Andrei Sannikov: We Are Witnessing Final Stage Of Empire’s Collapse

Our region holds the key to the security of the world.

What was the past year like for Belarus and the world? Who are the main heroes of 2023? What to expect in 2024?

The website Charter97.org asked leader of the European Belarus civil campaign Andrei Sannikov about this and more.

— This year everyone was talking about the global confrontation between the free world and the “axis of evil.” They started talking about this especially intensively after the start of the war in the Middle East. In this confrontation, who can regard 2023 as an achievement: the free world or the “axis of evil”?

— The year was tragic: a huge number of people died in Ukraine, in Israel, political prisoners were tortured and killed in Belarus. These victims are the result of the onslaught of the “forces of evil.” But who can call it an achievement? This is actually corpus delicti.

The tragedies of the dead people will remain with us forever, even after revenge. We have no right to forget.

For a very long time, the free world did not want to notice the crimes of the post-Soviet regimes, traded with them, supported them for their own benefit — and so they got a war in Europe.

We see how the confrontation between good and evil has intensified in an unprecedented way throughout the world. If we talk about our region, then, in my opinion, we are now experiencing the last phase of the collapse of the Soviet empire.

The various fragments of this decaying empire are ruled not even by the heirs of the late Brezhnev, and certainly not by Gorbachev, but by the ideological successors of the perpetrators of the “Red Terror” during the civil war in Russia. The very ones who felt animal hatred for the culture, education, history of their country, and, consequently, for the people who consider it valuable.

Now their followers are destroying what was obtained through the labor of entire generations and at the cost of the lives of our ancestors. We have been living under this yoke for a long time, but this does not mean that we have the right to accept this kolkhoz power. And we don't accept it.

Both in our country and in Russia the power belongs precisely to those about whom they sang in the communist anthem “Internationale”: “We will build our new world, and those who were nothing will become everything!”

Pay attention to how the content of the new world is defined there — “who was nothing will become everything!” This is what is happening today, both in government and in the opposition. This is the main root of today's troubles: the “nothings” have seized power.

There is no point in talking about advantages of one side or the other; we just need to do everything to destroy evil. Today, the peaceful coexistence of good and evil is simply impossible.

— You say that there is no need to talk about the superiority of one side, but recently a narrative has intensified, which can be traced, including in the West and in the Western media: “Russia has taken a war footing,” “The Kremlin is successfully circumventing sanctions”, “Putin can drag on the war for years”. How much of this is true, and how much is the Russian propaganda and the Kremlin’s bluff?

— This is a good question as it highlights a serious problem. Anyone who believes that they are on the side of good must understand that these narratives are being pushed by evil: the Kremlin, Lukashenka, the “useful and useless idiots” who are today trying to whitewash Putin in the West. The assumption that Russia can win is fundamentally wrong.

There should be one question: what can we do to destroy the Kremlin power, all pro-Kremlin regimes (around the Kremlin and on distant approaches)?

Today we are talking about the preservation of human civilization, and such stuffing is nothing more than a hybrid war against this humanity.

— Andrei Olegovich, what was this year like for Belarus?

— It was very difficult. Significantly more political prisoners. Today, the Lukashenka regime, taking advantage of the fact that the world’s attention is diverted by the war against Ukraine and the Hamas terrorist war against Israel, has simply crossed all visible and invisible boundaries in its abuse of political prisoners.

In front of everyone, our wonderful artist Ales Pushkin, an iconic figure for Belarus, was killed, and political prisoner Mikalai Klimovich was killed. I'm afraid to think about how many more deaths we might find out about.

This year has been very difficult, but nevertheless it is noticeable that hatred of the regime has not weakened, but only intensified. That is why Lukashenka demands daily sacrifices in order to prove to himself that he is in control of everything. A well-known method of ruling dictatorships in different countries, which inevitably led to the death of the dictator.

— Who or what positively surprised you this year, and who or what disappointed you?

— We are positively surprised, of course, by our heroes, who are held behind bars in inhumane conditions, and they also encourage us and ask us not to lose heart.

For example, on the eve of Christmas, Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk sent a message of congratulations to her husband and sons. This is a real miracle! There has been no news from Palina for a long time. And this is a congratulation to all of us.

It remains disappointing, even depressing, that we are not yet back in Europe. I regret the lost time. But we simply have no other path, and there is no other future than the European one. So let's not go astray.

— Based on the trends that we saw this year, what will 2024 be like for Belarus and the world?

— The world has shrunk. People began to say that the world is interconnected a long time ago, as progress developed. With the advent of the Internet, the world generally began to shrink at cosmic speed. When social media appeared, we felt almost like we were in the same apartment. Events in different countries are increasingly influencing each other.

The main thing now is that Ukraine survives. It is groping for a new tactic against Russia. There could have been a turning point in the past year, but it didn’t happen because the West was somehow very complacent about the danger of the whole situation with Russia’s war against Ukraine. They did not give Ukraine what it desperately needed, and was even promised, at the right time.

Ukraine survived, and around the world a front line was drawn against dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, against terrorism...

The fact that false values are fading and that the front line of the war against evil has emerged gives us hope that an effective strategy will finally be found in the fight for “our freedom and yours.”

— Who is the main hero of the past year for you?

— Belarusians, Ukrainians, Israelis. All those who today are at the forefront of the fight against evil. If we talk about our region, today it holds the key to security, prosperity, and normal life of the whole world. We have been talking about this quite clearly for many years, but not many paid attention to it. Now people have begun to listen little by little, because the situation has escalated to the limit.

We are on the line of fire, on a sharply defined front in the struggle between good and evil. It is in such conditions that heroes emerge.

I spoke about difficult times so that we would not forget the high price of freedom. Yes, freedom is never easy — even after gaining it, you must defend it every day. It requires courage and dedication from one and from all. But freedom is the air a person needs to breathe deeply. We will see this soon.

In the meantime, Happy New Year. I wish you warmth, kindness, and reliable people nearby.

Happy New Year, the year which Belarusians will celebrate under the white-red-white flag all around the globe: from Japan to Canada, from Norway to Australia. They will be welcoming it, wishing our country speedy liberation.

May these wishes come true as soon as possible!

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