Belarusian activity may surprise even Ukrainians: even individual courtyards defend themselves against OMON

Analyzing the situation in Belarus, the philosopher noted that as the communication of social groups develops, the mentality of people changes.

“For a long time, Belarus, long after the 1990s, perhaps even before, there was a very serious identity or identity crisis, when neither the historical mindset associated with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania nor the new political identity – a political nation with a unique understanding of Belarus. (…)

The second thing is that when we speak of political identity, there must be political groups that associate this identity with their activity. More recently, starting in 2010, fragmented socio-political groups have started to form in Belarus, no longer associated only with that accidental liberation in 1990-1991, whose independence simply fell on their heads, but with their conscious attitude and attempt to define what, where, how do they move?

According to the philosopher, many predicted that there could be protests in Belarus, but “that events will begin to unfold so quickly and with such perseverance, on both sides, it may even surprise Ukrainians in some places.”

Shipyards defend themselves against OMON

The professor explains that each revolution consists of many microphases. They are not constant. Some may occur, others may occur less.

“Whether people go out to fight with courage depends on what we associate with a culture of trust. For example, yesterday in Belarus I saw how separate courtyards, the districts defend themselves from OMON. I was very interested to think that in Lithuania, for example, people who live in apartment buildings are very alienated.

And it’s very difficult to think of being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other when they need to defend their bodies. This thing, that you have to find twenty or fifty neighbors to trust and defend their bodies, is quite a complicated psychological matter, ”said G. Mažeikis.

The philosopher also tried to explain the structure of the Belarusian elites on the show. The professor divided it into a tough opposition, mostly divided in the West, with its own newspapers, influences and a mild opposition, which also split into separate groups, “and, depending on its toughness, it has rarely been able to muster more than 100- 200 people”. .

The interlocutor of the program also explained that the willingness of people to sacrifice depends on the significance.

“This meaning can be given by the church or by something related to public communication. When filming, the photographer gives the assurance that he is not empty, that the action is not in vain. Some people may sacrifice more for that alone, ”said G. Mažeikis.

The protests in Belarus are different from those in Ukraine

The philosopher said that he saw a big difference between the Maidan of Ukraine and Belarus.

“There was a religious action on the great stage of the Maidan of Ukraine, there were priests, prayers, while in the Belarusian square, the religious activity was put aside. Second, it is important to define a goal that the masses understand.

There was a very clear objective in Ukraine: the EU, in Belarus it is not so clear. This is not called a turn to the EU. Two mythological figures are mentioned: Poland and the Baltic States, and sometimes Lithuania separately. So a certain milestone is the neighbors: “we don’t want to live worse than our neighbors.” This is a certain lower degree of consciousness, ”said G. Mažeikis.

But according to the philosopher, the situation in Belarus also has an advantage.

“There were no elections in Ukraine at that time. At the beginning of Maidan, there was the issue of association with the EU, while everything is happening here at the time of the elections. This is a moment when there is a very important moment. of political instability, “said G. Mažeikis.

There are protests in Belarus

As already announced, the protests took place on Monday evening in various parts of the Belarusian capital. In Minsk, the protesters did not gather as centrally as on Sunday, but dispersed around the city in small groups shouting “Freedom!” And “Long live Belarus!” Internet access is still blocked in Belarus.

Sviatlana Cichanouskaya, considered the favorite of the opposition in the elections, said she would not participate in the rallies for fear of possible provocations. His colleagues announced that the candidate was in custody, but were contacted after 7 hours. On Tuesday morning, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius announced that S. Cichanouskaja had arrived in Lithuania and was safe.