Maksim Zhbankou: Authorities understand no one will go to build barricades if Volski starts singing

charter97.org

The fact that our outstanding musicians are made  to apply for performance permission is not normal.

Fans of the independent national music are confused: the state gives permission for concerts of the performers who had been under an informal ban for many years. Something incredible happened: Liavon Volski had a concert in Gomel in early autumn, later Brutto freely performed there, Siarhei Mikhalok and "Liapis 98" will soon give a concert in Minsk. And here comes the recent piece of news: permission for a concert in Minsk was received by the project "Narodny Albom" as well as Zmicier Vaitsiushkevich, despite the fact that the musician recently told "EuroBelarus" that concert halls "avoid him as the devil avoids holy water". What is it: a sudden liberalization without any reason, an attempt to appease the public or just a joke of the Ministry of Culture?

- This is not enough to say it is a consistent action - critically notes Maksim Zhbankou, journalist, a culturologist and intellectual in his talk with the "EuroBelarus" Information Service. - How many times we saw the concerts first allowed and then forbidden. Anyway the situation has not fundamentally changed. The government assumes it has the right to decide what our audience needs. The fact that our outstanding musicians are made  to apply for performance permission is not normal, it demonstrates the authoritarian cultural policy.

In fact, the independent culture is used by the administrative system as a "resource to increase its political weight": when the system finds it useful, it is able to make a tiny step to the side. But it stays what it is. According to the culturologist, the whole story has a purely pragmatic approach.

- It's like the release of political prisoners:  it is a demonstration of an alleged openness and democracy. The authorities are trying to please the public. This is especially true for the audience just beginning to take interest in Belarusian culture: the state signals that the government is actually a true angel, that it "understands everything" and has nothing against. And at the same time Belarusian language courses "Mova nanova" have a problem with a place for holding classes.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian internet-community expressed opinion that the concerts of the underground performers were allowed as only a small circle of people listen to their music, thus  they will not gather a big audience.

- I cannot agree with that, - argues Maksim Zhbankou. - The number of tickets sold does not show everything. The classic "freedom fighter" scenario of "independent culture against the state" has changed. Our rock-musicians are a little bit tired and the slogans they used before are no longer so relevant. The situation of the acute ideological and aesthetic confrontation played its role, and for me personally the fatigue of the both parties is obvious. On the one hand, dialogue and agreements with the authorities do not look extremely scary anymore. On the other hand, the authorities clearly understand that no one will rush to build barricades if Volski starts singing. Showing disagreement through music, decorative resistance without any active social manifest are becoming possible.

According to Maksim Zhbankou, there are not many options for the independent culture under these circumstances: either playing the agreement game with the authorities, or organizing activities at private sites, or cultural emigration. But none of these are really an option.