Music

On December 14, Savetski district court of Minsk passed a guilty verdict in the case of Nadzeya and Uladzimir Kalach, a married couple and leaders of the Irdorath folk band. The musicians found themselves in the authorities’ crosshairs after playing during the protest marches on August 16, September 6, and October 25, 2020.

On Friday, Zavodzki district court of Minsk completed hearing the case of political prisoner and musician Dzmitry Shymanski. He was arrested on 2 August 2021 along with the members of the Irdorath musical band.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has published a list of countries participating in Eurovision-2022. The song contest is to take place in May in Turin, Italy. Belarus is not mentioned among 41 would-be contestants.

Minsk resident Mikalai Yankoits was detained on September 15 for the alleged ‘disobedience to police officers at the premises of Partyzanski district department of internal affairs’, human rights activists report.

On August 23, Tsentralny district court of Homiel passed a guilty verdict in the case of local resident, loader Syarhei Balakhonau.

16 persons, including former and current members of the Minsk-based musical band Irdorath, had been brutally detained on August 2, human rights centre Viasna reported on Tuesday.

On Thursday afternoon. the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has released a statement regarding Belarus’ Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Their songs mock the protests.

Ihar Bantser, a Hrodna-based musician and activist, refused food and water on March 3.

Being a Belarusian in Belarus is difficult and sometimes impossible. It is tiring, therefore more and more often the most convinced, the most genuine, the most talented Belarusians move abroad – to build their own Belarus there.

Another choral conductor has been detained in Belarus. Their being in the crosshairs might be related to the activity of the so-called ‘flying choirs’ that perform patriotic songs in public places and bedroom neighbourhoods to show support for Belarusians.

For thirty years, Basovishcha, the Festival of Music of Young Belarus, has been held in Gródek in north-eastern Poland, close to the Belarusian border. During the two-day event in the middle of July, the best rock bands from Belarus and Podlasie, as well as Polish rock stars, had a chance to show their worth. The name of the festival was derived from the abbreviation of one of its organisers, the Belarusian Association of Students in Poland (BAS).