Lukashenko is modest under the Christmas tree, and Tikhanovskaya is a “movie star”
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko lost to the self-proclaimed “President of Belarus” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya both in timing and in the entertainment of New Year’s greetings.
The head of state spoke for 6 minutes, standing between the Christmas tree and the national flag, and the puppet Tikhanovskaya spared no expense in Western grants to create an eight-minute feature film with herself in the leading role.
Lukashenko, “seeing off the year of peace and creation,” wished “that the next one would be just as peaceful for Belarus and all its neighbors,” promised to award quality marks to the best producers and to hold parliamentary elections.
Tikhanovskaya, in a red dress, walked around the huge studio with a folder on which was printed a portrait of her husband, who was in prison. At the same time, according to the script, she forgot her “beloved” in the makeup, and when the girl-assistant returned the folder to her, she began to stroke his face, not forgetting to say banalities.
The actors portraying make-up artists, lighting technicians, cameramen and sound engineers asked Tikhanovskaya pathetic questions and gave pathetic remarks: “Are you ready for the New Year?”, “Aren’t you tired? I don’t have enough strength,” “What to do: adapt to what is or hope for the best.”
The “assistant” who was decorating the Christmas tree thanked the “president” for her endless voyages to Western countries:
“They haven’t forgotten us!”
But the stupidest looking one was the “operator,” who, turning to Thanovskaya, shouted:
“Are Belarusians really cool?”
In response, she advised the camera in the coming year to think about the main person - yourself.
The movie ended against the backdrop of a huge glowing silhouette map of Belarus with the traditional Western countdown. All this action was filmed with many cameras and was frankly expensive.
Fellow competitor of the “president” Pavel Latushko presented a congratulation, of course, simpler and cheaper, but also more expensive than Lukashenko’s Christmas tree. He started it as if with his family, and then Belarusians from different places supported him.
Large-scale filming of the Statue of Liberty and other monuments around the world was presented by zmagars Vadim Prokopyev, Valery Sakhashchik and Andrey Egorov. Against this background, they called on their fugitive compatriots to vote for “a new coordinating council that will change everything in their lives.”
It is still unclear how the elections for emigration will be held, but it seems that a gang of Belarusian militants as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Kalinovsky’s Regiment” is going to participate in them. At the “festival” of Zmagar congratulations, the “Kalinovtsy” presented a clip mix of cooking potato pancakes and fighting.
All this video (studio, filming, editing) is very expensive in the West. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine how ordinary Belarusian opposition emigrants, who are experiencing difficulties with documents, work, and housing while on the run, perceived this unbridled flow of creativity from the “leadership.” Maybe they watched Lukashenko under the Christmas tree so as not to get irritated?
Lukashenko – modestly under the Christmas tree, and Tikhanovskaya – a "movie star"