#pushkinskaya 10

[went-looking]

"Kill the King, Crown the Witches"

On April 24, 2009, I attended a Patrick Wolf concert in St. Petersburg. For those who aren’t familiar, Patrick is an English musician who is difficult to pigeonhole in a specific genre. He plays a wide variety of instruments and has a rather devoted fan base, which includes me. I considered myself very lucky: this was his first concert in the city and the venue was a short five-minute walk from…

[russianreader]

"Our characters find themselves trapped in confined spaces where both physical and emotional tensions escalate."

“The Cop Party,” an early edition of The Russian Reader, which started life as a series of happenings. Pushkinskaya 10 artists’ squat, Petersburg, circa 1995 What’s the point of this flash mob? The nostalgia of aging people for their own youth? The illusion of normality in a situation of growing abnormality? The illusion of solidarity in a situation where all sociability is…

[omg-lucio]

1939. Trolebús de dos pisos JATB-3 en la plaza Pushkinskaya, Moscú. Sólo se fabricaron 10 unidades del vehículo y estuvieron en funcionamiento hasta 1953.

[alexsmitposts]

Belarus has revealed details of the biography of a protester who died in Minsk on August 10. This is reported by radio Svaboda. They turned out to be 34-year-old Alexander Taraykovsky, an individual entrepreneur who sold autoroutes. in his hands, an improvised device exploded, which he wanted to throw at the security forces. Trajkovski served seven years for causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death.Thousands of Belarusians gathered on Pushkinskaya square in Minsk to create a spontaneous memorial to the criminal who tried to kill riot police with a bomb !Now you understand who they are "peaceful" defenders of the" rights " of Belarusians!They have their own heroes!

[realrussia]

Biological warfare against Russia.

Igornews. Biological warfare against Russia. --------------------------------------------- According to the latest information from the Russian Defense Ministry, there were 14 biological laboratories in Ukraine working for the Pentagon and funded by the Pentagon. Another 16 worked with NATO funding. The data was obtained according to the intelligence data of the Russian Defense Ministry + the documents were captured by the biological laboratory in Kherson. The Russian Defense Ministry said that in these laboratories they worked with pathogens of dangerous infections. According to the Russian military department, biological programs are being urgently curtailed in Ukraine on the instructions of the United States. This is confirmed by documents discovered the day before by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which state that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has set a task from February 24 to completely destroy biomaterials in laboratories. Here is an incomplete list of US biological laboratories in Ukraine. 1) Institute of Veterinary Medicine - built in April 2013. It is located at the address: Kiev, Donetsk str., 30. Donor: US Department of Defense; Beneficiary: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch. Ukrainian contracting organizations: LLC "Design and Technical Center" (designer) and the company "Mediamax" (construction work and equipment supply); project cost: 2 million 109 thousand 375 dollars. 2) Laboratory on the basis of the Central Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine-located at the address: Kiev, Yaroslavskaya str., 41 3) The Central Reference Laboratory of the Ukrainian Research Anti-Plague Institute - the laboratory was built in September 2009. It is located at the address: Odessa, Tserkovnaya str., 2/4. Donor: US Department of Defense; 4) Vinnytsia Diagnostic Laboratory - built in August 2010. Located at the address: Vinnitsa, Malinovsky str., 11. Donor: US Department of Defense; 5) Transcarpathian Diagnostic Laboratory - built in July 2011. Located at the address: Uzhgorod, Sobran str., 96. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 6) Dnepropetrovsk Diagnostic Laboratory - built in October 2011. It is located at the address: Dnipro, Schmidt str., 26, Philosophical str., 39A. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 7) Dnepropetrovsk State Regional Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine - built in April 2013. It is located at the address: Dnipro, Kirov Ave. 48. Donor: US Department of Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 8) Lviv Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine - built in April 2013. It is located at the address: Lviv, Zelenaya str., 12. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 9) Lviv State Regional Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine - built in December 2012. It is located at the address: Lviv, Promyshlennaya str., 7. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 10) Lviv Diagnostic Laboratory - built in December 2012. Located at: Lviv, Krupyarskaya str., 27. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; USD). 11) The Central Reference Laboratory of Infectious Diseases of Animals was built presumably in September 2013. It is located at the address: Kharkiv region, Merefa, Silk Railway station district. Donor: US Department of Defense; Cost: about $15 million. 12) Laboratory based on the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine - built in December 2012. It is located at the address: Kharkiv, Pomerki district, Pushkinskaya str., 83. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 13) Ternopil Diagnostic Laboratory - built in December 2012. It is located at the address: Ternopil, Fedkovicha str., 13. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch; 14) Kherson Diagnostic Laboratory - built in December 2012. Located at the address: Kherson, ul. Uvarova, 3. Donor: US Department of Defense; Contractors: American engineering company Black & Veatch;

In addition, there are many small laboratories with funding from NATO countries.

Analysis of acts of destruction of biomaterials shows work with pathogens of plague, anthrax and brucellosis in the Lviv Biological Laboratory. Pathogens of diphtheria, salmonellosis and dysentery in the laboratories of Kharkov and Poltava.

The "curators" of the Ukrainian laboratories from the Pentagon understand that if these collections get to specialists from Russia, then Kiev and Washington's violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons will be confirmed with a high degree of probability. Namely, about carrying out work to enhance the pathogenic properties of microorganisms by methods of synthetic biology in relation to the Slavic ethnic group.

In 2016, near Kharkiv, several dozen servicemen died from a severe form of swine flu, strains of which are also included in the "golden collection" of biolabs. Three years later, in the Donetsk region (the village of Avdiivka), the Ukrainian military was struck by an infection very similar to the plague. Russia even had to put up a sanitary cordon at the border.

Cases of export of samples of biomaterial of compatriots by foreign specialists have already been recorded in Russia. Theoretically, this will allow you to remove virus strains to which the immune system of individual nationalities will be useless. Genetic biomaterial collected from a large sample of people of the same nationality can also become the basis for the synthesis of toxins to which other ethnic groups will be less susceptible. After all, the $100 billion spent on the biolab program by American taxpayers should not have been wasted. "The customer of the work being carried out is the US Department of Defense Office for Reducing the Military Threat (Ditra), a company affiliated with the military department, primarily Black and Veatch and the Pentagon, participates in the implementation of projects.

On February 10, 2022, the US Department of Defense sent samples of the smallpox virus by a special military board to its military biological laboratory in Kharkiv.

According to Western sources, the White House ordered the military from the Pentagon to transport and prepare the smallpox virus for its use in combat and crisis situations.

Thanks to the information leak, it became known that the US military, with the help of Ukrainian nationalists, are planning to carry out a provocation using biological weapons. The media will spread information that some Russian saboteurs destroyed a biological laboratory from where an active strain of the smallpox virus leaked.

In 2013, the US Department of Defense built a biological laboratory on the basis of the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine of Ukraine, where dangerous strains of viruses began to be delivered. The laboratory itself is located at the address: Kharkiv, Pomerka district, Pushkinskaya str., 83.

The contractor was the American engineering company "Black & Veatch", the same one that has been building biological laboratories for the Pentagon in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan since 2001.

The project to surround Russia with biological objects is carried out by a special unit of the Pentagon, called the Military Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). In Ukraine, this activity was supervised by the US Embassy in Kiev.

Over the past two months, 7 special cargoes have been sent to the Kharkiv Biological Laboratory of the United States, under the guise of military assistance to Ukraine. It is noteworthy that the sender is the US Army Biological Research Center "Fort Detrick" in Maryland. Local residents of the state nicknamed this place "The House of Death". It is not surprising, because on the territory of this military camp, Pentagon microbiologists are upgrading deadly infections, including smallpox, bubonic plague, tropical fever, and anthrax, increasing their resistance to modern vaccines and medicines. Moreover, studies are conducted with the concept of the influence of viruses on a certain ethnic group of a person. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Onishchenko clarified that biological laboratories in Ukraine are much more dangerous than the deployment of military or military bases on the territory of a foreign state. They pose a threat both to the population of the country in which they are located and to neighboring States. Onishchenko called a terrible distinguishing feature of such research centers: "The worst thing is that all these laboratories are not controlled by local authorities. They are simply not allowed there: neither specialists nor political authorities. The Americans behave in the same way at their military bases on any foreign territory."

In 2020-2021, the German Ministry of Defense conducted a study on the territory of Ukraine of pathogens of Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, meningitis, hantaviruses. This was done as part of the implementation of the Ukrainian-German initiative to ensure biological security at the external borders of the European Union.

Under the pretext of testing the treatment and prevention of COVID coronavirus infection, several thousand samples of patients' blood serum were taken from Ukraine to the Walter Reed US Army Research Institute. First of all, they are associated with the Slavic ethnic group.

American laboratories in Ukraine worked on this topic. Thousands of DNA samples of the Slavic population group were exported to the United States for research. The United States has made Ukraine a testing ground for biological ethnic weapons, and now they are afraid of international publicity.

[ohioprelawland]

The Current News In Belarus

By Teresa Lebowitz, The Ohio State University Class of 2023

August 15, 2020

Political unrest broke out in Belarus on Sundaydue to the results in the recent presidential election. Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has kept a tight grip on the country since 1994 when he was first voted into office – and has won every election since. [1] These trends have caused questions of election fraud, sparking backlash from both EU countries and Belarusian citizens.

In the 2020 election, Lukashenko faced an unprecedented and formidable enemy to his reign. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former teacher, stood in for her husband as a presidential candidate after he was jailed. [2] She managed to unite opposing groups and gain thousands of campaign allies, sparking the largest demonstrations against the government in Belarus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. [3]

Her defeat caused mass civilian disruption over fairness in the elections in the capital city of Minsk and other metropolitan areas. Official results claimed that Lukashenko received eighty percent of the vote, while Tikhanovskaya received only ten percent. Tsikhanouskaya demanded an official recount to the Central Election Commission, but violence still ensued. [3] One protestor died in a protest Monday night when an explosive device burst in his hand, killing him. 3,000 protestors tried to build barricades around Pushkinskaya station. Thousands of people were injured and arrested after being met with tear gas, water cannons and truncheons, also known as police batons. In downtown Minsk, protestors chanted “Freedom” and “Long Live Belarus!” while law enforcement continued to push back the crowd. [4]

Lukashenko rebuked the opposition, calling them “sheep,” but has not yet faced the anger of his people and neighboring countries. Authorities took down Internet and mobile networks to halt protestors from coordinating with one another. Both EU foreign policy chief JosepBorrel and EU commissioner Oliver Varhelyi condemned the violence against these peaceful protestors. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki summoned EU leaders to hold a summit concerning the Belarusian people’s efforts for democracy. [3] Even US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed deep concern about the election process, referencing “severe restrictions on ballot access for candidates, prohibition of local independent observers at polling stations, intimidation tactics employed against opposition candidates, and the detentions of peaceful protesters and journalists.” [5] Since the early 2000s the United States and European Union have enacted sanctions against the government to diminish Lukashenko’s power.Both the US and EU have loosened their bans over time due to Lukashenko’s compliance, but the country continues to defy both entities’ democratic principles.

When the election results were first released,Tikhanovskaya refused to accept them. “We have already won,” she stated from her campaign headquarters, “because we have overcome our fear, our apathy and our indifference.” [1] But, Tikhanovskaya’s refusal to comply with the government came with a huge cost to her safety. On Tuesday, August 11, her team announced Tikhanovskayaleft for Lithuania and encouraged her supporters to end the violence. Tikhanovskaya addressed the public in a video, stating “it was a very hard decision to make.” Those closest to her claim the decision was made under duress and was necessary for the well-being of her family and loved ones. Many people questioned the actions of the government against Tikhanovskaya, as she released the statement encouraging the people to comply with the law only hours after refuting the reelection of Lukashenko.

Lukashenko continues to push back against protestors, stating that “we [the government] will not allow them [the protestors] to tear the country apart.” [6] He stands confidently in the light of the election results and has even received congratulatory remarks from other authoritarian leaders. Chinese President Xi Jinping extended “warm congratulation and best wishes” to the incumbent through China’s state-run news system, Xinhua. President Vladimir Putin from Russia said the vote to re-elect Lukashenko “undoubtedly meets the fundamental interests of the fraternal peoples of Russia and Belarus,” mentioning the prospect of possible mutually beneficial relations between the two countries. [5] The most unsettling part is the nature of both men’s rise to power, though.They were “voted” into power by the people, but Xi and Putin manipulated the law to secure their seats for longer than warranted. If history repeats itself, Lukashenko may continue to hold the title of “Europe’s last dictator” for a very long time.

________________________________________________________________

[1] VOA News. “Lukashenko Declared Winner in Belarus Election for 6th Straight Term.” 10 Aug. 2020, www.voanews.com/europe/lukashenko-declared-winner-belarus-election-6th-straight-term.

[2] Ilyushina, Mary, and Tara John. “Belarus' Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Flees to Lithuania amid Crackdown on Election Protests.” MSN News, 11 Aug. 2020, www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/belarus-svetlana-tikhanovskaya-flees-to-lithuania-amid-crackdown-on-election-protests/ar-BB17Pav2.

[3] Karmanau, Yuras. “Protester Dies in Clashes after Disputed Belarus Vote.” WPRI.com, WPRI.com, 11 Aug. 2020, www.wpri.com/news/us-and-world/belarus-leader-wins-sixth-term-with-over-80-of-votes/.

[4] Karmanau, Yuras. “Lukashenko Opponent Left Belarus under Duress, Say Aides.” The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2020, www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2020/0811/Lukashenko-opponent-left-Belarus-under-duress-say-aides.

[5] Hodge, Nathan. “Analysis: As Belarusians Protest, Xi and Putin Rally behind Lukashenko.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/10/europe/belarus-lukashenko-election-analysis-intl/index.html.

[6] Nechepurenko, Ivan, and Andrew Higgins. “Belarus's Leader Vows to Crush Protests After Claiming Landslide Election Win.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Aug. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/world/europe/belarus-election.html.

[psychicdisco]

boy around the world (st. petersburg)

- finally finished, added some details, etc linework was down in fineliners, digital colour, the photograph I took last year in st. petersburg at the art center "Pushkinskaya-10"

[artsinurbanplaces2019-blog]

June 10, 2019 On Monday we met up with Lera again in the Art Center “Pushkinskaya-10” to talk about public art. She showed us pictures of various art installations and asked whether they can be considered as public art. For this, we had to take one step back and define what we think art is in the first place. Early on it became clear that there is not one single definition that pinpoints its meaning, as art is subjective and each of us has their very own perspective on what it constitutes and how to distinguish between good and bad art. Lera also shared her personal view on public art which was maybe a bit more on the radical side, because for her good art needs to contain a critical and political message that sparks discussions among the public, and the artist moreover has to take responsibility for his work and stand by it. After all the discussion, we walked to the Hero City Obelisk and were asked how we would change up the square in the frame of public art. A lot of people came up with interesting ideas that we will share in our upcoming exhibition. After that we had a short lunch break. At 3pm we met up again in the drb building and had a workshop with Valentina called “City Performance”. We started with a meditation where each of us had to mindfully put one foot in front of the other, trying to let go of all other thoughts. In the evaluation quite a few said that it was their favorite practice. We did some more group activities and performances using our environment as inspiration. After dinner, some of us went to a ballet performance in the center, and others spend the evening by the Baltic sea listening to music, dancing, and enjoying the view.

[russianreader]

(A Quiet) Civil War

(A Quiet) Civil War

  (A Quiet) Civil War • Dictionary of War, Novi Sad edition, January 25–26, 2008 My concept is “civil war”— or rather, “a quiet (civil war).” Another variant might be: cold civil war. I will talk about how the (global) economy of war—hot war, cold war, civil war—is experienced by victims and bystanders in a place seemingly far from actual frontlines. In reality, the frontlines are…

[pollyjwilliamsartist]

‘Incantation’ invitation, 2018. Exhibition by Polly Williams 

2,04 Gallery, SPAR, 21 April 2018, St. Petersburg Art Residency

Art-centre “Pushkinskaya-10” Pushkinskaya street 10 191040, Russia, St.-Petersburg

copyright: pollyjwilliamsartist

[euromaidanpress]

[box]Starting from August 12, the protests against a rigged vote in Belarus have taken a remarkable turn – women in white clothes carried flowers and formed chains in different cities to protest against unlawful detentions and violence of riot police. Such protests present a challenge to the brutal riot police — beating women would be shameful and undermine Lukashenka’s regime further. Thus, police officers are faced with a moral dilemma.

After the first deaths of protesters during clashes with riot police, Lukashenka lost the remnants of his legitimacy. Understanding this, some police officers quit. Fascinating videos and photos appear where women hug riot police officers who lower their shields, indicating that they support the people, and even a policeman giving flowers to protesting women. All this culminated in a huge commemoration of the first victim killed by the riot police in Minsk on Saturday, 15th August. [/box]

The first human chain formed by women wearing white clothes started on 12 August in central Minsk. Hundreds of women gathered next to the Minsk Komarovsky Market. Four central subway stations were closed in Minsk by the authorities “for safety reasons.” The internet was also shut down for some time. But this couldn’t stop participation in the protests. The rally soon spread throughout the country.

The beginning of the first rally of ladies in white in Minsk, on 12 August after mass detentions and beatings. Photo: hromadske

“I’m here because I care. I feel pain because of what is happening, to both men and women. Lawlessness, arbitrariness. We all stand for the same thing here. We want people in our country to be respected,”

said one of the protesters. Many of them have personal motives to participate in the rally, to protect imprisoned and tortured relatives:

“I know that many of my friends were detained. I don’t know where they are now. Nobody answers, they have no phones. If men are taken away, we will stay with the women here.”

Two police officers tried to stop the demonstration, claiming it was not authorized. The women slowly turned around with their hands behind their heads, as if they were arrested, and walked in a column through Minsk. Then the movement spread to other cities throughout Belarus.

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The main purpose of the rally was to protect those 6,000 protesters who were unlawfully detained on 9-12 August.

Pictures of beaten and tortured men and women circulated on the web as soon as the first detainees were released. Source: Belsat/Nexta Live

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Pictures of beaten and tortured men and women circulated in the web as soon as first detainees were released. Source: Tut.by

Pictures of beaten and tortured men and women circulated in the web as soon as first detainees were released. Source: Tut.by

  Women brought posters that say: “We want political prisoners back”, “Stop tortures” and “Fair elections.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[box]The idea of women in white protesting with flowers is not entirely new. In 2003, Ladies in White was an opposition movement in Cuba. Wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents demanded to release them. White was chosen to symbolize peace.

In Belarus, white color is chosen not only as the color of peace. It is also the color of opposition. Moreover, white is the main color of the flag of the Belarusian nation, the main flag used in the protests, as opposed to the post-Soviet state flag which is the official flag of Belarus nowadays. [/box]

The opposition movement in Belarus already has a very female character. It’s three main leaders are women: Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo, and Maria Kolesnikova. The first two had to emigrate to Vilnius and Moscow due to threats.

Closer to victory?

The protests of ladies in white that later were joined by factory workers and other Belarusians proved to be successful. Although it is still far to victory and Lukashenka fulfilling demands of the protesters, the fact that many riot police officers became loyal to protesters or even joined the protests is inspiring.

Women started hugging a riot police officer who refused to raise shield against demonstrators:

Not all police officers stay with Lukashenka. Many have resigned and threw away their shoulder straps and police signs, filming videos of how they are throwing these signs to a bin or toilet. Some have even joined the protests, giving flowers to the protesting women.

https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1294328503605788674

Although those are not the majority of police officers, the popular chant “Police with people” step by step acquires real meaning.

A woman stands close to a riot police officer with the poster: “We have to be protected, not beaten.” Source: Tut.by

At the House of Government, protesters give flowers to a riot police officer who lowered his shield. Photo: nn.by

On 14 August, women also marched near the Belarusian KGB main office. The Belarusian security service hasn’t undergone even cosmetic reforms since Soviet times, bearing the same name as 30 years ago. KGB is responsible for a considerable part of arrests of opposition candidates, including unregistered presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, as well as ordinary activists and protesters.

Women near KGB. Source: Tut.by

On 14 August, Belarusian women also organized a new creative rally, carrying the biggest white ribbon ever.

https://twitter.com/franakviacorka/status/1294280289301258241

Today, on Saturday, 15th August, protests continue, culminating as thousands came to commemorate Aliaksandr Taraykousky who was shot by riot police on the night of August 10.

https://twitter.com/shaunwalker7/status/1294571517985128449

The funeral procession passed through Pushkinskaya station in Minsk where Taraykousky was shot dead by the security forces on the second day of protests.

Commemoration of Aliaksandr Taraykousky, 15th August 2020, Minsk. Source: Facebook page of belteanews

Flowers stronger than guns as "Ladies in White" protests spread throughout Belarus Starting from August 12, the protests against a rigged vote in Belarus have taken a remarkable turn - women in white clothes carried flowers and formed chains in different cities to protest against unlawful detentions and violence of riot police.

[topnewstodaylive]

People begin to gather at the place of death of a protester in #Minsk

People begin to gather at the place of death of a protester in #Minsk

Minsk residents begin to gather in the vicinity of the Pushkinskaya metro station, where on August 10, during a protest against the results of the presidential elections, one of the protesters died.

According to the core. TASS, there are several hundred people there. They hold flowers in their hands. Drivers passing by honk in solidarity. The funeral of the deceased will take place today. His…

[kitohuu]

Đức TGM Minsk kêu gọi đối thoại tránh nội chiến cho Belarus

Sau chiến thắng gây tranh cãi của ông Lukashenko trong cuộc bầu cử tổng thống ở Belarus, các cuộc biểu tình trên đường phố yêu cầu một cuộc bỏ phiếu minh bạch tiếp tục diễn ra, gây bất an cho đất nước. Đức cha Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Tổng Giám mục Minsk kêu gọi đối thoại và cầu nguyện cho hòa bình.

Ngọc Yến – Vatican Records

Với hơn 80% số phiếu, ông Lukaschenko tái cử tổng thống lần thứ sáu của Belarus. Nữ ứng cử viên của phe đối lập, bà Swetlana Tichanowskaja chỉ được 10%. Mọi người cho rằng cuộc bỏ phiếu không minh bạch. Vì thế, các cuộc biểu tình phản đối đã nổ ra. Và ngày 11/8 lại một ngày biểu tình khác xảy ra ở Belarus. Cảnh sát trong trang phục chống bạo động đã can thiệp vào Minsk để giải tán người dân đang mang hoa đến ga tàu điện ngầm Pushkinskaya ở thủ đô, nơi một người biểu tình thiệt mạng hôm 10/8. Những người ủng hộ ứng cử viên đối lập, bà Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, tiếp tục phản đối chiến thắng của tổng thống Aleksander Lukashenko trong cuộc bầu cử tổng thống và kêu gọi bầu cử công bằng và minh bạch.

Hàng trăm vụ bắt giữ những người biểu tình. Sau khi yêu cầu kiểm lại các lá phiếu không thành công, bà Tikhanovskaya đã rời Belarus đến Lithuania. Từ đó, bà đưa ra nhiều lời kêu gọi những người ủng hộ mình chấm dứt các cuộc biểu tình. Cả cộng đồng quốc tế đang theo dõi rất kỹ diễn biến tình hình ở đất nước thuộc Liên Xô cũ, lo ngại có thể dẫn đến nội chiến.

Trước tình trạng bất an này, trong những ngày gần đây, ngay từ đầu các cuộc biểu tình, nhiều lần Đức cha Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Tổng Giám mục Minsk đã kêu gọi người dân Belarus hãy tìm con đường hòa bình thoát khỏi cuộc đối đầu homosexual gắt giữa tổng thống và phe đối lập này. Theo Đức Tổng Giám mục, để giải quyết cuộc khủng hoảng Belarus, cần bình tĩnh và đối thoại. Đặc biệt, Đức cha Kondrusiewicz xin mọi người cầu nguyện để Belarus có thể ngăn chặn tình hình có thể trở nên tồi tệ hơn.

Đức cha cho Vatican Records biết: “Đây là một thời điểm rất khó khăn cho Belarus, sau khi ông Lukaschenko tái đắc cử tổng thống, trên đường phố của chúng tôi dường như có bầu khí chiến tranh. Tôi cầu nguyện xin Đức Mẹ Mân Côi và Hòa bình che chở người dân. Tôi xin mọi người bình tĩnh và tôn trọng nhau. Tôi cũng yêu cầu tổ chức một cuộc gặp gỡ để giải quyết tình huống khó khăn này qua đối thoại. Điều quan trọng là mọi người phải nói chuyện với nhau. Mọi người đang rất sợ một cuộc nội chiến sẽ xảy ra, điều này nguy hại cho tất cả mọi người, cho chính phủ, cho người dân. Chúng tôi rất quan tâm và chúng tôi xin thế giới cầu nguyện cho hòa bình ở Belarus”.

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[khalilhumam]

Russians in lockdown celebrate a subdued Victory Day online

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Russians in lockdown celebrate a subdued Victory Day online

And comparisons abound about a ruthless new enemy

Russia's “Immortal Regiment” held online for Victory Day, March 9, 2020. Screenshot from 2020.polkrf.ru

Check out Global Voices’ special coverage of the global impact of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Russia hard, with over 10,000 new cases confirmed every day. At the time of publication, the Johns Hopkins University online map indicated 221,000 confirmed cases in the country. Strict quarantine measures were announced on March 5 and have been extended several times since. Following much speculation, on April 17 President Vladimir Putin did the unthinkable — and cancelled a large military parade for Victory Day, celebrated every May 9 to commemorate Nazi Germany's capitulation in 1945. Russia's latest military hardware and soldiers in period uniforms were to parade past the Russian leadership, Second World War veterans, and several foreign dignitaries. Unable to lay wreaths and attend parades, Russians commemorated online instead.

A day of fervour

That Putin appeared to delay for some time before postponing the parade and other public events is testament to the immense importance of Victory Day in modern Russia. On the other hand, the fact that even veterans’ organisations had asked him to call off the parade demonstrates the level of worry about the COVID-19 pandemic. As the sociologist Mischa Gabowitsch noted in his recent essay for Eurozine:

In Russia, surveys document the increasing importance of Victory Day. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of those who named it as one of the three most important holidays went from 38% to 71%, overtaking New Year’s Day and religious festivals such as Easter or Christmas.

Cancelling Victory Day celebrations was a major disappointment, particularly as this year marked 75 years since the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany. The traditional military parades and immortal regiment marches were cancelled across the country; instead, President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow to an audience of government officials and reporters. The opening of an immense new Cathedral of the Armed Forces outside Moscow, which had been scheduled for Victory Day, was also postponed (the building achieved notoriety when it was discovered that one of its many mosaics featured depictions of Putin, Minister of Defence Sergey Shoigu, and other security officials. According to some reports, the mosaics were later removed.) Meanwhile, 75 military jets staged a flyover above the Russian capital, and the day concluded with a traditional fireworks display. “We are invincible when we are united,” declared the president. Nevertheless, a handful of Russians broke ranks by attempting to hold public celebrations themselves. On the afternoon of May 9, several Communist Party (KPRF) deputies from the Moscow City Duma were detained by police when staging a Victory Day rally in the capital's Pushkinskaya Square. One participant protested to newspaper Novaya Gazeta that they intended to comply with social distancing regulations. The local governor claimed that 880 residents of Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Ural region, had been fined that same day for violating the quarantine regime. Several had attempted to hold Victory Day marches or attend commemorations. May 9 is no less important in other post-Soviet states, which have cancelled planned parades and public events. The only exceptions were neighbouring Belarus, where President Aleksandr Lukashenka, who referred to COVID-19 as a “mass psychosis,” held a mass rally anyway where 4,000 troops marched in front of crowds of spectators. Turkmenistan also marked Victory Day with a parade; the country's opaque government continues to claim that there are no coronavirus cases.

Lukashenko at WW2 parade: "In this insane, disoriented world, there will be people who condemn us for time and place of this sacred act… Don't rush to conclusions or condemn us, descendants of victorious Belarusians. We couldn't have acted differently. We had no other choice." pic.twitter.com/EUdxloxvQv — Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) May 9, 2020

Several ubiquitous symbols of Victory Day are more recent creations, popularised as the festival has gained prominence in Russian public life. The Immortal Regiment processions, in which thousands of Russians take to the streets holding portraits of ancestors who fought in the war, was first launched as a local initiative in Tomsk in 2012, while the orange and black St George's Ribbon were first distributed en masse in 2004-5. The latter have also come to be associated with patriotic initiatives and support for the authorities. Therefore, the day is both an opportunity for ordinary citizens to launch grassroots commemorations and for the government to burnish its credentials with Russia's public and enjoy a surge of patriotic fervour.

Remembering on the RuNet

Faced by these restrictions, the Russian public turned towards the RuNet to commemorate Victory Day — with a little encouragement from the state. Alongside the standard hashtag #ДеньПобеды (#VictoryDay), Russians also shared their thoughts with the hashtag #ДеньПобедыВстречаемДома (#WeCelebrateVictoryDayAtHome). In a gesture reminiscent of Italians clapping for medical staff from their balconies, Russians went to theirs in unison to sing a popular Soviet-era Victory Day song by David Tukhmanov (giving rise to the hashtag #ОкнаПобеды, or “windows of victory”, and #ПоёмДвором, or “the courtyard sings”). Moscow's city authorities launched a “virtual tour” allowing users to “visit” historically significant locations in the Russian capital and learn about the role they played during the war. The initiative was linked to the Russia-wide Eternal Stars app, in which mobile users can move from historically significant locations around the country and test their knowledge about the war in an online quiz about each location. Online historical resources such as these aren't unusual. Recent years have seen several high-profile attempts to “digitise” popular engagements with history, the most prominent among them being Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar's “future history” series. Zygar's latest creation is The Real 1945, social media retelling of the Red Army's advance into Germany. All social media “posts” are based on real archival and diary materials from the period (Zygar previously tried the same approach with an online retelling of the Russian revolution, supported by digital giant Yandex). The RuNet's resourcefulness prepared Russia well to commemorate Victory Day in lockdown — seamlessly converting the largest public holiday into a mass online event. The most noteworthy new initiative was the online Immortal Regiment, hosted on the website 2020.polkrf.ru. Instead of marching on the streets with a placard, users uploaded images of themselves alongside an ancestor, which then cycled past the viewer in a live feed of a virtual “procession.” The initiative was widely praised by state media, which claim that this year's Immortal Regiment set a historic record, with three million people “attending” the online march across the country:

Участниками акции «Бессмертный полк онлайн» стали почти три миллиона человек! Трансляция акции будет вестись на протяжении нескольких дней. Это самый масштабный «Бессмертный полк» за всю историю. О памяти, которая сильна как никогда расскажет Алексей Лазуренко.#ДеньПобеды pic.twitter.com/6W5KQqIjlq — Пятый канал Новости (@5tv) May 10, 2020

The Telegram user SuevernayaDemokratiya (“Superstitious Democracy”, seemingly a pun on the concept of Sovereign Democracy) noted that these initiatives reflected the deep commitment towards May 9 from above and from below, and predicted that they could grow into new forms of commemoration:

Сейчас можно уже констатировать, что праздник Дня Победы коронавирусного 2020 года прошел ус��ешно. И не просто прошел, а обрел новые смыслы. Люди не смогли собраться на площадях и улицах, но вышли на свои балконы, пели песни, зажигали фонарики, делились эмоциями и чувствами на различных интернет-площадках, принимали участие в Бессмертном полке в формате онлайн. Коронавирус 9 мая у граждан нашей страны забрать не смог. Этот день запомнился большим количеством новых искренних инициатив и акций, которые вполне могут перерасти в новые традиции празднования Дня Победы. Те же ОкнаПобеды или ПоемДвором вполне можно повторить в следующем году и без всяких самоизоляций. Хорошо, когда праздник есть и его празднуют, но по-настоящему живет он только тогда, когда новые поколения наполняют его чем-то своим. Мы помним великий подвиг нашего народа, и проклятой китайской заразе нас не сломить. Это наша собственная победа в войне с невидимым врагом.

It can already be said that the Victory Day celebrations, in the coronavirus year 2020, were held successfully. And not just held successfully, but took on a new meaning. Although people couldn't gather in the squares and streets, they went onto their balconies to sing songs, they lit lanterns, shared their emotions and feelings on various websites, and took part in the Immortal Regiment online. This day will be remembered for the large number of earnest new initiatives and acts which could well develop into new traditions for Victory Day. The same “windows of victory” or “singing in the courtyards” could easily be repeated next year without any self-isolation measures. So it's great when a festival is observed and celebrated, but a festival really lives on when new generations make it their own. We remember the great struggles of our people, and this damned Chinese infection will not break us. This is our own victory in a war against an unseen enemy. — Суеверная Демократия, Telegram, 10 May 2020

An unseen enemy

Comparisons between the struggle against the coronavirus and the German invasion are widespread — it's the most resonant historical parallel in Russia today. In March, Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov said that the world was facing “a third world war, 75 years after the second.”

The Soviet soldier statue in Berlin's Treptower Park slices the coronavirus; Marshal Zhukov orders a legion of doctors. The front cover of the European version of Russian tabloid Argumenty i Fakty, May 9, 2020. Photo (c): Maxim Edwards.

Understandably, veterans have drawn on their experiences during the Second World War when discussing the COVID-19 crisis. Zinaida Korneyeva, a 98-year-old veteran from St Petersburg, has shot to fame with a series of YouTube videos in which she reminisces about her wartime service as an anti-aircraft gunner. Inspired by the example of British veteran Tom Moore, Korneyeva has launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of medical staff infected with COVID-19. To date, she has raised over 1.5 million rubles for her cause. Many Russians expected to hear these parallels in Putin's Victory Day speech, given the president's fondness for historicising Russia's current woes. On April 8, for example, the president reassured a group of regional governors that Russia would overcome the coronavirus, just as it survived invasions by the Pechenegs and Polovtsians. However, other than a few appeals to resilience and collective support, Putin instead chose to focus his May 9 speech on the events of the Second World War, making no explicit statements about the pandemic his government is desperately trying to contain. Russia is not alone in appealing to martial valour in urging public vigilance against the coronavirus. In the UK,  “Blitz spirit” rhetoric has not returned to public life without criticism. But as in other countries, experts question the accuracy of doing so and what it might obscure about the effectiveness of state responses: as the psychologist Olga Makhovskaya told Radio Svoboda on May 9:

Военная риторика сегодня, когда говорят о врачах, создает демагогическую вату вокруг их реальных проблем. Меня зацепило и очень понравилось высказывание молодого уставшего доктора, который просил: “Не называйте нас героями”. Самая большая проблема, помимо физической угрозы жизни, – это стигматизация в обществе. Какие-то группы обозначают как привилегированные, героические, предполагается, что их ожидают почет и уважение, а остальные – больные, переносчики. Но сами врачи против этого возражают, потому что для них чрезвычайно важно (даже внутри врачебного сообщества) оставаться солидарными. Это значит, что каждый в равной позиции и один может за��енить другого. Риторика солидарности – не военная, это риторика ратного труда. […] Пандемия – стихийное бедствие, оно должно развиваться и активно купироваться по законам борьбы со стихийными бедствиями, а не по законам войны. У войны есть враг, идеология. Здесь более благоприятные перспективы. И что очень важно, сейчас идет борьба за будущее. Вопрос, который задают с утра до вечера: когда это все закончится?

The militarist rhetoric used when speaking about doctors these days is demagogic. It sugar coats a discussion about the actual problems they face. I was enamoured by a statement from an exhausted young doctor who said: “Do not call us heroes.” The biggest problem they face, apart from a threat to their lives, is their stigmatisation in society. Some groups are hailed as heroic, superior, people deserving of honour and respect, while others are sickly and potential carriers of disease. Doctors themselves object to this; for them it is important (even within the medical profession) to stay united. Everybody is equal, and doctors can replace each other. The rhetoric of solidarity is not about militarism, it's about equal labour. […] A pandemic is a natural disaster, and must be stopped according to the laws of crisis management, not the laws of war. War has an enemy, a discrete ideology. There are more favourable prospects here. And now, most importantly of all, there is a struggle for the future. And the question being asked every day, from dawn until dusk is: when will it come to an end?

Tragically, this is not just a metaphorical struggle; some Russian soldiers today are reportedly fighting the coronavirus for real. When journalists from the Perm Zvezda news outlet reported that the local government had cancelled Victory Day parades because of cancelled orders of fireworks and St George's ribbons, the local authorities denounced their findings, leading Russia's state media watchdog Roskomnadzor banned the offending article. Three weeks later, the parade in the city was actually cancelled. During this period, preparations for a Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square were still being held — according to the independent investigative project Proekt.Media, thousands of soldiers came to Moscow for parade rehearsals, after which hundreds of them actually became ill from the virus. Russian officials are determined that the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory will be celebrated with the appropriate fanfare. Two dates have been proposed for a belated Victory Day parade: September 2 (recognised as the formal date of the end of the Second World War), or November 7 (the anniversary of the October Revolution). Whether that can happen, of course, depends on whether the current struggle is won by autumn.

Written by Maxim Edwards · comments (0) Donate · Share this: twitter facebook reddit