Heroes of Square – 1968: “You raised our banner high”

Pavel Litvinov and Viktor Fainberg have written to Belarusian political prisoners.

Participants of the demonstration of protest against invasion of Soviet troops to Czechoslovakia, which took place on August 25, 1968 in the Red Square in Moscow, have expressed their support to Belarusian political prisoners.

Soviet dissenters Pavel Litvonov and Viktor Fainberg have addressed to the presidential candidate, Mikalai Statkevich, who was arrested on December 19, 2010, and is kept behind the bars for more than 4 years, experiencing constant pressure, as well as other Belarusian political prisoners: Ihar Alinevich, Yauhen Vaskovich, Mikalai Dzyadok, Artsyom Prakapenka and Yury Rubtsou.

Charter97.org website was informed about that by the wife of the political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, Maryna Adamovich.

“Dear friends! I am happy to have an opportunity to meet you, at least at the long distance. Thank you for having raised our banner so high. It is common; as we have only one freedom, it is indivisible. We send our fraternal greetings,” Viktor Fainberg writes.

“My deepest condolences and support to Belarusian prisoners of conscience. I hope you will be released soon,” Pavel Litvinov wrote.

The demonstration on August 25, 1968 was held on the Red Square by a group of 8 Soviet dissenters (Konstantin Babitsky, Tatyana Bayeva, Larisa Bogoraz, Natalya Gorbanevskaya, Vadim Delone, Vladimir Dremlyuga, Pavel Litvinov and Viktor Fainberg) in protest against invasion of the troops of the USSR and other countries of Warsaw Pact countries on August 20 in the night. It was made in order to stop social and political reforms in Czechoslovakia, called the Prague Spring.

This demonstration became one of the most important rallies of Soviet dissenters. Participants of the rally were sentenced harshly, and were kept in prisons for a long time, or were sentenced to forcible psychiatric “treatment.” After release they continued their dissenters’ activities. As of today, only Pavel Litvinov and Viktor Fainberg are still alive among the protest participants.