Visiting the fairy tale and wildlife: how the unique village of Domzherica lives in the Lepel district

Why the recognized capital of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve in Lepelsky district is called the Belarusian village of the future

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, having visited here on a working trip on October 31, 2025, sincerely and succinctly described this place:

- I was surprised by a lot here, to be honest. That you're in the middle of this huge array, and there's such a pearl.

Assessing the scale of transformation of local places, the Head of State noted:

- The village is nice. God forbid that we have such farms. Good for making such a village.

There are amazing corners on the map of our country, the existence of which many urban residents do not even realize until they come here for the first time. It seems that the modern benefits of civilization and the pristine beauty of nature are absolutely incompatible. But once you turn off the M-3 highway in the Lepel district and enter the village of Domzherica, the stereotypes instantly disappear. Neat houses, well-groomed front gardens, clean asphalted paths and silence, interrupted only by the singing of forest birds, immediately tune into a special, peaceful manner.

This is not just an ordinary rural village. This is the central estate and the recognized capital of the famous Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve - the oldest unique oasis in the country, where only wildlife and strict science are managed on a huge territory. Back in 1979, the reserve was one of the first in the world to be included in the UNESCO program “Man and the Biosphere”, becoming a benchmark of untouched landscapes throughout Europe.

To truly understand the scale of Domjerits, it is worth looking at local museums and listening to the stories of people who have devoted their entire lives to this region. There is the Museum of Nature, the Museum of Preservation, the Museum of Honey and the unique Museum of Slavic Mythology, where ancient legends of Belarusian forests come to life. Eco-enlightenment specialist Victor Rovdo, who devoted 17 years to the reserve, enthusiastically explains the geography and uniqueness of the local places:

- The total area of the reserve is 85 thousand hectares, or 850 square kilometers. If you compare, it is almost three cities of Minsk, almost one Moscow, five states of Liechtenstein or two thousand Vatican. At the same time, 60 percent of the territory is continuous untouched swamps.

The history of these places goes back centuries and keeps amazing mysteries. About 10 thousand years ago, after the melting of the glacier, there was a giant lake here. And in 1797, by decree of Emperor Paul I, for eight years of heavy manual labor among the impenetrable swamps, a unique 29-kilometer Berezin water system with canals, locks and dams was dug up, connecting the Black Sea with the Baltic Sea. More than a century and a half there was active navigation, and today it is a grandiose monument of engineering and a favorite route for water alloys on kayaks.

The reserve was created 101 years ago thanks to beavers. Once because of the valuable fur and jet, these animals were almost completely exterminated in Europe, and in 1924 Professor Anatoly Fedyushin discovered the last surviving settlements here, which was the impetus for the creation of a protected area. It is noteworthy that in the 1950s, an experimental moose farm worked on the basis of the reserve, where tamed forest giants were raised and milked.

Currently, there are 245 species of birds, 56 species of mammals, 34 species of fish and more than 2 thousand species of plants in this protected area. There is also the wildest bison population in Europe and up to 30 percent of the brown bear population of the whole of Belarus is concentrated.

- Our reserve is jokingly and seriously called a bear corner, smiles Viktor Gennadyevich. There is even a special ecotour to observe the bear in the natural environment, when the clubfoot can come very close to the observation tower.

Life in Domzheritsy today is a vivid example of how the Belarusian village combines advanced standards of comfort and environmental cleanliness.

Everyday infrastructure here is not inferior to the city: there is a kindergarten, post office, a paramedic and obstetric center, there is even a cozy restaurant. The Chairman of the Domzheritsky Village Executive Committee Anatoly Yankovsky talks about large-scale changes:

- The village council includes 11 settlements, where about 700 people live. Of these, almost 460 people of working age work directly in the reserve. The conditions are excellent: salaries are high, housing is provided. Only in 2026, about ten new marriages were registered on the territory of the village council - young people remain here to live and create families.

The infrastructure of the village has recently experienced a second birth. Anatoly Tikhonovich continues:

- Last year, the entire village was renovated. Completely updated water supply networks, heating pipes to houses, put new high-quality asphalt, made modern street lighting. Many residents switch to electric heating - came home, and there is warm, cozy and modern. A 24-apartment house, a 12-apartment house for reserve workers were built, cottages are also being built.

Residents with special permits of the reserve are happy to collect foxes, blueberries and cranberries in the surrounding forests, which becomes for many an excellent help and a favorite holiday. However, the neighbors of the Domgerians are very specific. The head of the village council shares funny details:

- Wild animals periodically enter the gardens. Previously, wild boars were pestered, now their population has decreased, but European deer are actively going. People plant potatoes and deer come and feast on them. Ordinary fences do not save - only electric shepherds who reliably protect the gardens help. And bears quietly walk their paths, not offending anyone.

A special pride of Domjerits is the local school, whose history began in 1908. Today it is a basic school where the younger generation is growing up. For children from neighboring villages - Barsukov and Kraytsev - a convenient daily delivery by school bus is organized so that each child can study in comfortable conditions.

School Director Elena Misnik talks about the features of the educational process:

- In the past, an ecological lyceum was located in the huge building of the school, where people came from all over the Vitebsk region for knowledge. Today, unfortunately, there are many fewer children. But we are surrounded by a unique nature. And that's a big plus. In recent years, the school has been completely renovated and now meets the standards of the village of the future.

Veteran of pedagogical work, teacher of biology and chemistry Lyubov Lukashuk found both the years of work of the lyceum and the modern stage in these walls. Moreover, she was a reviewer of the school textbook on biology for the 8th grade, helping authors to eliminate inaccuracies and make the material closer to practice.

- For our students, the schoolyard is only a starting point, Lyubov Kuzminichna shares. Children constantly visit ecological trails, enclosures, communicate with scientific staff of the reserve and forest protection. Thanks to modern technologies, we can show high-quality video fragments in lessons, but live communication with nature is no substitute. Many graduates of past years have connected their lives with biology, ecology and forestry, work in schools and forestry in the district.

In Domjeritsy, life is kept on people who are not indifferent, sincerely in love with their work.

Veterinary doctor Tamara Shafarovich came here on distribution from the Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine in 2018. Her love for animals is family – her grandfather worked as a veterinarian, so the choice of profession was predetermined from childhood.

- In the city I was quickly tired, I was always drawn to silence, greenery and nature, says Tamara Nikolaevna. I came for an interview, looked at the reserve and decided to stay. Here I met my future husband, who also works in the reserve. First we lived in a dormitory, then in an apartment, and now we were allocated a two-storey rental house. For my family and my pets, these are ideal conditions.

By the way, the care of the veterinarian extends far beyond official duties: last spring, Tamara Nikolaevna went out to the house of a small lamb abandoned by her mother, who lived right in the rooms for three months, slept on the couch next to the children and watched cartoons with them. This touching story once again proves how sincere and heartfelt they are to all living things.

And guarding the health of local residents is paramedic Yulia Mashkevich, head of the Domzheritsky FAP, who has been working at this place for almost 10 years. The paramedic and obstetric point has its own service car with a driver, which allows you to quickly go on calls to the most remote corners of the site.

- Under my command there are 420 people, and the most remote site - the village of Chernitsa - is located 30 - 35 kilometers from us, says the paramedic. In 2024, new modern dental equipment was installed, a doctor visits once a week. When you see the result and help a person on time, it becomes joyful.

The village of Domjerica is a vivid example of the village of the future. It is really worth coming here at least once to breathe in the crystal clear forest air, walk along ecological paths, hear the silence of protected swamps and feel the true pulsation of the Belarusian land. As one of the locals aptly noted, having visited here once, a person forever leaves a piece of his heart in this amazing bearish corner, where you want to return again and again.

i.zhuk@sb.by