Two Years Ago Political Prisoner Ales Pushkin Died

We won't forget, we won't forgive.

Today is exactly two days since the death of political prisoner, famous Belarusian artist Ales Pushkin. On July 11, 2023, he died of a perforated ulcer in the intensive care unit where he was taken from Hrodna prison. He was not given medical assistance in time.

Ales Pushkin was arrested in 2021, when he was returning from Ukraine to Belarus for his exhibition. The Belarusian artist received 5 years in a strict regime colony for a series of portraits of participants of the Belarusian anti-Soviet resistance.

The Belarusian artist was known for his performances. On March 25, 1989, the artist walked down Independence Avenue. On his back and on his chest hung posters with a reminder of the BNR, proclaimed on that day exactly 71 years ago, and about a hundred of Pushkin's associates followed him with a paper stork and 71 white balloons in their hands.

Ales Pushkin held his most famous performance - "Pus for Prezident" - in July 1999, on the fifth anniversary of Alexander Lukashenko's rule. The artist loaded an old wheelbarrow with manure in his farm in Bobr, put a poster "Alexander Lukashenko with the people", a plaque "For five years of work", a thousand denominated rubles, handcuffs and the constitution with amendments of 1996, expanding the powers of the president. Having covered the wheelbarrow with cellophane, he went to the center of Minsk by minibus. The artist told the driver that he was taking the scenery to the Yanka Kupala Theater, which is located next door to Lukashenko's administration.

When he rolled the wheelbarrow to the main entrance of the administration, a policeman ran out of the building: "What are you doing?". Then the performer overturned the wheelbarrow on the sidewalk, put Lukashenka's portrait on top and stabbed it with a pitchfork.

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