On his last day, Mikita Mielkaziórau managed to record yet another interview
On the last day of Mikita Mielkaziórau's life, the former director of "Radio Svaboda", Aliaksandr Lukashuk, was the last guest on the YouTube project "Zhyccio-Malina".
Photo: Mielkaziórau's Instagram
He told "Svaboda" how their meeting went.
"Yesterday, on Saturday, Mikita Mielkaziórau and I spent four hours in front of the cameras at the studio on Warsaw's Aleje Ujazdowskie street. It was our first personal meeting, so I can't compare if he looked worse or better, but he worked through four difficult hours of recording in one breath. More precisely, in two — we did take a coffee break after the first two hours. Mikita called home — there was some problem there, he was worried, said he was saving his dog, asked how things were.
Aliaksandr Lukashuk. Photo: "Radio Svaboda"
Mikita looked as usual on screen — handsome, strong young man, confident, well-prepared. Perhaps his face was pale, his eyes slightly sunken, but I didn't know if that was due to his well-being or light make-up. And the conversation was not easy, the topics ranged from my books to Radio Svaboda, from journalistic ethics to KGB archives, from President Trump to Zianon Pazniak, from Sviatlana Alexievich to Crimea and political prisoners. The questions were not random. Shortly before that, Mikola had created an entire program based on my latest book "The Oswald Game", pleasantly impressing with his precise knowledge of the text and understanding of key moments, and good selection of video footage.
The taxi driver mixed up the addresses, and Mikita came out to meet me; we walked about half a kilometer together, quite quickly. He took my suitcase (I was about to head to the airport immediately), and easily climbed the stairs. His team was waiting for us, and soon the recording began — at a good pace, but relaxed, even without many interruptions; the moderator patiently allowed me to finish my thoughts.
He started arranging the interview several months ago, but only yesterday did the plans come to fruition. It was our first personal meeting, although we, of course, knew about each other. Talented, dynamic "Zhyccio Malina" — a delight, the program confidently became a phenomenon in the profession, the host became a star, collaborating with Belsat and other media.
"I am a neophyte," he said about his obsession with Belarusian identity. I got the impression of an intelligent, strong, sincere, modern, stylish person with great professional potential — this was perhaps the most pleasant acquaintance of this year.
One of the topics of conversation that interested Mikita was journalistic memory, or rather, journalists' recollections. We talked about how, unfortunately, there are few of them, that journalists have a responsibility to the profession, to history, that such memoir writing is needed, necessary not only for the past, but for the future.
I hope the team that worked with Mikita knows what to do with his last interview. Because Mikita is already there — in the future."