While Donetsk – an industrial hub rich in coal, iron ore, and other deposits, has achieved relative prosperity in recent years, the surrounding towns and villages have been on an inexorable downward slide. The village of Beloyarovka lies 80 km east of Donetsk and 10 km from the border with Russia. Formerly a large and prosperous village with a kolhoz (collective farm) and a sovhoz (Soviet farm), Beloyarovka has in recent years shed a large portion of its population after the two shut down. Young people, in particular, have been leaving villages like Beloyarovka in droves – the idyll of country life simply can’t compete with the hard necessity of survival, now more securely achieved in urban areas. Apart from a few entrepreneurs who are renting large plots of land for the cultivation of sunflowers, corn, watermelons, potatoes, and carrots, most villagers barely scrape by, unable to compete and vulnerable to constantly fluctuating prices for their goods.
These are photos of abandoned houses on Beloyarovka’s Mayakovskogo Street. Only 5 remain with inhabitants, out of a total 20 only a few years ago. The life that animated these dwellings has vanished, never to return.
Origin – kyivweekly.com.ua
You must be logged in to post a comment.