Capturing Russia from white to black, north to south, east to west

Posts Tagged "belarus"

Vladimir: Retired Belarus Musician

Vladimir: Retired Belarus Musician

Vladimir, 63, was playing in front of the Minsk food market on a cold, sunny December weekend. He said he retired from the state orchestra and occasionally plays at some private events, but prefers playing what he likes on the streets. He said he worked once as a musician on a US cruiseliner, a job his son found for him. Vladimir said he even played on the streets of NYC, once taking his trumpet to Chinatown, where he played a few hours. He said he prefers classical and Russian music though to American Jazz. "Russia has a lot of soulful music."

Elizaveta: Barista & Dog Lover

Elizaveta: Barista & Dog Lover

Elizaveta works at a cafe in Minsk to help pay for her university studies....and to save up for a Hungarian pointer dog, a photo of which is taped to the tip bowl. Elizaveta said she gives half her salary to her parents as payment for university. She said she would like to stay in Minsk to be close to family and friends, but 'decent, stable jobs' can be hard to find in Belarus. When I asked if she would consider work in Russia, she said she prefered heading westward as felt closer culturally to Europe.

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Liza: Chinese Language Student

Liza: Chinese Language Student

Liza, 17, is also studying Chinese, but for a slightly different reason than Valeria (previous portrait). Liza said she like Asian cultures as a child, including some Chinese songs. She said she felt there was a good future in learning Chinese and was confident she could find a job. There are about 1,000 studying English at her university but about 100 studying Chinese. "It's good to learn English, but it is also good to learn Chinese.

Anton: IT Programmer for USA

Anton: IT Programmer for USA

Following up on my previous post about IT outsourcing to Belarus...Anton is one of the thousands of Belarusian programmers working for foreign companies. He and a team of about 27 work on the design and performance of US clothing company Lands' End website. According to some statistics, Belarus programmers earn on average 1/5 of a US programmer. Anton said the biggest event in his life in 2014 was becoming an officer in the airforce and finishing his military service. 

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