Everyday
life in the near-border towns of the Republic of Belarus has been undergoing
significant transformations in the recent decades. On one hand, urbanization
processes keep affecting the rural lifestyle that had been forming here over
the course of centuries. On the other hand, the drift of the population into
larger cities causes stagnation in the economic and social activity in the
region. The “near-border state” is a multilevel socio-cultural phenomenon that
has formed on the territory of Belarus historically and has been affecting the
lives of Belarusians not only in the outskirts, but in the big cities as well.
The “Along the Edge” project is an attempt to visually describe the current
state of the near-border regions of Belarus, the day-to-day life and the suburban
identity in the Belarusian society.