LETTERS FROM LUKASHENKA'S PRISONERS

GIVING A VOICE TO THOSE IMPRISONED UNJUSTLY IN BELARUS

Following a highly disputed election, Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in August 2020. Protests erupted and a vicious crackdown ensued. Three years on from the election, there are more than 1400 political prisoners in Belarus.

Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners gives unjustly detained individuals a voice by collecting, translating, and publishing letters on our channels on a regular basis.

Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners is a collaborative project by Index on Censorship in partnership with Belarus Free Theatre, Human Rights House Foundation and Politzek.me.

Alena Hnauk

Detained on 13 September 2020

Alena Hnauk

"So, my position is precarious and depends on the mood of my superiors. For example, if they notice my uniform jacket is not properly buttoned…"

Read Alena's Letter

Dzmitry Kubarau

Detained on 11 August 2020

Dzmitry Kubarau

"How many of our acquaintances may boast that they can devote 16 hours a day to themselves and only to themselves? There is absolutely nothing to worry about anything here; work, money, career, sex."

Read Dzmitry's Letter

Dzianis Boltuts

Football fan and anti-fascist
Detained on 25 September 2020

Dzianis Boltuts

"I have nothing new, everything is good. I can't wait for the trial. I want it to be over."

Read Dzianis' Letter

Siarhei Sakavets

Engineer
Detained on 21 September 2021

Siarhei Sakavets

"I have nothing new, everything is good. I can't wait for the trial. I want it to be over."

Read Siarhei's Letter

Volha Harbunova

Psychologist and human rights defender
Detained on 9 November 2021

 

Volha Harbunova

"I saw through the tower window of Pishchalauski castle prison. I try to realise I am in the centre of Minsk, because my perception has narrowed to the size of a small cell and it seems that nothing else has ever existed."

Read Volha's Letter

Yauheni Rubashko

Anarchist
Detained on 29 July 2021

Yauheni Rubashko

"To your question about whether I need something: not really - what I need is already here, and what is not, then I do not miss :)."

Read Yauheni's Letter

Rastsislau Stefanovich

Designer and architect
Detained on 28 September 2020

Rastsislau Stefanovich

"[Being apart from you] does not bring joy, so something needs to change :) But I hope you and the kids are using this time for personal development. Gaining experience in life without "Daddy", solving new problems on your own, learning to enjoy everything that happens."

Read Rastsislau's Letter

Pavel Seviarynets

Politician and writer
Detained on 7 June 2020

Pavel Seviarynets

"Your grandfather was a man of light, talent, kindness and generosity...It was he who explained to me that our mother tongue was Belarusian and that Belarus should be independent."

Read Pavel's Letter

Andrei Aliaksandrau

Journalist and human rights defender
Detained on 12 January 2021

Andrei Aliaksandrau

"I wonder if Santa will appreciate the fact that I've been eating well and leading a proper lifestyle. Thanks to you, and other good people, my conscience is clear."

Read Andrei's Letter

Ihnat Sidorchyk

Film director, actor and poet
Detained on 10 August 2020

Ihnat Sidorchyk

"You could call it a place where time stands still. People are tortured by time...you feel like a boy forgotten in a park on a Ferris wheel."

Read Ihnat's Letter

Ksenia Syramalot

Student
Detained on 23 November 2020

Ksenia Syramalot

"I'd really enjoy re-reading Harry Potter, although it's clearly not at the forefront [of my mind] right now :). I think I would see my release in the Mirror of Erised now. I often try to imagine it."

Read Ksenia's Letter

Elena Talkacheva

Journalist
Detained on 18 May 2021

Elena Talkacheva

"It can't go on like this for much longer, it just can't. I know we will endure it with dignity, though it is not easy for all of us, on this side of the fence and on the other. Then we will laugh, cry, and shout, but we will do it together."

Read Elena's Letter

Maxim Znak

Lawyer
18 September 2020

Maxim Znak

"Did I call publicly? To revolt? I? At least accuse me publicly. Conspiracy? With whom, how and when?"

Read Maxim's Letter

Aliaksandr Vasilevich

Businessman
Detained on 28 August 2020

Aliaksandr Vasilevich

"Penguin and Papa paced nonstop from wall to wall. To the guards above, they must have looked like zombies flailing around the little courtyard in desperation :) The cement walls are in bad condition, and there’s a lattice overhead, and a few green leaves higher up along the walls. Sometimes good things can grow, even in cement."

Read Aliksandr's Letter

Larysa Kuzmenka

Detained on 8 June 2021

Larysa Kuzmenka

"My beloved grandson, what game do you like best, how are your friends, maybe there are any new ones?"

Read Larysa's Letter

Artsiom Mitsuk

Detained on 29 September 2020

Artsiom Mitsuk

"Rather than one heroic deed, it’s all the same hard work every day … It’s about doing your thing every single day."

Read Artsiom's Letter

Ivan Datsyshyn

Student
Detained on 30 October 2020

Ivan Datsyshyn

"Perhaps when you see me behind bars, you will get very sad, but that is complete nonsense...Just imagine it as you being called to the director’s office for my bad behaviour at school."

Read Ivan's Letter

Mikola Dziadok

Anarchist and blogger
Detained on 11 November 2020

Mikola Dziadok

"How quickly time flies! It would seem that it was just the New Year, and now it's already the 20th. At this rate, they will release me quickly =)"

Read Mikola's Letter

Viktar Pantsaleeu

Detained on 18 August 2020

Viktar Pantsaleeu

"I certainly do not stop believing in the miracle that everything will be over soon, but in my head I realise that I'll be here for so long and will not be able to see sunsets and sunrises with you, the first snow, spring rains. It tears me apart inside."

Read Viktar's Letter

Anastasya Mirontsava

Student and artist
Detained on 16 October 2020

Anastasya Mirontsava

"If I were freed now, I'd go out and have the freedom I never had before. It's only when you lose something that you realise the value of what you've lost."

Read Anastasya Letter

Maria Kalenik

Student
Detained on 12 November 2020

Maria Kalenik

"I am so grateful to you for being there, always around, even if I don't see you for a long time. I feel your love and care in every postcard, in every package, in every letter..."

Read Maria's Letter

Pavel Mazko

Clothing designer and charity worker
Detained on 23 March 2021

Pavel Mazko

"In prison, the only time you don’t feel the prison atmosphere is in your dreams...Most people who aren’t in prison have a negative mentality - they can't live in the present or distract themselves from their mediocre problems."

Read Pavel's Letter

Hanna Vishniak

Volunteer, Drivers-97
Detained on 28 October 2020

Hanna Vishniak

"My brain is being purged, and cannot remember the words of my favourite songs, poems, or even the names of my favourite actors..."

Read Hanna's Letter

Katsyaryna Andreeva

Journalist
Detained on 15 November 2020

Katsyaryna Andreeva

"I do not feel anger, resentment, or a desire for revenge towards those who made the decision to do this to me. What do I feel? Pity for them following orders."

Read Katsyaryna's Letter

Danila Hancharou

Lighting designer
Detained on 15 March 2021

Danila Hancharou

"The prison 'community' is fertile ground for myths. Any grain of information, even dried out and broken, grows quickly here. It sprouts a mutant. A Hydra with the body of a kitten and the stately gaze of an orc."

Read Danila's Letter

Levon Khalatrian

Bar manager
Detained on 11 August 2020

Levon Khalatrian

"I often think about my past life and question what is happening, but every time I come to the same conclusion – that it is irreversible, necessary, and that change is inevitable."

Read Levon's Letter

Marfa Rabkova

Volunteer coordinator
Detained in September 2020

Marfa Rabkova

"At the moment, my life is all black. I thought I’d reached the bottom. But I was wrong, it wasn’t the bottom."

Read Marfa's Letter

Volha Takarchuk

Political vlogger
Detained on 19 May 2021

Volha Takarchuk

"I keep waiting for the day when I want to live again. You wrote about smiling. I know that, but it's so difficult here. Everything here has become meaningless without children, life is no fun."

Read Volha's Letter

Maria Kalesnikava

Musician and political activist
Detained on 9 September 2020

Maria Kalesnikava

"The court hearing took place today [Dad] so I already know how you had to ‘get changed’ – I bet everybody in the detention centre could hear me laugh!"

Read Maria's Letter

READ MORE FROM BELARUS

Punishment cells and limited legal recourse

The numbers of journalists and human rights defenders in jail in Belarus has heavily increased since 2020, while conditions inside have worsened

Read More

Contents – Climate of fear: The silencing of the planet’s indigenous peoples

The Autumn issue of Index magazine focuses on the struggle for environmental justice by indigenous campaigners. Anticipating the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, in November, we've chosen to give voice to people who are constantly ignored...
Read More

Letters from Belarus: Maria Kolesnikova

Reader's Note: In September 2020, the prominent Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova was abducted from Minsk and taken to the border where security forces tried to expel her from the country; she ripped up her passport in defiance. In the days that followed...
Read More