Narodny Albom | version 2009 | by BEL_air | art in resistance

20 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, Belarus remains the last European country, that is ruled in a pure soviet style by long term leader Aleksandr Lukashenko. Under the current regime, Belarus is far away from any democratic standards.

One significant sector is is FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. According to the Freedom House Index 2008, Belarus is ranked at position 188 – e.g. only these seven countries are ranked worse: Uzbekistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Lybia, Turkmenistan, Burma and North Korea. Even in year 2009, journalists reporting about Belarus have to hide their real names for to protect themselves from politically motivated persecution by KGB and special forces.

BEL_air is a team of independent journalists, that counters repressions against freedom of the press with detailed researches on the ground – and it cares for the international distribution of reports by international radio networks and web-based technologies. Additionally the links to the reports are forwarded to international decision makers all over Europe.

NARODNY ALBOM 2009 is embedding the statements of persecuted Belarusian citizens into music and sounds of the 21st century. The title Narodny Albom is a reference to the famous original, which was released in 1997. While the original expresses the multicultural aspects of Belarus – the version 2009 integrates Belarus into the cultural context of Europe.