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It's a border in the middle of a village, a border between east and west. A new wall born on the ruins of the USSR, an iron curtain between Europe and a country that remained Soviet, the Republic of Belarus. Twice a year, the doors to Europe open for a few hours. At dawn, the inhabitants gather. The wait lasted a year, sometimes more, to get permission to cross the border. a one-day exit visa. In 2004, the village of Pitskuni was cut in two. The houses remained in the east and the cemetery ended up in Lithuania, on the European side. In this case, the shortest one, most of the time, is the same.
средневеков шагаем. Мы были одна семья. Но когда все, когда союз распался, ээээээээрублики захотели The self-propelled plane was taken into account, but it was the first time it was taken by the plane. себя, всё для seby. No, the steel posts are granite steel is not the same. You don't have to worry about it. Самое страшное. A village reflecting the new great game taking shape between Europe and Russia. On one side of the barbed wire, the Baltic countries and Poland, which joined NATO after the end of the USSR On the other hand, Belarus, which has become Moscow's outpost, the
Kremlin's last strategic bulwark to preserve its sphere of influence. Amidst the inhabitants held hostage by the new borders. It's a little bit, it's the same thing that we're talking about помогайте на [groan] все просят вашей помощи, Please send your message to the direct post. In Belarus, time seems to have stood still as if the country had never left the fate of the red man. Alexander Lukashenko, a former Colcos leader who became the self-proclaimed "little father of the people," has reigned supreme since December 10, 1994.
The omnipotent president, a true Ubuoi, plays on national sentiment and endlessly promotes the idea of a Western conspiracy. A more sensitive topic than ever in a country living under the insistent gaze of Moscow and in fear of a civil war like the one its Ukrainian neighbor has been experiencing since 2014. Угрозам подвергается и наша Беларусь. And the granites are placed in military arsenals. Posted by the Soviet republic военные учения и манёвры. It is important to note that the columns are pre-prescribed попытки destabilization обстановку внутри страны.
Поэтому особую значимость приобретают бдительность и обспечение безопасности государства. на это расза The united people celebrate the eternal victory against the aggressors and stand together against those designated as the enemies of the nation. Those who dare to doubt, resist, contradict the voice of the master. In the Soviet Union, internal enemies remained the regime's primary targets The lives of the families of those on the lists of traitors to the fatherland are still in limbo. It's not fear, it's the acceptance of fear. You learn to live with it. You learn to tell yourself that you will be scared when it happens.
We must take this seriously but try not to react with too much emotion Each time, after a certain period of time, the repression begins again. There is no Living with fear. Alè Bialatski, eternal defender of human rights, spent 3 years in the prisons of Alexander Lokashenko's regime. He knows that at any moment, he could be arrested again. Alè and Natacha's apartment holds the memory of dark days, days of confinement, but also of the thousands of letters from all over the world received in captivity. And then there's that unique memory of
regained freedom. I was on the bus on my way to Dcha. My phone rings and then I hear a voice saying, "Hello Natasha, don't be scared, it's Alice." I said, "Who?" No, actually, you said to me, "Which Alè?" [laughs] When I told you "Don't be afraid, it's Alice", she replied "Which Alice?" I always called at fixed times. These phone calls were at specific times, but this time it came out of nowhere
I could hear his voice and he was saying it's comfortable, but I couldn't realize it was really him. On Facebook, everyone had heard about his release. When I arrived at the station, there was a huge crowd. But until the very last moment, I didn't dare believe it a new life. A new chapter in my life. Ales Bialatski, a symbol in his country and throughout the world. Often compared to Andrei Sakarov, his imprisonment sparked an unprecedented wave of support.
Vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights, he has become the political prisoner embodying Alexander Lukashenko's headlong rush towards security. For me, freedom is not just a word, it is a fundamental state of my life. But in fighting for freedom, I lost that freedom. Given the degree of fear that has been spread in society, the government does not need to imprison hundreds or thousands of people for political reasons. You just need to have six of them and treat them very harshly. This is a signal sent to civil society, to all activists, to tell them to be careful, if you are too active, if you speak too loudly, each of you could suffer the fate of those who are present today. Судьба как сидит в тюрьме.
colony. А он, кстати, зеки там. You'll see what you're talking about. It's a special item for clothing. Вот тут я находился in this colony. 2 years ago, my vehicle was delivered Japanese light was flashed, and the light turned red at night. Last night there was a light and a coastline полетели дальше туда. Мы так смотрим. Вот свободу [groan] фонарики запустили. [laughs] Lukashenko has been in power for over
20 years. That's quite understandable. Part of the Russian society was educated in a totalitarian state. They still remember Stalin; for them, concepts like freedom or human rights mean nothing What matters to them is order, control. This is the repression of all those who step out of line in this terrible prison which was built as part of the Stalinist totalitarian state. These people support Lukashenko out of ideology. He is their leader. He plays on this memory of the USSR, of the ideology that was instilled in Belarusians during their schooling.
They are his followers. In their eyes, Lukashenko is God. The best democracy in the country не будет. Toastor, it's 100% safe, it's safe for you. сущности. And the human being will be there. Alexander Griggoric Lukashenko is committed to a bright future for his people. He appears at all military parades with his son Colia, who has accompanied him on all his travels since he was 7 years old Abroad among the peripheries and even at the UN General Assembly where Colia takes the place of a minister in the official delegation. здесь на западных рубежах нашего некогда общего ячас отец his arrival in power Lukashenko plays on the defense of the country as a
besieged fortress to justify an excessive budget for the army, themes dear to the big Russian brothers with whom the Belarusian president has signed over the years treaties of integration and economic and military cooperation. решим основную цель строительство этого самого союзного государства, о котором мы так много bio-Russian even populist and nationalist rhetoric. He's showing himself to be athletic. and close to the peasants in this country where the collective farms of the Soviet era still exist.
Alexander Lukashenko is also concerned about workers, as seen in his factory visits where he publicly dismissed a business leader on state television. However, you can take care of the girl's work. It's a prestuple. И оно наказуемо. The director of the network is responsible for the current season. назначит пока не исполняющим обязанности, а назначит директором и Check this if you want to know what you have said. Это у него шанс. Не сделаешь, посажу. In Minsk, a resistance movement has survived for 20 years. The NGO Vesna, the spring, founded by Ales Bialyatski in 1996 during the first demonstrations against Lukashenko to come to detained teenagers and their families.
Vesna supports all those whose rights are violated in Belarus and also plays an observer role during the elections. Gradually, the organization became a refuge for all those who dared to challenge the methods of power. When were you arrested? March 23rd. Were you arrested by KGB agents? Yes, KGB agents and three special forces men. Did they handcuff you? Yes, I had handcuffs and a plastic bag over my head. Ah yes, the famous black bag so you can't see where he's taking you. I couldn't see anything anymore. They made me go up a staircase, go left and right, and after that I don't remember anything
When I was declared a political prisoner, I thought to myself that it was going to be really serious. I felt the rates tightening. We were glued to the television news. If Lukashenko spoke with Russia, we thought he would remain in prison for a long time. If he went to Europe, we thought maybe things would be alright. So in fact, the time spent in prison depended on foreign policy. In our country, the prevailing principle is the presumption of guilt. There is no presumption of innocence. If you find yourself in the hands of law enforcement and you are a political activist, you are automatically guilty and all state media will declare you
guilty. You don't stand a chance. Ais Bialatki is fighting to protect the rebellious youth. As he still fights against forgetting what the regime made disappear in this country where the abrogated machine of the State has never weakened. Here in Kurapatie in the suburbs of Minsk, a sinister place of execution of Stalinist purges. Alè was one of the first in the 80s to fight to make it a place of remembrance. The first demonstration took place here in 1987 We young people organized it. 1000 people came here. It became a symbolic place for all the people who were demonstrating against the dictatorship, against Soviet totalitarianism.
Those who wanted a democratic future for Belarus and respect for human rights. It was still the Soviet Union. Between 60,000 and 100,000 people were shot here. The local KGB branches took those considered enemies of the people there for mass executions without trial. The current power wants to hide this repressive machine so that people don't know what happened. We are doing everything we can to make this place a memorial site, It is an essential place for passing on our history to younger generations.
I am convinced that we must teach young people that teachers should bring their students here so they can see where totalitarianism leads. This memory that the Belarusian authorities are trying to erase, its dead and its past crimes that they would like us to forget, have resonances in present-day Belarus. In 1999, opponents of the regime were also swallowed up by state repression. They are called the disappeared of Belarus. a former interior minister, a chairman of the electoral commission, a businessman who financed the opposition and Lukashenko's former personal cameraman who knew too much.
I have been fighting for the truth about my husband's disappearance for over 15 years. His last day was very early in the morning; he was late. He was supposed to go to the airport to pick up journalist Pavel Cheremet. He got dressed quickly. Here, you can hear everything. Then I heard him running down the stairs. I heard the car engine start. It was summer. The balcony was open, and that was all. I never thought I would never see him again. [clears throat] The people involved in the disappearances were very high up.
There were two interior ministers and the head of the president's security council. The fact that to this day Lukashenko has not been authorized to arrest these people nor allowed to be questioned shows that not only is he not helping the investigation but that he is hiding the facts. This power is a criminal power. By saying this in Belarus, I could be accused and arrested for slander. Poel, what do you want me to think of this power? What do you want me to think of the people who stole my destiny, my love, my future, the man who was dearest to me?
They didn't even allow me to bury him. They prevented me from paying him a final tribute. in 2010. The regime almost truly faltered. Belarus is experiencing unprecedented hope for change during the presidential elections where the democratic opposition manages to field several candidates. But the highly contested election results ultimately gave Lukashenko more than 80% The European observers present are powerless. The people's anger explodes. Nicolas Statkevic, an opposition candidate, became one of the main figures in the protest movement.
проведения повторных свободных выборов без Лукашенки. [cheer] The Belarusian dream of freedom is shattered against the apparatus of repression. попытались устроить вчера in Минске не демократию это бандитизм и погромки только хочу сказать одноз no площадь выйдете на улицу ещё куда-то страну вы не получите мы I have n't been able to tell you anything in the following months. More than 700 people are imprisoned and many will be sentenced to long prison terms. Among them were Ellatski, but also Nicolas Statkevic and all the opposition candidates in the elections.
Brussels establishes economic sanctions and draws up, together with Washington, a blacklist of individuals close to President Lukashenko. The Belarusian government is becoming a pariah. A power struggle is underway in the heart of Europe. during the winter of 2014, 4 years after the repression of the Belarusian revolt, a few hundred kilometers from Minsk, another country is ablaze, Ukraine.
The revolution quickly turned into a civil war and shook the entire region. A turning point for Alexandre Luka. And it's the product of the granite, and the rods of the brats, and наших людей. It's the same as the region that says: "Here, there's a place in Ukraine, there's no place чтото сделать готов и можешь это". In February 2015, the man who had been ostracized by Europe achieved a remarkable feat While the conflict in Ukraine drags on and has reached a heavy death toll of 10,000, the Belarusian president is positioning himself as a great peacemaker. He hosted the negotiations between Europe and Vladimir Putin in his presidential palace for what would be called the Minsk agreements.
Europe's last dictatorship is becoming respectable and is giving assurances to obtain the lifting of European sanctions. A few months later, in September 2015, Alexander Lukashenko releases the last political prisoner in Belarus. Nicolas Statkevic finally surrendered after spending more than 5 years in the regime's jails in solitary confinement, the longest sentence ever handed down. Говорю, самое главное, что ну вот самое бачимся, ну что её It's not a good idea for the boat I've posted.
того выпустили блин короче and подумал что просто мне так вот сери вот показать вот это вот забрать болит на реакцию так было чтоматоразо Please note that this is the reason why it is lost. вот так что не ведаю накольки протягнет сЇеловек and I have been fighting for years to show that it is worth sacrificing our freedom for ideologies but today Lukashenko is receiving new support and it is from Western leaders. He is talking to a man who is a dictator and a criminal. By sitting at the same table as Lukasko and talking business, he endorses him, he shows that freedom and IDs are just a farce. That doesn't mean that Alè and I are going to give up.
We will continue the fight for freedom, but it will be more difficult. At the end of September 2015 in Warsaw, a city of refuge for Belarusian political exiles, a decisive game was played at the OSCE summit. On the eve of the presidential elections in Belarus, Europe is preparing to recognize the validity of the vote even though no opposition candidate has been able to register. She even talks about lifting sanctions against Minsk even though the truth about the missing women is still unknown. The representative of the government is confident.
All opponents of the regime came to raise the alarm. Suana and the families of the missing are making a final plea for help. Through you, I would like to send a message to your leaders so that there is finally a real, selfless political will that demands that Minsk create an international investigation into political kidnappings. How can we talk about a rapprochement between Belarus and Brussels? How can we talk about lifting sanctions against Lukashenko given the current context? I consider it criminal to talk with such a regime, a regime that carries so much blood on its shoulders
Before we continue, I'd like to welcome a very special guest who has just been released from prison. I am very happy that Nicol Statkevic is here with us today. It is very strange for me to see Europe recognize its elections as legitimate. I'm That's stupid because you'll never be able to get Lukashenko out of Russia's influence. He is just a puppet. The entire Belarusian economy depends on Russia. Lokhenko is seeking closer ties with the West and he only released me because money from Russia is no longer sufficient.
Russia cannot give him more. By playing games with the West, he wants to scare Russia and get more money from Putin. I will never understand those people who see these elections as progress, and I consider this attitude a betrayal of the Belarusian people. We will continue our fight for our country. We understood that only we could set him free. So please don't stop us from doing it In October 2015, without a real opponent, Alexander Lukashenko was triumphantly re-elected with 89 % of the votes in the silence of the international community.
Сейчас наоборот идёт процесс и пользуется поддержкой народа процесс сильного государства, которое не должно допустить хаоса и тем более гражданской войны внутри. The Belarusian people, living in fear of a civil war scenario like in Ukraine, have chosen the status quo. Brussels will lift the sanctions against Belarus in the coming months. Economic agreements are on the horizon. The master of Minsk triumphs and finds himself a new target. граждан не задействованы by the national economy. Is it worth 100,000 - and the house is 400,000 lost?
Чем они заняты? What happens to the wild? Пора прокращать этовенчество. Кобяков ответственный. It's the first time you've heard this story. At the beginning of 2017, the Belarusian government passed decree number 3. It requires parasites, i.e. the unemployed, students, retirees, to pay the State the equivalent of one month's salary per year. In a country hit hard by the economic crisis, which Russian aid is no longer able to compensate for. This is one step too far. Tens of thousands of people are protesting in all the major cities of the country. A Belarusian spring that takes everyone by surprise.
The social revolt quickly transformed into a movement against the regime. The government is getting scared. Many of the new protesters are those who have always voted for Lukashenko. The repression against the spring rebels was immediate and brutal. Hundreds of people are arrested. 300 km from Minsk, in the city of Gomel, the protest movement has not stopped. Maxime Philippovic, a former factory worker, has become a key figure among the spring rebels. He created his own blog and YouTube channel which has 300,000 followers.
Since I stopped being silent, since I started talking about what is happening in my life and in the lives of others, since I started telling and showing the truth, the problems for me have started. problems at work. At first, I was just a factory worker and I worked as a driver. I tried to assert my rights. We worked very late, but on the board they wrote times that had nothing to do with it. They were cheating. In the end, I was fired. They did not renew my contract. So I started following these peaceful gatherings, filming the demonstrations, the people, what he was saying. Спасибо за поддержку. Maximum damage Спасибо. Maxim becomes a true counter-power. more beautiful. You can watch YouTube posts with comments.
Спасибо за поддержку. Работы нет таким, как я в возрасте уже некуда пойти. Нигде не берут. You can choose to pay for small amounts of money. No matter what you're talking about, it's not the net . Ладно, на пенсия и всё. And then there's the heat. А у их и костюм. This is a girl's jacket. Сограждане. Здравствуйте. Я Александр. Люди in гневе, просто in гневе. Кстати, такого гнева я neither video nor one of the actions. Приветствую. Нормально. Вот они перекрыли, блин. Народ, народ, руки удостоверение.
They started by putting me in prison in solitary confinement. 4 times in a row, 32 days and 30 nights. Привет передавай молодец, Максим держи. Давай мы с тобой серьёзно. Живе Беларусь живе [clearing throat] вам правду сказали. Place your shoes on the sofa. Идёмте спасать наших детей. In my words and in the children's story, the cat was born in Minsk, and it's not the same. закончится. Гордитесь, посмотрите, какое около нас, нашего поколения, зашоренного, затруханного, зачуханного. Какие выросли дети. Small solar light for children. What about this robot? What do you want, who is on the couch? You will see what you hear when you hear it.
выйти и сказать своё нет. And yet, it was very easy to do so On the eve of his final trial, Maxime receives symbolic support, like a passing of the torch. It was in Gomel that Alsky carried out his first acts of protest against the Soviet regime when he was a student. The worst thing for Maxime is that he never really manages to get out of prison. When he has 2 days of his sentence left, he is taken to a closed court without witnesses and 7 or 8 more days are added to his sentence. Then he purges them. He has one or
two days left and then they add more. There are 50 of us waiting for him outside the courthouse. We shout "Maxime!" and the policeman informs us that he is again sentenced to 7 days. They are only afraid of one thing, and that is the truth. We have almost no independent press. Only state media outlets contain a lot of lies. They are afraid of the truth, just the truth. If everyone starts talking about what's happening, how bureaucrats and officials are treating them, if everyone starts talking, you can't even imagine what will happen in this country.
My goal is for the truth to come out everywhere, for people to stop being afraid and to speak out. And that's exactly what's been happening for the last 6 months. I am very happy that the truth is finally starting to come out. In Minsk, the entire police apparatus of the regime is mobilized to keep tabs on those who still speak out. The secret services, they are often as numerous as the demonstrators is special. What is your budget? But you don't have to worry about it. Извините, сегодня государственный праздник. Ганьба. Дякую вам, чтощо вы has not been posted. Thank you for not being afraid and not letting yourself be frightened by this regime which stopped the day before our appointment.
Nicol Statkevic. It wasn't even an arrest, it was a kidnapping, a real kidnapping. For an entire day, his family and friends did not know where he was, whether he was alive or not. That's standard practice in the regime. Kidnapping people, tormenting their families. The regime has been using this practice for years. Marina, Nicolai Stvic's wife, is with us today. The government is putting the best of this country in prison. And what does he hope for? that people will be afraid and will no longer go out, who will no longer demand respect for their rights.
I reiterate once again that the people are not at the service of the regime, but it is the regime that must serve the people. Let's force them to listen to us. On that day, the small procession of 200 protesters dared to defy the security forces by taking over the central avenue of Minsk. The leaders will all be arrested in the coming days. As if nothing had happened, as if the fury of the provinces and the cry of despair from what the State has called a parasite did not exist. Life goes on in the land of the Soviets. [cheer] Здравствуй, я скажу желан. Знаю ты давно ждала меня. No polo shirt or yellow rod in Belorusian soil and your charge за туманами в тишине весовый болей сокровенное несказанное сердце земли моей если что и есть
в мире вечное не music моей ты спроси меня и отвечу я это сердце земли моей Faced with the repression of spring, Europe barely reacted. In a derisory gesture, the European Parliament is organizing a day dedicated to Belarus. Alè Balatki and other opposition members are not giving up on finally making their voices heard. Svetlana Alexevic, the Belarusian-born Nobel laureate in literature, speaks alongside them for the first time Why is communism, which we thought we had so joyfully buried in the 1990s, still alive? And more than that, with all its twists and turns in history, it is even celebrated.
Why in Moscow? The statue of Felix Dginski, the founder of the KGB, was on the ground. Why is this statue standing again and ready to walk? Walk where? In which direction? Where should we go? What awaits us? Why was a plaque placed in memory of Stalin where he had his office? And why are dozens of Stalin museums opening everywhere? Why does our history repeat itself in such a crazy way? Spring has clearly shown that everything can change quickly. The very unstable situation persists, but despite all this, we, with our colleagues and partners, are looking for ways to continue our work and we are addressing our request to the
European Parliament to continue providing moral support to the democratic forces of Belarusian society because they are the stable partners of the European Union. Most Belarusians want to live in Europe. He sees himself as part of European society and they are your long- term partners. Сталина бесплатное photography on the background of the banner and weapon победы в руках. While waiting for Europe to react, Belarus is preparing to celebrate a new rapprochement with Moscow. On July 3rd for the national holiday in
the large amusement park dedicated to Stalin, families reenact the resistance against the invader. Поднимай, поднимай. Всё, ты разобрал. Sobiray. In Minsk, the two armies are displayed side by side as a preview of the major maneuvers of September 2017 where 100,000 Russian soldiers were deployed on Belarusian soil. For the occasion, Vladimir Putin gave them the name Zapad, the West. The sound of marching boots at the borders revives a Cold War atmosphere. Moscow's ultimate challenge and the eternal return of the great game between East and West. There will be Thousands of foreign soldiers from a country waging wars all
around will find themselves on our land. The scenario for these exercises is very aggressive. We risk finding ourselves not under internal occupation, but worse, under external occupation. It is the responsibility of the sons and daughters of Béarus to safeguard our country, to liberate it and to protect it. Long live Belarus. Our goal is to live in a normal country. Me, I just want a normal country and a decent life for people. Not to be ashamed, not to feel like you've made a mistake or betrayed anyone. To tell ourselves that we spoke when we should have spoken, that we acted when we could act. For almost my entire life, I have wanted change for my country
and I haven't given up hope that these efforts will one day bear fruit. And I even see that this is already the case to some extent. These changes may not be very noticeable. Belarus is covered by a blanket, but beneath this blanket, processes are at work. Our work is one of the elements that contributes to the maturation of society. This is fundamental. symbol of these stirrings, the OSCE held its annual congress in Minsk for the first time. NGOs and members of the opposition found themselves at the same table as Belarusian officials in a human rights conference, a meeting that had been
unthinkable until now. Paris, the West, wants to engage in dialogue with the last dictator in Europe. Lukashenko is playing a double game, courting both Moscow and Brussels. But also a real hope for those who resist, hoping that the trap of real politics will not close on them. into the face of like a sting the freedom breath for peace of let your like a thing my guitar wants to say me the magic where the children of sh the dreams with you and me you and
