Lukashenka And Putin At Chechen Wedding

A final shot in the air, a warning shot to the head.

On Wednesday, shots were fired into the air in Minsk and Brest. The inhuman creative abilities of Lukashenka’s minions finally culminated in a ritual to celebrate April 2, which in their circles is called "the day of the unity of the peoples of Belarus and Russia." Now, every year, a ‘shot of memory’ will be heard in Minsk and at the Brest Fortress.

The best minds of the state have surely worked for decades on the task of coming up with a symbol for "Unity Day." And finally, they came up with it. The best symbol of unity — a shot. As the propaganda puts it, a "midday solitary dry shot from an artillery gun". Indeed, you can't come up with anything better. However, they did copy this from the Russians — seven years ago, in Kalach-na-Donu, a similar shot was fired on the 75th anniversary of the start of the counteroffensive near Stalingrad. But for the unity with the Belarusian people, for some reason, no one in Russia fired even a solitary dry shot on April 2.

However, in Minsk, as expected, they gathered the most powerless people — soldiers, cadets, and schoolchildren. The schoolchildren were handed carnations, which they had to lay at the monument on Victory Avenue. The girls were made to wear camouflage berets, symbolizing patriotism and appropriate respect for the security forces. Soldiers and cadets were dressed in Soviet army uniforms — helmets and raincoats. Some officers and the army ideologist from the Ministry of Defense depicted unity. They announced that the shot was being made with the support of the Ministries of Defense of Belarus and Russia. Apparently, things are so bad at these ministries that they had to unite and pitch in for a single dry shot. After the shot, the ideologist of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense and the Russian embassy’s advisor were presented with commemorative certificates. I wonder what’s written in them? "I was a witness to a solitary dry midday shot"?

In Minsk, the task of firing the shot was entrusted to artillery cadets from the military academy, while in Brest, apparently, no artillerymen were available, and so the Russian consul and the deputy chairman of the Brest regional executive committee fired the shot from a howitzer. By a stroke of luck, no one was harmed. Though it’s rather improper to bring schoolchildren to a place where only officials, not military personnel, are allowed near the howitzer, even if the shot was planned to be a solitary dry.

The shot as a symbol of unity is, of course, an incredibly successful idea for journalists, bloggers, and those who like to mock and laugh. But those who seriously devised all this, submitted project proposals, and those who approved and placed it on the desks of various civilians and military personnel – did they themselves realize the absurdity of what they had concocted? Let’s recall where it’s common to fire into the air when it’s not about military exercises.

For example, shots are fired at Chechen weddings. This tradition has long existed and flows from the ancestral villages in Chechnya to where the bearers of these traditions have moved. About ten years ago, shooting from wedding convoys right in the middle of Moscow became the norm. The shooters were detained, fined, and the prosecutor from the Shalinsky district was even fired for shooting at a wedding, but no bans have been able to eliminate this tradition.

Shots are also fired during the funerals of military personnel. This is no longer a tradition but a military honor. It is prescribed in the general military statutes of the armed forces. The honorary escort fires three dry shots into the air, after which the funeral orchestra plays the anthem, and the coffin is lowered into the ground.

Also, law enforcement officers fire into the air during a pursuit: first, a warning shot in the air, followed by the next one aimed at the target. They don’t shoot dry, though. But the first shot is indeed into the air, just like at the monument.

So, what is it, really, with Lukashenka and Putin? A Chechen wedding, a funeral, or a warning shot before shooting to kill? It looks like all three, and even something more: when the phrase "unity of the peoples of Belarus and Russia" is mentioned, everyone just wants to shoot. Even Lukashenka.

Iryna Khalip, specially for Charter97.org

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail [email protected]