Viva Belarus! 2013

Belarus has been under the dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko for sixteen years. Miron, Dzmitry Vinsent Papko, is 23 and not interested in politics; he believes his friends from the democratic opposition are just daydreamers. But when the independent rock group’s next concert triggers public anti-regime demonstrations, he is forcibly drafted into the army despite a heart condition. In his unit, he confronts harsh conditions and indoctrination in the Soviet spirit, overseen by a stern General, Anatolij Kot. In protest, Miron, with his bold and tireless girlfriend Viera, Karolina Gruszka, publishes the blog Life of a Conscript on the Internet. The blog portrays the army as a miniature of contemporary Belarus, with citizens as ‘conscripts’, subject to informal hierarchies and indoctrination, sparking a real storm online. The blog’s extracts are turned into satirical songs that slam the regime and become street hits. The authorities decide to hit the rebel in his most sensitive spot, tightening controls and pressuring dissent. The film also shines a light on human rights in Belarus and the protests that surged in December 2010.