Belarus Digest is launching a new series, Belarus Photo Digest, which shows images of different aspects of life in today's Belarus. In the first issue photographer Siarhiej Leskiec documents everyday life in the Belarusian countryside.

Only one in four Belarusians lives in rural areas today. And yet, most Belarusians are first-generation city dwellers. This is all the more interesting when considering the fact that only half a century ago, more than two-thirds of the population still lived in villages.

During the summer, villages get livelier as city parents send their children to their grandparents for the three-month summer break from school. In the winter though, village life quiets down. In smaller villages, there is no running water and wood stoves function as the main source of heat. According to the Belarusian Statistics Agency, people in rural areas live four years less on average than people in cities.

Life in a Belarusian Village

A Day at a Belarusian Market

Today, about 90,000 small business entities are registered in Belarus, over a third of them in the retail sector.