«Sacred War» in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

The article by Elena Tribuleva,
Published in «Vecherniy Brest» (The Evening Brest) Newspaper, #80,
September 26, 2003

Whether has a court fully stopped the cause about mass fight in the Pushcha?

It is difficult to find the man who was the first naming newly employed temporary workers in Kamenyuki village as «taliban» but the apt nickname has got accustomed. Now the people divide all inhabitants of the village, where the administrative centre of the reserve is located, as the following: «talibans» and locals. But it is difficult to say that all arrived people are entirely hot-tempered. They are ordinary men who were not able to find a job at their home area, somewhere in the region of Gomel. They strived for money to the Brest region where the administration of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha promised them both a bed in a hotel and good earning at the local sawmill. Well, perhaps a black sheep in herd comes across here more often than somewhere. The local bodies of law and order do not deny that the quiet village became to be reported in militia summaries after «talibans» appeared in Kamenyuki. Sometimes one of the visitants starts a fight after drinking, then someone is caught stealing. A divisional inspector is tied making protocols on administrative offences. By one word, they are involving much trouble …

However, locals do not like «talibans» most likely for other reasons. About three years ago when the reserve was headed by a predecessor of the present director, the only inhabitants of Kamenyuki and neighbouring villages had a job at the Park including the sawmill. This is because other workplaces, with exception of the collective farms, are just absent in the vicinity. The new director has reduced the most of the local workers and has employed the people from other areas as temporary stuff. He supposed that is more effective. Locals became unemployed; often all members of a family lost their jobs. It is clear that there are no reasons for sympathies to visitants. Last two years fine skirmishes between locals and «talibans», targeted to find out who occupied whose workplaces, became usual business. Permanently increasing hostility has not had a chance to avoid any end. Last April a fight has became at this end. After this occasion three local young men were delivered to a hospital with knife wounds.

The following situation. Two o'clock in the morning, after the disco had ended, two slightly tight local men have nagged to one of «taliban» as it happened earlier. Little by little, someone pushed somebody, someone struck. A «visitor», it is necessary to appreciate him, was more reasonably (or more soberly?) than his offender and tried simply to run away. Alas, locals caught up him near the hotel and begun beating and kicking. Two other «visitors» heard a noise of the fight and did not think up anything another than to take knifes in their rooms and to rush in the gathered crowd with shouts «I'll you kill all». The result: they «stabbed» two men which had no relationships to the fight at all. One of them saw off a girl home after the disco and passed along the ill-fated hotel. An other one, casually having appeared at the place of the fight, just tried to take away fighting people and received the knife in his back. He was most unlucky compared with others: the lung was hurt, doctors had put many efforts to rescue the man. The third injured proved to be the man because of whom the fight begun. It is true he got off with a little …

According to opinion of the people from the village, later some unclear things are started in Kamenyuki. Militia interrogated participants of the fight, made reports and the action has died down then. The two «talibans» who swung with knifes walked continue in the village. One and a half months after the fight one of them has been retired and left home, while the other continued to work… Probably the action would remain without finish but the mother of the boy, which has suffered more than others, addressed to an office of public prosecutor of the Brest region with a letter of despair. Interrogations of participants and witnesses were renewed, while guilty people have given the written undertaking not to leave the village and the proceeding eventually was handed to a court. Two people were judged: the local boy who started the fight «causelessly of hooligan promptings» and one of «talibans» who affected the especially heavy knife wound to the casual passer. Last Friday after three-day time hearings the court of the Kamenetz district pronounced judgment. The first accused persons should pay a penalty at the rate of 30 base units to the state budget, while the second one has got 4 years of liberty restriction in reformatory with the strengthened regime.

It would be possible to put the final point in this sensational history. Contrary to fears of inhabitants of Kamenyuki village, who were afraid that a proceeding «will be silently put» a stop, all the same a fairness has triumphed victory and guilty have gained punishment. But there is a sense to recollect another thing. After that memorable knife fight the angry letters of excited inhabitants of Kamenyuki village have been sent to all high bodies including the presidential administration. The people asked to remove «talibans» from the village because there is no actual need and their presence creates obviously an unhealthy atmosphere in Kamenyuki. They ask to clarify the situation on the matter of what actually occurs in the world famous reserve. After this there were many commissions both from Brest city and the capital which came to local regions. Unfortunately, people did not learn about the conclusions they made.

After the memorable April there were no open collisions between locals and «talibans» any more. It would appear that the incident happened has frightened both sides. But nobody can guarantee that the same situation will not be repeated again once.