The group Lipovy Tsvet from Belarus during the DAMTP conference in Alytus did a situationist-linguistic-surrealist strike uder the code name: "BLA BLA BLA - MY IDENTITY". The you can see the following report of their on-situ activities - the whole text of Mbaku Fidelis Mbabit is included as also some more visual presentations of other psychic workers and lipovy Tsvet themselves.

Со стороны участников группы Липовый цвет на этой конференции в течение 2-х дней происходила языковая ситуационистская забастовка с кодовым названием "bla-bla-bla - my identity". Результаты этой забастовки приведены ниже. 










В конце-концов нашу презентацию зачитал наш литовский товарищ по тяжелой борьбе с капиталистами, журналистами, фашистами, расистами и т.д.

Вот, что ему пришлось говорить и показывать:

We’ll speak mostly about colonization of the mind INSIDE Belarus, not outside.

The colonization of the mind is an intention of Belorussian authorities that during the reign of Lukashenko have become marginal, at all the levels and at all branches, to inculcate Belorussian people “post-Soviet syndrome”. It is expressed, above all, in unconditional agreement with all gestures of power structures (subordination to the “authority”), in the alienation of the people from real policy (we mean well-defined distinction between upper and lower classes: the upper are inaccessible and impose the view that they know better than people itself what to do and what people want; the policy is represented as dirty and complicated matter and in that case upper act as those who “have” to do this job, etc.). Also “post-Soviet syndrome” is expressed in the development of a provincial taste in art and life (at all levels of the authority, in ministries and departments work officials from villages, small cities with very low level of education, with well developed “culture of land” but no “culture of town”); “post-Soviet syndrome” is both in underestimated requirements to conditions of existence (the minimum wage, stable prices, etc.), in the imposition of Soviet memes “the main thing is peace”, “the enemies are around (such as the West and the USA)”, etc.

The colonization occurs at all possible levels: linguistic, visual, semantic (memetic).

Linguistic aspect. Examples:

1. Name “Father” (may be, you have heard that Belarusians call The President “бацька”) –this name to the President is a top link in the creation of the paradigm of “affinity” and corresponding relations (the need to obey the “strict but fair” Father), and also this name is used as a method of suppressing The Oedipus complex (If Oedip know who is his father, he will not kill him).

Deposit “Cracklings” that contributes to the progression of ideas about the “happy life” as the minimum set of 



 

В конце-концов нашу презентацию зачитал наш литовский товарищ по тяжелой борьбе с капиталистами, журналистами, фашистами, расистами и т.д.

Вот, что ему пришлось говорить и показывать:

We’ll speak mostly about colonization of the mind INSIDE Belarus, not outside.

The colonization of the mind is an intention of Belorussian authorities that during the reign of Lukashenko have become marginal, at all the levels and at all branches, to inculcate Belorussian people “post-Soviet syndrome”. It is expressed, above all, in unconditional agreement with all gestures of power structures (subordination to the “authority”), in the alienation of the people from real policy (we mean well-defined distinction between upper and lower classes: the upper are inaccessible and impose the view that they know better than people itself what to do and what people want; the policy is represented as dirty and complicated matter and in that case upper act as those who “have” to do this job, etc.). Also “post-Soviet syndrome” is expressed in the development of a provincial taste in art and life (at all levels of the authority, in ministries and departments work officials from villages, small cities with very low level of education, with well developed “culture of land” but no “culture of town”); “post-Soviet syndrome” is both in underestimated requirements to conditions of existence (the minimum wage, stable prices, etc.), in the imposition of Soviet memes “the main thing is peace”, “the enemies are around (such as the West and the USA)”, etc.

The colonization occurs at all possible levels: linguistic, visual, semantic (memetic).

Linguistic aspect. Examples:

1. Name “Father” (may be, you have heard that Belarusians call The President “бацька”) –this name to the President is a top link in the creation of the paradigm of “affinity” and corresponding relations (the need to obey the “strict but fair” Father), and also this name is used as a method of suppressing The Oedipus complex (If Oedip know who is his father, he will not kill him).

Deposit “Cracklings” that contributes to the progression of ideas about the “happy life” as the minimum set of wealth.



3. Tasteless streamers on Stalin's buildings are an example of the marginalization of the Ministry of Culture (In that example we can see the combination of linguistic and visual method).  Unfortunately, we have no photo to show.

4. The use of the primitive (half-colloquial) Belorussian language at television and in official speeches of the President.  This "dialect" in our country is called "trasyanka" – from the verb "tryasti" (to shake), and it is a mix of  Russian and Belorussian languages.

5. Active using of Soviet clichés in the conversation of power: the myth of "national values" ("unity", "equality", "freedom", "law", "social security"); formulaic turns of phrase: "work is widely deployed...", "the new technique is taken into service", etc.

Visual aspect. Examples:

1. Social advertising at billboards.



















3. Fairs.

Semantic aspect.

At the semantic level with help of official propaganda gradually were created different memes, for example: "prosperous Belarus", "Belorussian economical miracle", "enemies" (USA, EU countries), etc.

Furthermore, at nowadays our government, using specific authorities resources, arbitrarily changes the history: in the textbooks for grade 11 there was appeared new, acceptable to the authorities Interpretation of the events of December 2010 (the last election of the President). That is, under brainstorming will get not only adults, but the immature minds of children.

Recolonization of the mind comes from the side of the nationalist and liberal opposition (The Belorussian People Front, The United Civil Party, site "Charter 97", newspaper "People's Volition"). The opposition tries to "reformat" the collective consciousness with the help of a virtual (desired) antipode of the system: the attention is accentuated to national revival without understanding the Belorussian context (for example, at this moment exists the bilingualism in the country, the majority speaks in Russian or in the mixed of Russian and Belorussian languages dialect); also real effective protest is substituted to the visual component of it ("waving the flag") and constant protrusion of "national symbols" and "speaking in Belarusian". Constant a appeal to Belorussian identity, roots, Belorussian language, unsupported by serious economic and political programs and actions within the work environment (factories, plants) leads to rejection and misunderstanding from the side of majority. Moreover, in the absence of consolidation within the opposition, failure to develop a common and coherent program, the weakness of certain forces, weakness of party's leaders, concepts such as "freedom", "democracy", "politics", "opposition", etc. are discredited.

As for the question of  "Westernization"  - we can't speak seriously about it. The authorities strongly opposed this process, knowing that the free market, democratic freedoms, any liberalization of the economy will lead to weakening of the vertical of power and then to the fall of the regime, so Lukashenko is oriented to the East – to Russia, China , countries of the Third World, where there are similar regimes.

From the other side, the liberal Belorussian opposition constantly alludes to European identity of Belarusians (In their speeches often is heard the following: we are in the centre of the Europe, we are closer to Poles and Lithuanians, not Russian, we have to join the EU).  At the same time the opposition does not take into consideration the consequences of the Soviet colonialism for Belarus and a real popular support for such proposals.

Thirdly, the younger generation, students in general are oriented on Western values, Western market,  but they acts only as consumers of certain goods,  they copy certain cultural codes without understanding the context and not able to adapt it in Belarus. The same situation is in art environment.  This leads, firstly, to erasing of their identity, secondly, to forming a new slave mentality, which is not able to produce something, but only to consume. In principle, this problem is actual not only for Belarus.

Decolonization.

In Belarus there are no serious left rhetoric, no left platform for artistic, political or any other statement. Recently was opened left Belarusian magazine "Light», but its future is already questionable, and interviews with editors makes seriously think about to what extent it is leftist. From the other side, we can draw upon Russian left practice, and seemed, that leftist movement is gaining popularity, but we should clearly understand who is who within the movement (it is not yet clear), and, again, we have to take into attention the specifics of the Belarusian and the need to adaption.

It should be clear that the process of decolonization in Belarus should:

a. the deployment of serious information sites with experts from around the world who have faced with overcoming similar problems (Czech Republic, Germany, Libya, France, etc.)

b. the creation of working committees, independent trade unions, working in the field, in the factories. As though it may be difficult, it is necessary.

c. creating a serious leftist platform: the media, again, committees, parties, etc. Deploying a serious debate between liberals, nationalists, leftists. Everything must be on the surface.

d. understanding that Belarus should fight not with the Lukashenko regime, not with the nationalists and liberals, but for the minds of the middle class, workers of the factories. How to do it in the Belarusian situation is the particular serious subject of talking.

e. the widespread introduction of left-wing ideas in all branches of government at all levels (judicial, executive and legislative) for the opportunity of gradual promotion of  necessary projects, ideas, and suggestions. But it is very difficult and almost impossible way, if you use the elections. There is an alternative: the cessation of all the rhetoric about the election, about the current government, about  all actions of the authorities. All efforts should be aimed at creating an alternative platform, where will be discussed and solved specific issues, without criticism of the government - how if the authority not exist. Solutions need to be inculcated at the lowest levels. Gradual seizure of space (not only streets, houses, but factories, plants, schools, universities). Seizure of individual minds.  We must create umbrella organization that can not be decomposed, which is essentially impossible to implement. No charter, no software titles and principles. Only concrete proposals, concrete work, projects, ideas and their gradual implementation.                               

What's about the Integration culture of immigrants:  the policy of the President in the field of relations with China promotes not only the massive influx of immigrants, but also the inculcation of an alien culture, what's more -  from the side of the State: in Belarusian schools the study of Chinese language is introduced as one of the basic foreign language (perhaps in the near future it will become the leading); on admission to universities privileged position occupied by foreign students (providing a place in a hostel, priority admission to the leading universities of the country) – and all this is happening in the absence of attention to own culture.

So, we have the situation when Belorussian identity is destroyed and erased, alien culture becomes stronger and stronger, and we see exchange of our own cultural system for something like post-Soviet model of life and thinking.

The "Orgy of Vandalism" is a half-documental trash movie about provincial life of a member of group Lipovy Tsvet Denis Limonov, about his love and hate, his tastes and secret desires. The action of the movie is going under the sound of music from the radio canal "Culture" and ends with erotic dance of Limonov. The dance, in its common sense, and symbolical death are those main aspects from the life of our hero, which takes off the masks from demons and corpses, who are around us. Ugliness and filth, vomit and nausea, a parody of life and meaning - that is what surrounds us in this province. May be, the liberation themselves from the stamps, from senses and "normalities" is, if not the only, one of the ways to not turn into a zombie.

This movie was banned after introduction of new law about the distribution of pornography. [it was shown to DAMTP's]

несколько фотографий с места событий///pics from the meeting place





23 мы уже были в Вильнюсе, на презентации книги Жиля Дове "Коммунизм и капитализм - только провокационные слова" на литовском языке. Разумеется, с моим английским я внятно нихуя не понял, но внимательно глядя в лицо Жилю, догадался, что он левый романтик-теоретик-революционер, неплохо сохранился с времен 68-го.

Далее мы с Виктором и Айрой поехели ночевать к ним в гости, за город. Глядя в окно, я окончательно убедился в призрачных прелестях и радостях капитализма. Сквозь окно на меня смотрел обветшавший и обнищавший город, а, возможно, и страна в целом. Где средний класс живет не лучше и не хуже, чем средний класс в Беларуси. На эту и другие темы мы дискутировали с Виктором всю дорогу, попивая литовскую яблочную водку. Ночью мы еще попиздели о том, что в Беларуси нет левых, одни либералы и националисты, полоумная тоталитарная власть, и, многом другом, включая разницу исторических взглядов литовцев-фашистов и беларусов-фашистов на ВКЛ. Все это происходило под трели Соломенных Енотов, Тараса Монзаны и Егора Летова. В конце-концов кончилось вино и мы ушли спать. Утром мы втыкали в пасмурное вильнюсское небо до трех часов дня. Потом Айра проводила нас через замечательный лес, в котором хотелось остаться побродить, пособирать грибов, но времени уже не было, хотя мы и приехали на вокзал за 2 часа до поезда. Делать было нехуй, и мы отправились гулять по Вильнюсу в старый город, разумеется. Благо, светило какое-никакое солнце, было прохладно, но хорошо. После этой прогулки я еще больше возненавидел капиталистов и либералов, они оккупировали весь старый город, превратив его в одну сплошную туристическую забегаловку. Только архитектура, и ничего более. Все остальное куплено и перепродано десятки раз. Ебаная буржуазия  вокруг и бомжи.
В 19.10 я с радостью садился в поезд Вильнюс-Минск, и, наверное, впервые с радостью выходил на минском вокзале, хотя и понимал, что приехал из одного говна в другое.