Why Lukashenko is losing the fight against the BCHB

In August, when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Minsk under white-red-white banners, I already wrote about my attitude toward this symbol . In short, the story is short and always inglorious. Two occupations and the "dashing 90s." Such is the Belarusian symbol of disaster.

Almost 4 months have passed since then. And, despite the fact that crowds of hundreds of thousands no longer gather on Minsk avenues, and the attitude of the authorities towards white-white symbols has become completely intolerant, it is likely that the white-red-white flag will sooner or later appear on a 70-meter flagpole near the residence of the Belarusian president , just grew up.

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Around the end of August-beginning of September, when the protests were peaceful and their participants had not yet decided on symbolism and ideology, it was possible to try to introduce an official ban on the compromised BCHB, add it to the republican list of extremist materials, while simultaneously launching an active information campaign about it inglorious past.

Then, most likely, the symbols of the protests would be more diverse. After all, there were alternative symbols - the use of white, a flag with symbols of the “female triumvirate”, and the official symbols did not cause mass rejection among the protesters. People even came to protests with Russian tricolors.

But it was even beneficial for the Belarusian authorities not to ban the BCHB, but to associate the protest movement with this symbol in the public consciousness. Of course, if the symbols of the protests were neutral, they would be more numerous. Many people have their own complaints against Lukashenko, but many also have complaints about the white-white symbols. It’s not for nothing that in 1995, 80 percent of Belarusians voted against it.

The strict “color differentiation” of the protests began when mass pro-government actions began, including car rallies under the official red-green flags. The opposition had no choice but to accept the rules of the game and make the BCHB the only symbol. Most opposition leaders, mainly liberals and nationalists, were only too happy about this.

And then came the tin. The regime turned out to be incapable of a subtle game of desacralization of the symbol, but began to act as crudely as possible, leading to the opposite result.

Here is one example: once protesters hung huge, meter-long white, red and white panties between two high-rise buildings in Minsk. Only the most incompetent propagandist would miss the opportunity to make fun of the “revolution of cowards” everywhere - from news broadcasts on TV to humorous shows on YouTube. But instead, the security forces and utility workers staged an entire special operation, breaking into citizens’ apartments in order to remove these underpants. And, as a result, they made fun of them, offering to reward them with a medal “For taking off their panties.”

Then came administrative sentences for displaying symbols, including in the windows of their own apartments, and the murder of Bondarenko, who became the first "sacred victim" to die specifically for the symbol. The circumstances of the death, the authorities' response to it, the criminal case against the journalist and doctor who reported the circumstances, and the lack of a criminal case into the murder itself made the victim even more sacred.

Further more. In Belarus, they began to avoid any combination of white and red. Address signs are being changed on the streets, milk-cherry marmalade turned out to be undesirable, and Santa Clauses are urgently sewing new costumes before the New Year. Of course, these attempts cause nothing but laughter.

The fight against BBB is going on in Belarus, but often outside the legal framework (there has never been an official ban on its use), it is too crude and not too smart. It is not difficult to guess that such a struggle only increases the popularity of symbolism. On the other hand, the habit of hanging official flags on paddy wagons and prison buildings does not add to their popularity.