Day of Belarusian Independence: For the first time without a parade and embroidered shirts
July 3 is Independence Day in Belarus. What does the date of the liberation of the capital of the BSSR by the Soviet army have to do with the “independence” of the Republic of Belarus, proclaimed after the collapse of the Soviet Union 47 years later, is a separate question, but this is the main holiday of the Belarusian political calendar. It is usually celebrated with great pomp. But not this year. Of course, there will be festivities, outdoor trade, an exhibition of military equipment, performances by local artists and the Turetsky Choir. In the evening, fireworks displays will take place at six sites in Minsk.
But the parade, which was always held on July 3, except for the years when the Victory anniversaries were celebrated and 1999, when shortly before the holiday there was a stampede in Minsk with 53 dead, there will not be. The reasons are not reported. It would seem that the country has declared the “Year of National Unity,” and Lukashenko, who last year famously ran around with a machine gun, needs a public demonstration of strength and control over the situation. But no, the parade is cancelled. And not because of Covid or the crisis. Last year, Covid did not prevent us from holding a parade on May 9 to spite the Kremlin, and this year there were mass celebrations, concerts and fireworks, and there were even stronger crises, but they never interfered with the parades.
Maybe, indeed, the authorities are afraid of the “Egyptian” scenario of a coup d’etat during the parade voiced by Feduta and are not so confident in the loyalty of the army?
But canceling the parade is not all. Apart from this, apparently, there will be no “embroidery day.” Its cancellation has not been officially announced, but there are no signs of preparations for it, although in the past few years they were so active that they almost overshadowed Independence Day itself. Embroidery Day was first officially celebrated in Belarus on July 2, 2016 - then in Minsk and Bobruisk, activists of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union distributed shirts with embroidery to babies, and in Minsk, with the support of the capital’s mayor’s office, the Ministry of Culture and the same Belarusian Republican Youth Union, official celebrations took place.
Since then, the scale has only increased until 2019. And even in 2020, a month before the elections, when masks were thrown off on both sides, the “embroidery day” passed as if nothing had happened. It had been celebrated unofficially before - local nationalists simply borrowed it from the Ukrainian “brothers in mind”, filling it with approximately the same content - the traditional peasant shirt became a symbol dividing peoples. Later, already from the nationalists, the tradition of “embroidery day” was borrowed by the authorities. There was less outright Russophobia, they tried not to draw parallels with Ukrainian madness, but there was enough talk about identity, language and other similar matters.
With originality and language, however, it turned out to be a curiosity. The word “vyshyvanka” does not exist in the Belarusian language at all. This piece of clothing is called “kashulya” in Belarusian. In general, even here they were playing tricks.
During this period, the authorities clearly set a course for the development of their “good” nationalism as opposed to the “bad” nationalism of the opposition. And “embroidery day” in Belarus has become the main symbol of such “good” nationalism. If history had turned out differently, the white-red-white flag would not have been recognized as an extremist symbol, but could have been legitimized. At least, the uniform of the Belarusian football team in 2016 was exactly in this range and looked so that in 2021 it could easily lead to administrative arrest.
Last year put everything in its place. Lukashenko would never have become one of the Belarusian nationalists, and as soon as the situation began to shake, the guys in embroidered shirts found themselves in the forefront of the barricades, including the “systemic” nationalists, whom officials did not consider it shameful to meet with and who were allowed on television. After these events, the “national symbols” stores that had proliferated over the previous five years disappeared quickly and not voluntarily, and it became unsafe to appear in embroidered shirts outside the theater stage and historical restoration festivals. Now the “day of embroidery” is becoming history.
But the idea of promoting “good” nationalism has not left the minds of those in power. Already in February 2021, speaking to the troupe of the Kupala Theater, Lukashenko stated that he intended to develop “good” nationalism in the country through his own traditions, which distinguish Belarusians, including Russians.
Well, let's see what Old Man is organizing this time during the celebrations.
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