My journey to Podlasie is part of an ongoing project exploring the parallel realities of Belarusians inside and outside the country, focusing on national transformation and the aftermath of the 2020 political repressions. This project also reflects my personal exploration of identity, loss, adaptation, and belonging in a foreign land. By examining the Podlasie border region, I hope to uncover connections between these two realities.
I was fascinated that many ethnic Belarusians in Podlasie, or local residents who speak a regional dialect, have long questioned their self-identity and have settled on calling themselves "locals" and their dialects "theirs."
Throughout my expedition, I felt a sense of returning home, reliving experiences from my childhood in Minsk and visits to my grandparents in the village of Cielusha. This similarity extended to the villages and people working the land in Podlasie, resonating with traditions and customs from my youth.
Podlaskie Voivodship, a borderland region, has seen significant forced migrations over the past century due to World War I and post-World War II national and religious conflicts. Currently, the region serves as a symbolic border between Belarusians who fled the country after 2020 and those who stayed, as well as between the West (EU) and the East (Belarus/Russia/China). Tensions have increased, marked by the construction of a border wall aimed at preventing migrants from the Middle East and Africa from entering the EU through Belarus and averting potential military conflicts with Russia.
