'Troubled time comes to Russia again'. Belarus Nobel Prize laureate’s conference in Sweden

Today Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, is giving a press conference in the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the author for “her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”.

Belsat TV journalist Alina Koushyk is reporting from the event.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]A journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty puts a question in the Belarusian language: “What else could be done for Belarus?”

Alexievich: “We should do our part, do it quietly, without despair. Your status does not help you if you live in a dictatorship. The dictatorship is primitive, as a rule, dictators are foolish people.”

A fragment of the conference, ENG subtitles:[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGbHVRVTdra0MteGslMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]A Japanese journalist asked about Svetlana Alexievich’s opinion about nuclear power, referring to the the example of Fukushima.

Alexievich says that during her visit to Japan she participated in the discussion of the problems of Chernobyl, and she was told that a similar incident would never happen i Japan, but a disaster did occur. According to her, it is another proof of the fact that people are still not able to keep control of nuclear energy.

“Nuclear energy is dangerous. Sooner or later mankind will realize that they need alternative [sources of energy].”

[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]A Swedish journalist wonders what helps Svetlana Alexievich continue her work, continue to write books.

“Life is very interesting. I have never set a goal to win the Nobel Prize. I just wanted to understand who we are, why we live, why people suffer again,”said the writer.

Remembering her childchood, Alexievich said that when she was 10 years old and her grandmother got a pension, the woman kissed the money and cried.

“I wanted to find out why people are good, but their life is bad and write about it.”

[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The Nobel laureate believes the Belarusian village to be the symbol of the country, because ‘on the one hand it is the basis, and on the other it is incapable of reform’.

“I’m looking for the truth. It is of high importance to comprehend Russia’s new Middle Ages period”.

According to Alexievich, ‘troubled time’ have come to Russia again, since the reaction of the Russian authorities is very aggressive, and the Russians themselves are very happy about the country’s aggression.Asked about her favorite books, Alexievich says that they were ‘her main wealth’ when she was a child. She сalls Belarusian writer Ales Adamovich as one of her favourite authors.

“There is not enough space for the truth in the heart . It is necessary to collect the stories of several people to see a big picture,” Svetlana Alexievich tells journalists about her method of work.

“Is it true that you will not be wearing a traditional dress at the award ceremony?” a journalist asks.

Alexievich: A winner is free to choose an outfit. I will be speaking about Chernobyl and Afghanistan – in my opinion, decollete dresses will be out of place.

When asked why her new book is devoted to love, Aleksievich says that love needs effort through one’s whole life. A human being is not born to die on the Chernobyl reactor or in Donbas, she says.

‘I have written all I knew about the Red man,” Alexievich tells about her latest book Second-hand Time. “I hope we understand that if we gain freedom, we can avoid slavery. When I finished the book, I wondered what the Earth still revolves around? And the answer was ‘around love and death’. Now I am writing a book in which both men and women tell about love. If I am up for it, later I will write a book about old age and death .

A journalist from the Belarusian town of Byaroza asks: “What is happiness?”

Alexievich says she used to work in Byaroza under mandatory job placement:

“My first admirer worked in the local KGB department. I refused to dance with him, and my hostess said he would jail me. I am a happy person because I do what I want and the way I want.”

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Svetlana Alexievich is a Belarusian investigative journalist and prose writer. She wrote narratives from interviews with witnesses to the most dramatic events in the country, such as World War II, Soviet-Afghan war, fall of the Soviet Union, and Chernobyl disaster.

Her first book War’s Unwomanly Face came out in 1985. It was repeatedly reprinted and sold out in more than two million copies. This novel is made up of monologues of women in the war speaking about the aspects of World War II that had never been related before.

Her most notable works in English translation are about first-hand accounts from the war in Afghanistan (Zinky Boys) and a highly praised oral history of the Chernobyl disaster (Voices from Chernobyl).

in 2000 Alexievich became the target of the Lukashenka regime: she was accused of collaborating with US intelligence agencies, her phone was tapped, and her works were no longer published.

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