Vinsent: Ideologists Cowardly Follow Their Rituals

The Belarusian cultural officials even have no courage to confess it directly when they ban the Belarusian-speaking musicians.

On Sunday, May 22, Minsk club “iLi” won’t open its doors to Vinsent fans. The event’s organizers – the Internet-portal Tuzin.fm – are returning the money for the tickets. Vinsent has told BelSAT about the censorship in music and appealed to the officials who give the “keep him out” order.

“It’s not the clubs who turn me down, but the committee officers, the ideologists, the officials. Therefore, I am appealing to them… You will do no good to yourself by this. You just need to realize that the independent banned musicians are not the enemies of the state, but the patriots of Belarus.

I understand that you are pursuing some practical, opportunistic goals. You think that, banning concerts, you will keep your cozy armchairs in the state structures. Today, you occupy positions in the committees, departments of the Republic of Belarus, which is an independent, whole state. You can’t even imagine how important the sincere Belarusian-speaking music and art in total remains to Belarusian independence, – the musician has said in the address of those who ban his and his colleagues’ concerts. – This is what makes Belarusians and our country different from other peoples. This is the reason why we can claim for independence.

Without this, you will become just ordinary officials of provincial principal towns. We, Belarusians, are all brothers: an official, a musician, a sportsman, a drunken tramp near the store. You should realize this before it is too late”.

Judging from the speed of selling tickets for the Sunday gig there must have been a full-house.

Vinsent had problems with organization of Minsk concerts before.

“Ideologists keep asking the lyrics for proofreading, or explanations to the lyrics, although they know every line by heart, better than my fans. Still, they follow their rituals. Moreover, every one of them fears to finally ink a denial, as all of them are cowards. They pass the ball to each other till it comes to the last in the line,” – the musician says.

Organizers are not allowed to advertise a musical event until a performer gets a tour certificate. The clubs which agree to host an event do not controvert the orders from the above much. They know that, the next day, they may have visitors like fire inspectors or sanitary services, and they are sure to find the reason for a reprimand or closing the venue. In such situation, a club chooses to decline the undesirable artist, as this is the only way the venue can continue its work.

However, the invitations keep coming. The day before, the basketball club “Tsmoki-Minsk” had invited Vinsent to perform at Minsk-Arena during the game against CSKA-Moscow – the most high-rating game of the VTB League. Two days before the game, the musician was informed the performance had been cancelled.