Mackiewicz: I Appreciate The Courage And Heroism Of Mikalai Statkevich

• 13.09.2025, 9:11

The philosopher and former political prisoner gave an interview the day after he was released from prison.

Belarusian philosopher and methodologist, creator of the Agency for Humanitarian Technologies and Flying University Vladimir Matskevich was one of 52 political prisoners who were released on September 11, 2025 in Belarus. The day after his release, he gave a short interview to Deutsche Welle journalist Alexandra Boguslavskaya and talked about his well-being, his time in prison and why he doesn't think he's free now.

"I don't consider that I got to freedom"

Deutsche Welle: Vladimir, how do you feel, how was your first night in freedom?"

Vladimir Mackiewicz: (long laugh) I don't consider that I got to freedom because I couldn't choose where I would leave prison. I was brought here. I would have liked to stay in Minsk, but I ended up here, so I can't call it freedom. Well, I spent the night well, I slept well.

- How do you feel in general? How is your health?

- Well, I think, thank God, my health is not very bad - despite the fact that there was a period when I had a very difficult time. And there were health problems caused, respectively, by these places of stay. But then I recovered a little. In general, I have no complaints.

- You said that you did not want to leave, and there was information in the media that you and politician Nikolai Statkevich refused to leave the country. Can you tell us more about what happened at the border?

- No, I'm not ready and don't want to tell you yet. I want to orient myself.

-but it was not very reliable information. Yes, I wanted (to stay. - Ed.). But at the same time I did not want to be a hero and make ineffective steps. I realized that I would not be able to stay. I do not have the same situation as Nikolai Statkevich. I appreciate his courage and heroism and so on, and I support him. But I have a slightly different type of behavior and actions. I am not very prone to such antics, so I refrained. The thought was there, but I refrained.

- While you were in prison, Deutsche Welle wrote a lot about you. You and I even managed to organize an interview while you were in isolation. At that time, your associates launched a campaign called "Philosopher in Prison" and talked a lot about the fact that you continued to write your intellectual works there, that you wrote several books there. Did you somehow manage to take these materials with you out of prison?

- You know, yesterday, when it became clear that we were being taken abroad, I experienced two very unpleasant moments. One, the fact that I'm being taken out of my country by force. And the second was that all my writings were taken away from me.

In some situations, when I was left alone, I was visited by, shall we say loudly, inspiration. And I think some of the pages, some of the notebooks that I've written are some of the best of what I've built up in philosophy, in my research. And unfortunately, it's all been taken away from me.

And that's my greatest pain. The physical discomfort that accompanies, probably, any imprisonment, I bore calmly, I bore it thanks to my mood, my attitude. But this is very painful for me.

"Prison cripples everyone"

- You wrote in your letters that you were surprised at how much a person gets used to new conditions, how much you were able to adapt there. How can a person really adapt so quickly in prison conditions?

- I will write more about this, because there is nothing surprising here, in my opinion. It all depends on the inner core, the state, the consciousness of a person's personality. Prison cripples everybody. It's a terrible thing. And I will probably write about it, I will write an article and more than one about the fact that in a civilized society the institution of prisons should be abolished.

We have matured, civilization has matured to the abolition of the death penalty. I think that modern technology allows condemned people to remain in a healthy community even though they are condemned. And artificial intelligence control, security cameras - yes, that violates human rights and personal space, individual rights. But for people who are convicted, the use of such things is justified. It is better for them to stay in a normal healthy society than in this sick society, which is created in an isolated prison. And it cripples everyone.

Yes, there is that rare case when people preserve themselves, retain some potential moral, personal and in these terrible conditions. But to throw everyone into these conditions is inhuman. And it harms the moral state of the whole society. Because then, coming out, many are carriers of this primitive, primitive - not even to say culture, because it is not culture - it is some patterns of behavior, preserved in us pre-human ancestors. And they thrive in prison.

I will be an advocate and I hope to explain it in my articles, that the institution of prison, places of detention should be transformed. In civilized countries, at least.

- You also starved in prison. How was it, how can it be experienced?"

- Everything can be experienced... Everything can be experienced. One of the lessons I learned from it is that prison is not as scary as it seems to people who have never been there. It's horrible, it's bad, it's inhumane, it's uncivilized, inhuman, and so on. But it can be tolerated. And a hunger strike is one way to achieve something.

But I would caution people who spontaneously try to do it. Hunger strikes should be organized properly, taking into account all the circumstances and conditions in which people are. That is, you have to be prepared for it. I am ready to share my experience of hunger strikes with someone (laughs. - Ed.), but nevertheless I do not recommend anyone to do it just on an emotional impulse.

"Prisoners in Belarusian prisons are in solidarity with the Ukrainians"

- Yes, I could subscribe to some newspapers, they came irregularly, but nevertheless. There were difficulties with correspondence, interruptions. The radio, which is heard periodically, is entirely ideological. It shared very little reliable information with us, even just information. That's why the main events were probably reported, but it was those that could not be kept silent.

- How did you learn about the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine?

- It was... it was impossible to keep silent about it. Until the end, I did not believe that Putin's regime would go for it. Well, I had no doubt that the Belarusian regime would follow Russia's lead. But, of course, when the Kremlin, the Russian regime went to this war, I was shocked.

In this sense, I would like to bow my head before the heroism of Ukrainians - both ordinary people and Zelensky as the president of Ukraine. Because this is something incredible. In general, Glory to Ukraine!

- How do prisoners in general discuss the war, what do they think about it?

- For the most part, prisoners in Belarusian prisons are in solidarity with Ukrainians. There are different people, especially since there are also Russians sitting in Belarusian prisons. Some of them would dream of signing up as volunteers, in the Russian army, so that they could be released from prison. But the majority is still against the war in general and in particular - for Ukraine. Even criminals, not only political ones.

- In the interview you and I managed to do from prison - it was August 2021 - you said that "we have been thrown far back, and now we need to start everything over again". Now, in 2025, are we set further back?"

- No comment. I'll think about that some more. I'm only on my second day out of jail. Again, I repeat, I don't feel free yet, although I am in a free country, but in a free country you can be unfree, as I am now.

-I want to thank the German Foreign Ministry, the German Embassy in Belarus, who congratulated me in prison, who congratulated my sister, my only relative, who stayed in Belarus. And so they remembered me and cared about me. And in general, they were probably one of those who contributed to the fact that I was released three months before my sentence. Apart from the American president, apart from our human rights activists and apart from the heroism of the Ukrainian people, Germany also contributed to this.

Of course, I would like to express my gratitude to the Synod of the Lutheran Church of Northern Germany, who constantly remembered me. I know that they prayed for me and for me. And if it is possible, (convey. - Ed.) all my gratitude and appreciation. Unfortunately, since my papers were taken away, I don't remember the pastor's name. She was one of the last people to give me the letter. I do remember that the second part of her last name is "Ackerman". I apologize for not remembering the name. I thought I had written it down and I would still have it, but unfortunately I couldn't save any of the paperwork.

So it was only to express these words of gratitude that I agreed to this interview. And the rest I will think about - and formulate my perceptions and thoughts.