Фильм независимой студии Journeyman про Президента Республики Беларусь Александра Лукашенко. Один из авторов фильма, британец Мэтью Чарльз приезжал для съемок в Беларусь, однако большая часть съемок делалось тайно. То, что это не тайна для белорусских органов, Мэтью стало известно на границе, когда он возвращался назад. С ним беседовали 2 часа и предложили "отдать" видеозаписи, которые, однако, своевременно были направлены за границу. Фильм является запрещенным в Республике Беларусь. Во время его показа в кинотеатр ворвался спецназ и сорвал показ. Всех повязали и поставили на учет. 

A summary of the book "The age of the martyrdom"  presentation which took place at the Arts Palace, Minsk, on December 11, 2009, with writers, literary critics and readers participating

A trilogy by Vasil Tsimafeevich Yakavenka "The age of the martyrdom" is an outstanding literary work in modern Belarusian literature. It is often mentioned by the critics, researchers of the literary processes considering the trilogy in the context of the world and home fiction. The writer V.Yakavenka  embodied the rich life experience of the Belarusian people in an epic form, showed the origins of its viability during two world wars and severe social experiments of the epoch.

After the formation of the Public Association ‘The Union of the Writers of Belarus' (UWB) in 2006, the Association's management, assisted by the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture, together with their departments, have been taking numerous purposeful measures aimed at the suppression of the activities by Belarus' oldest writer's union - the Union of Belarusian Writers (UBW). The Union was evicted and deprived of state support. Works by the UBW members were removed from school and university curricula. The Polymia, Nioman, Maladosts literary magazines, as well as the LiM weekly, founded by the UBW, were handed over to the newly-created Union. The Ministry of Education banned literary meetings with the UBW members at schools, universities and libraries. The writers working at state-owned enterprises have been forced to leave the UBW, founded by Kupala and Kolas, and join the newly-founded Union.

Minsk, October 28, 2008

The public tribunal, consisting of:

Leonid Akalovich, Yakov Basin, Anatoly Bely, Anatoly Valahanovich, Marat Gorevoy, Igor Kuznetsov, Leonid Moryakov, Vladimir Romanovsky, Vyacheslav Sivchik, Zinaida Tarasevich, Sergei Hanzhenkov, Vladimir Khalip, Georgy Shtyhov, Vassil Yakаvenkа,

having considered in the sessions documents of the state and personal archives, materials of archival-investigatory cases, testimony of victims and eyewitnesses, other written and graphic sources, and also having attached materials of the public hearings "Crimes of Stalinism in Belarus", taken place in 2006-2008,

has taken out the following indictment.

Dear friends,  Last year our country commemorated the sorrowful day in our history – the 70th anniversary since the peak of the mass repressions in the USSR has taken place. For that purpose the public community of Belarus has formed the Organizing committee to perpetuate the memory of the unprecedented Stalinist repressions victims. The famous Belarusian writers, scientists, public men forming part of the Organizing committee made every effort to reveal and  perpetuate the places of the Belarusian citizens mass killings during the period of Stalinist necrosadism. This was the aim of their travel to Homel, Barysau, Vileika, Cherven, Slutsk, Staryia Darohi. Not once they had to renew the memorable signs at the memorial complex “Kurapaty” which were being broken by the vandals with the powers being indulgent. This work continues up to present.

Memory of the people is a prerequisite for its development as a civil community and for its playing the role of the power and statehood source.

The Institute of the National Memory (INM) is a civil initiative to find and reveal the most remarkable episodes of Belarusian history as well as to prosecute the crimes against its own people whenever they were committed.

To have a success in its goals achievement the INM Organizing committee intends to unite the efforts of the national forces aimed at the culture, language and historical heritage rebirth, to consolidate the existent social organizations on the ground of national interests respect. It intends to colligate the experience of the scientists, historians, archeologists, architectures, lawyers, students of lore, linguists, philosophers, creative workers, writers, artists, composers, public figures, all the citizens who are not indifferent to the history and life of their own people.

Open, clear, inspired and attractive faces of young people. What can one see in their souls?.. I wonder if anybody of those militiamen detaining them, anybody of those investigators interrogating them and anybody of those judges accusing them of some criminal offence tried to understand: what is there in the young fellow countrymen’s souls?

Is their speaking mother tongue and gathering in small groups to discuss if everything is OK in our pompous country malevolent and unconstitutional?

O, my Lord, if these ruler servants – a militiaman, an investigator, a judge, a prosecutor together with their children could understand the lofty and noble intentions of those young people, they would surely be among them. But what for?

For to form the community of trust and new human ideals. And the goal!.. Jurists, please, try to clarify why such attempt is considered as criminal?!

Look deep into the youths’ eyes.

PowerPoint slideshow (690 kB) >> | Па-беларуску >>

Auhinnya BAHINSKAYA, Minsk •

This year a trip to the town of Svislach (Grodna region) was organized on the «Dzyady» (the day of the departed ancestry worshipping). Several people left Minsk by two busses in the morning on October 27 to worship the places in Svislach where two brothers Kastus and Victor Kalinousky studied. The buses were detained by militia for the first time in Dzyarzhynsk (Koidanava), and we were explained that our drivers have overrode the speed. We have been detained for 3 hours and lists of people in buses were made. For the second time we have been stopped near Baranavichy. And again we were brought to the militia office and kept for 3 hours, and the lists of our bus passengers were made. As a result the Minsk group failed to come to Svislach in time. If, for example, at the end of the 1980s on the Dzyady day the authorities rushed to the people being baton-charged and turning on the poison-gas, then now they are weaving a plot to make obstacles. This is a true moral harassment. And nothing has changed since our Republic of Belarus was formed. The Rebirth which started early in the 1990s is breathless. The national oppression of the Belarusian people is carried out on the same way as before. Everything light, wise, true given by God is suppressed. The Belarusian Orthodox church (pr. Leanid Akalovich), some Protestant Christian communities praying in Belarusian language are suppressed. The believers are punished ordered with administrative fines (the case of pastor Georgy Vyazousky, church «Christian covenant»), they are fined for praying without authoritative allowance. The Belarusian-spirited islets are destroyed. The Writers House is taken away. The European Humanitarian University (EHU) is expelled to Vilnya. The Uladzimir Kolas lyceum is persecuted. In the country one can hardly find an independent mass media. The authorities destroy the historical buildings. They take very little care of our architectural monuments preservation and restoration. They erect hockey palaces, build the «onion» cupola churches in pseudo-Russian style just like it was under Muraviev-hanger, turning us little by little into the North-Western Region (Severo-Zapadny Kray).

Appeal

Dear compatriots,

Untimely death is a grief and an irreparable loss for not only one's family but for all human community. Yet by time of the bloody brigandage of the bolshevist ChK, GPU, NKVD, MDB there was hardly a family and kinsfolk having not lost a father, a mother, a son, a brother, a sister, adults or grown-ups who had been rooted out by black carrion-crows. And those who survived stayed scared forever. This was such bereavement! The anguish for them hasn’t stopped, hasn’t exhausted by people until now.