{"id":6829,"date":"2021-05-04T09:06:08","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T09:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2021-08-04T12:00:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T12:00:07","slug":"30-vypusk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2021\/05\/04\/30-vypusk.html","title":{"rendered":"“We all look for our people” … Issue 30 of Digest about Belarusian Culture during Socio-political Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Download the pdf-version of issue 30 of Cultural Resistance Monitoring<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Persecution, Convictions, Cultural Policy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Maksim \u0160a\u016dlinski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maksim \u0160a\u016dlinski<\/b> [Maxim Shaulinski], musician and activist, was sentenced to 2 years in open prison for slandering a policeman. See the link<\/a> to listen to his album of experimental electronic music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alaksiej Kruko\u016dski <\/b>[Aliaksei Krukouski], a musician and ethnographer detained in Minsk on April 26, received 11 days of administrative arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anastasija Vajtovi\u010d<\/b> [Anastasia Vaitovich] and <\/span>Jury \u0141ankievi\u010d\u00a0<\/b>[Yury Lankevich] were detained on April 26 near the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk and sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest each; they simply wanted to put memorial candles near the church, in memory of the victims of the Chernobyl tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maryja Amasovi\u010d<\/b> [Maria Amasovich] was sentenced to 20 days in jail for leaving a candle in memory of the Chernobyl tragedy on the porch of a church in Vicebsk on April 26, and her friend <\/span>Lizavieta Kiryjenka<\/b> [Lizaveta Kiryienka] received 10 days for standing nearby. By lighting candles, \u201cthe girls expressed their opinion of the events of socio-political life.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hanna Va\u017enik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hanna Va\u017enik<\/b> [Vazhnik], a music teacher, has been charged for a joke on Twitter. She changed the text of the Belarusian anthem to a more humorous one, and the police perceived it as a mockery of state symbols.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ale\u015b Bialacki<\/b> [Ales Bialiatski] and several other human rights activists were summoned for questioning by the Investigative Committee on May 3, as suspects in a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code \u2013 training of persons to participate in group actions that grossly violate public order.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ale\u015b Pu\u0161kin<\/b>, artist, was sent to pre-trial prison number 1 in Minsk from Hrodna on April 28. It is likely that his case will be trialed as part of the Union of Poles case.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trial<\/a><\/span>\u00a0over <\/span>Pavie\u0142 Sieviaryniec<\/b> [Pavel Sevyarynets] is likely to start on May 12 in the Mahilo\u016d regional court. Activists of the European Belarus civil campaign Ja\u016dhien Afanhiel [Yauhen Afnahel], Pavie\u0142 Juchnievi\u010d [Pavel Yukhnevich], <\/span>D\u017amitry Kaz\u0142o\u016d <\/b>[Dzmitry Kazlou], Maksim Viniarski and Andrej Vojni\u010d [Andrei Voinich], as well as public activist Iryna \u0160\u010dasnaja [Iryna Shchasnaya] will be tried in the same case.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ta\u0107ciana Bry\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ta\u0107ciana Bry\u010d<\/b> [Tatiana Brych], a 27-year-old\u00a0 teacher of Russian language and literature from Bie\u0142aaziorsk, was fired for her civil position.<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>Belarusian-language school<\/b> is to be closed in <\/span>the village of Amielaniec <\/b>in Brest region. Pavie\u0142 Kiendy\u015b [Pavel Kendys], a geography teacher, thinks that one of the reasons is that the school in Pahrani\u010dny [Pogranichny], which was built a few years ago, lacks students and its construction needs to be justified. The chairman of the Kamianietc district executive committee Valancin Zaj\u010duk [Valiantsin Zaichuk] claims that the closure of the school has nothing to do with the Belarusian language of instruction, however, this is another sad example of a policy not aimed at supporting the Belarusian language.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ihar Bancer, photo by svaboda.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police keep the persecution of Ihar Bancer<\/b> [Bantser], a musician and activist who was sentenced to a year and a half in open prison for hooliganism on March 19\u00a0and was released<\/a> pending his appeal. They claim that he has some unpaid fines, although Ihar says he paid everything. After five months in prison, Ihar was diagnosed<\/a> with hepatitis C, as well as serious stomach problems after a 16-day hunger strike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Vicebsk region, state educational and cultural facilities are being sold at auctions at an accelerated pace and unreasonably low prices, like 10 and 20 Euro for a building. This trend is due to the reduction in the number of students and readers in rural areas and small towns in the region. <\/span><\/p>\n

The show <\/span>Neighbors<\/b>, based on the stories of real people who went through the events in Belarus in August 2020, which was to be performed by the Moscow-based <\/span>Teatr.doc<\/b>,\u00a0<\/span>was disrupted<\/a> by the police. Shortly after the beginning, officers entered the room and said they were informed about a bomb planted there.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Symbols<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Andrej Parchomienka<\/b> [Andrei Parkhomenka] was detained at home in Minsk on April 26 for a white-red-white paper box from an LG TV set, considered as picketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dzianis Muzykin [Dzyanis Muzykin] from Minsk was sentenced to 13 days of administrative arrest for “picketing using cloud-shaped stickers on the window, tulips and daisies in white-red-white coloring, and towels …”<\/span>
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Life of People Behind Bars<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ihar Ilja\u0161 and Kaciaryna Andrejeva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ihar Ilja\u0161<\/b> [Ihar Ilyash], the husband of\u00a0<\/span>Kaciaryna Andrejeva<\/b> [Ekaterina Andreeva] (journalist, co-author of the book <\/span>Belarusian Donbass<\/span><\/i>) finallly had a meeting with Kaciaryna before she is sent to the colony in Homel. Ihar said that she hasn\u2019t received Novy Chas newspaper since the beginning of April, and only registered letters are handed to her. The colony has its own rules on packages: no more than 4 packages and 2 parcels per year, only from relatives. Not relatives can now send only letters, postcards and telegrams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaciaryna Andrejeva was detained on November 15 (along with the camerawoman <\/span>Darja \u010culcova<\/b>) while streaming the brutal dispersal of the rally in memory of killed Raman Bandarenka. Both journalists were sentenced to two years in medium-security penal colony for organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Darja \u0141osik and Ihar \u0141osik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Darja \u0141osik<\/b> [Daria Losik], the wife of <\/span>Ihar \u0141osik<\/b>, political prisoner, blogger and journalist who has been in prison since June 25, 2020, was not allowed to see her husband. Darja also doesn\u2019t receive letters from him. Ihar is kept in prison \u21168 in \u017dodzina. He recently finished reviewing the case materials, but no one can tell when the trial starts, as the other defendants are still studying the materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aliaksandr Fiaduta<\/b>\u2019s family received the first letter from him, dated April 26. He writes, <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cToday I was looking at the sky for half an hour on a walk. Very blue, white clouds, beautiful.\u201d As it is known from Marina, Mr. Fiaduta’s wife, the medical staff treat him well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

April 29 marks a month since <\/span>Ale\u015b Pu\u0161kin <\/b>[Ales Pushkin] has been behind bars. Belsat published<\/a> his notes from the Hrodna prison. We don\u2019t have the English language version of them but see the link for the Belarusian one. <\/span>He also writes that he receives only letters and postcards about art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taciana, who spent 30 days of administrative arrest, political article, made sketches<\/a> and told about life in remand prisons in Akre\u015bcina [Akrestsina] (Minsk) and \u017dodzina [Zhodzina].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dissent and Cultural Activism <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

April 26 is the day of remembrance of the <\/span>Chernobyl tragedy<\/b>. This year, on the 35th anniversary of the tragedy, the regime not only didn\u2019t raise the issue openly and didn\u2019t cover it truthfully, but tried to silence even those who wanted to leave memorial candles under the churches. About 20 people were detained<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0However, society and creatives didn\u2019t keep silent, and many have created works on this topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Radio Liberty\/Radio Free Europe prepared a multimedia project<\/a>, <\/span>which tells the chronology of the events before and after the disaster, about the four crimes of the Soviet authorities in the first weeks after the accident, its consequences for Belarus, as well as publishes “Voices of Chernobyl” (video and audio interviews with the heroes of the book\u00a0 byAlexievich), a unique photo album and a list of literature about the accident.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band <\/span>J:\u041c\u043e\u0440\u0441<\/b> dedicated a new song <\/span>1986<\/b><\/a> to the Chernobyl catastrophe, it has a clear connection with today’s Belarus. <\/span><\/p>\n