Belarus will betray Russia next after Ukraine
Tatyana Shabaeva, journalist, Moscow
"PolitNavigator" presents a report from a Moscow journalist Tatiana Shabaeva, who visited Minsk and found out that the West is successfully implementing a scenario here to separate Belarus from Russia, as previously happened in Ukraine. This material was originally published in Russian "Literary Gazette", but soon disappeared from the publication’s website. Today the agency offers readers the “forbidden” article by Shabaeva with some minor additions by the author.
...When I wrote this report from Minsk, I did not try to make it offensive or, on the contrary, harmless for Belarusians: I was interested in their interest in Russia and our interest in Belarus. If I had minimal romantic illusions, they were completely dispelled after in the Minsk departmental hostel, having learned that I was from Russia, they took two hundred thousand instead of ninety thousand Belarusian rubles. “Well, what did you want, you’re a foreigner,” a resident of Minsk remarked to me, with whom I shared my surprise. No, I didn't want anything. I don't even have anything against it. But it’s true: already now for Belarusians we are foreigners from whom we can make money. And so far there is no reason to say that something different will happen next.
“The Grand Duchy of Collective Farms” is the first title I gave to this report. It didn’t seem offensive to Belarusians: more than one person with whom I had a chance to talk characterized their country as a “collective farm”, and I heard Belarusian speech in Minsk for the first time at a rural fair, when Belarusian folk songs were heard from an improvised stage, however , difficult to distinguish by ear from Russian folk ones.
So, I had no intention of offending the Belarusians - and even, at the request of one Minsk resident, I initially corrected the title - but the Belarusian side was still unhappy and made efforts to banish the report from the Internet. Which, of course, is useless. But it won’t hurt to see where the country, which we are accustomed to perceive as the friendliest to us and practically our own, is slowly but surely moving in advance. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to wonder where the next brothers went. And asking the belated question whose fault it was and what could have been done.
Grand Duchy of Kolkhoz
After Moscow, Minsk seems very clean. Naked. No trash. No advertising. Few signs. A few people. Everything is functional: the streets are for walking (or better yet, driving), the park is for walking. If you want to eat or have fun, look for places designated for this. There is much less noise pollution here, there is no nervousness in the air, children are running around happy with life, and red (albeit slightly green) flags hang every block. If you want, it’s easy to imagine that life here is good.
But Minsk is a rather expensive city. Prices here are comparable to Moscow, and salaries are lower. But the feeling that basic security for citizens has been achieved here is not a myth. Minsk residents actually feel relatively confident and are once again convinced of this by watching how Ukrainians tear their history to pieces, and listening to how people coming from Russia gasp, admiring Belarusian products, Belarusian social security and, most of all, the Belarusian order.
All this has a very difficult background, which Russia often tries not to notice, hoping that the fragile “fraternal” balance will hold itself. However, right now Belarusians are groping for their future, and their ideas about themselves have little in common with our ideas about them.
Right Soviet
“The dialectic of history consisted in the fact that in the 90-s of the last century the Republic of Belarus was the real successor of the USSR”.
These words are taken from a book called “The Belarusian Way” (published in 2010 and republished in 2012), which was approved by the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus. When the Union collapsed in 1991, the residents of Belarus, although this event was recorded on their territory, did not feel either responsibility for it or particular delight. Then they did not dream of independence - they were handed it and told: use it. By virtue of common sense, befitting the poor, they began to use it sparingly, wisely and with care. Why break something that can still be useful? Why, for example, cancel the November 7 holiday? It is better to gradually minimize its political implications.
The cleanliness of Minsk streets is not only the good work of public utilities, but also the result of regular forced subbotniki. If people refuse, they may not be renewed. The departmental, trade union, and other Soviet-style newspapers are not only the vestiges of the former press system, but also compulsory subscriptions. The newspapers themselves are an example of sanity. If the main task of the Kiev media is to tell that Ukraine is loved in Europe and tell about the mystical abilities of great ancestors, then the favorite topic of Belarusian newspapers is the right purchases and reasonable savings. On television, people are told that they live in a peaceful state that cares about the social well-being of citizens. Judicial stories about unscrupulous officials caught up with the punishing hand are in demand. Conscious laborers help clean-up hack-workers and bribe-takers — the latter, however, almost no more. Like banditry, with which President Lukashenko dealt with in a feudal, inhuman, but effective manner.
“Old Man rules Belarus as his collective farm, but it is also a big collective farm,” Minsk residents say this not without pleasure. State ownership in Belarus is about 70%. Nobody here believes they have free and fair elections. Almost no one thinks it’s terrible that they don’t exist. For now, there is an old man: a man who took Belarus with a black hole in place of the budget, and turned it into a poor but self-respecting state with undoubted progress not only in agriculture, but also in the field of information technology. Yes, he can be rude, he can blurt out... the citizens of Belarus look at the way he blurts out with a mixture of horror and admiration. Yes, in the magazine “Belaruskaya Dumka” (the only social and business magazine in Minsk) there is a rare article without a respectful quote from Lukashenko. He alone embodies the political life of Belarus, around him there is a scorched space. But few doubt that his actions are guided not only by the lust for power, but also by clear pragmatics. In 1991, Belarus was left to spin as usual. And she spins. Lukashenko himself formulates this as follows: “The most optimal strategy for us is the strategy of “equal proximity” to the East and the West. It is precisely this that gives the chance to make the most effective use of the advantageous geographical location, transit and industrial potential of our country. In other words, our strategy: a multi-vector foreign policy.” How does this affect the life of the country? That's how.
Right Europeans
“The core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Belarusian lands”.
This is a quote from the book “Monuments of Belarusian Literature of the X-XVIII Centuries”. Excuse me, what kind of Belarusian literary monuments can there be, even in the XNUMXth century, even in the XNUMXth century, if the Belarusian language was formalized into some kind of literary language only in the XNUMXth century, collected from dialects throughout Belarus and diluted with Polonisms? “The book, translated into Russian in an adapted form, contains masterpieces of ancient Belarusian writing,” the publishers modestly write, keeping silent about which languages these translations were made from. They were made mainly from Church Slavonic and Old Russian, as well as from... Latin: “The distinctive features of the literature of Belarus during the Renaissance are the emergence and rapid flowering of Latin-language poetry.” The writers presented in the book: Kirill Turovsky, Simeon Polotsky, Melety Smotritsky... Since the ethnonym “Belarusian” itself came into use only in the XNUMXth century, all cultural figures who were born or lived for some time in the territory that is part of modern Belarus are considered Belarusian. One could be lenient about this: after all, the country needs some kind of ancient and glorious history, and if it doesn’t exist, then it needs to be invented. But the direction of thought is indicative.
In the Minsk National Historical Museum, explanations in Russian are no longer available everywhere. But on the second floor, where two halls are given over to portraits of the Polish gentry, there is still a sign: “Exhibition “Belarus XVI-XVIII centuries. in portraits and heraldry" is dedicated to the culture of the upper strata of Belarusian society of the indicated period. At this time, processes of forced Polonization and expansion of the Catholic religion took place on the territory of Belarus. However, many Polish-speaking magnates and especially the gentry clearly distinguished themselves from the inhabitants of native Poland and showed Belarusian-Lithuanian “regional” patriotism.” Listening to the guide, a girl in her early twenties, I patiently wait for her to talk about forced Polonization. Well, or at least about the “Belarusian-Lithuanian patriotism” of the gentry. But no. The story is told about the eccentricities of the representatives of the Radziwill family, their ancient genealogy; The armor of the Polish “winged” hussars is respectfully displayed. Finally, the guide approaches the portrait of Catherine II and talks... about the forced conversion of Belarusians to Orthodoxy. A wild tale is immediately given out that Catherine II died on the throne of Stanislav Poniatowski, which she turned into a toilet seat.
This familiarity with the Russian history for the inhabitants of Belarus is not exhausted. There is also a diorama “Peter I burns Mogilev”. And a large hall dedicated to "Belarus in the First World War." The theme “Belarus in the 1812 War” is not presented, but it is stated in the books in this way, and that war is no longer considered a domestic war for Belarusians.
If you say that coexistence with Russians was beneficial for Belarusians as a separate (not Polish, not Lithuanian) ethnic group and, moreover, in Soviet times special efforts were made to form it - perhaps they will not openly argue with you, because statistics say for myself. But even listing the schools that began to appear in large numbers in the XNUMXth century, Belarusian nationalist researchers will not forget to write about the “Polonization and Russification tendencies” that the Belarusian people courageously overcame, whose territory “has never in history been either dependent, or, moreover, , a colony of the West or the East" (Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Kovalenya).
That is, according to academic works, Belarusians were both Polonized and Russified. But the National Historical Museum uses a version of Russification for general consumption. And here is the cultural choice the Belarusian authorities are making (says Minsk poet and publicist Anatoly Avrutin): “Not so long ago, a group of cultural figures (and I am among them) turned to the authorities with a request to restore the monument to Alexander II the Liberator in Minsk. A terrible howl arose, and, of course, they refused. How they refuse to erect a bust (even on the territory of the Alexander Nevsky Temple) to General Skobelev, to whom the title of honorary citizen of Minsk was awarded back in the 80s of the XNUMXth century. There was once a street named after him in Minsk, now it is Krasnoarmeiskaya... But the name of Kastus Kalinovsky, whose gangs hanged not only Belarusian peasants who did not agree to serve his Polish masters, but also hung Orthodox priests to the gallows, is on one of the central streets of the city, and recently a memorial plaque appeared in honor of this hangman.”
The following voices are already heard: “Changing the name of the country and the people will take Belarusians out of the Russian context and will confirm the maturity, independence and self-sufficiency of the Belarusian nation. It is advisable to translate the Belarusian language into the Latin script.” This call is rebuffed by the Deputy Secretary of State of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus Stanislav Zas, and the rebuff sounds like this: “Our country as an independent state has existed for only a little over twenty years. Let’s first strengthen the country, and then figure out the fonts and names.” Please note: there is no “this cannot happen in principle.” Because it can.
But Belarusians are our closest allies? After all, they honor the memory of the Great Patriotic War no less than we do? Isn’t Russian the second state language in Belarus, and don’t Minsk and the cities of Belarus in general speak Russian in the overwhelming majority? This is all true. And not entirely true.
Right Russians
“The paradox is that in a certain sense there are grounds for asserting that the Belarusian is more Russian than the Great Russian ... This is due to the specificity of the historical development of Belarus, when Belarusians were required to exert more effort and intelligence in defending their all-Russian principles from the encroachments of foreigners.” ("Belarusian Way").
When Alexander Lukashenko said that “a Belarusian is a Russian with a mark of quality,” he was not joking and did not make a mistake. In Belarus, many people actually believe that they, the hardworking and wise people who managed to preserve their Slavic identity from Asian encroachments, are the true Russian people. They look at Russians here without the slightest reverence and see absolutely no reason to study with us. Yes, Russia is rich, but it cannot feed itself without Belarusian farmers. Yes, in Russia there is no clear state censorship (and in Belarus the authorities finance culture in a targeted and meticulous manner), but it would be better if it were: “The vast majority of Russian films about the war are either fantastic tales about supermen beating crowds of fascists in one fell swoop, or arrogant and cynical a lie from the first to the last frame,” writes “Belaruskaya Dumka.” "Komsomolskaya Pravda" in Belarus publishes a story about rowdy Russians on airplanes. For contrast: on the next page, the Lithuanian Ambassador says that “since the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, there has been a craving for the sea in the genes of every Belarusian.” The newspaper of the parliamentary meeting of the Union of Russia and Belarus, “Union Veche,” scolds Russia for its shortcomings in fulfilling its social obligations. What kind of thanks can there be? Russia supplies resources at low prices to Belarus because it gets them practically for nothing. And in general: have you seen how dirty it is in the center of Smolensk?
What kind of Russians do Belarusians see? People like Pozner and Novozhenov, who come and tell us how bad life is in Russia under Putin. Officials who, as soon as they arrive, go to the market and buy Belarusian products, about which there is a persistent myth in Russia that they are better than ours. Cultural figures who love to tell you that in Kyiv they speak Ukrainian, but in Minsk they understand Belarusian. Sorry sight! Against this background, the Belarusian language is beginning to come into fashion, especially among young people. As writer Andrei Zhvalevsky notes, young people want to understand what it means to be Belarusians. And even in the Belarusian Orthodox Church they are already talking about switching to the language.
It is true that people (especially the older generation) in Belarus honor the memory of the Great Patriotic War, and not everyone is ready to declare the guerrillas of the Great Patriotic War thugs who acted at the instigation of the NKVD and literally forced the Germans and the policemen to kill the Belarusians. This view is still marginal. But it exists, and numerous variations on the theme “Belarusians have always suffered the most, but thanks to their spiritual strength, they prevailed and preserved their identity” are quite common.
And this is probably correct. A country cannot behave differently, seriously intending to create a titular nation. There can be no other way than to earn points on any historical turns, and to someone else - penalty points. But we must clearly understand that the penalty points are now awarded to Russia and Russian.
What can we change?
“It’s very difficult to support Russian policy because we don’t know what Russian policy is.” Anatoly Avrutin
Poland considers the Grodno and Brest regions as their historical territories. In Belarus, openly fifty houses in Poland. There is a program for the restoration of castles, with many houses in Poland there are clubs of historical reconstruction that attract young people. Young people eagerly travel to Poland and Lithuania for various educational programs; Lithuania is a stronghold of the Belarusian opposition.
Chairman of the Coordination Council of Leaders of Belarusian Public Associations of Russian Compatriots Andrei Gerashchenko talks about how Russia is perceived and behaves: “Belarusians are friends with Russia because it is beneficial, but they try not to associate their future with it. The federal structure of Russia annoys Belarusians. They view the national republics within Russia as failed substates and believe that there is nothing worse than becoming one of the substates. A unitary Russia would be easier to perceive, since the rules would be the same for everyone.
Russia is trying to play on the field that has long been occupied by Poland and Lithuania. Russia is flirting with the Belarusians, and to all questions about why it is doing this, it answers: “Well, we are in Belarus.” Russia often supports Belarusian events, festivals... there is not a single major purely Russian event that Russia supports!
Russia should explain exactly how it supports the economy of Belarus. This should be done not only during periods of exacerbations, but constantly, so that it is gradually understood that the help of Russia is an influential factor dependent on the will of Russia itself.
For the posts of the union state, Russia should offer Lukashenko’s choice of candidates, preferably people who studied at Russian universities, so that studying there becomes prestigious. We need to stop currying favor with the Belarusian intelligentsia - no one will appreciate this anyway, it is perceived as weakness.
Russia should take more care of the border areas so that they become a model, so that it is obvious that life there is better than in Belarus.” Andrei Gerashchenko, who is persecuted in his homeland for using the word “Belarus” instead of “Belarus,” sighs and concludes: “I come to St. Petersburg, and they endlessly say: “We have Europe, we have a European city.” In Belarus, it would never occur to anyone to talk so much about Europe. It's just geography. It’s like constantly paying attention to the fact that it’s autumn outside.”
And here is the testimony of a person directly connected with literary magazine activities: “Russian publications, representing Belarus, first of all ask to send translations from Belarusian, I come across this all the time. Although it would be more logical and fair for Russians to support Russian authors of Belarus, and not people who are generally anti-Russian and anti-Russian... Here, those who write in Russian traditionally look at Moscow and Orthodoxy, and nationalists look at the West and Catholicism. It seems easy to spot the difference, but you still end up with the same situation every time!”
Over the course of ten years, the number of Russians in Belarus decreased from 1200000 to 800000. Where did they go? Old people die, young people are assigned an identification number and are registered as Belarusians. The Russian language is being replaced in schools - for now in history and geography lessons. New inscriptions in the Minsk metro and banners announcing the start of the “Listopad” film festival are made only in Belarusian and English. The Belarusian intelligentsia turns to Lukashenko with a request to transfer university teaching to Belarusian, and he does not say a categorical “no”. Austrians do not consider it shameful for their national feeling to speak German, but in Belarus there are statements “by speaking Russian, you are passively exterminating Belarusians.” The formation of the Belarusian nation is being encouraged in every possible way. Yes, here, unlike Ukraine, they are used to not flogging a fever, but the vector of movement is obvious. Belarusians can be understood: they have their own truth and their own interests. But what is the truth and what is the interest of Russia and Russians?
Author's help: The average salary in Belarus is 27 rubles
Monthly child care allowance is 9 rubles, one-time benefit for the birth of the first child is 532 rubles.
Average pension – 11 rubles
Living wage budget – 5 rubles
Fuel, AI-95 – 48,6 r/l
One-rate tariff for electricity for the population – 3,5 rubles per kW/h
The price of natural gas with a gas stove is 72,5 rubles per month per resident.
All prices are given in Russian rubles.
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