#belorus

[bonnashejve-space]

Ruscism - a dangerous Russian Nazi ideology that calls for acts of genocide against Eastern European nations and the restoration of Russia within the borders of the former Russian Empire/USSR, including the territories of Alaska. Рашизм - небезпечна російська нацистська ідеологія, яка закликає до геноциду  східноєвропейських народів і відновлення Росії в кордонах колишньої Російської імперії/СРСР, включно з територіями Аляски.

[odinsblog]

In the coming days/weeks, you’re going to hear a lot about how Ukraine should accept the terms of surrender (as that’s what they are) offered by Russia—how they’d be “stupid” not to, how Zelenskyy should “do the right thing for his people” and prioritize saving lives, how peace should be the priority and we can’t always get what we want.

Make no mistake: even if Russia intends to uphold these terms once Zelenskyy accepts them, this is a terrible deal for Ukraine and a terrible deal for the world.

First of all, there’s no guarantee that Russia will respect a cease fire or peace treaty. Obviously that’s always the case with war, but it’s especially the case when they’ve already violated multiple cease fire agreements by firing on and murdering evacuating civilians, including children. So there’s your peace treaty.

Second, the terms that Russia has presented include virtually all of Putin’s actual goals for this illegal invasion (obviously “de-Nazification” and “de-militarization” were just lies à la “weapons of mass destruction,” a rhetorical tactic that really ought to be familiar to any self-respecting American leftist). Ukraine would forfeit its claim on the territories Russia has already illegally annexed/recognized, it would be forced to change its constitution (!!!) to commit to never joining any “pacts” (EU, NATO, anything else that forms in the future), and it would retain Zelenskyy as a figurehead while installing a pro-Russian actual government leadership.

This is—and I cannot stress this enough—not a “compromise” or a “peace treaty.” It’s terms of surrender. And the lesson learned here is that Russia can continue invading and terrorizing sovereign states without any actual consequences—remember, Putin doesn’t personally care about Western sanctions. He doesn’t care if his people are plunged into poverty as long as he and his cronies aren’t, and they won’t be. He’s furious about the sanctions because he finds them personally offensive and because they confirm his victim complex, not because he’s legitimately worried for his people like Zelenskyy is.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Putin has made it extremely clear that he seeks to rebuild a Russian empire. He will not stop with Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk. (And make no mistake—Luhansk and Donetsk are not independent sovereign states like Ukraine; they’re simply Russian satellites.) He will not stop with forced regime change in Belorus, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine. (And even if he did—isn’t that awful enough?) He is not “concerned about Russia’s security” or “worried about NATO’s encroachment” or whatever his extensive social media operation has you believing. He’s not concerned or worried about anything. He’s a dictator expanding his empire. He is exactly what you all feared Trump was.

I believe that this “offer” from Russia to Ukraine serves two purposes, and neither of them is to establish a lasting peace and autonomy for each country. One is to give Putin a potential way to back out of a war that has already gone much worse than he expected and cost him significantly in terms of personnel and equipment. (Not the sanctions—like I said, I don’t think he personally cares about the sanctions and in fact sees them as a political tool to use to his advantage.)

The second and more important goal is to create a way for the international community to blame Ukraine for the continued war. “If you’d just accept the terms, you could save your people and prevent nuclear war.” It’s absolutely classic DARVO tactics that, again, any progressive activist should be familiar with. “Sure, it’s not your fault he attacked you, but you shouldn’t have reported it, made a big deal of it, gotten him ‘cancelled,’ made it public, etc.”

It’s not Ukraine’s responsibility to “prevent nuclear war.” Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for protection—protection that it has not received, although Western aid and military assistance has undoubtedly been helpful. Placing responsibility on Ukraine to accept unjust terms and illegal annexation of its land in order to “prevent nuclear war” only lends credence to the claim that only nuclear weapons can keep a country truly safe—after all, it would mean that Putin’s nuclear threats have allowed him to invade his neighbors, terrorize their citizens, destroy their resources, replace their democratically elected leaders with his own puppets, and steal their land—without even having to make any concessions himself.

So here’s my plea to my American progressive/leftist siblings. Please question what you think you know about Putin, Russia, and Ukraine. There are certainly far-right and neo-Nazi political forces in Ukraine as there are in any country, but Zelenskyy is a progressive, democratically elected JEWISH president. NATO and the EU have their (serious) issues, but they have not pressured or forced any former Soviet states to join—in fact, prior to this war, it seemed unlikely that Ukraine would be admitted. Ukraine WANTED to join to protect itself from Russia, which had already illegally annexed its land, empowered far-right groups within its borders, and forced regime changes in surrounding countries.

Putin is not an anti-imperialist revolutionary; he denounces American imperialism because it’s convenient for him politically and it keeps the American left from putting pressure on our government to divest from Russia. Sure, maybe the Democrats oversold Russian election hacking as an explanation for Trump’s win (although the more I learn about the extent of Russia’s disinfo campaign, the more I question this common leftist talking point), but that doesn’t mean that Putin isn’t bent on conquering Eastern Europe and subduing Western powers by any means necessary. This goes far beyond American electoral politics, and the answers here do not conform to American party lines. Do not fall into the trap of dismissing politicians’ statements about Putin and Russia just because you disagree with the rest of their stances.

Putin is a dictator. Sometimes it really is that simple. A former KGB agent, he came to power by staging the modern Russian version of the Reichstag fire (look up “Russian apartment bombings”), using that as an excuse to start a war and win it, and he has maintained his power through strong-arming and terror. The State Duma is entirely symbolic at this point; anyone who goes against Putin knows that they are likely not only to die, but to die horribly, just like Alexei Navalny almost did not long ago (look up “Novichok” and prepare yourself for some body horror).

I could go on. I won’t right now. But in truth, I deeply regret the fact that I haven’t done more over the past 8 or so years to disrupt the blatant Putinist propaganda I hear from a lot of my fellow progressives. I had other priorities and I didn’t give it the attention I should’ve. To be clear: nothing America or American progressives could’ve done would’ve stopped this war, only delayed it or hastened it. The war was inevitable because Putin wants to conquer Ukraine, and beyond.

So I’ll just say—please, please listen to people who fled Russia/the Soviet Union, and to experts who study Russia. The most likely threat here isn’t a nuclear WWIII; this isn’t about you. The thing people like me fear most is simply that Putin will continue subjugating, terrorizing, and ultimately conquering innocent citizens of sovereign states, and that the West will eventually just accept this as the price of nuclear deterrence.

I’m not a political scientist; I don’t know how to stop this war. All I know is that Ukrainian surrender isn’t it. Listen to Ukrainians, anti-Putin Russians, and other experts, form your own opinion, and most importantly, keep your wits about you. Not everyone in this world is a good faith negotiating partner. Some people are, unfortunately, just evil. Hitler was, Stalin was, Putin is.

(source)

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

Meanwhile back in Ukraine. Also Putin announced he’s placing nukes in Belorus and is working to improve an airfield in Moldavia by night to facilitate an invasion there.

[snowbanshee]

Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly. Then you have to send this to ten of your favorite followers 💜

Thank you Salty and @rottenpumpkin13 for sending me this, I'm gonna do it only once because there are not enough interesting facts about me.

1) I have pretty hair. It's long, naturally blond and wavy. Easy to take care of as well. When I was little people stopped me in the street to tell me my hair was pretty

2) I am in active reserve. With constant threats from our neighbours Russia and Belorus, we have to be ready for anything!

3) I love crafts. I send my relatives and friends handmade cards for Christmas every year.

4) In 2023 I traveled to Egypt, Sri Lanka and Maldives solo and I plan to see as much of the world as possible.

5) I have performed successful CPR more than once.

I will now send the ask to 10 of my followers!

(My hair when I was 12)

[chicago-geniza]

Spent all day at work either in the bathroom being sick or spacing out at the register doing archival research about the Zahorski Second Republic legal-loophole throuple 1920-1929. Bohdan and Stanisława owned shares in so many short-lived companies, Stanisława lost her license and registration and posted an ad about it in the newspaper, Bohdan's sister inherited their family's estate when he killed himself and ended up in debt to the state bank, Stanisława went bankrupt and sold her shares in a liquor production company then moved to Belorus briefly to be a teacher then moved back to Warsaw, and after the war she was living and working in Łódź, possibly through Stefania's connections??? Also Bohdan moved back in with his dad and invested in a shipping company immediately after leaving Stefania. Incredible Divorced Guy behavior

[technologyvoid]

The polish-lithuanian kingdom!

What countries were part of it?

Ukraine and Belorus

[mokhosz-nafo]

From Belorus with Love

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: saturday, February18, 2023

february_18_february_5

POLYEUCTUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE (970)

He was called a second Chrysostom for his great mind, his zeal for the Faith, and his power of oratory. The Russian Princess Olga came to Constantinople in the time of Patriarch Polyeuctus and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and was baptized there in 957. The Patriarch baptized her, and the Emperor stood as godfather. St Polyeuctus prophesied: 'Blessed art thou among Russian women, for thou hast, desired the light and cast away the darkness; the sons of Russia will bless thee to the last generation.' From being a simple monk, Polyeuctus was raised to the Patriarchate in 946 and remained on the patriarchal throne until he died in 970.

Source: The Prologue From Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich ©1985 Lazarica Press, Birmingham UK

SAINT THEODOSIUS (FEODOSI), ARCHBISHOP OF CHERNIGOV (1696)

Saint Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov, was born in the seventeenth century at the beginning of the decade of the thirties in Podolsk governance. He was descended from a noble family, the Polonitsky-Uglitskys. His parents were the priest Nikḗtas and Maria. The saint was taught Christian piety in his parent’s home, and this piety remained with him throughout his life.

From childhood, he was distinguished by a fervent love for God and zeal for the Church. The innate abilities of the youth came to light in the Kiev Brotherhood school at Kiev’s Theophany monastery. The school flourished at the end of the 1640s when its rectors were Archimandrite Innocent (Gizel), and Igumen Lazar (Baranovich), who later became Archbishop of Chernigov. Among its instructors were: Hieromonk Epiphanius (Slavinetsky), Hieromonk Arsenius (Satanovsky), Bishop Theodosius (Baevsky) of Belorus, Igumen Theodosius (Saphonovich) and Meletius Dzik. These were the enlightened men of those days. The comrades of Saint Theodosius at the school would become future outstanding pastors: Simeon Polotsky, Joannicius Golyatovsky, Anthony Radivillovsky, Barlaam Yasninsky. The Kiev Brotherhood Theophany school was the chief center in the struggle of Orthodoxy against the assaults of Catholic clergy, particularly the Jesuits.

Saint Theodosius grew to spiritual maturity near the relics of Saints Anthony and Theodosius and other God-pleasers of the Kiev Caves, and he tried to imitate their holy life as much as possible. He devoted all his free time to prayer, meditation on God, and the reading of the Holy Scripture.

It might be surmised that the saint did not finish the full course of studies, since the school ceased its activity for several years following the devastation of Podolia by the Poles. All his life the saint had a deep regard for the Kiev Brotherhood monastery where he was educated. In the Synodikon of the Kiev-Vydubitsk monastery is the following comment about Saint Theodosius: “He was a man of fine intellect, and generous to the Kiev Brotherhood monastery.”

Upon receiving his education, the future hierarch received monastic tonsure at the Kiev Caves Lavra with the name Theodosius, in honor of Saint Theodosius of the Caves (May 3).

Metropolitan Dionysius (Balaban) of Kiev made him archdeacon of Kiev’s cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) , and then appointed him steward of the episcopal household. Soon he left Kiev and went to the distant Krupitsky monastery near Baturino (in the Chernigov diocese), which was famed for its strict monastic life. There he was ordained to the holy priesthood but remained there only a short time.

In 1662, Saint Theodosius was appointed Igumen of the Korsun monastery in Kiev diocese, and in the year 1664, he was made head of the ancient Kiev-Vydubitsky monastery. This monastery had fallen into the hands of the Uniates and Poles at the beginning of the seventeenth century and was in complete ruin. Thanks to the energy and initiative of Saint Theodosius, the Vydubitsky Mikhailovsk monastery was quickly restored.

He was particularly concerned with the order of church services. He formed an excellent choir, which was famed not only in Little Russia but also in Moscow. Saint Theodosius sent his singers to Moscow in 1685 to instruct their choirs in Kievan chant.

As a strict ascetic himself, Saint Theodosius was concerned with the spiritual growth of his monks. He founded a small skete on the island of Mikhailovschina, not far from the monastery, for brethren wishing to live in solitude. He appointed the hieromonk Job (Opalinsky), one of the most zealous monks of his monastery, to organize and administer the skete.

Saint Theodosius had to live through some quite difficult days, enduring many sorrows. He and other Igumens were accused by Bishop Methodius of Mstislav and Orshansk of betraying Russia in a supposed correspondence with the enemies of Russia.

On September 20, 1668, Saint Theodosius explained the matter. The lie was exposed on November 17, 1668, and Saint Theodosius and the other Igumens were vindicated. Archbishop Lazar (Baranovich) esteemed the high spiritual qualities of Saint Theodosius and befriended him. He called him “a sheep of the flock of Christ, teaching by humility,” and he prophetically expressed the wish that the name of Saint Theodosius might be inscribed in Heaven.

When Archbishop Lazar became locum tenens of Kiev’s Metropolitan See in 1689, he appointed Saint Theodosius as his vicar in Kiev, while he remained at Chernigov. In his capacity as vicar of the locum tenens of the Kiev Metropolitan See, Saint Theodosius had an active role in many churchly events. In 1685 he participated with the right of a decisive vote in the election of Bishop Gideon (Chetverinsky) as Metropolitan of Kiev, and he was sent to Moscow with news of this event with Igumen Jerome (Dubin) of Pereyaslavl . In Moscow, both representatives were received with honor and esteem. Indeed, the result of this delegation was the reuniting of the Kiev Metropolitan See with the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1688 Saint Theodosius was appointed archimandrite of Chernigov’s Eletsy monastery, replacing the deceased Archimandrite Joannicius (Golyatovsky). In appointing Saint Theodosius, Archbishop Lazar told him to spare no effort in placing the Eletsy monastery in good order. This monastery had not yet been set aright after the expulsion of the Jesuits and Dominicans, and it was in great disorder.

Through the efforts of Saint Theodosius, in his two or three years as igumen, the monastery’s revenues and properties increased, the church of the Dormition was repaired, and the Elets Icon (February 5) was enshrined there.

In his new position, the saint also assisted Archbishop Lazar in many important matters. He participated in drafting a conciliar reply to Patriarch Joachim of Moscow in response to his questions about the attitude of the Kiev Metropolitan See to the Council of Florence, and its judgment on the question of the transformation of the Holy Gifts as accepted by this Florentine Council. When the Patriarch proved to be unsatisfied by these answers, the Baturino Igumen Saint Demetrius (the future Metropolitan of Rostov) was sent to him at the beginning of 1689. Saint Theodosius journeyed with him as the representative of Archbishop Lazar. He was entrusted with the delivery of a letter to the Patriarch, and to clear up the misunderstandings.

Because of his poor health, Archbishop Lazar wished to see Saint Theodosius consecrated to the episcopate, seeing in the saint a worthy successor to himself. On September 11, 1692, the election of Saint Theodosius as Archbishop of Chernigov was confirmed, and he was consecrated in the Dormition cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin two days later.

Little information regarding Saint Theodosius’s administration of the Chernigov diocese has been preserved. The saint worked incessantly to raise the level of true Christian piety in his flock. He also focused on maintaining old monasteries and founding new communities.

At the very beginning of his episcopate, the the Pecheniksk women’s monastery was established with his blessing, and he himself consecrated the monastery church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

In 1694, a skete was founded near Liubech. The same year, at the Domnitsky men’s monastery, the saint consecrated a temple in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the summer of 1695, he consecrated a majestic temple in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the summit of Boldino Hill, near the ancient monastery of Saint Elias. Under Saint Theodosius there was a special enthusiasm for and strengthening of monasticism in the Chernigov diocese.

The saint also devoted much attention to the clergy, and he tried to choose worthy candidates for the priesthood. He also encouraged the pastoral education of the Chernigov clergy. He invited learned monks from Kiev, among whom was Saint John (Maximovitch), the future Metropolitan of Tobolsk (June 10), and also a helper and successor of Saint Theodosius in organizing the Chernigov clergy school.

Strict uprightness in regard to clergy and flock, deep compassion, concern and Christian love of peace were distinguishing features in the activity of Saint Theodosius. Not only did the Orthodox turn to him for help and advice, but even persons of other confessions.

Saint Theodosius did not remain with his Chernigov flock very long. Sensing the approach of death, he summoned the administrator of the Briansk Svensk monastery, Saint John (Maximovitch), and appointed him Archimandrite of the Chernigov Elets monastery.

Saint Theodosius died on February 5, 1696, and was buried in Chernigov’s Saints Boris and Gleb cathedral church, in a special crypt near the right cleros. His successor Saint John (Maximovitch), who was healed of a grievous illness by Saint Theodosius, later placed a stone plaque over his grave with a poetic inscription in gratitude for the saint’s help. The special grace which Saint Theodosius attained is shown by his ascetic life and his assistance to all who turn to him in prayer.

The glorification of Saint Theodosius occurred on September 9, 1896.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

JOHN 5:24-30 

24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth-those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-17

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

[muscletitanlover]

Ilya Lukovets, Belorus

IG: lukovets_ilya

[ne-hny-patyk]

I've seen many posts about Russian protesters, but I haven't seen any posts about Byelorussian ones.

Isn't it unfair? That people, who've been protesting their dictator-president since 2020 in a country that still has death sentences (and that's what the protesters are charged with) barely get any attention and help.

They've protested the war even before 24th of February!

[ID: People standing outside Russian embassy in Lviv holding 3 banners and a white-red-white Byelorussian flag. All the banners are in Byelorussian. First one says: "[We] demand Russian army to leave Belorus". Second one says: "No to war". Last one says: "Belorus is not Russia". End ID]

This is from 7 days ago, when the Russian army should have left Belorus 'cause the studyings should have ended. But they didn't.

On 27th of February, more than 500 protesters were arrested in Minsk. They were protesting against war in Ukraine and amendments to the Constitution that were made by the ruling dictator. It was the biggest protest in the city after Oleksandr Lukashenka violently stopped the protests against him. (Source)

[thestrawberrynight]

sorry for being so soppy on this blog, but I'm feeling so bad for people who are under the pressure of society, who are struggling with yourself and who think that they're not enough

I'm quite sentimental today, maybe it's due to the protest in Belarus where the police and armed forces disperse the protesters with such violence and hate, people just want to live in the country which respects their rights properly, or maybe it's due to the situation in Beirut where people are suffering, they don't have even a place to live now, or maybe the situation in Russia where citizens can't express their opinions without the fear to be arrested, or maybe in Poland where the LGBT community is humiliated, or maybe in my country so many women are not sure of their safety in theirs families because we still have huge problems with the domestic violence, or maybe the situation in Turkey where the government wants to leave the The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or maybe there's still a war in Ukraine and thousands of people die on the front only because there's a dictator who wants to take out the part of my country

or maybe because I'm pissed off that so many girls hate their bodies and harm themselves with strict diets and enormous spot activities, especially in Eastern Europe where there's still this ugly stereotypes are grown deep inside in society, that women are still treated like shit even despite the feminist movement, different conventions and organisations, I'm pissed off that so many women think that they are better than other women, that there's still women who humiliate other women for their choices despite the fact that only when we all gather together we can change the world

I'm so sorry for everything, just...is it too hard to be just humans?

[dizershock-blog]

[dionissalmanov]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Дионис Салманов (@dionissalmanov)

Презентация группы ТВОЯVINA. #minsk #belorus #mband @mband.official #event #dionissalmanov (KVARTAL Юлии Шостак) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2zaIclnmhd/?igshid=1obty3mjff64h

[aintquiteright]

Moscow. White square by depecheyuri

[annatao]

[ - Bad English - ] Belarus: - Homemade bun -A connoisseur of homemade dishes -Likes to cook mostly potato dishes - Clean -Supports in many ways his older sister – Russia - When she is told that she is the "soul of the Soviet Union" - she is proud of it - A believer -Scolds Russia for its love of vodka - Has become more serious lately Ukraine: - The youngest in the family and the most curious - Her favorite food is borscht and lard -Very demanding in attention -Since 2010, she have been involved with a bad company – NATO - Started using drugs -Pregnant at 16: it is unknown from whom she got pregnant, but in 2014 she gave birth (there was a split) LNR and DNR - Does not recognize their children - By 2022, she went to the cuckoo because of drugs and believes that Russia is to blame for everything - Prone to anorexia

[bukimevieningi]

"Belorus" sanatorijos darbuotojai surengė piketą (foto)

“Belorus” sanatorijos darbuotojai surengė piketą (foto)

Ant “Belorus” sanatorijos tvoros darbuotojai pakabino plakatus, kuriuose prezidento prašoma paveikti padėtį ir apsaugoti savo žmones nuo beprotiškų politikų veiksmų Europos Sąjungos noras sugriauti Baltarusiją ir įvestos sankcijos, paveikė Druskininkuose esančios “Belorus” sanatorijos darbuotojus, kurie surengė nepasitenkinimo akciją. Antradienį ant sanatorijos tvoros pasirodė plakatai,…