United Russia party having election campaign in Belarus?

3 October the Minsk dwellers could watch the amusing performance. In different places of Belarusian capital at the bus with the “United Russia” inscription stood a crowd of people with the pro-Putin party logotypes dressed in Russian state flag coloured uniform.

On Yakub Kolas Square at 2 p.m. stood approximately 20 people wearing the same uniform of Russian state flag colour. They had the “United Russia” inscriptions on their backs. The bus stood close, with the party flags and the inscription on the side “Common memory! Common honour! United Russia!”.

Answering the “Radio Svaboda” correspondent’s question of who those people are and what they are doing in Minsk, a woman said:

“The aim of our motor rally and marathon is the regular liberation of the Russia’s and Belarus’s North-Eastern district in order to honour the memory of our countrymen who died during the Great Patriotic War and pass on the baton to the youth who should continue our traditions”.

On the question if these people think Belarus is an independent country, one of them answered:

“I think we are a common country. Both Belarus and Russia are one country. We are all Slavs. Belarus and Russia are common because everything we see here looks like ours. Here Russian is spoken. All people are breathing Russia. Everything is all right”<>/i.

The Russians told they started their marathon from Russian Ivanov to the Belarusian town of the same name, meaning Yanava near Berastie.

The bus was escorted by the militia car at the front and emergency car at the back. The group of the Russians was guarded by the militiamen in civvies.

Victar Ivashkevich, one of the BPF Party (Belarusian Popular Front) leaders thinks that the promotion of the Russian pro-president party “United Russia” is a ridiculous action:

“The Russian politicians think that we are Russia… And it is hard to dispute, when everybody keeps silence and in everyday situations says that we are Russians. The only proof is to come out to the European March…”

When the militiamen detain in the streets the young people who have white-red-white flags and the “For Freedom” badges, they usually write in the reports the young people use unregistered symbols.

The Belarusian laws forbid to have the unregistered in the ministry of justice symbols on the clothes or vehicles.

BPF leader Vintsuk Viachorka expressed his opinion:

“We should find out what independence is meant. If it is a dictator independence from own people, then it becomes clear why the signs of occupation appear, when we are heavily beaten for our flags and language. Or it is a real defence of our independence from the threat from East. If the authorities wanted to demonstrate that they are the defenders of our independence, they wouldn’t even let such escorts in”.

The Russians, the marathon amateurs, said they received uniform and money from the United Russia party. At parting they said they hope Belarus will soon become a part of Russia.