My Summers Abroad That Were Spent in Belarus

Всем привет! My name is Masha and I wanted to share on this blog about my childhood summers that were spent in Belarus. Belarus is a former Soviet Union state that sits right in between Poland and Russia and right above Ukraine. For those of you who do not know me I was born in Vitebsk, Belarus and moved to the States when I was just shy of 2 years old. I grew up speaking Russian in my home and up until I was 6 years old I lived in a Russian neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. From the age of 3 to about 14 I would go back to Belarus and spend all of my summer vacation with my grandparents and other relatives. Let me tell you, I absolutely loved my summer vacations. Looking back, I cannot even begin to express how fortunate I feel to have been granted that experience. To this day, I still have very close friends who live back in Belarus that I have visited in the recent years and keep in touch with. 

Actually, it is the first week of July that has to be my favorite time in Vitebsk. This is largely due to the fact that there is a HUGE weeklong cultural festival taking place called Славянский базар (Slavanski Bazaar). The proper name is международный фестиваль искусств “Славянский базар”(The International Festival of the Arts “Slavanski Bazaar”).

Essentially, it is a festival celebrating all Slavic culture. Each day there are concerts held at the amphitheater. The opening day concert is the most difficult and most expensive one to go to strictly because all the performers can be considered A-List celebrities and the president of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, attends it. Throughout the entire city center there are food vendors, street artists, street musicians and many others who are scattered throughout selling and performing.

Straight through through the city runs a river called Двина (Dvina) and near it is a small artificial neighborhood that was built to replicate medieval Belarus. It is around all year and can sometimes even be a beautiful walk through. However, during the festival it transforms into Город Мастеров ( The City of Masters). As soon as you walk through, you are transported back into time. All of the people that are working through the festival are showcasing their craftsmanship in traditional Slavic clothing. For example, it is likely to see a blacksmith dressed in Slavic clothing pounding an iron and shaping it into a sword. You could also see a woman weaving, a potter making bowls and dishes out of clay, and children performing traditional songs and dances.

I was actually quite fortunate to have participated in some of these performances when I was young because my grandmother was one of the Deans at a local technological institute that focused on the fashion industry. Specifically, during this time of the year the fashion institute would showcase their hard work through their collection of either traditional Belarusian inspired costumes or costumes that were inspired by Belarus itself. I absolutely loved putting on the traditional costumes because I felt more connected to my roots. My favorite memory is when I performed within the City of Masters wearing a traditional Belarusian costume piece and holding a beautiful braided bread.  

(Below are photographs that are about 12 years apart. On the left I am about 8 or 9 wearing a traditional costume.  On the right, I am 20 years old and wearing a modern costume that was designed and inspired by the Gomel Province in Belarus. The stitched pattern that I am holding is the national pattern of the province.)

I can truly go on and on about my summers in my homeland. I will always remember the times I spent there and am hopefully looking forward to the day I can share similar experiences with my future family. If anyone is looking for a complete cultural immersion while traveling through Eastern Europe and Russia, I highly recommend experiencing Slavanski Bazaar. I hope if anyone does go, that they have the best time singing, dancing, drinking and eating the best street food you’ll ever have. 

До скорой встечи,

Маша