''Same old, same old" is a phrase frequently found in letters from Belarusian political prisoners. It has become a way to describe the hopeless and repetitive daily reality behind bars. For years, individuals have been held in isolation, deprived of access to parcels, medical care, or even letters. Solitary confinement, SHIZA (punishment cells), PKT (cell-type premises), incommunicado detention, trials in absentia, repeated criminal cases, and Article 411(malicious disobedience to the lawful demands of the administration of a correctional facility executing a sentence of deprivation of liberty) - all these indicate the systemic and long-term nature of political repression.
The exhibition presents original personal belongings of political prisoners, donated to the collection of the Free Belarus Museum. These are ordinary, everyday items from prison life that, according to regulations, should not have left the confines of incarceration. They have reached freedom as witnesses to the desire for life, the struggle for truth and dignity.
Alongside these material artifacts, the exhibition features letters, poems, and audio recordings of reports made by former political prisoners. Together, they document reality revealing not only the conditions in which people must survive but also the strength of those who can still write "Same old, same old." A chess piece made from bread crumbs in the exhibition is not merely a sign of creativity or prison life. It is evidence of the duration and longevity of persecution. The year 2020 was explosive and the most widespread, but political imprisonments in Belarus occurred even earlier. Many of those who ended up behind bars after the recent protests had already experienced persecution and imprisonment.
The 21st of May is observed as the Day of Solidarity with Belarusian Political Prisoners in memory of Vitold Ashurak, who died in a penal colony in 2021. Since then, six more individuals have died behind bars; some passed away shortly after release or faced severe consequences due to the lack of timely medical treatment during imprisonment. According to the Human Rights Center ''Viasna," as of mid-May 2025, there are 1208 known unjustly imprisoned individuals in Belarus. Since 2020, nearly 4000 people have been recognized as political prisoners.
Their names are heard less frequently, but they remain behind bars in the same lawlessness and within the same walls. The authorities do everything to make them forgotten: to eliminate mentions, support, and testimonies. Thus, solidarity has become the hallmark of the Day of Solidarity with Belarusian Political Prisoners.
photo:
Viktoria Adamava
PROJECT TEAM:
Author and Organizer - Museum of Free Belarus
Co-organizers and Partners - Human Rights Center "Viasna," Belarusian Association
of Political Prisoners "Da Voli," National Anti-Crisis Management
Exhibition Curator - Olga Klip
Exhibition Designer -Alexander Adamau
Composer and Sound Designer - llya Semashkevich
Lighting Artis - Danila Gancharou
Graphic Designer- Daria Abibok
Artist-Art.em ZadruŃki
Letters of Political Prisoners Read by Actors -
Vol ha Karalionak, Andrei Sauchanka
Reports and Poems of Political Prisoners Performed by the Authors Themselves
