Photos of the Day for March 12, 2020

Family farming in Polesia (Pripet Marshes).  Tsjerablichy 2019.  A reporter for one of Belarus’ rural-oriented newspapers once condescendingly asked me, “What do you think of our peasants?”  I responded that I think of Belarusian villagers as family farmers rather than “peasants”.  Recalling that exchange, I would ask here why anyone accepts collectives (kalkhozy) as a… Continue reading Photos of the Day for March 12, 2020

Photo of the Day for May 31, 2019

Eastertide portraits of Polesia:  newly-planted potato patch, Tsjerablichy 2019. The slow but steady spread of small-scale mechanized farm machinery produces new patterns at planting season. Веоікодныя партрэты Палесься: нядаўна пасаджаная бульба ў агародзе, Цераблічы 2019 г.  

Photos of the Day for September 29, 2017

Potato harvest from the family allotment, Tsjerablichy 2017. First cultivated in the Belarusian lands in the mid-18th century, the potato is now one of the most important elements in the Belarusian diet.  Families anxiously await the harvest, the quantity and quality of which to a huge degree will determine both how well a homestead makes… Continue reading Photos of the Day for September 29, 2017