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A reader who was born in Belarus tells how she grew up associating the Guardian with free speech and the truth
I grew up in Minsk, Belarus, during the last Soviet years. I knew the Guardian by name, but had no access to the paper itself. In those days, there was a thirst for any information from the outside world. All I remember is that the Guardian was associated with freedom of speech and telling the truth. In the post-Soviet years, access to foreign press was still problematic, and depended on more than just one's ability to read English.
When I became a civil servant in 2000, I started going abroad on business, and I finally got to read the Guardian on a plane. I was struck by the broad spectrum of issues and points of view that were covered – it was something we never had.
I met my British husband in 2004, moved to the UK in 2005 and have been a loyal reader ever since. I read it online and always treat myself to the Guardian on Saturday and Observer on Sunday. The columns by Tim Dowling, Oliver Burkeman and Lucy Mangan are my favourites.
I teach at Leeds University and I am studying for an international politics PhD. I often use John Vidal's features on climate change and migration as teaching aids in my classes. I wish more of my students were reading the Guardian regularly; it would definitely broaden their horizons.
Regrettably, my home country does not feature often, and many people in the UK still know little about Belarus (there is more to Belarus than being the last dictatorship in Europe, or the country most affected by Chernobyl). I hope this is something that the paper will be able to address in the future.
To me, being a Guardian reader has more to do with being British than the questions I answered on my citizenship test – though I did rather well, and I am very proud of my British citizenship.
