The Belarusian photographer Siarhiej Lieskiec’s subject matter, AGRO, caught my attention. The artist works with young people whom the government entices to go back to the countryside as part of the program “Rural Renaissance.” They are offered a free house in one of the tiny villages within the abandoned sovkhozes. Siarhiej Lieskiec clarified that “on the one hand, they’re given a leg-up into adult life and are able to avoid taking out a mortgage and going into debt or languishing on a waiting list while living with their parents. On the other hand, the city youth who move to the country find themselves in the same comfort zone as their parents without even realizing it, and are limited in their choices for the future.”
Françoise Huguier