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Belarusian Old Ladies Resent Official Propaganda

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Belarusian Old Ladies Resent Official Propaganda

A former employee of the state TV channel tells the story.

Yulia Cherginets is one of the dozens of journalists who left Belteleradiocompany last August. She told Salidarnasts about her decision.

- I joined Belarus-1 right after university. While a student, I had an internship there. I used to work in different TV shows - Good morning, Belarus!, ATN, - says Yulia. - I used to be a correspondent for regional news, cultural news, and summaries. I made special reports about culture and art, took part in the creation of documentaries.

I particularly remember working on the film Shlyahta - A Brutal Story. The whole team worked with great pleasure. We travelled both to Belarus and Poland, looking for descendants of the famous Belarusian noble families and telling about those people.

Yulia refused to work in the presidential pool. She agreed to do regional news.

- I didn't want to go in for politics as the social problems were closer to me. At some point, I was offered the job of regional news editor. I agreed because they were in the Belarusian language, which I adore. After less than a year, I went on maternity leave for six years," Yulia recalls.

The end of her maternity leave coincided with the events of August 2020 and the time of the strike.

- Regardless of whether you want to be interested in politics, we all still had to delve into the events of the past year. I realised back in the spring that I didn't want to go back to BT. I love my profession. I enjoyed what I did. But I didn't want to cover the events of those days the way State TV did. I had been pondering for a while whether to continue doing cultural projects. Then I decided that culture could exist without Kupalovsky.

I did go back to work on August 14. They warned me if I wanted to stay, I would have to perform some tasks, including those other employees rejected", said the interlocutor.

She considers August 16, 2020, to be the breaking point:

- Generally, the events of last year shocked me. I did not expect that people would show their might! August 16 was a turning point for me. When I saw how many people wanted change, I was very impressed and the next day, I went to work with the clear intention of making a difference.

On that day, cameramen, video engineers - mainly technicians - gathered and asked to talk to management. I joined them.

The manager and his deputies came to see us. They asked what to do and said that they were having problems, not only with private ones (with themselves) but also with their families and neighbours. The manager responded: "If you don't like it, quit, you have one hour".

In that hour, five ATN operators and I left. The rest remained to think. I don't know how many people left ATN because I stopped every communication with my former colleagues. But I remember how the staff from different editorial boards, Dobrai Ranitsy, Belarus!, Vremechka, resigned in those days.

Interestingly, when talking to colleagues, apart from the management, every person supported the change and admitted they had voted for Tikhanovskaya. However, some said then they knew everything, but they needed to somehow pay off the loans.

But there were other employees. Yulia talks about them with particular warmth.

- During those strike days, I met the wonderful cameraman and director Vyacheslav Lomonosov, one of the best cameramen Denis Sokolovsky and Ksenia Lutskina. I am very happy that Denis was released. I am concerned about the rest. I write letters and send them parcels", she says.

Yulia admits she has not turned on the TV since she left BT:

- I sometimes learn about current events in the most unexpected places. For example, the old ladies in the yard were very indignant about the content of the Belarusian TV. All these ladies supported the present authorities a year ago. Now they changed their opinions "thanks" to the television.

My grandmother, who voted for Lukashenka, fortunately, changed her mind as well. She was very much shocked by mass arrests and detentions.

The interviewee admires independent journalists who, despite persecution, repression and forced emigration, continue their work. Yulia has tried to find another job, but so far without success:

- My second profession is as a teacher of the Belarusian language. I went to several schools, which required such a specialist, but they refused me. In the future, I would like to help children learn the Belarusian language. In the meantime, I take care of bringing up and educating my children, they're still small, and they need me a lot.

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