Belarusians mark 'Night of Executed Poets' at Tallinn's Vaba Lava Theater
Belarusians in Estonia commemorated the "Night of the Executed Poets" on Saturday night at Tallinn's Vaba Lava Theater with a free poetry reading by Belarusians, Ukrainian and Estonian actors.
The event remembered more than a hundred members of the Belarusian intelligentsia who were shot on the evening of October 29-30, 1937.
Among those murdered were poets, writers, critics and journalists. They were killed as part of USSR leader Joseph Stalin's repressions.
Thousands more people were killed in Belarus between 1937 and 1941 during the Great Purge by the Soviet secret police. No one knows exactly how many people are buried at Kurapaty, on the outskirts of Minsk, and estimates vary from 30,000—250,000. The Belarusian authorities have so far not disclosed any information.
"What happened in October 1937 will forever remain one of the blackest pages in the history of Belarus," event organizer Diana Olesyuk told ERR News.
The event is an act of solidarity amongst the Belarusian community and poetry evenings are organized in many cities around the world.
Leader of "Free Belarus" Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said it is "heartbreaking" to think the Alexander Lukashenko regime is still holding political prisoners in the same place today.
On the night of October 29-30, 1937, more than 100 Belarusian state figures, writers & scientists were shot in a prison in Minsk. This tragic date is known as the Night of the Shot Poets. It's heartbreaking to think that the same building is still used for political prisoners. pic.twitter.com/BkBJdIFWIo
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) October 29, 2022
Earlier this week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) said Estonia plans to appoint an "ambassador at large" to cooperate and strengthen ties with the Belarusian opposition.
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Editor: Helen Wright
