"Now is the time of power"

Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksievich - About the situation in the world after terrorist attacks in Paris

The Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature Belarusian writer Svetlana Aleksievich in an exclusive interview with Radio Freedom commented on the latest events associated with terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13. In her opinion, new attacks are waiting for Europe, the policy of Vladimir Putin is still being built from the standpoint of strength, and Alexander Lukashenko will take advantage of the situation to strengthen his position.

- Why did France become the target of terrorists?

- What happened in Paris is only the beginning. The Islamic State ( terrorist group prohibited in Russia. - RS ) declared war on everyone. And it was already in Russia. After all, a catastrophe over Sinai is a terrorist attack. Europe and Russia, which also entered this war, should be prepared for this challenge. We are waiting for new losses, new disasters. This is quite obvious, since the European coalition has united, and Russia entered it. Islamists are already helpless, so they will act as partisan, terrorist methods. And here we are completely helpless before the madness of loners. Modern society is vulnerable to loners. And it will be a chain of loners and suicide bombers. In general, this is a new form of war.

- Can Europe abandon democratic values for the sake of safety?

- Yes, this is a great challenge to the European world, European values. Merkel always speaks of this. On the other hand, Europe, especially Germany, accepts such a large number of refugees. I myself saw how this happens, how people are ready to help. At the same time, it turns out that among those who were accepted, there are terrorists. For normal consciousness, it is very difficult to accept all this. Europe will resist, European values are very stable. But this is a test, of course.

- And the current situation will influence Russia, will Putin's policy will change?

- Putin’s policy is built in the position of power. The world did not notice how Russia is re -upset, now has a good army, a new weapon. My last book is called "Time of Second-Hend." We returned to the world with weapons again. Again, the weapon decides everything. I believe that you need to deal with ideas, and not kill people. But the “second-hand” is complete: the world returned to the past. I am afraid that this will be a war not in the usual form, but in the form of single partisan sorties around the world. I recently flew from Paris, and there was some kind of chill, you already do not trust anyone. Nearby sat a young man of Arab appearance, in me, a rather tolerant Belarusian, there was a distrust. He smiles, and I have a distrust. I have a lot of friends among Muslims, very educated, interesting people. But if the barbarians win, then they will fall the first victims, they understand it perfectly ...

- What Russia did in Ukraine: the annexation of Crimea, the occupation of Donbass, can provoke such a thing that happened in Paris?

- It is more complicated, because the Donbass is a blitzkrieg that failed. As it turned out, this is much more complicated. They untied the civil war, but the world opposed, and Ukraine did not accept this. That is, what they hoped for did not happen. And in Syria, some big geopolitical problems are also solved. But I am not a politician, and I can only guess ... and say that we began to live in a different world, ceased to trust each other. If you are checked from and to, then I do not understand how you can carry a Kalashnikov assault rifle to the stadium? Moreover, the stadium is not far from the place where the residence of the President of France is located. At the same time, my cream is taken away from me ... The world is not ready to resist this new form of war. And if they sorted out my suitcase there, it looked strange against what happened ...

- How will the events in Paris influence Belarus, on her relationship with Europe? Lukashenko always benefits from such situations ...

- He is still winning. Lukashenko says there will be no reforms. And this is what my neighbor in the village of Pyotr Silvestrovich says. He says what the people say, Lukashenko has a strong flair. As a result, we are late, although we are already a nation that is late. More and more fear: the Maidan, and the Donbass, and Syria, and now Paris. I think these factors will unite people around the president. Moreover, he demonstrates the type of leader of the cult of power, confidence. I think he will further demonstrate it. And the people will unite around such leaders. After all, today is not the time of Vaclav Gavel, but the time of Putin, Lukashenko, the time of power. And this, as an artist, I perceive as a defeat. But I hope that it is temporary.

- Can Europe make concessions like Lukashenko?

- I think that in Europe these concessions are poorly re -relevant. It is not so easy for the government to take a hard step. Here Lukashenko decided, in the morning he signed a decree - and that’s it. There, the whole society has been discussing for a very long time, various parties, movements, different leaders. It is not so easy to do some things from the standpoint of power. Here Putin can do it. In Europe, this is not so easy. And then, people are brought up in another spirit. I could not watch without tears when they were going, faces in the blood, and they sing Marseelusa. They do not shout some words of hatred. They say: no, we will not give up, we will not give what we have. It is our values first of all ...

- And you would not want to describe this in a new book?

- Everything that I wanted, I described over these almost 40 years. The story of "Red Utopia" was my idea. And so - I'm not a journalist. What you offer me is a journalistic approach to the coverage of events. What I understood about good and evil precisely on the basis of Russian Bolshevism, I already described it.