
These days the people of Belarus are worried about our country’s destiny. On the 8th of December the Belarusian and Russian presidents are going to sign some agreement on a ‘deeper integration’ of our countries. The details are mostly unknown - they were not discussed neither with the people nor with the parliament. We only get rumours, leaks or fantasies about a supra-state Parliament and Government, a common legislation and currency etc. We are afraid that our country will lose its independence - if not immediately, in a forceful or soft annexation, then gradually. Not everyone would be happy about it. Even the Lukashenko’s sociologists claim that only 7.7% of the population wants Belarus to become a part of the Russian Federation. But anything might happen. There will be protests, that’s for sure. The Belarusians have good guerilla traditions - but no one wants a civil/hybrid war here.
And it seems that no one except the Belarusians cares or even knows about this ‘integration’ issue. It’s almost nonexistent issue on the global or European news agenda - and even many (sort of) forward thinking people in Russia know nothing about it.
Some of my friends and colleagues are trying to fill this info gap - like the Minsk Urban Platform in their article. I’ve remembered about an unpublished interview draft and thought i should share it with my foreign friends and fans.
Rory Jones, a journalist from the UK, has asked me a few questions this spring for a Calvert Journal feature about the Belarusian electronic scene. Rory was really keen about our scene so I decided to tell way more than he needed for a short article. I believe a bit of context always helps.
Below is a half of the original interview text, including the pieces that were published. I’ve omitted a couple of questions about my personal ‘music evolution’ and activities. Here are just the bits about the scene and the situation in and around Belarus in general.
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