The protests in Belarus are as real as it gets.
The wave of uprisal that started at the end of May 2020 is developing into one of the most significant displays of public resistance Eastern Europe has seen since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Despite Alexander Lukashenko winning the previous elections against opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - the Belarusian demonstrators are not letting go. They are convinced the elections were rigged, and that many votes were falsified. Lukashenko, also known as “Europe’s last dictator,” was first elected in 1994. He keeps winning every election since then, while probably using illegitimate means.
Around the elections last week, thousands of people in every city in the country has taken to the streets, clashing with security forces. These brutal images reassure us that the struggle on the future of Belarus is authentic, and will not disappear anytime soon. So far, thousands of peaceful demonstrators have been detained and jailed in Belarus, as a resolution still seems out of reach.
Vysshaya Liga On Hold
On August 6th, two days before the results of the elections in Belarus were revealed, during the football game between Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Dynamo Brest, the fans of both teams chanted “Zhive Belarus!” (Long Live Belarus!). This act counts as a rare thing indeed in Belarusian football, which is not a scene which discusses politics openly.
In the morning after, the ticket sales for Dynamo Minsk v Smolevichi were suspended. Later on, the Belarusian Football Federation announced the game was postponed, as well as another match previously scheduled to take place in Minsk. Other cup games and lower leagues were delayed as well, and there is uncertainty around the future of the Belarusian top flight. No details regarding the reason for postponement were included in the original announcement,
Belarus was the only European country who did not stop football activity nor restricted fans’ presence during the coronavirus crisis. Matches from the Vysshaya Liga were broadcasted weekly worldwide, on this website as well. It seems that in the current climate if the ongoing social tension in the country continues, it will be impossible to renew the local football scene.
CSKA Moscow Join the Protests
The Belarusian struggle isn’t enclaved within the Belarus borders only.
On Saturday, August 15th, in a Russian Premier League match between CSKA Moscow to Tambov things escalated. CSKA’s Belarusian young prospect, Ilya Shkurin, scored his debut goal for the club in the 55th minute and set them on the path to victory. In response, CSKA fans reacted fast and sang: “Long Live Belarus! Long Live Belarus!”, just like the call of the protests in Belarus.
Shkurin is the most exciting Belarusian talent at the moment, who was Vysshaya Liga's top scorer and part of the Belarus national team. On Sunday, reports indicated that he declared via his Instagram account that he "won't represent the Belarusian national team, as long as Lukashenko is in power".
In addition, CSKA’s current coach is Belarusian Viktor Goncharenko. Goncharenko criticized the Belarusian government for police violence against peaceful protesters following the election.
"I think this is unacceptable," Goncharenko said, according to Reuters’ Angel Krasimirov. "I strongly opposed the beating of our peaceful, wonderful Belarusian people. The police, riot police and the army should protect the people, not beat them."
But Russia, as we know, is not the most fertile ground for political protest. A few of those CSKA fans who sang in favour of the Belarusian demonstrations have been detained, later banned for 18 months from attending Russian football matches.
Paradoxically, Saturday marked 30 years to the death of Viktor Tsoi, a singer who wrote the song ‘Peremen’ (Change), who was well identified with the movement to break the iron curtain and the fall of the Soviet Union.
”This song is symbolic for Belarus”, says Robert Ustian, head of CSKA Fans Against Racism, who commented on the events in conversation with BabaGol from Moscow. “This is what the people of Belarus are asking for now”.
This song was the one who was played yesterday in the VEB Stadium, in CSKA’s game against Tambov.
“It was very unexpected to hear this song being played in the stadium”, Ustian indicated. “It wasn’t played by the fans independently, but by the club!”, he added.
When asked about the option CSKA is becoming a ‘stage’ for the Belarusian protest within Russia, Ustian said: “We are used to the police treating football fans like animals in Russia in different occasions, but what we’ve seen and heard from people in Belarus, is a new level of brutality and cruelty, that I am in doubt we will see in Russia”.
“In Russia, the regime had studied the role of football fans in political changes from what happened with Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine. The Kremlin knows how to transmit messages to the fans here. I can’t see things get out of control”.
Meanwhile, in Belarus, the situation kept evolving with another mass demonstration, now with Lukashenko trying to reignite his ‘supporters’ to fight against the opposition movement.
“When a big club such as CSKA is playing this song, the coach is saying these things, a young star says what he says and the fans are singing - it’s hard to say that there is no one who’s trying to send a message”, Ustian concluded.
No matter what will be the resolution to the protests in Belarus, people in the post soviet sphere are calling for a Premen, a change. And if you asked them, it had better come now.
Thumbnail is a screenshot photo.
