"People in Uniforms Will Not Stand up": How a Young Policeman Went Over to the Side of the People and Became a Rebel

A lieutenant from the Miadzel District Department of Internal Affairs has a hobby - writing poetry.

Last summer, 22-year-old Aliaksandr graduated from the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After receiving his diploma, the guy began to work as a district police officer in the Miadzel District Department of Internal Affairs. True, his career in the organs lasted just over four months. On December 14, the young man was fired. The blame was the poem, which he wrote on August 31, writes onliner.by.

- I entered the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs back in 2016 - at the investigative and expert faculty, - says the guy. - Firstly, the work seemed interesting. Secondly, my parents could not pay for school, so I decided to go there. I entered. True, already in the first year, I wanted to drop out, but my relatives persuaded me not to quit. For the first year of study, I would have had to pay about $ 5 thousand. I had no one to rely on, and my family could not pay such an amount. So I continued my studies.

Last year, the graduate realized that he still wants to work not in the Investigative Committee but the police. I went to my homeland - to the Miadzel region. There he was hired as a district inspector at the ROVD.

- I came to work on July 27, just during the election campaign. Even then, I realized that it would be hard to work. People were detained for balloons and so on, - Aliaksandr recalls.

By the way, the guy himself did not go to early voting, but on election day, he worked, so he never made it to the polling station. In fact, he missed the first presidential election in his life.

"Since August 9, we have been on duty; we worked every day," the young man says. - At first, they didn't send me anywhere at all. But in the Miadzel region, they went out to peaceful protests; people got up in the chain of solidarity. Such a movement began, I did not even expect that so many people would come out - and not only in Miadzel, where 7 thousand people live, but also in other settlements.

One day three or four women gathered near the Miadzel Euroopt. They stood with ribbons. We were told to detain them. We took them to the ROVD. There we were told to draw up a report on them. I refused. What is the protocol for? Because they stood with ribbons? They didn't do anything wrong. Then they had the first preventive conversation with me. I referred to the fact that the young employee had never written such protocols; I do not know the plot; therefore, I will not write.

Aliaksandr says: if he had such an opportunity, he would quit immediately after the elections. But he was held by a contract, according to which he had to work for five years. Otherwise, the state would have to reimburse the costs of studying at the academy.

- I understood that I was a hostage of the situation. I couldn't do anything. I was frightened and now is frightened by the claim of 50 thousand rubles, which will have to be paid. My parents will not help me: my father is retired, you understand what pension he has. Mother works in a sanatorium as a kitchen worker - now, with a "covid," she often sits at her own expense. Good if she earns 150-200 rubles a month. Therefore, there were not too many options to leave. I continued to serve and tried to remain human. That's what my father always told me.

"In the poem, I expressed my civic position, I have the right"

Aliaksandr has a hobby - writing poetry. For friends, he puts them in a small group on VKontakte for six people. On August 31, the guy wrote the following lines:

The poem surfaced in December. After sick leave due to coronavirus, the young man came to work, and soon his superiors called him.

- There were also employees of the regional administration in the office. They say: read it, here are the results of the check. I did not know that there was any kind of check, but I assumed that this could be, - says Aliaksandr. - The materials indicated that I posted a poem that discredited the internal affairs bodies, which gained hundreds of views, caused a huge public outcry. But this is not true. After all this, I made a screenshot: in December, there were 38 views. The second screenshot with statistics shows that almost half of the views fell on the period of the check itself. But in general, in the poem, I expressed my civic position, I have the right.

In addition, in the materials of the check, it was stated that "also at this time in the Telegram channels "Vybor Narochantsev" and "Pro Naroch," two users have written offensive poems against some employees." Although I did not write these poems - why is it indicated?

I then came to the office without a phone, so I could not photograph the document. Later I tried to get acquainted with the materials of the check, but they threw me back and forth, so far, it did not work.

Aliaksandr wrote a report to the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, in which he indicated his remarks, referring to the Constitution. He wrote that he was a young employee and promised that such situations would no longer happen. However, the answer came disappointing: the arguments about the unfounded dismissal were not confirmed.

"If the situation in the country changes, then I would return"

After such a dismissal, Aliaksandr was depressed for a month. Thanks to friends and his girlfriend, who really supported him.

- I moved to Minsk, trying to find a job. Now it is very important for me to find a job; as soon as I will be sued, I will need to pay off my debt to the state.

However, the guy does not regret his actions, even though he lost a rather good salary by Miadzel's standards.

- I have not done anything illegal. When I was writing a poem, I realized that I was writing, of course. But to regret... No, - he thinks. - Now I am a little scared for what awaits me in the future and where to go. I go to interviews, but so far, it is difficult to find a job with a diploma from the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Under what conditions would I return to the police? Now I cannot answer this question. But if the situation in the country changes, then I would return. In general, among the employees, for example, of the Miadzel District Department of Internal Affairs, there are quite a few good people. But someone is holding a contract with payments, and many do not know where to go. In Miadzel, in fact, there is no work. In Narach, it is still possible, but due to the "covid," all the sanatoriums are closed, there are no earnings. If you only open individual entrepreneurship, but in Miadzel, it is quite difficult to develop a business since there is a national park nearby, a state structure. It is quite difficult for entrepreneurs to compete with it.

Officially

What does the order to dismiss Aliaksandr say

"To transfer to the reserve of the Armed Forces under subparagraph 180.7 of paragraph 180 of the Regulations on the passage of service in the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Belarus and exclude from the lists of personnel in connection with the commission of an offense incompatible with being on service in the internal affairs bodies, provided for by the service contract, as grounds for its early termination or termination of its action, expressed in the posting on the Internet of information discrediting state bodies, which entailed damage to the image and authority of the internal affairs bodies, police lieutenant Kuchynski Aliaksandr Iosifavich - district police inspector of the department of law enforcement and prevention of the department of internal affairs Miadzel regional executive committee."

What did they answer to Aliaksandr's report to the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee

"An official check of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee in relation to you on the fact of posting on the VKontakte social network of the global computer network of the Internet information discrediting the internal affairs bodies was appointed due to the existence of grounds provided for by the regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and was carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Instruction on the procedure for organizing and conducting an official inspection in the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Belarus.

By order of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee of 12/14/2020 No. 230 l / s, you were dismissed from the internal affairs bodies under subparagraph 180.7 (with the commission of a misdemeanor under the service contract as a basis for its early termination) of paragraph 180 of the Regulation and are excluded from personnel lists. The disciplinary sanction was applied to you in accordance with the requirements of the Disciplinary Charter of the Internal Affairs Bodies of the Republic of Belarus, approved by the decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated May 29, 2003 No. 218 (hereinafter - the Disciplinary Charter).

During the consideration of your appeal, the arguments regarding the unjustified application of disciplinary sanction in the form of dismissal from the internal affairs bodies have not been objectively confirmed and do not require additional verification.

In accordance with clause 50 of the Disciplinary Charter, in case of disagreement with the decision on the application of a disciplinary sanction, an employee of the internal affairs bodies has the right to appeal this decision to a higher superior within one month from the day he was familiarized with the order on the application of a disciplinary sanction, and then to the court. "