Twenty years ago, Vera Stepanisheva was among the Viciebsk region of journalists who came to the founding congress of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, and thanks to the efforts which arose independent Belarusian journalism. Today, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of BAJ she kindly agreed to answer questions from Viciebsk spring.
Mrs Vera, what do you see today, those times have not close with the already forgotten the word "perestroika"?
What happened then, in the 90s, it was such a joy! Happiness was to work even in the public media! Then I was an employee of the regional newspaper "Viciebski Rabočy" and worked there quite a lot. When perestroika began, a breath of freedom of speech.
Anti-Soviet I was not, but since childhood and life, and in the profession wanted to be sincere. However, there were rules. When we went on a mission, we were told: required critical material, or need a positive material. It has always been a protest. And so with the advent of perestroika have the opportunity to write what you think. It began a professional high.
When we said earlier that "decadent West" all is bad - and we believe that bad. But then I opened the "Iron Curtain"! I remember when in the early '80s I came to Germany as part of a youth delegation with Alexander Stukalo. We both wanted to find the very poor, which we were told, but never found. After this trip we have opened his eyes. It was a real shock! What a happy period of ninety - ninety-four! Such happiness! For journalists it was the best time!
Remember, please, who was the initiator of your trip at the founding congress of the BAJ, and who was with you.
As we got to the founding congress of the BAJ? We were four: I, Sergei Naumchik, Sergei Laskovets and Andrei Alifirenko. Someone suggested that we go to Minsk in the constituent congress - I do not remember. Sergei and Sergei Naumchik Laskovets were my interns, and we were in close contact. Then I worked in the "Jahon" - when his education was supposed to be a democratic newspaper, though its founder and was the Viciebsk Regional Council of Deputies. We took a few people from "Viciebski Rabočy" and organized this newspaper. I was deputy editor.
It was a completely different working conditions. It was really the freedom of speech. We print everything they could. Without any restrictions. Within five years, until 1995, there was no censorship. Imagine we were attending the meeting at which the tail and mane, different words criticized the leaders of different levels, including the Viciebsk mayor Nikolai Fedorchuk - and we wrote about it. However, then the chairman of the regional executive committee Vladimir Kulakov invited to her. Invited and did not cause! For now, just be kicked out. And, first of all, do not be published. And he, feeling all the awkwardness of the situation, began to reproach slightly criticized for, as the mayor, it turns out his friend. Like, please do it as anything more carefully. Everything was different.
Say, perhaps, except for the external circumstances were to exist, and some internal reasons, made you change an established vector of life?
In "Viciebski Rabočy" had a good team in this respect I was comfortable there. We respected each other, but there are strict rules. When I rose from the Komsomol subjects and came to party problems, you should become a member of the Communist Party. Then I began to go to party meetings and saw a terrible discrepancy between what people said on the sidelines, and that from the platform of the party meeting. Well, how so? I went into this profession to reflect reality and reason. For me it was flour.
When I was after a visit to Germany was invited to share experiences, I know that can not be openly praise abroad, gently said: "You know, if we just work hard as the Germans, then we too will be as good to live." What party secretary was indignant: "Yes, we need to think who we send abroad." This caused a protest!
Yet now there are some opportunists in the profession! Look at today's journalists from state media. For me, as a journalist, the most important thing - it is a critical look at the reality, the desire to delve into the matter and to reflect the diversity of life, the very pluralism. You need to think, to think, to be able to do it, want to do it, live it! And now, as they say, my friend, a doctor, when she went for an interview with a journalist: "She did not even know what questions to ask!"
The first head of the Viciebsk city organization BAJ was Andrew Alifirenko. What was that person?
If there were very close contacts among BAJ members: came to us, we were invited to all sorts of seminars, we were visited by foreign journalists. Life is in full swing. There were all sorts of learning and training. It was interesting! Five years later he decided to create a newspaper for young people, which is so called - "Youth newspaper," but it did not last long, there was no funding. Alifirenko was bright, talented man, but in the end he left the profession.
What changes have occurred in the city of journalistic organization after the change of political power in the country?
After Andrew Alifirenko BAJ chairman of the city was Sergei Boutkevitch. Continued meeting, but after the 95-year period began to change. And along with the political changes decreased the intensity of activity in the Viciebsk branch of BAJ, although we still continued to travel to Minsk, for all sorts of seminars, and almost all have gone to Sweden. Once it is gone an attack on freedom of speech, as something in itself, quietly, slowly beginning to fade activity within our organization.
And then came the moment when the change came Boutkevitch Vladimir Bazan. At one time, ironically, he wanted to get a job to us, in the "Viciebski Rabočy", and I personally went to ask for it to the editor, begged to take him to the state, but he flatly refused. Later, in spite of all kinds of obstacles, he created his own newspaper. And what a great newspaper was for our area, our province! At that time, when he led the organization, there was someone setting: can not be considered BAJ members those working in the public press. And we somehow started to ignore, although group "People's words," we can say, was the most massive part of the organization, its backbone. So slowly we stopped seminars, and then we are no longer registered as a separate entity. Now is not the same parties, which was in the early nineties.
After a while, gradually, BAJ started to consider the structure of the opposition. But when the organization was created, it was not clearly stated opposition. Basically, there were representatives of the state of the press, and we are including. In addition, journalists are independent publications - mostly citizens of Minsk. Then I have repeatedly criticized that almost the entire composition of the "People's words" became members of the BAJ. For this reason, we have all been expelled from the Union of Journalists, despite the fact that we did not make any application - it was interesting to hang out here and there, because it's all professional environment, although the level of professionalism was different.
Do you think the activities of BAJ twenty ka something changed Belarusian journalism?
Absolutely. In a global sense - yes! I like the open discussions that unfold on BAJ congresses. I really like the atmosphere that reigns there. It contains the best.
But, unfortunately, this influence does not extend to all media. Imagine, in the state press has already appeared information of a sociological survey, according to which the current president supports 76.6 percent of voters. Well, the media is not ashamed to so blatantly violate the law? Feel free to anything, do not have a conscience. The journalist should have a conscience and obedience to the law, but not such that comes from submission to authority. The primary should be journalistic ethics!
Twenty years I worked in the "People's word", but never wrote the word "Lukashenka"! In the first elections, by the way, I was an observer of the Belarusian Popular Front. On the pages of our newspaper then we were given the same opportunities to all candidates. But even then it was clear that the man he is illiterate. As my mother: "Everything screams and cries". At that point I could not even believe that it can win. One day we received a letter from an illiterate woman, where the error in the error, and there were words about him: "He is like us." I stand these words in the title and give not adapted to the newspaper text, and a photocopy of a sheet, thinking that if "he is, as we have," then look at who you want to select. We thought that a letter would be perceived as counter, and everything turned out the opposite. Like this!
Obviously, in today's time the real journalism remained exclusively in independent publications such as "Free News", "BelGazeta", "Narodnaya Volya", "Nasha Niva". There's a whole other level of journalism. What I am happy to read these publications! Journalism in Belarus on a very tall level, but it is concentrated only in the independent media. Where there is freedom of speech. All the rest - it's nothing at all!
S. Horki, Vitebsk Spring
