“It is him who gives orders to disperse peaceful gatherings of citizens – he lives off our taxes.”
More pieces of street art have appeared in Minsk after Saturday’s brutal crackdown on protesters.
On Monday morning, passers-by had the chance to see the image of Dzmitry Balaba, commander of the Minsk riot police, on the wall not far from Minsk city executive committee. On March 25, security forces violently detained more than 700 people.
“It is him who gives orders to disperse peaceful gatherings of citizens – he lives off our taxes.”
Near Victory Square, a portrait of Belarusian Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich was spotted:
“It is me who is proud of the uniform and methods of the NKVD.”
Shunevich hardly hides his affection for Josef Stalin and Soviet chekists, which can be seen in numerous interviews. Dressed in NKVD uniform, he showed up in public.
“It is us who abduct people!”
Moreover, a plainclothes man bearing a close resemblance to senior police official Ihar Yauseyeu was drawn on the wall in the vicinity of the Universiy of Culture: “It is us who abduct people!”
(UPD). Graffitis have not lived long – municipal workers have already covered them with paint.
Unknown artists have repeatedly expressed their outrage about the domestic policy of the Belarusian authorities. In early March, a portrait of Maryana Shchotkina, a former Minister of Labour and Social Protection, appeared on the fence wall not far from Independence Avenue in Minsk.
Photo by Anton Motolko
There was also the inscription: “It is me who is the author of the idea of the tax on the unemployed”.
Belarus police against Belarusians: Brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Minsk (ENG video)
On March 25, the Minsk riot police brutally dispersed the protest against the so-called tax on ‘spongers’ introduced by president Alyaksandr Lukashenka in 2015. Hundreds of people – even women, elderly people, journalists and ordinary passers-by – were arrested, battered and jailed. It is noteworthy that the protesters also planned a peaceful celebration of Freedom Day. It is an unofficial holiday commemorating the establishment of the first Belarusian nation-state, the Belarusian People’s Republic, on March 25, 1918. On Sunday, Belarusians came to Kastrychnitskaya Square to show solidarity with detained and beaten.
