"I said: "Why are you hitting like a girl? My 10-years old daughter may hit harder"
Marked with a red mark hit especially hard
Marked with a red mark hit especially hard
The policemen had a special attitude towards Yevgeny (name has been changed) — They were not giving him water and, he was beaten in a remote corner of the police department's courtyard. Yevgeny did not keep silence - he teased those who beat him. That why comrades in misfortune called him "cocky". This man seems very rational and calm, even when speaking about those three days in August. However, but he admits that it took him a lot of time to return to a normal psychological state.
First beaten by a traffic police officer, then beaten again in the police department
- I realized that I am not in line with this system quite a long time ago. This was not a political decision. Like all young specialists, I had to work at state-owned enterprises and I absolutely did not like the approach to work there. That was a first call. And secondly, when I opened my own company, I witnessed the severe corruption even in the regions. We were all outraged, but still continued to live our lives. And then, quite unexpectedly, all those meetings of Tikhanovskaya started. We all had a feeling that Lukashenka had finally got mistaken.
On August 9, my friends and I went to look around in the area of the "Minsk - Hero City" obelisk. All of us are adults and well-off. We have families and good occupation. I am the youngest there. We didn't enter any confrontations. I have to admit that the propaganda is somewhat right and some of the guys behaved rather radically. But there were very few of them.
On August 10, we planned to walk around the district. Then we decided that it would be safer to drive a car. We arrived at the intersection with Belaya Vezha. There were many cars there, everyone tried to drive in the direction of Nemiga, but traffic was blocked by a traffic police car. I guess that it was a riot policeman behind the wheel: he had a traffic policeman's shirt, but pants and ankle boots from the special police uniform. As soon as I got out of my car, a riot policeman jumped into it. Another one, wearing a helmet, turned the car around and disappeared. He was nowhere to be found and there were no keys in the auto — so I went to the traffic cop with my open hands in the air. He jumped at at me with the words: "Disobedience, you b*tch!" and started beating me. He was hitting my shoulders with a baton, "elastic and soft". After that beating the left side of my back was covered by dark blue bruises. He tore off my bracelet, woven by my daughter, and yelled, "Wait, I'll shove it in your ass." People started gathering around to fight back. I shouted: "Don't do it, go away!" I felt that any active participation of a crowd could lead to a major trouble.
Then they handed me to the guards, who were were completely adequate and wondered why did this guy begin to act so aggressively. They promised to me that they would talk to the person on duty, and they would let me go. I was feeling somewhat good that everything for me finished there, and did not go any further.
- A senior policeman almost flew out of the police department. Apparently, they told him on the radio to be tougher on me. On his order, they immediately put me in handcuffs. He dragged me and took to the yard. There he knocked me to the ground and started beating me with both hands, trying to hit my kidneys . I told him: "Why are you hitting like a girl? My 10-years old daughter may hit harder". He called another policeman, a lieutenant colonel, who was more professional. He beat me with a baton, mainly hitting legs. It was difficult to keep track of the time , but I think it was for a couple of minutes. They did not have enough time for me due to a large inflow of people.
They were repeatedly saying : "Keep your head lower." But I realized, that it really did not ease matters. So I, on the contrary, raised my head and even started teasing them. I'm quite strong so the policemen just could not bend me down . I said «Come on, do it, you have a baton and a helmet, and I have nothing». No, it was not scary. They feed on fear. On the contrary, i was feeling some strange superiority. Their strength is a sign of weakness. I've been boxing for half my life, and I've always been interested in having a worthy opponent. Of course, if I were at Akrestsina, such behavior would do me no good… most likely, I would not leave that place on my own feet...
It was a great mistake… they did not just disperse the crowd. In a way, they raped us, at it was a mistake. As far as I know, surely no one of those who were there with me, will forget it. An 90% of us will not forgive them.
They were repeatedly saying : "Keep your head lower." But I realized, that it really did not ease matters. So I, on the contrary, raised my head
When everything calmed down a little, I realized that the policemen use the collective responsibility principle. My rebellious behavior could lead to other people suffering. So I stood with my hands to the fence (all the people detained stood there with heads against the fence, bent over, and with hands either behind their heads or on the fence. There was no fear - many felt anger. As far as I recall, only two of us were taken by the ambulance. One of them had a broken and smashed arm.
There were foreigners among the detainees. We got acquainted with them. This was one of the brightest moments. We agreed to stick to each other. For this we remembered color and shape of each other´s sneakers. When running headfirst, this helps not to lose sight of us.
There was a lantern, casting shadows on the fence. You could see people walking, some of them in special police force helmets, some without. All the local authorities were clearly aware of the events — the prosecutor's car was parked on the territory of the police department. They brought some cars on on the tow trucks and said : "Be careful, do not scratch the prosecutor's car." It was an expensive car with special number plates.
Young female policemen were compiling lists of our belongings. It's hard to imagine that someone at such a young age can be such a bitch. They were absolutely calm and giggling about something. You immediately recall the footage from Auschwitz. The analogies are straightforward. An acquaintance of one of my friends was tortured with a baton, put in his anus.. He told us about it only a month later. But it was clear that there is no other way to get such a bruise around the anus.
When the OMON officers from ALMAZ department were kids, they went to school, just like us. They should know that it is possible to find Nazi criminals even after many years, in their 90-ies just by descriptions, with no photos or videos. I think about this guy who shot Taraikovsky. There were 20-30 policemen from ALMAZ in the chain. Each of them had to come home and tell his wife or mother that he was not the killer. And every mother or wife had to tell her sister or friend. Therefore, at least 100 people in the country, including the leaders, know exactly who did it. And if two people know it, it is no longer a secret. What are they hoping for?
When the OMON officers were kids, they went to school, just like us. They should know that it is possible to find Nazi criminals just by descriptions, with no photos or videos
All night long we heard the explosions in the "Riga" area. They said: "We'll bring these Surganov queers, and you all will see how bad it can be for you." Those guys were tortured and treated cruelly. They were beaten longer than others. We could only hope that they would survive.
In the morning they let me to go to the toilet for the first time and drink some water. (Other detainees were given water several times and were let to go to WC during the night.) As for me, they said «You are so proud, so be patient, you will bear it». From time to time they let us seat. I remember thinking on how to take off one sneaker with hands in handcuffs and sit on it. I tried to keep warm, as it was very cold.
Closer to lunchtime they brought vehicles. The first was a small MAZ bus, usually used for transportation of the riot police. During loading they did not beat the detainees — maybe they did it later, on the way. The second one was a green paddy wagon with "coffins", lockers. I was scared of the way they loaded detainees there, my knees were shaking. You could hear beats and groans from inside. A riot policeman said: "Why are you moaning, they are filming you on video." Why did they shoot it? Probably to tie all the policemen in blood.
As for us, we were loaded into a van of the riot police - a large booth with small windows on top, with good ventilation, benches around the circle, mounts for shields and weapons. They distributed detainees in a strange manner: “Give me this hairy one, and this one in a T-shirt… I will give them a lesson”. As soon as you are in, 3-5 riot policemen immediately hit you in the legs, and you fall on your knees. Healthier detainees were put in handcuffs. It seemed that they already knew how to behave with each of us. Oddly enough, weaker people were beaten much harder. Me and another six or eight people were simply tied up and put on a bench. Benches were for those who were stronger. And they didn't touch us at all. This, perhaps, is also purely pragmatic - a wimp can not jump up with a riot policeman on his back. The rest were put on their knees, head on each other. They arranged a kind of a floor from living bodies.
We were beaten and tied, but the riot policemen were still afraid of us. When uncuffing me, they asked: "Won't you be rowdy?"
Beating began on the way. To get to the last detainee, you had to go through all the others. An STV operator was with us, and he said: "I am working on live broadcasts with the president, call the information ministry." The riot policeman came to him, stepping on the bodies, beat him with a baton, until he lost consciousness. Then the policeman told another friend: "We probably have a corpse here." - "Try to wake him up!" He hit the man once again with a baton, and the splashed some cold water on him — then the guy started coming to his senses.
This went on for a long time. Normally it takes me around 40-50 minutes to get to Zhodino by car.. so for this paddy wagon it would take an hour and a half. We waited for unloading for another 30-60 minutes. All this time my hands were tied behind my back with a zip tie, and they became numb. This was the most intense pain, harder than from the beating. I turned to the wall because I could not stop my tears. I didn’t ask to cut the ties. Firstly, I did not want to ask them for anything, and secondly, I understood that there was no point in this. Numbness in my left hand was gone only after two weeks, it was a bit better with the right hand. My shoulders and back hurt — but, thankfully, the doctors helped me a lot with this.
We kept on thinking about other detainees around us. It's hard for everyone to keep the weight of another persons body. I tried to put my knee up so that a guy near me could lean on it. I had a feeling that the riot police were not just on edge - I think, they were on drugs. I have many friends, some of them experimented with amphetamines, so I can compare the symptoms. Most of the detainees were beaten by the same riot policeman. It was done with a frenzy, but hardly with pleasure. It looked like methamphetamine ebb and flow. Their commander carefully watched over - possibly, he really enjoyed what was happening. The riot policemen, who were beating and tying us up, were still afraid of us. When uncuffing me, they asked: "Won't you be rowdy?" And that was a question, addressed to a man who stood by the wall for a day, and then was transported for an hour and a half with his hands tied.
- Standing in line at Zhodino, we started talked with the riot policemen. They played a bad-good cop game: like, guys, yes, we are for you, what do you miss ... They asked: "Well, how much did they pay to you ?" - "They didn't pay us." - "Well then, you are all dumb. Even we get paid." And I an say that the percentage of stupid ones among them is really small. Their humor may be a bit dumb, but a person with a sense of humor is not a fool a priori. So they either refuse to accept the reality or consciously made their choice. But the system itself is very ossified. And oddly enough, the most correct thing to do is to treat it as a very stupid opponent. They take the most obvious moves. Later on they sent a notice to my own company — presumably they wanted me to give corrective instructions to myself.
The riot policemen wanted to scare me with prison cells with criminals or sending me to wash shitters. I was absolutely not afraid of this. I used to talk to different people and I can say that most of the criminals have more decency than these riot policemen. In Zhodino, I was hit only twice to speed up my moving. And there we have heard someone taking to us in a normal way — for the first time after it all started. Some local boss came to a yard, where we were awaiting, and asked what we needed: water, buckets, toilet. Of course, they did not give anything, but at least they asked.
There were 18 of us, and then three more came from Soligorsk. They drove into a cell for 8 people. There were already four people there. Most of the people were arrested on August 8th and were transported from one part of the region to another all this time. There were two directors, four IT specialists, one bricklayer, and one road worker ... Only one had no higher education. Isn't it strange that people who have something to lose stand for those, who have nothing to lose? Maybe they just don't need anything?
We had a guy, an IT specialist in his 20-ies – He had a problem with urinary system from severe stress. He could not urinate for two days. But they were treating him really well, so to say, - they gave him aspirin every day. Finally, on the second day, the paramedic took him away and he did not return. But it took the doctors two days to decide on it. Another guy could not lie down or walk normally . His legs looked like chumps.
We followed a fair schedule in the cell. When we arrived, other detainees gave us the beds, simply because we were beaten. And after that we used dominoes for a lottery. Beds were given to those who pulled out double tiles from a set. We asked the policemen to give us a rag, washed the floor, and then laid our blankets there. The only problem was stuffiness. The food was good, however they started feeding us only on the second day. Cops who did not work in a close contact with us, allowed themselves to poke around, but did nothing more. They did not torture us, they did not close the ventilation, they turned off the light at night, and we were allowed to lie down during the day.
We scrabbled a chessboard on our table with a spoon, made figures out of bread and played backgammon and checkers. In my childhood I read some books, so I knew where to look for something hidden in the cell. I found a piece of "Soviet Belorussia" newspaper and re-read it for 20 times just to keep busy. We found a couple of sheets of paper and asked a warden for a pencil. They gave it to us on the next day. I immediately gave the pencil to the foreigners, so they could write down their their impressions and not forget anything. We talked a lot with them.
And I an say that the percentage of stupid ones among them is really small. Their humor may be a bit dumb, but a person with a sense of humor is not a fool a priori
Even those who were sentenced to 1 day of detention, spent three days there. I was given two base penalties for some reason. I understood the uselessness of any appeals, however, I told them that there was not a word of truth in the protocol, I did not admit a guilt. Regardless of the circumstances, I conducted the conversation as in court and filed petitions: I have two children so I request a punishment without detention. The trial took around a minute and a half.
The prosecutor immediately came up with a piece of paper, a warning about responsibility for further criminal activities. I told him, "Go and warn the policemen about it”-“ What, were you beaten? ”-“Did you fall from the moon? ”It was a sleek, young guy, who looked really confused. Probably, many of them hesitated at that time. And I think that they have made up their minds and just to their job mechanically.
There was another remarkable point. When you are escorted around the prison, they must close one door , and only then open the second door in front of you. When they were taking us out, a crowd, about 30 people, remained in the corridor. And a young guard told us: "Guys, there are so many people up there!” He meant, possibly, that everything will work out and we will achieve our goals.
My wife and friends came to meet me. I have a big car, so we a number of people to Minsk. I meat with one of inmates, for another couple of days, while he was was in Minsk. I have a daughter and a son, 10 and 6 years old. My kids argued with his son, whose dad had a bigger bruise. They know that fathers was in jail, but we do not permit them to talk about this a lot.
Initially it was very scary. I felt a real pain looking at the beaten people. A couple of days later, my wife and I went to Zhodino and brought generators to the volunteers. And you always look around during a ride. To get over it, you just have to understand what you were afraid of. And I was afraid when they approached me from behind. When I realized this, my fears disappeared. But in fact, it took me 2-3 months to get back to normal life without help from others.
If their goal was to break down and scare the people, then at best they achieved it only partially with each one of us. And nobody stopped. Nobody changed their opinion. Now it is more dangerous, because emotions have subsided. In a moment in August the riot policemen were ready to drop their shields. It was not because they changed their minds, they were just scared. And now they are trying to starve us into surrender. I read an interesting story about a worm that was removed from under a human skin. You can only pull one centimeter a day. It won't work more quickly.
Right after the events I thought of leaving the country, but not anymore. I want to drink champagne here one day for a victory.
P.S. The protagonist of this story stayed in Belarus for as long as he could. But incessant pressure of different governmental institutions for a year and a half made him leave Belarus. Now he is safe, and we can reveal his real name — Andrej Brusnev.
Because Andrej documented his injuries in a clinic, the Investigative Committee (IC) summoned him and “strongly recommended” against filing a complaint. The Financial Investigation Department summoned him because he received support from a widely known solidarity fund and froze the money in his bank card equal to the sum of support. He was summoned to the prosecutor’s office for the same reason.
In 2021, the regional Economic Crime Unit (ECU) became interested in Andrej’s business. The investigator tried blatantly to make Andrej speak against himself. It was in vain. Since then, the regional prosecutor's office and the regional ECU kept summoning Andrej almost biweekly. As our protagonist says he was asked to slander a man. He was threatened with his children’s safety. Just before leaving, Andrej got a subpoena to IC.
*August2020 editorial team thanks Human Rights Center "Viasna" for help in preparing the material.
First beaten by a traffic police officer, then beaten again in the police department