Belarus vows to continue ideological purge after closure of national culture projects

The authorities will continue to engage in ideological "cleansing." This was stated by member of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and director of the National Library Vadim Gigin during a stream with fellow propagandist Rygor Azoronak. He made the comment in response to the recent closure of shops selling goods with national symbols, as well as the cancellation of the reconstruction festival "Nash Grunwald."

According to Gigin, this is a continuation of the struggle the regime has been waging since 2020. "There will be no more of this. We all understand and see everything. These attempts to say: 'Well, when will the authorities calm down? They have trauma from 2020. Will there be a thaw?' You'll get a thaw on the head. We will eradicate it to the end. And the fact that you're squealing there, that you're panicking, that your faces are twisted — that tells us we are doing everything right."

He also added that the closure of shops with national symbols and the cancellation of the reconstruction festival are not yet the finale. Gigin recalled how security forces in Minsk shut down the non-state bookstore "Knihaŭka" immediately after its opening. "We did this and remember well how it was. It will continue this way. If you think we've lost our sense of smell, if you think we don't see what you're trying to implant here, we see everything," he emphasized.

Azoronak, in turn, added that he regularly monitors the internet in search of sedition: "I don't mind sitting and watching where things are sold, where certain poetesses are gathering to perform."

As previously reported, during the week in Minsk the ethno-shop Ragna closed, as well as the well-known Belarusian clothing brands HONAR and LSTR Adzieńnie. The organizers of the "Nash Grunwald" festival, which was supposed to take place at the end of July in "Dudutki," also announced its cancellation.