Ahead of European Games: Minsk police detain Russians for selfie with policeman statue
Two Russian visitors who were staying in Minsk on May 11-12 were detained by the local police over taking a selfie with Gorodovoi, a statue of Tsarist-era policeman. The particulars of the story were published on the Pikabu forum by user sImoRENka.
The real name of the girl is Irina, she is from Moscow, RFE/RL reports.
According to her, it was their first visit to Minsk. On the way to the hotel Irina and her friend decided to take a picture of themselves standing near the statue of a policeman. The young man was wearing a hoodie with the picture of a skeleton.
Hardly had the duo walked away, the police stopped them. They asked that what the tourists had done to the monument and whether they had put masks on their faces, made them delete the photos and let them go. However, a moment later, the policemen changed their mind.
The police officers claimed that the Russian guests had trod on the podium, which they called ‘vandalism’. A protocol was drawn upon the foreigners; they were also taken to a police station located in another district of the city and put into a cell together with six other detainees, including a homeless person.
“As a result, we were released. They said that we should not be offended, but think it to be an adventure, and invited us to come to Minsk again. Frankly speaking, I took the situation close to heart. Usually I deliberately plan my trips; but this time, we lost half a day, we experienced stress, we faced threats, we were in a cell smelling of street persons,” the girl said.
The 2nd European Games will be held in Minsk in June 21-30, 2019. For the first time it took place in 2015 in Baku; it was started rolling by Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s close friend, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, who definitely wants it to run and run. However, holding the event may cost Belarusians $30-40 mln.
The Gorodovoi that is rumoured to be liked by Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich has apparently gained notoriety for the recent years. In November 2018, the Minsk police made a young man apologize for slapping the statue and posted a corresponding video on their official Youtube channel. Later, Minsk resident Dzmitry Zavadzki was taken to the police station only for putting a scarf on the statue – he just wanted to take a picture of the ‘dressed’ Gorodovoi. On December 2, anarchist Vyachaslau Kasinerau, Syarhei Sparysh and other activists laid a funeral wreath with the inscription ‘The Interior Ministry’s Public Image’ at Gorodovoi. Kasinerau and Sparysh were tried and fined.
In March 2017, a group of activists held a performance by putting a noose around the neck of Gorodovoi. They protested against police abuse and harassment of anarchist activists for participating in peaceful protests. Kasinerau was charged with committing a crime under part 1 of article 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism) and fined.
However, forcing the teenager to apologize to the sculpture, as well as the police, triggered a wave of public outrage. Interestingly, Heorhi Yauchar, Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, lost his position. At the same time, Shunevich denies that the situation became the reason for removing his subordinate and even admitted that it was him who had come up with the idea to make the teenager express regret for slapping Gorodovoi.
The Belarusian Interior Minister is an ardent admirer of the Bolshevik secret services that murdered and executed tsarist officers without remorse.
