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Young people demonstrate for returning Bahdanovich statue to its place

About 40 young people staged a protest on April 29 against the removal of the statue of poet Maksim Bahdanovich from the square in front of the National Opera and Ballet Theater.

The youths marched about 500 yards from Yanka Kupala Park to the square, laid flowers at the fence around a hole where the statue had stood, and attached photographs of the monument to the fence.

Participants recited Bahdanovich verses and played a bagpipe.

Police did not interfere but warned Franak Vyachorka, an organizer of the protest who heads of the Belarusian Popular Front’s commission on culture, that the demonstration was illegal.

As Mr. Vyachorka told BelaPAN, the removal of the statue was an insult to the memory of the great Belarusian poet and broke the architectural integrity of the area. “Many demonstrations in support of Belarus’ independence took place on the square in the 1990s and we want it to remain as it was,” he said.

Anton Astapovich, chairman of the Belarusian Voluntary Society for Historic and Cultural Heritage Protection, said that the statue should not have been removed by order of only one man, Alyaksandr Lukashenka. “It was a historic heritage item of the second degree and a special decision was required to remove it,” he said. “In general, such monuments are normally removed only in the event of a war, a natural disaster, and other force majeure events.

The Belarusian leader gave the go-ahead for the removal of the Bahdanovich statue while inspecting renovations to the building of the Theater in late March.

Culture Minister Uladizmir Matvyaychuk told the head of state that opinions were split about whether the monument should be removed from the square. He said that there were plans to create an “architectural ensemble” there, which would feature a fountain and sculptures, and to place the Bahdanovich statue in the adjoining park, closer to Bahdanovich Street. He noted that one of the authors of the monument was opposed to the plans, and that opponents of the government might use the removal of the monument in their interests.

“You should believe that the decision [to move aside the monument] has been authorized today,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “We destroy nothing in this case. Transfer it and do all that you need.”

The Maksim Bahdanovch monument was unveiled on December 9, 1981, the 90th birthday of the poet. Authored by sculptor Syarhey Vakar (1928-1998) and architects Yury Kazakow and Leanard Maskalevich, the monument consisted of a 4.6-meter high standing bronze statue of the poet and a red granite pedestal.

Born in Minsk into a family of a scientist in 1891, Maksim Bahdanovich moved with his family to Russia in 1896 and returned to Belarus after finishing school. He died of tuberculosis in the Crimea in May 1917 at the age of 26. His grave is located in Ukraine's Black Sea coastal resort of Yalta.

In 1916, Bahdanovich wrote his famous poem “Pahonya” that became one of the favorite songs of Belarusian patriots.

Opponents of the Lukashenka government say that the life of Bahdanovich stands as a rebuke to those Belarusians who neglect to speak Belarusian and learn more about their history and culture.