"The Brest Fortress Went on the Attack!"

• 9.02.2021, 9:26

About the courage of the head of the regional department of the REP Zinaida Mikhniuk.

Zinaida Mikhniuk, deputy chairman of the radio-electronic industry trade union and head of the regional department of the REP, told Salidarnasts about the protests in Brest, the days behind bars, and the strength of the spirit of the Brest women.

Zinaida Mikhniuk was a confidant of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau in 2010 and Siarhei Tsikhanouski in 2020. The woman, along with other Brest residents, marched against violence and election fraud.

At meetings and rallies, few immediately remember her name, but for the pressure and charisma, they have long been called her the "Brest Fortress." "Look -" Brest Fortress "comes!" Brest workers and colleagues in the trade union are smiling as she walks.

- We all rest on women. Of course, there are real men, but there are more women: we saw this after the elections. I met many on the front line while walking around Brest, for which our women received 15 days of arrest," the trade union leader told Salidarnasts. - I served three days. They took me away on the eve of the nationwide strike on October 25. They formally detained me for a policeman's allegedly torn sleeve on a Sunday march, initiating a criminal case.

Neither during the arrest nor in the cell was Zinaida scared. "It's not about me!" the woman, who did not blunder, smiles briskly. When she was seized, she kept repeating to the policemen that they must introduce themselves.

- They just led me by the arms. And I think: "Why am I walking like a drunk?" There is a picture of me led by these two on the IndustriALL website (a global union representing 50 million workers in 140 countries worldwide). And I shouted: "People! The police are bothering me!" Passers-by began to pull me in one direction, the police in the other.

As a result, they grabbed my arms and legs and carried me. They threw me into a paddy wagon, while people shouted: "Fascists!" I was covered in bruises; the beatings were recorded. And I said to the investigator: "Is the policeman's sleeve cracked? Is it normal that the women in my cell are bruised?" I was morally ready for anything. I believe that if a person goes out - after people were bullied on August 9 and 10 - he is even ready to die.

On the very first evening after the arrest, an investigator came and said that the video showed how Zinaida tore off her sleeve - "confess." But the woman knew the truth and how to behave in a situation of intimidation: "Which sleeve? I will probably use Article 27 of the Constitution ("no one should be forced to give evidence and explanations against himself..." - Ed.).

And she refused to speak until she was transferred from a suspect to a witness. It turned out no matter how many times the video was played - Mikhniuk was not found there.

Then they decided to judge Zinaida under the notorious article 23.34 and let her go home, giving 24 hours to contact a lawyer.

- I went home, washed, put my hair on. The next day I came prepared, with a lawyer. I tell them: "Look, that day I left the house at 14 o'clock, and you write that you detained me at 13.39. In fact, they detained me at 15.10..."

Then I heard talking among themselves: "Who detained her?" - "Chief of Patrol." I couldn't resist: "What chief? They brought me and said: "Get out, with b*tch, from the paddy wagon!" Is that what the chief says? As a result, the witnesses from the Internal Affairs Directorate did not appear, and the case was sent back for revision. And then I received a letter that the case against me was closed.

I believe that a big role in this was played by the fact that on the same day when we were arrested, members of the world trade union movement posted on all websites that the trade union leader had been detained in Brest.

But Zinaida served three days. There were 8 women in the cell, many complaining about bedbugs and cockroaches. But not her: "Girls! Where else would we meet like this? What do bugs and cockroaches have to do with it? What are we here for? For the future. And we are doing a good deed."

- We sang songs and did exercises. Three inmates even joined our union. I unobtrusively told them about our activities, and the women also decided to become members of the REP trade union - satisfied Zinaida does not cease to admire the Belarusians. - I had such stars in my cell! They went out against the regime every Sunday. And the more often you go out, the higher the risk of being arrested. Everyone understood this, but still, they could not sit at home.

One woman from Brest has three children, and her husband, who at first did not share her wife's position, grumbled when she went to marches. And even more so when his wife was detained. But as soon as his colleagues found out about the situation and began to admire - "Yes, you have such a great wife! What a fine fellow you are!" - he instantly changed his attitude towards his wife.

Zinaida is also lucky with her husband. Having understood the character and temperament of the "Brest Fortress," her husband told her bluntly: "You will not change. Go to the end."

- How simply he explained everything: if I lose my job, I'll look for another. And so can each of us think. It is more difficult for those who have no family support," says Mikhniuk.

Zinaida believes that, after the arrest, she escaped with light boggle. Her colleague from the Brest union, Darja Paliakova, was less fortunate. She was charged with violence against a police officer and his torn jacket, for which she was punished with two years of home chemistry, despite the fact that, after the death of her husband, a woman brings up two children alone.

Zinaida does not complain. She only casually mentions that during her arrest, when she was thrown into the paddy wagon, her hand was so crushed by the clanging door that she could not hold a spoon and cross herself for a month. The prison doctor diagnosed a severe bruise and "by pull" took an ointment from the safe - "anoint it, it will take a long time." After a day in the Brest temporary detention facility, the woman went to church.

- I look - the priest is standing. I came up and said: "I want to confess. I'm from prison. "He replied: "You were not beaten there?" - "Here, just by the hand" - "And at least they fed you?" - "Three times with porridge..." I told him about my experiences. That they just hit me with the door of the paddy wagon, and it still hurts me for a month now. But what about those who were beaten all night on August 9 and 10? Finally, he said: "There are day and night. So morning is coming in Belarus now..."

I also often recall my confession in 2010 after Plošča on December 19. I told the priest (it was not in Brest) that I was in the square, that I do not believe in the fairness of the votes' calculation, that I work with people who can barely survive from paycheck to paycheck. And I myself think: now he will tell me that all power is from God, and we must humbly bear our cross.

And suddenly the priest says: "The man is sick and aggravates his illness. He imagines himself a king during his lifetime..."

How I cried - it seemed to me that I saw my wings, with such grace I left after that confession. It was very important for me then. Seeing the bloody people, those paddy wagons - that's when I, maybe, was scared. After all, one could go mad. And now, after 10 years, I am no longer afraid. I rejoice. With all the horror that has happened, now I walk around happy that my people have woken up and that I have lived up to this moment.

Zinaida says that in Brest, the older generation is mainly active in her trade union cell.

- I have few active young people. They come, but one or two. And I can't blame them for that. Someone has families, loans, and jobs can be deprived at one point.

Recently, a young doctor from their union was fired without renewing his contract, but he did not leave his comrades and went to work as a security guard in a casino. Then he was very surprised: "I was standing at the operating table, there is such a responsibility, sweat was flowing in a stream. And now, with a suit, I do not strain and earn twice as much!"

- I admire Dzima. He is one of those who do not lose fortitude. But we still need to work with many people, to establish a communication system. Now other young people have grown up and are more informed. Yes, some have left, but everyone cannot leave. An acquaintance of the administrator of one of the Brest sites left after a criminal case was opened against him. I wrote a letter from the trade union that he was an activist and that he was being persecuted. At such moments, I often recall the lines of our poet Henadz Buraukin:

- Let's put aside fear, doubt, and whining,

For Belarus! For a better life!..

Zinaida smiles, assuring them that they have a small but close-knit team. So many people recently came to the court, where the Brest residents were tried on a conveyor belt for Sunday marches, that there was nowhere to sit.

- It turned out that the authorities were constantly crushing politicians, crushing parties, throwing mud at the trade unions. And suddenly, as if from a snuff-box, new faces jumped up. We watched Babaryka, Tsapkala. And how they miscalculated with Sviatlana (Tsikhanouskaya - Ed.). People who did not celebrate the new year in principle, this time listened to the speech and raised glasses to Tsikhanouskaya, whom they consider their president.

"You can die tomorrow, but today you feel like a human!" - I hear from some.

Now the Belarusians do not have a leader, and the people have organized themselves. Surprisingly, people have already adapted to the new reality. We are often called: "Son did not return home," "Husband, daughter did not return..." Many began to react to this calmly; they do not experience it alone, but together - with whole families, houses, streets, realizing that it will not be like before.