Pushkin And The No-Name

Everyone remembered Ales Pushkin, but no one remembered Lukashenka.

A colleague from a friendly media outlet in exile recently called: “Listen, Belarus is soon celebrating an anniversary — Lukashenka has been in power for 30 years. And we had an idea to record monologues of Nobel laureates: what do they think about Lukashenka? Would you like to do this material? The fee will be higher, I already spoke with the Editor-in-Chief.” No, I said, I don’t want to.

The colleague was surprised. Everyone really needs money, and a higher fee for a material that doesn’t require much effort — maybe just turning on the recorder at the right time and then transcribing the text — is practically manna from heaven. The costs are a penny, and the reward is a ruble — grab the opportunity while you have it. I explained: you see, my friend, the problem is that I don’t care at all what Nobel laureates, or American presidents, or North Africans, or the chorus of jokers from the conductors’ reserve think about Lukashenka. I don’t care about anyone’s opinion of him. I don’t care at all, no matter how sweet the fee. I can work absolutely free of charge on what interests me. But on something deadly boring and annoying to the point of nausea — not for anything. Fortunately, my colleague understood.

But Lukashenka didn’t understand the main thing: in 30 years, he has not only earned the hatred of the entire nation. He has also bored everyone. Mortally bored. People are fed up, to put it simply. It was 15-20 years ago that his speeches and press conferences were taken apart for quotes, analyzed and they tried to understand what he meant and what other surprises Belarusians should expect in the near future in connection with what he said. And then they stopped. Firstly, people understood that his speeches did not carry any semantic load. Secondly, they simply got bored. Thirdly, he got on their nerves. “Where was the attack on Belarus being prepared from?” even this was funny not because Lukashenka said it, but because the cheerful workers of the Internet began to breed memes, attaching him to the potty in kindergarten, then to Mr. Bean in a train compartment.

On July 10, I opened social media with certain apprehension: what if someone starts writing about 30 years, quoting something, making predictions and generally remembering. But for the whole day there was nothing. Belarusians on social media mourned the dead Kievans, languished in the heat, supported each other, published photos from vacation, discussed football, and posted cats. Nobody remembered what happened 30 years ago, and for which reason accordion players were probably dancing and moonshine was flowing in some mansion near Minsk. Not a word, not a half word. By the way, even the few outcast friends like Putin did not remember the date, and did not congratulate.

But the very next day, July 11, the entire Belarusian feed seemed to explode: Ales Pushkin. The anniversary of the artist's death in a Hrodna prison. The whole day — only Ales Pushkin: photographs, memories, prison drawings, links to documentaries about him. Grief, bitterness, and tears.

Here is Ales Pushkin, still a student, at his first action, still under the USSR, walking along the then Lenin avenue. He is carrying a huge poster on himself, which says: “Citizen! On this day 71 ago, the Belarusian People’s Republic was declared. Remember and think about this! Long live independent Belarus!” Here is Ales Pushkin pushing his famous wheelbarrow with manure, here he is sticking a pitchfork into the portrait of someone no one remembered. Here is Ales Pushkin talking about the artist’s calling in a documentary. Here is Ales Pushkin painting a church. And here is the last performance – Ales is lying in a cage on the dock, turning his face to the wall. He does not protest – he simply despises those who try him.

In one day, everyone learned something new about Pushkin. A book could have been made from just the Facebook posts on the anniversary of his death. Ales was remembered by those who had known him for a long time, and those who had previously known his work and performances, and those who first heard about him after his arrest. From now on, this day, July 11, will always be the day of remembrance of Ales Pushkin.

The past two days are the best illustration of what is important for Belarusians. No one remembered Lukashenka's 30 years, many thousands remembered Ales Pushkin. Ales Pushkin is simply the history of Belarus. And Lukashenka has nothing to do with the history of Belarus. Just a mistake of nature.

Iryna Khalip, exclusively for Charter97.org

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