Presidential newspaper 'defends' Svetlana Alexievich

The SB-Belarus Segodnya (Belarus Today), the organ of the Presidential Administration today published extracts from the Nobel Lecture by Svetlana Alexievich. In the editorial comments, the newspaper 'defended' the writer against criticism for having failed to mention Belarus properly in the lecture.

"Today, many serious analysts and commentators noted that S.Alexievich has been mobbed in social networks. Critics cannot forgive her for failing to use street-protest vocabulary like "shame", "collapse of everything in the world" and so on," writes the newspaper.  

In editor's view, the writer has been on a higher level than the imposed 'political party or opposition style,' The newspaper compared Alexievich's critics with censors and ideologists of the Soviet times.

SB now awaits what Alexievich will talk about on December 10 at the Nobel Awards ceremony. "Will Mrs Alexievich be able to show her strong character and convictions or 'bend' in front of the crowd of the same 'little red men' from the ranks of pseudo-democrats she has fought against during her whole life with her giftedly written books?"

Euroradio reported earlier Alexievich herself responded her critics that she would talk about Belarus on December 10.