Culture against violence in Belarus
Lawlessness of the Belarusian police has sparked outrage in social media as well, with bloggers, artists, musicians and celebrities expressing their support to the citizens of Belarus and demanding justice from the government.
Demonstrations and rallies have been held across Belarus over the disputed results of the country's presidential election. The police pushed back with a brutal crackdown even on peaceful protesters, many of which were detained, beaten and charged with administrative violations. The UN has condemned the use of violence by authorities, and many musicians and artists known in Russia also support the Belarusians, with some of them urging Minsk to stop and put an end to state-sponsored brutality.
Oleg Savchenko, a Belarusian musician more known by his stage name LSP, dedicated a long post on Instagram to the ongoing protests saying how proud he is of the people of his homeland and that he prays for every protester.
'I'm proud of the child who carries a flower to a riot policeman who probably beat up someone's father yesterday. I'm proud of women who advocate for our common interests, knowing that nowadays gender no longer matters for tolerant batons of law enforcement officers.
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I pray every night, as soon as the next arrests and beatings begin, that this night would be the last. I pray that those who orchestrate this hell would come to their senses and stop the genocide of their own people'.
Ilya Pruskin, from Little Big, also reacted to what's going on:
'I can't sleep well the last two days seeing what's going on in the streets of Belarus. It's not happening somewhere or to somebody... These are our friends, family, brothers and sisters. They're suffering attempted murder, they're being tortured, they're receiving shots at their windows, they're having their property ruined and they're thrown in jail! I've seen hundreds of videos where a crowd of them beats with batons an almost lifeless body, where they kick in the back those who are on their knees with their hands behind their heads, fire rubber bullets at teenagers at a bus stop, make a city 'safari' shooting at people from car windows. And it is done by battalions of 'people' in uniform. Militia, police, OMON [police special forces] and regular army is not a proper name for them. The army and the rest can't behave like this, because they swore an oath of loyalty to the people and won't follow criminal orders!
I'm sure there are guards of law and order in this beautiful country! Decent men and women who have nothing to do with these punitive squads!...'
The precursor of these events was the song 'Change', by the group Gryaz (Mud, in English). The musicians dedicated it to the events in Belarus. In the song, the hero refers to the 'batya' —or 'daddy', in English, the epithet attributed to Lukashenko— who rules the country, 'doesn't sleep during the day or at night', but then changes the love of the people for the ratings numbers and war.
'And let the ratings numbers drop behind, we want to feel that your love for us hasn't diminished. They don't want war, because that's us. They don't want to live in the ruins of the country. They want to get up and say the word 'Change!'', the song says.
Denis Astapov, the frontman of the band Gryaz, thinks that such songs can't change anything but they help people to understand that 'they are not alone'.
"We don't want war, we want to be heard, we want to live in our country and not to be afraid for ourselves and our loved ones", says Denis in an interview with Colta.ru.
The Belarusians also received support from Diana Arbenina, the frontwoman of the rock band Night Snipers. She recorded a video message asking people to 'stay alive'. Although the singer doesn't live in Belarus, she was born there and many of her relatives live in this country.
Likewise, the pop group IOWA released the song 'Dream' dedicated to the current situation in Belarus. The caption under the clip says: 'Lack of freedom = unhappiness. Unhappy people can't build the future, can't dream, can't raise children in freedom, can't expand their perception and say: 'I know the price of my word'. Having the right to choose is not a privilege, it is a norm'.
More than 120 musicians, poets and stage workers have signed an open letter in support of the Belarusians. It denounces rigged elections and violations recorded during the voting — 'stolen votes and the impossibility to be heard, something that we, people who come on stage, understand and maybe should understand better than others'. The letter calls on the law enforcement officers, journalists and the rest of the society to unite with Belarus and support the citizens, who now stand on the streets or lie on the asphalt, shriveling and covering their heads from batons. 'We condemn and strongly oppose police violence against our own people and grieve for the victims of these monstrous actions'. The letter has already been signed by members of DDT, Noize MC, IC3PEAK, Shortparis, SPBCh (Samoe Bolshoe Prostoe Chislo), Tequilajazzz, Monetochka, Grechka, Boris Grebenschikov, PTVP, Aigel, Voskreseniye, Thomas Mraz, famous actors and directors, and many others.
'We invite every colleague who wants to join us to do so. Your signatures are the hope for the visibility for the victims and the impossibility of concealing crimes committed against them'.
Author: Kristina Chernykh
Editor and translator: Alina Kulachkova