A year and a half after the Belarusian events of August 2020, a Russian citizen, Vera Tsvikevich, was again detained for participating in the protests. She became the 458th Russian woman detained in Belarus.
The girl is suspected of “organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them” (Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). The reason was a photo with her on the front page of the issue of the Belarusian Komsomolskaya Pravda, published in the summer of 2020. In the picture, a girl in a red summer dress, white shoes and holding a red flower sits on metal fences against the background of Belarusian security forces guarding the stele «Minsk — Hero City» during a peaceful march.
Vera is 29 years old, she was born and raised in Russia, in Murmansk. Every summer she and her sister came to Belarus, where their grandparents lived and where their parents were from. It was here that the girls dreamed of going to university, and then staying to live. In 2014, Vera, having a higher education at the Murmansk State University for the Humanities with a degree in Cultural Studies, began to realize her dream and moved to Belarus. In Minsk, Tsvikevich graduated from acting classes and got a job at the Slonim Theater, where she played in several performances until 2019.
The theater responds positively to the girl — they say that they were against her departure. “I don’t know the reason for the detention. I haven't seen Vera since her dismissal. Although, in principle, I guess … «- said a colleague of the girl from the theater.
According to her sister, after the dismissal, Tsvikevich decided to return to Minsk. There she entered the acting department, but in 2020, like many other students, she took her documents.
In January, she needed to renew her residence permit. The girl gave her fingerprints, took a new photo and received a document. Her relative suggests that it was during this procedure that Vera was noticed by the security forces. A summary of Tsvikevich dated January 7 was posted on the Internet: it indicates that the girl plans to get a job as a teacher at the Moscow Art Theater.
Vera Tsvikevich on stage. Photo: Slonim Theater
The investigator on duty told his relatives about Vera's detention by telephone. He did not explain anything, only offered to read about the article of the Criminal Code on the Internet. “She takes everything to heart, worries about others. She loves animals and helps the homeless. An old dog was left at home, now a friend is looking after her, ”the sister of the detainee told Dozhd * (included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of media outlets performing the function of a foreign agent).
Vera’s young man, Viktor, found out about the girl’s detention on the evening of January 27th. The next morning, the relatives signed a contract with a lawyer. True, he does not give comments — lawyers who deal with political affairs in Belarus are now actively deprived of licenses, Viktor explains.
Human rights activist Pavel Levinov told Novaya Gazeta that the girl was detained for 10 days. According to him, no charges have been brought against her to date.
“An aristocratic face, a flower in her hand”
The photo of Vera, which most likely attracted the attention of “law enforcement agencies,” was taken by journalist Alexander Kots.
I remember very well that August 23, 2020. It was one of two or three days when almost everything was allowed to Lukashenka's opponents,” Kots shared. — Crowds of Belarusians were loitering back and forth through the streets, as it seemed to them, without violating anything … Many stopped to capture themselves against the backdrop of the military. Vera Tsvikevich was one of those. She sat down on the railing next to the bus stop and began to pose against the background of four fighters in balaclavas with machine guns … The girl at that moment was definitely not engaged in «organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order.» And she was in a very good mood. There were people much more aggressive than her… And she was just taking pictures.Former journalist of MBKh Media (the site was included in the register of distributors of extremist content, access to it was restricted, the project soon self-liquidated — “Novaya”.) Roman Popkov, who was present at the same protest action in Minsk, said girl «the personification of the entire Belarusian protest.» “Aristocratic face, flower in hand. Right behind this thin bright figure there is a stretched barbed wire and military men in helmets, masks and with machine guns,” he recalls.
Vera Tsvikevich faces up to four years in prison under the article about participation in the rally.
“Under psychological pressure”Shortly after the arrest, the GUBOP telegram channel, which is connected to the Belarusian police, published a video with Vera Tsvikevich. On the recording, the Russian woman inconsistently tells under the recording that in August 2020 she allegedly “participated in couplings on the roadway.”
“I completely regret my actions and advise all people not to take part in such events anymore,” says Tsvikevich. A frame was inserted into the video, in which Tsvikevich was roughly mounted in a line with other girls. At the same time, the faces of the rest are covered with sad emoticons — later GUBOP will continue to “open them”.
After Tsvikevich, two videos of “repentant” girls have already been published in the telegram channel, which were captured in the photo.< /p>
The young man Tsvikevich noted that the words said by the girl on camera “do not mean anything, but they can help stop further bullying.” He added that he was not at all surprised when he saw the recording, because such videos are published daily. “The girls joined hands because they are united by one idea: to live in a country where elections are fair. And not in order to attack someone, ”commented Victor.
“It is clear that she is depressed,” comments human rights activist Pavel Levinov. — He speaks in learned phrases, not his own. In particular, she says that she participated in «unauthorized rallies.» And the word «unauthorized» could not pronounce for a long time, because people never say: «We will go to an unauthorized mass event.» They say «rally», «demonstration», «picketing». It is clear that these are not her words. Seeing her condition and paying attention to how the video ends at the end, it can be assumed that Vera either had an upset and could not say anything and began to sob, or, on the contrary, shook herself and said something that should not be aired . From what we see, it is clear that this was done, if not under physical, then at least psychological pressure.
According to Levinov, a representative of the embassy visited Vera. On Monday, a transfer was received for her. They accepted almost everything, but refused to accept pencils and pens. A lawyer works with the girl, and her great-aunt, who lives in Minsk, and a good friend prepared personal guarantees addressed to the investigator with a request to change her preventive measure from detention to any other.