“Viktor Ivashkevich was thinking about Belarus twenty-four-hour-a-day”

A year has passed since the day of death of the well-known Belarusian.

On September 3, 2013 one of the leaders of the Belarusian Revival, Viktar Ivashkevich, died in a hospital of a grave illness.

In a conversation with charter97.org a coordinator of “European Belarus” civil campaign Zmitser Bandarenka and one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front Ales Marachkin share their reminiscences about the politician and journalist.

Ales Marachkin:

- All fighters for a free Belarus lost a devoted friend, who was principled in all issues, “a cock” at rallies in the best meaning of this word. As people say: a tree was broken, and a man is no longer with us. So we feel lonely…

Undoubtedly, we are missing Viktor tremendously, we miss his initiatives, his soul. However, today we recall him and feel that “underwood has already grown”. Ales Ryazanau has a great line in his poem: “The underwood holds out when woods hold out.” And Ivashkevich, Buraukin, Baradulin are woods. The woods have held out. But underwood has grown up massively, there are many of them. I think that the ideas Viktar was carrying on his banner, are to be realized in the nearest future. I have such a hope.

Zmitser Bandarenka:

- Viktar Ivashkevich’s passing is a huge loss for Belarus. He was my friend and associate, but in addition he was a titan of the Belarusian Revival and Belarusian Resistance. He was thinking about Belarus twenty-four-hour-a-day.

Viktor was one of the few in Belarus who could organize mass rallies, as he was courageous and a good organizer. He could always find understanding with people and communicated with city authorities (which is an important aspect, concerning security during mass rallies).

Viktor also was a wonderful story-teller. It’s a pity he hadn’t managed to leave his memoirs, but undoubtedly, some facts will stay in people’s memory and in the mass media.

One of the most vivid stories for me was his reminiscences about the time of the Putsch in 1991 and those first days which in fact laid the foundation to Belarus’ independence. And notably, unlike many other people who had been participants of those and other important events in Belarus, Viktar didn’t like people who said “I” to often. He even said: “Well, that man had done something, but he has repeated “I” 47 times!”

His memories had a personal outlook, personal attitude, but there was no “I”. And the amazing power and naturalness of this person lied in that.

Note:

Viktar Ivashkevich was born on September 21, 1959 in Minsk.

He was an active participant of informal youth associations of national-democratic character – “Majstrounya” and “Talaka” when the Soviet Union still existed. Viktar Ivashkevich was one of the most talented organisers of all kinds of actions and events, including the protest march along the River Daugava or Western Dvina against construction of Daugavpils hydro-electric power station, an ecologic march along Pripyats River, one of the first protest rallies related to Chernobyl, a strike of city buses in Minsk; he was an initiator of a strike committee foundation at Minsk enterprises.

Since the formation of the committee for creation of the Belarusian Popular Front in 1988 he was its activist. Viktar Ivashkevich stayed the secretary of the Belarusian Popular Front Board until 1996. The politician acted as an organizer of largest mass protest rallies.

Since 1997 Viktar Ivashkevich was the editor-in-chief of “Rabochy” (“The Worker”) newspaper, since 1999 Vice President of the Belarusian Congress of the Democratic Trade Unions. In 2002 the politician was sentenced to 2 years of corrective labour (“khimiya”) for his article “A thief must be locked in prison”, which was writing about Lukashenka.

He took an active part in the presidential campaign in 2010, being a member of Andrei Sannikov’s team.

Many times Viktar Ivashkevich was arrested, two times he announced a hunger strike.

The politician died October 3 last year in one of the hospitals in Minsk.