Iosif Syaredzich: “We are sitting on a powder keg”

Independent “Narodnaya Volya” newspaper marks its 15th anniversary.

Editor-in-chief Iosif Syaredzich gave an interview to “Salidarnasts” ahead of the solemn event and revealed secret of his newspaper’s long life, told what use he brings to the officials and why he thinks his employees are crazy.

– Reveal a secret, how do you manage to survive today?

– Only crazy people are able to live under such conditions. Only zealots. Such people work for Narodnaya Volya”. Otherwise we couldn’t have survived.

– What was the most difficult during 15 years?

– You’d better ask what was the easiest. It wasn’t easy. It was 15 years of survival, 15 years of struggling for the right to live, not to work, to create but to live!

We are sitting on a powder keg. Who knows what expects us tomorrow. What will be with the newspaper, us, our readers? But we continue to work. We work against the common sense.

I can’t believe myself we have worked for so long. Have you seen a newspaper existing in such conditions in a civilized country? We have survived three expulsions, three “emigrations”. We were printed in Lithuania for some years, now we have been printing in Smolensk for the last four years…

A normal newspaper cannot exist in such conditions. But we have to work, so we are doing our job.

– Which of the issues do you remember most?

– The first one and the today’s one. When I took the first issue in hands I felt I had created a newspaper called “Narodnaya Volya”. When I am looking at the latest issue I feel pride in having got through all difficulties, all trials.

The newspaper has never suspended its activity. You should know how many papers have been closed by the authorities overt the last years. We’ve managed to survive. It’s because we have devoted people working for “Narodnaya Volya”.

– Do you feel feedback from your readers?

– If there were no readers, no subscribers, why would I print the newspaper? Do you really think I have my paper for Lukashenka?

We are making the newspaper for Belarus and for the people of Belarus. This is our launching pad.

Do you know how we worked when the paper was printed in Smolensk? We transferred our personal money through banks to be printed and then sent newspaper in envelopes as letters.

Thank God, we have people who need the free word, the people who need democracy in Belarus. We are working for them.