Defendant in “trial of 14” Mikhail Kryvau: “We need moral support of businessmen”

The court trial over Mikhail Kryvau is to start on April 16. He is a defendant in the criminal trial over 14 participants of the protest rally of marker vendors.

- Mikhail, you are the youngest among the young activists who are to stand trial on April 16. You have graduated from Journalism faculty of Belarusian State University and finished two Master’s degree programmes, in Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University) (International relations) and San Jose University (PR). Have you joined opposition because you found no other way to fulfill your potential in Belarus?

- One can fulfill one’s potential in any conditions probably, and in today’s Belarus as well. The question is, what is the price you are ready to pay for that. Once I had a possibility to occupy a position in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Belarus or in the foreign department of the Belarusian TV (when my reputation wasn’t “smeared” by ties with opposition). But at the proper time I realized that I would make a career there taking risk to harm my mental health. To talk nonsense about benefits of friendship with Iran, Syria and Venezuela every day, and arguing that western civilization with its values is our deadly enemy… I would go mad probably. Or I would become a cynic who holds in contempt life and me totally. I didn’t regret for a moment that I joined the United Civil party. I met such a great number of decent, intelligent and freedom-loving people there! I found friends and soul mates there.

- Over the period when independent Belarus exists, hundreds and thousands of Belarusian students left for the US: to earn money, to improve their skills, get extra knowledge. Only a few have returned. Even a joke has appeared: “Nobody has returned from America, like from the other world”. However you have preferred to come back, and declined the possibility to work abroad. Why?

- I was simply amazed how many Belarusians live in the US now. They are mostly young people. Whatever you may say; America is a land of great possibilities and for the newly arrived immigrants as well. Many Belarusians prefer to stay in the US even illegally, in order not to return to the “powerful and flourishing” [Belarus]. As for me personally, I had several motives to return. Firstly, I had a beloved girl who was waiting for me, as I thought. And secondly, living in the US I developed one funny habit. I visited internet site https://youtube.com/, and watched one and the same clip about Belarus almost every day. It is short, about 5 minutes. These were footage of the “Jeans revolution” of 2006. I scrutinized faces of people who formed a line in front of riot policemen armed to the teeth, who spent time in a freezing temperatures in tents covered with snow, put up white-red-white flags on top of buses. And this all was accompanied by a beautiful and sad melody of the anthem “Mighty God”. At such moments I felt something special in my soul. You could call this feeling patriotism if you like.

- You have joined the United Civil party 8 months ago. Over this time you have managed to take part in many rallies, and served a 15-days arrest. At the same time, you are still looking at the actions of the opposition “with a fresh pair of eyes”. Do you think opposition should look for other ways of resisting the regime?

- Street protest rally are certainly necessary. Even when not so many people as we want take part in them. By these actions we demonstrate the regime that there are free people in Belarus, that we are not lowbrow, but an original European nation. At the same time I think that it is greatly important to reinforce the informational and educational work among common people. They should be explained clearly that the regime despises them and deceives them continually; that they must do at least something to improve their life; that freedom and prosperity are not given without efforts, they should be won.

- Do you have an impression that protest rallies of entrepreneurs were lacking forethought, some core? Today market vendors are busy with learning to survive in the conditions when the Decree 760 has come into force. Most of them do not even know about the trial over you, a campaign for your support haven’t been organized…

- It’s really so, moral support of businessmen would be valuable to us now… Market vendors, like the rest of the Belarusian society, must be really intimidated now, so they prefer to criticize the regime sitting at their kitchens. As for the protest on January 10, let’s look at the quantity of people who gathered. There were from 3 to 5,000 of them. And how many market vendors were registered at that time? As far as I know, 40,000 in Minsk, and about 250,000 in Belarus. Plus their family members, hired workers… So I ask the question: where have they been?!

- When you tell about you life in the US, you say that freedom is a corner stone of life in the US society, and that is why you like America. Today’s Belarus is not a free country unfortunately. Why do you love Belarus?

- I love Belarus firstly because it’s my Motherland. And you do not choose motherland, like you do not choose parents. I love Belarus of lovers of liberty, of nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. I love Belarus of Maxim Bahdanovich, Kastus Kalinouski, Uladzimer Karatkevich, Kanstantsin Astrozhski. I love Belarus of Tadevush Kastsyushka (Tadeusz Kościuszko) who is an American national hero by the way. And this list of great personalities could be extended endlessly.

- Today nobody can predict the result of the trial. Forecasts of Belarusian human rights activists and politicians are unfortunately not encouraging. I know that some guys are going to come to the court with their things packed… What things are you going to take with you in the first place?

- It will be a book “The Ears of Rye under Thy Sickle” by Uladzimer Karatkevich.

- We know that your parents are pensioners. Will you find words to soothe them before the trial?

- I like the expression: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But in fact they are trying to soothe me. They say: “You haven’t stolen anything and you haven’t murdered anybody. You have nothing to be ashamed. And when the regime can do such things as this “trial”, it’s the disgrace of the regime”.