Thoughts on Belarus🇧🇾

Memories and Reflections

As mentioned earlier, I’m reading Anna Applebaum’s book Between East and West. Reading in English takes longer than usual, but another reason influences this. Since I live in this complicated region of the world, this book constantly stirs a mix of emotions within me. As I read, I often pause to reflect on what I know about the topic and the experiences and knowledge I’ve gained about the world around me.

At the moment, I’m reading chapters that describe Belarus, and a memory surfaced in my mind that first made me pay attention to this country. In the 2010s, a popular show called Star Factory aired in Ukraine. The main concept was that famous singers of that time took young, talented individuals under their wing, teaching them how to sing, preparing them for performances, and so on. My favorite contestant on the show was Stas Shurins, a Latvian singer I liked—like every young girl, I probably dreamed of marrying him one day. 😅

(This was my favorite song and my ringtone from around the age of 10 to 13.)