August 6, Pozirk. The Museum of Free Belarus in Warsaw opens an exhibition today at Foksal 11 to mark what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Belarusian artist and patriot Aleś Puškin.
Titled Zastacca/Zostać, the exhibition “shows how art continues to speak when words fall silent, and how artists, through their personal experiences, carry forward what Puškin cherished—love for Belarus, the courage to be oneself and remembrance of those who fought and stayed,” organizers said.
Puškin had the opportunity to flee the country after learning of politically motivated criminal charges against him—but he chose to stay. On July 11, 2023, he died at the age of 57 from a perforated stomach ulcer in a hospital, where he had been transferred from Hrodna’s Prison No. 1.
He was serving a five-year sentence for “insulting state symbols” and “inciting hatred,” after investigators seized one of his paintings—depicting Jaŭhien Žychar, a commander of an anti-Soviet resistance group active in the 1940s–50s—along with other items styled in Belarusian national tradition.
Opposition leader Śviatlana Cichanoŭskaja paid tribute to the artist in a statement today, saying she plans to visit the exhibition.
Puškin was a fierce promoter of Belarusian identity, language and culture. He restored historical buildings, decorated churches and was frequently arrested for political reasons.
In July 1999, on the fifth anniversary of Alaksandar Łukašenka’s rule, Puškin staged a provocative performance: he brought a handcart full of manure to the presidential office in downtown Minsk, overturned it, placed a portrait of Łukašenka on the pile, and stabbed it with a manure fork. He received a two-year suspended sentence for the act.
Also read: Warsaw exhibition pays tribute to late Belarusian dissident artist
