"A beautiful, clean country is all a very bad cover"

Zmytser Filipov is a Belarusian from St. Petersburg, an artist and a cook.

The guy was born in Russia and continues to live there, but his roots are from Goml, where his mother was born.

"For me, Belarus has always been a significant part of my life and consciousness, because I spent 3-4 months a year at my grandmother's house.

It was such a white rush in my life.

My mother never spoke Belarusian.

Maximum on some kind of shake, when she came to the village.

We didn't celebrate any Belarusian holidays at home, because my father is Russian to the core, but Belarus was a part of my self, maybe not fully meaningful," says Zmytser Filipov.

In 2020, during a trip to Belarus, Zmytser bought the book "Radziva Prudok" by Andrus Horvat, which deeply impressed him.

"After her, I started searching for myself," says Filippov.

- I began to ask what my origin, my Belarusian roots mean to me.

I understood that this is a significant part of my "I", my memories, the way I treat myself, and what it means in general now - to be Belarusian.

After the elections, I learned that Belarusians in St. Petersburg come to the embassy.

At first I was embarrassed to go, because I am not a citizen of Belarus.

It seemed as if I had no right, but then I felt that it also concerns me."

After the events of August 2020, Zmytser began to read more in Belarusian, is interested in history.

"I wanted to take more part in Belarusian events," says the guy.

— We held two exhibitions with the diaspora in St. Petersburg: one in 2020, dedicated to the women's protest, and at the beginning of 2021 "Country for Life".

We wanted to introduce the residents of St. Petersburg to what Belarus really looks like, that a beautiful, rainbow-colored, postcard-worthy, clean country is all a very bad cover."

"My Russian acquaintances had the idea that Belarus is a "scoop Disneyland""

It was difficult to find a venue for those exhibitions, all famous places refused, says Zmytser.

Their owners were afraid of something political, even if it did not concern Russia.

"Visitors had a positive interest in what we do," says Filipov.

- We were expecting various provocations, and at the second exhibition we met people who said: "You are exaggerating a little there.

We have not seen this.

Why do you show the national flag in a negative light?

We need to put up with people somehow."

Activists from the diaspora had to get to know the Russian state authorities, and they were forced to leave because of their activism."

Zmytser says that his Russian acquaintances could not believe that such events were really happening in Belarus.

"All my acquaintances had such a stereotypical idea that Belarus is a very quiet country, very clean, such a 'scoop Disneyland' in some sense," says Filippov.

- Nothing can happen there, Lukashenka is some funny grandfather who talks strangely, a lover of the Soviet Union.

No one expected this.

But I didn't meet a single negative reaction from my friends when I started running Instagram in Belarusian.

It was in 2021, after the defeat of TUT.BY and the arrest of Protasevich.

I thought someone would unsubscribe, stop reading, but no, no one left."

The family reacted differently to Zmitr's interest in Belarus, the boy says.

"Unfortunately, my mother lived most of her life in Russia, she chose this country for herself, so she treats Belarus as a Russian," says the guy.

— She said: "Ah, well, it's all bought, Lukashenka has had his fun, everyone will go to Russia."

She did not support either the democratic forces, because it was completely incomprehensible to her, or Lukashenka, because at the beginning of the year he played some games with the West, allegedly betraying Russia in this way.

When I sent her information about exhibitions, she reacted very discreetly, did not comment, did not say whether she liked it or not.

My family rather ignored it all.'

"We even perceive our history better through Russian chronology, and this is a disaster"

Zmytser says that for Russians the history of Belarus is a white spot.

"The Russians know about Belarus that these territories were annexed under Catherine II.

Anyone who studied well at school knows that there were some Polish uprisings in the 19th century, and then the Soviet Union appeared and Belarus was formed there.

When I came to Belarus as a child, I didn't know anything more than that, because there were some Soviet textbooks there.

I did not know any ancient Belarus.

For me, finding this story was like finding myself."

Zmitru wanted to share her knowledge and discoveries about the history of Belarus.

It all started with chats in the Clubhouse, where Belarusians from around the world met, the guy made thematic historical conversations there.

That's how the idea of ​​the "Who Are You" podcast was born.

"I wanted to provide information that Belarus is a whole spectrum," says the guy.

- Just as there is a gender spectrum, when a person can choose many identities, being Belarusian is something similar for me.

We have a lot of different moments in history: there is Litvinism, the Old Russian part, there is a part of the country's development under the empire, a great contribution of Jewish culture, Tatar culture, etc.

And how can you create a homogeneous concept of what Belarus is from all this?

It is impossible.

Therefore, all these disputes like "whose Lithuania", "we are Balts or Slavs" do not make sense to me, because these are all different identities from which you can take something for yourself.

After some time, Zmytser together with his friend made "Rhyming history of the great princes of Lithuania".

"My girlfriend and I live on different continents, but we speak Belarusian almost every day," says Filipov.

- We realized at some point that it is difficult for us to understand the historical context.

That is, when you talk about Vytautas, you still understand in which century he lived, you will remember what was around.

And the kings of the Vaz dynasty, Alexander Yagelyonchyk?

And so she asked me: "And what year is it?"

Who was the tsar in Russia then?" We realized that even our history is better perceived through Russian chronology.

And this is a disaster."

Then Zmitr and his girlfriend had the idea to create a light material that would help people navigate the history of Belarus.

"My friend recommended me an English song, there children from kindergarten know the counter about each king," says the boy.

- We thought that we need to do something like that.

First, we wrote out almost all the princes, most importantly, who and what did they do.

It took several months, although they tried to make it very easy, entertaining, with a simple rhyme, but then they made it more complicated.''

Zmytser admits that it was the most difficult to give the last three necklaces, because then the time was difficult, and the events were significant.

"It was already the decline of the Commonwealth, I saw a lot of similar things in our time," says Zmytser Filipov.

- That's why we wrote and rewrote.

To draw the characters, for the first ten I looked for references, how I imagine these princes.

But starting from Zygimont, it was much easier, because there are already historical portraits painted by contemporaries, they could simply be drawn.

I'm so glad people liked it.

Even teachers wrote and asked if it was possible to use it for work.

It's a great appreciation for me that someone really needs it, I dreamed about it."

Zmytser says that Belarus lacks a mayor who would popularize history.

Therefore, in the future, he wants to make a rhyming story with the Radziwills and other characters.

The guy calls other illustrators to create Belarusian content and cooperate.

"Now I want to make a family card for Christmas.

Another girl from Lyubcha and I are planning a set of postcards about Lyubcha, about the values ​​and fame of this town, - says the guy.

- I would like to continue this series later, because if people know interesting things about large Belarusian cities, then they know much less about small towns, there is no news about them."

"Belarusians in St. Petersburg are sometimes like vampires"

Zmitser admits that it is sometimes scary to make Belarusian content in Russia.

"When the war started and the law on falsification and discrediting the actions of Russian troops was adopted, I quickly covered my page," the guy admits.

- And then I got angry with myself, thinking: "God, how many freedoms do we have left?!" I opened it again.

He censored himself several times.

For example, in the last part of the chronicle I wrote "Long live Belarus".

Then I thought that people from Belarus, my friends, will definitely like it or repost it, I can "frame" them through it.

In general, I am very sad that I cannot go to Belarus.

I learned so many new things about her, I really want to see everything live."

Zmytser Filipov

The fact that Belarusians continue to hide their identity creates a threat, says Zmytser.

"Belarusians in St. Petersburg are sometimes like vampires," the guy says.

- You will never know that a man is a vampire until he shows you his fangs.

The same goes for a person who you wouldn't even know is Belarusian until he gets "punctured" on something.

For example, you will hear him say a hard "r" or "chladnik" instead of "svekolnik", some trifle.

This is a significant threat to the country's development, it's like living without knowing who you are, what your values ​​are, what keeps you going."

The boy says that for the past two years, he has been helped by the Grandfather's Day, when he can remember his ancestors.

"Here you read the statements of Lukashenka, the late Makei, Kachanava, and you think: God, you are talking such nonsense, where did you get it?

- says Zmytser.

- If you read the history of Belarus, Lithuania - we never had what they attribute to it.

We need to understand this so that there is no inferiority complex, saying, well, what do we have there?

Some kind of straw hats, "Slavic Bazaar", "Dazhinki" - that's all, nothing to be proud of.

There is something to be proud of, you just don't know about it.

It seems to me that it is my duty as an informed person who knows how to draw something, to tell a story, to do it."