On July 11, 2023, Ales Pushkin, a famous Belarusian nonconformist artist, icon painter, performer, and art curator, died in Belarus. His death at the age of 57 occurred in the intensive care unit of a hospital, where the political prisoner was taken from Hrodna prison.
The cause of death was the untimely treatment of a perforated ulcer. The Belarusian penitentiary system killed the artist and political prisoner. Ales Pushkin will be remembered by Belarusians as a true individual, a fearless man who challenged the repressive Lukashenko regime both personally and through his art.
Ales Pushkin began his path of opposition back in 1988 when he was arrested for distributing leaflets calling people to attend an event dedicated to Dziady. Since then, Ales Pushkin's name has been repeatedly associated with political protests and performances. One of the most memorable acts was "Manure for the president." In 1999, Ales Pushkin brought a wheelbarrow of manure to Lukashenko's administration and scattered it, covering it with devalued rubles and the Constitution. For this performance, the artist received two years of suspended imprisonment.
Among Pushkin's significant works is the painting of a church in his hometown of Bobr. In the fresco of the Last Judgment, the artist depicted sinners, including a person resembling a certain dictator, as well as OMON officers and Orthodox hierarchs. This work was destroyed, and the church itself mysteriously burned down in 2011.
After the 2020 elections, Ales Pushkin once again found himself under pressure. He was beaten, held in isolation, and ultimately, in 2021, arrested for a series of works created more than 20 years ago. The court found him guilty of rehabilitating Nazism and desecrating state symbols. The judgment was five years of imprisonment. As a protest, Pushkin cut his own stomach at one of the court hearings.
"The cross I have taken up, I must carry, no matter how difficult it is. What threatens me here? Well, they will imprison me for 5 to 12 years, but I will be alive, no one will kill me," said Pushkin before his arrest. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. On July 11, 2023, Ales Pushkin died in intensive care due to untimely medical assistance for a perforated ulcer. His death became a symbol of the unbroken spirit and resilience in the face of the repressive machine.
Ales Pushkin is not the only political prisoner who died behind bars. In the past two years, political prisoners Vitold Ashurak, Mikalai Klimovich, Vadzim Khrasko, Ihar Lednik, and Aliaksandr Kulinich have died in Belarusian prisons. Many of them were placed in pre-trial detention centers and did not receive necessary medical assistance. The circumstances of their deaths are unclear to relatives and human rights activists in most cases.
These deaths are on the conscience of the leaders and staff of the penitentiary system.They must be brought to ju stice.
The cause of death was the untimely treatment of a perforated ulcer. The Belarusian penitentiary system killed the artist and political prisoner. Ales Pushkin will be remembered by Belarusians as a true individual, a fearless man who challenged the repressive Lukashenko regime both personally and through his art.
Ales Pushkin began his path of opposition back in 1988 when he was arrested for distributing leaflets calling people to attend an event dedicated to Dziady. Since then, Ales Pushkin's name has been repeatedly associated with political protests and performances. One of the most memorable acts was "Manure for the president." In 1999, Ales Pushkin brought a wheelbarrow of manure to Lukashenko's administration and scattered it, covering it with devalued rubles and the Constitution. For this performance, the artist received two years of suspended imprisonment.
Among Pushkin's significant works is the painting of a church in his hometown of Bobr. In the fresco of the Last Judgment, the artist depicted sinners, including a person resembling a certain dictator, as well as OMON officers and Orthodox hierarchs. This work was destroyed, and the church itself mysteriously burned down in 2011.
After the 2020 elections, Ales Pushkin once again found himself under pressure. He was beaten, held in isolation, and ultimately, in 2021, arrested for a series of works created more than 20 years ago. The court found him guilty of rehabilitating Nazism and desecrating state symbols. The judgment was five years of imprisonment. As a protest, Pushkin cut his own stomach at one of the court hearings.
"The cross I have taken up, I must carry, no matter how difficult it is. What threatens me here? Well, they will imprison me for 5 to 12 years, but I will be alive, no one will kill me," said Pushkin before his arrest. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. On July 11, 2023, Ales Pushkin died in intensive care due to untimely medical assistance for a perforated ulcer. His death became a symbol of the unbroken spirit and resilience in the face of the repressive machine.
Ales Pushkin is not the only political prisoner who died behind bars. In the past two years, political prisoners Vitold Ashurak, Mikalai Klimovich, Vadzim Khrasko, Ihar Lednik, and Aliaksandr Kulinich have died in Belarusian prisons. Many of them were placed in pre-trial detention centers and did not receive necessary medical assistance. The circumstances of their deaths are unclear to relatives and human rights activists in most cases.
These deaths are on the conscience of the leaders and staff of the penitentiary system.They must be brought to ju stice.
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