{"id":11547,"date":"2023-03-24T16:05:54","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T13:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/freedom-day-a-reminder-of-unbroken-national-spirit\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"freedom-day-a-reminder-of-unbroken-national-spirit","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11547\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom Day a reminder of unbroken national spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Belarusian exiled patriots plan to mark Freedom Day on March 25 by marches and rallies. No public events are expected to take place in \u0412elarus, as its government continues its massive crackdown on opponents.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t March 25 is the 105th<\/sup> anniversary of the proclamation in 1918 of the Belarusian National Republic (BNR), a short-lived independent state of Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

Government bans national white-red-white flag<\/h2>\n

\n\t The Belarusian government banned the white-red-white flag, the official flag of the BNR and Belarus (1991-1995), as it struggled to suppress public protests against election fraud that followed the 2020 presidential election. Officials branded the flag a symbol of fascists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Just five years earlier, authorities allowed Belarusian patriots to stage a big show in downtown Minsk to mark the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the BNR. Spectators were allowed to display white-red-white flags at the show, but several people were arrested for displaying opposition colors outside the concert area.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Before the 2020 presidential election, the Belarusian government was just a bit more tolerant of Belarusian nationalist, patriotic and cultural initiatives as it sought to blunt the momentum of Russian expansion. The Belarusian ruler refused to recognize Crimea as Russia\u2019s territory and positioned himself as a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t His policy drastically changed after 2020.\n<\/p>\n

Short-lived soft Belarusization <\/h2>\n

\n\t In 2018, some observers had illusions, thinking that the regime\u2019s policy was shifting toward nationalism. Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka at the time cast aside his usual Moscow-centric rhetoric and used more patriotic narratives. He talked positively of the Duchy of Polack and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Belarusian context. He even hinted that the Belarusian state was much older than Muscovy.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The 2020 protests came to him as a shock. The period of toleration and soft Belarusization strengthened civic society with its vision of the future that was much different from \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s. The white-red-white flag, which was associated with hardened nationalists before, became a symbol of mass protests against election fraud and the regime.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Later, the Belarusian ruler might have had some regrets about Belarusization. He and his lieutenants resorted to extreme violence to suppress protests. The crackdown included a complete ban on white-red-white. Some people were even arrested for wearing white-red-white socks.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Officials demonized white-red-white supporters \u2013 although they just demanded honest elections \u2013 as Nazi ideology followers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Speaking at a World War II commemoration ceremony on March 22, \u0141uka\u0161enka equated democracy and Nazism. \u201cThey replaced Aryan standards with liberal democratic values,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In the last three years, he tends to designate anyone criticizing dictatorship a fascist.\n<\/p>\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka puts power ahead of national interests<\/h2>\n

\n\t Asserting national identity is not something \u0141uka\u0161enka would be genuinely willing to do. He has a Soviet mentality and still sets his watch by the Kremlin\u2019s clock.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t On his election as president in 1994, he announced his intention to seek close ties with Russia. His pro-Russian rhetoric is seen by many as a means to gain access to Russia\u2019s vast resources. He often echoes Vladimir Putin\u2019s view that the Belarusians and Russians are one people.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Belarus would be better off now if he bowed to pressure and stepped down in 2020. Instead, he appealed to Putin for military support to suppress the rebellion.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Putin has charged a colossal price for his promise to send a contingent to Belarus if things got completely out of hand. Since February 2022, he has been using Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Russian attacks on Ukraine. Moscow has taken away chunks of Belarus\u2019 sovereignty, including its economic and information elements.\n<\/p>\n

Fight for the future<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka is not happy that he is seen as a co-aggressor and might be eventually prosecuted together with Putin for the crime of aggression. He is not happy with his current status as Russia\u2019s vassal. He tries to maneuver his way out of trouble. He is just a greedy dictator; he has never been a patriot.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He has been wary of patriots since his time as a member of the Supreme Soviet. He could not find common ground with the Belarusian Popular Front led by charismatic nationalist Zianon Pazniak. He relentlessly terrorizes patriots not only to appease Moscow but also because he sees nationalists as a threat to the existence of his regime, which brainwashes the masses to make voters submissive and obedient.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Reprisals forced many activists to flee abroad. But history proves that terror is not always a very reliable way of holding on to power. And Ukrainian resistance to Russia\u2019s onslaught emphasizes the strength of national spirit.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The regime\u2019s move to ratchet up terror weeks before Freedom Day has exposed its raw nerves. The oppressor realizes that violence has not broken the nation\u2019s free spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Belarusian exiled patriots plan to mark Freedom Day on March 25 by marches and rallies. No public events are expected to take place in \u0412elarus, as its government continues its massive crackdown on opponents. March 25 is the 105th anniversary of the proclamation in 1918 of the Belarusian National Republic (BNR), a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11547","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom Day a reminder of unbroken national spirit | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Belarusian exiled patriots plan to mark Freedom Day on March 25 by marches and rallies. 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