here in NY, but I definitely felt a bit claustrafobic there - the everyday life is quite bleak - most people are rather close-minded and concerned only with the mundane - you can understand them because poverty has always been a norm of life for many. There is still a number of very bright young people (and the most beautiful girls yes:), but they increasingly look for realization elsewhere. Unless you are a child of wealthy/connected parents you are not going to get far.Also people are unfortunately very apathetic of politics - everybody knows that Lukashenko is a mad dictator whose each new law or decree is more ridiculous then the previous one, but very few want to put their life on the line to protest or do at least something about it - understandable again, because large police and army forces are there mostly to protect the regime from the people and repercussions of dissent can be very severe - you can be expelled from university, fired from job or even jailed. Several oppositional journalists and politicians have vanished with no trace and its not hard to guess who's behind it...
Belarusian language is still taught in school but in reality is dying along with the whole independent culture - few use it in everyday life as a result of Russian and Soviet policies for the past few centuries.
Then there is Chernobyl and its impact on people's health...
Well, at least one thing Belarusian people know how to do is how to endure and adjust to whatever hardships government and life throws at them, although many try to escape the reality by drinking themselves to death.
Oh, did I paint it darker then I was going to? Don't get me wrong - there are many people who live there happily ...ever after ...their expected lifespan of around 50 years - they just learned not to see and not to worry about all those issues.
Nevertheless I miss my country, I dream of it and I hope to come back one day (to visit).