Paznyak: All my work is aimed at precipitating my return to Belarus
Zyanon Paznyak has given an interview to ERB and answered whether he is going to return to his motherland, what he is missing and how many “kurapaty’s” encircle Minsk. Zyanon Paznyak has given an interview to ERB and answered whether he is going to return to his motherland, what he is missing and how many “kurapaty’s” encircle Minsk.
Dzyady is celebrated in Belarus today. Traditionally, the opposition is going to visit Kurapaty tract which is a cemetery to many victims of the Soviet regime. The first mass anti-communist meeting was organized there 20 years ago. It was preceded by an article of Zyanon Paznyak who revealed the place of shootings and told the whole world about it.
Zyanon Stanislavavich, how did you learn about Kurapaty?
Zyanon Paznyak: I learned about Kurapaty at the beginning of the 1970s. I lived nearby in Kaltsou Street. There were no blocks of flats at that time. There were villages. I talked to people living there and they told me about it. I could not make the information public at that time. First, nobody would have printed it, second – it was dangerous because the place could be destroyed. It was necessary to collect information and wait. And the time came one day.
The sensational article about Kurapaty was printed in Literature and Art on June 3, 1988. How did you do it?
Zyanon Paznyak: It happened thanks to the heroism of the editorial staff. It was a unique case – the editorial staff rebelled and did not obey to the Central Committee. They decided to publish the article. They started printing it and the Central Committee ordered them to stop the printing machines and change the issue. Then the editorial staff rebelled: everyone. They held a council and decided to continue printing. I visited Vasil Uladzimiravich Bykau because it was necessary to get authoritative support. I asked him to make an opening address. Bykau helped us and made it. I think the article performed its historic part when it was out. It was comparable to a nuclear bomb explosion.
Vasіl Bykau and Zyanon Paznyak, 1993
Do you think the article about Kurapaty made you famous?
Zyanon Paznyak: I think Kurapaty was a milestone in my life. Of cause Kurapaty made me famous in the first place. Then there were political activities, independence and the Supreme Council. But Kurapaty was first! Having learned about Kurapaty, people got to know about the person who revealed, investigated and described it.
Bill Clinton and Zyanon Paznyak, 1994
How many “kurapaty’s” are there around Minsk?
Zyanon Paznyak: I have found about a dozen not far from Minsk. I tried to investigate Loshytsa – it was another place of mass shootings after Kurapaty – but I was too late. It was metalled and garages were built there. A place of the kind can be found near Baravaya, not far from the village of Drozdava. A huge place of mass shootings was in Vankovich’s Park – now it is called Cheluskintsev Park.
You are in Warsaw now. What do you do here?
Zyanon Paznyak: Political activities take up most of my time. Our work is practically underground. There is a lot of routine business. There is work in emigration. There are problems to deal with. At the same time, I am working on articles and books. I write and analyze something all the time. I am working on several books now. I do it whenever I have spare time.
Are you going to return to Belarus?
Zyanon Paznyak: I think about it all the time. All my work is aimed at precipitating the moment. By the way, I have already visited Belarus. It happened a month after I had emigrated – on April 26, 1996. My trip across the border was like a detective story. I attended the meeting. I brought guards with me because I knew they would try to detain me after the meeting. We barricaded ourselves in the House, they encircled us and tried to take by storm. But I managed to escape. I hid in Minsk for two weeks and then left for Ukraine. I went to Czechia and so on. So, I have already visited Belarus. It clearly demonstrated what will happen. Crossing that border is like a suicide for me because I know the orders made by Lukashenka. They are: to shoot in case of disobedience and resistance. All the talks about my possible return are either childish adventurism or a provocation aimed at developing a negative impression about a person in the people who know little about it all. He does not want to return… But he should have.
There was a habit of scaring the society with out return after the presidential election. There were verses on the Internet and songs were composed…
Zyanon Paznyak: I only heard them… There was one in Russian – “Zyanon-Hop” (laughs). Who knows? There are so many queer people on the Internet that it is hard to differentiate between “KGB” and strange people. It is difficult for me to say. I just shrugged my shoulders.
What do you miss most in Belarus?
It may seem strange, but I miss the scenery in the first place. It is hard for me to look through the photos of Motherland’s scenery… My heart aches. And not only mine. Every Belarusian having to live through the impossibility of returning home feels it. Nature is very important. I know what I say. I visited many places. But the Belarusian scenery is the best. It is unique moraine scenery, absolutely unique. There is no such feeling of eternity and God anywhere else. It is very hard to leave home for Belarusians. To leave something that has become part of your aches. It is our land, our scenery.
Photo by: www.pazniak.org
Dzyady is celebrated in Belarus today. Traditionally, the opposition is going to visit Kurapaty tract which is a cemetery to many victims of the Soviet regime. The first mass anti-communist meeting was organized there 20 years ago. It was preceded by an article of Zyanon Paznyak who revealed the place of shootings and told the whole world about it.
Zyanon Stanislavavich, how did you learn about Kurapaty?
Zyanon Paznyak: I learned about Kurapaty at the beginning of the 1970s. I lived nearby in Kaltsou Street. There were no blocks of flats at that time. There were villages. I talked to people living there and they told me about it. I could not make the information public at that time. First, nobody would have printed it, second – it was dangerous because the place could be destroyed. It was necessary to collect information and wait. And the time came one day.
The sensational article about Kurapaty was printed in Literature and Art on June 3, 1988. How did you do it?
Zyanon Paznyak: It happened thanks to the heroism of the editorial staff. It was a unique case – the editorial staff rebelled and did not obey to the Central Committee. They decided to publish the article. They started printing it and the Central Committee ordered them to stop the printing machines and change the issue. Then the editorial staff rebelled: everyone. They held a council and decided to continue printing. I visited Vasil Uladzimiravich Bykau because it was necessary to get authoritative support. I asked him to make an opening address. Bykau helped us and made it. I think the article performed its historic part when it was out. It was comparable to a nuclear bomb explosion.
Vasіl Bykau and Zyanon Paznyak, 1993
Do you think the article about Kurapaty made you famous?
Zyanon Paznyak: I think Kurapaty was a milestone in my life. Of cause Kurapaty made me famous in the first place. Then there were political activities, independence and the Supreme Council. But Kurapaty was first! Having learned about Kurapaty, people got to know about the person who revealed, investigated and described it.
Bill Clinton and Zyanon Paznyak, 1994
How many “kurapaty’s” are there around Minsk?
Zyanon Paznyak: I have found about a dozen not far from Minsk. I tried to investigate Loshytsa – it was another place of mass shootings after Kurapaty – but I was too late. It was metalled and garages were built there. A place of the kind can be found near Baravaya, not far from the village of Drozdava. A huge place of mass shootings was in Vankovich’s Park – now it is called Cheluskintsev Park.
You are in Warsaw now. What do you do here?
Zyanon Paznyak: Political activities take up most of my time. Our work is practically underground. There is a lot of routine business. There is work in emigration. There are problems to deal with. At the same time, I am working on articles and books. I write and analyze something all the time. I am working on several books now. I do it whenever I have spare time.
Are you going to return to Belarus?
Zyanon Paznyak: I think about it all the time. All my work is aimed at precipitating the moment. By the way, I have already visited Belarus. It happened a month after I had emigrated – on April 26, 1996. My trip across the border was like a detective story. I attended the meeting. I brought guards with me because I knew they would try to detain me after the meeting. We barricaded ourselves in the House, they encircled us and tried to take by storm. But I managed to escape. I hid in Minsk for two weeks and then left for Ukraine. I went to Czechia and so on. So, I have already visited Belarus. It clearly demonstrated what will happen. Crossing that border is like a suicide for me because I know the orders made by Lukashenka. They are: to shoot in case of disobedience and resistance. All the talks about my possible return are either childish adventurism or a provocation aimed at developing a negative impression about a person in the people who know little about it all. He does not want to return… But he should have.
There was a habit of scaring the society with out return after the presidential election. There were verses on the Internet and songs were composed…
Zyanon Paznyak: I only heard them… There was one in Russian – “Zyanon-Hop” (laughs). Who knows? There are so many queer people on the Internet that it is hard to differentiate between “KGB” and strange people. It is difficult for me to say. I just shrugged my shoulders.
What do you miss most in Belarus?
It may seem strange, but I miss the scenery in the first place. It is hard for me to look through the photos of Motherland’s scenery… My heart aches. And not only mine. Every Belarusian having to live through the impossibility of returning home feels it. Nature is very important. I know what I say. I visited many places. But the Belarusian scenery is the best. It is unique moraine scenery, absolutely unique. There is no such feeling of eternity and God anywhere else. It is very hard to leave home for Belarusians. To leave something that has become part of your aches. It is our land, our scenery.
Photo by: www.pazniak.org
