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A couple of weeks ago, a video was released on social media in which OMON officials tried to block the passage to Bahinskaya, who raised a white-red-white flag, but to no avail: the activist passes by saying that she was only walking .
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On August 26, Bahinskaya returned to the limelight with a video of a 1.55 meter protester dealing with OMON officials demanding the return of her historic flag.
With Bahinskaya, people are now greeted on the street and greeted with applause at protests. But activists have known the 73-year-old protester’s face for much longer.
A long history of activism
Bahinskaya has been involved in various protests since 1988. Tut. By writes that once he left the KGB building, he burned a Soviet flag nearby, protesting against Russia’s actions in Ukraine in 2014. In 2017, he stood there with a poster demanding the release of political prisoners. Due to her activism, Bahinskaya was found in detention centers three times.
Bahinskaya goes almost every week to the Kuropata grove near Minsk, where a restaurant is being built in place of the Stalin Monument.
In 2019, Bahinskaya was charged with obstructing construction works and disobeying the police. When the judge entered the court hearing, the activist refused to stand up.
“You are nothing to me. I do not recognize this court,” he quotes Bahinskaya as saying charter97.org.
Scanpix / ITAR-TASS photo / Nina Bahinskaya (right) during the women’s march in Minsk
Ms. Bahinskaya was allowed to attend the hearing, but refused to testify: “I do not consider this court to be fair. I did not violate the constitution. Then Bahinskaya turned away from the judge and said he did not want to listen, he writes. charter97.org.
Bahinskaya received many fines for activism. She told Radio Free Europe that between October 2016 and October 2017, about 20 percent of her pensions were deducted by the state to cover the fines. As of October 2017, 50 percent has been deducted. their pensions.
When asked about this month’s fight with OMON officials, N. Bahinskaya tut.by He said that when he was stripped of his flag in Independence Square, he went to the nearest bus to transport the detainees.
There he demanded that the flag be returned to him. The activist was not allowed to get on the bus, she was told to contact the militia leaders, who eventually said they knew nothing about the flag. However, Bahinskaya does not intend to give up, it has already submitted to the Interior Ministry.
Believe that everything will be fine
At the age of 19, the activist was involved in an accident: she spent three days in a coma and underwent head surgery. Bahinskaya continues to lose consciousness periodically and has been diagnosed with “post-traumatic epilepsy”.
“Sooner or later we will all die. I don’t want the disease to prevent me from living and protecting my dignity, ”he said. tut.by.
VIDEO: Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets again on Sunday, no detainees or tanks.
Bahinskaya is still brave.
“Fear is a normal emotion. From childhood, a person learns to fear snakes, wild animals, thieves, then he grows up and begins to fear death. But next to death is the dignity that makes us human. When it comes to defending dignity, there should be no fear, ”the activist said in an interview. tut.by.
The activist told the portal that it feels like it’s been more than 30 years ago today, and events are unfolding much faster.
“30 years ago, everything was somehow a secret, we had to find where people gather, where to go and why. Movement was slow, there was no such unity. Now people are coming together so fast. But of course the people of this generation are different, they are also more indifferent, “Bahinskaya said.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Nina Bahinskaya fights with officials
Bahinskaya said 95% after August 9, when Lukashenko’s dubious victory was declared and the crackdown on protesters began. things were sure not to go well.
“All the young people will be killed, the rest will leave. But I saw that people do not stop, they come and go: August 10, 11, 12 and beyond. And then I saw that white-red-white sea … Now I am 95 percent. He is convinced that everything will be fine, “said B. Bahinskaya.
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