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This is the village of Toniez, in Belarus. Belarus is located in Eastern Europe and is bordered by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine.

This village has been around since 1551, but some say it goes back to the 13th century. Things move a little bit slower here… I’ve been getting this SAME WATER, from that SAME WELL since I was 5 years old. It’s pretty much the only way to get fresh drinking water here, and I’ve been doing it since I was 5 years old from this exact well.

Alright, let’s talk about Belarus for a second… the country has a population of about 9.5 million people (9,449,323), with the most populated city being the capital of Minsk. Minsk is actually pretty well known for their high-level IT and gaming industry. It’s a beautiful place to visit and is not over-saturated with tourists just yet. No other Belarusian city has more than 500,000 people in it, and a large percentage of the population lives in smaller towns and villages like this.

Belarus is known for their manufacturing of tractors, Dump trucks, and other heavy metal equipment. Agriculture is very important as well and accounts for nearly 10% of their Gross Domestic Product. The Country usually leads all ex-USSR nations in dairy and meat production per capita. I always remember having the best cheese and milk in Toniez. It was just So fresh. The national symbol of Belarus is the White Stork…

Interestingly enough, there’s almost no outsourcing of labour jobs in Belarus. Everything is in-house (so to speak). The average salary ranges between $250 - $300/month across the country, but in places like Minsk, it jumps up to about $450- $500.

This village has one main store. Produce usually comes a couple of times a week, and there’s definitely plenty of liquor to go around… Funny enough, Belarus is near the top of the list of global alcohol consumption per capita.

Like in a lot of eastern European countries, fishing is extremely popular in Belarus. My family has a tradition that after a long day on the lake, we cook some Uha.

The people in Belarus, and the people in this village are extremely friendly… but this village does have a dark past, and I have to touch on it. In 1943, when the Nazis invaded Belarus, they came to this village. They gathered 268 people in a church right here… saying they would give everyone a new German passport. They actually ended up just burning the church down, killing 267 of the 268 people there, so one woman survived. These were mostly young kids, women, and older people… because everyone else was off fighting in the war. This is a memorial and statues that commemorate all of the lives that were lost on that day.

All-in-All, Belarus is a place you should put on your travel list. You can have a crazy time in a big city like Minsk, but if you want to dig deep into the tradition and culture of the country, visit a village like Toniez. It’ll open up your mind and widen your horizons. It’s a magical place for me, a place of family and friendships. This visit was great. And let’s hope the next one will be even better. I’ll be back soon.

Thanks for watching!

Alex Drobin

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