"Saladukha posted a selfie from the capital's center": Belarusians joke about blackout ordered by Lukashenka
Belarusians reacted with humor to the news that the capital and other cities of the country plunged into darkness because Lukashenka ordered to save electricity, and officials, as always, rushed to carry out his command with excessive zeal. We collected jokes from social networks.
Minsk yesterday. Photo from social media
The main author of the blackout idea in Belarus was mentioned in jokes: "All evening today, a helicopter was flying. Probably, someone from above was watching how electricity was being saved there."
A quote from "The Master and Margarita" also fit the theme: "The darkness that came from the Mediterranean Sea covered the city hated by the procurator."
Someone continues to be surprised by the endless surprises from the state in the Year of the Belarusian Woman: "Forgive me in advance, but something in the Year of the Belarusian Woman, everything in the country has gone to sh**."
Someone from Minsk pointed out that the shutdown (or rather, the delayed activation) of lighting did not prevent the casino advertisement on the National Library from shining as usual.
One woman joked: "My husband just realized why they're cutting off our lights. So that Betera's advertisement would be more visible."
"Only thanks to Betera, something is at least visible on the streets of Minsk tonight," wrote another Threads user.
They also discussed what a resident of Minsk should look like now: "What should a respectable resident of Minsk (Belarus) look like now? A flashlight on their forehead, a reflector on their sleeve, and several packs of salt in their hands. If completely respectable, in addition to salt, a shovel and an ice scraper in their hands," "There's a UV flashlight for buying currency, now a flashlight is needed for walking the streets. What's next to buy?"
The much-suffering Belarusian NPP also became a reason for jokes: "Judging by such economical lighting in Minsk, it seems the NPP started sucking energy out of the country instead of producing it."
Blogger Ihar Losik jokes: "Azaronak is happy that it got dark in Minsk because people stopped recognizing him on the streets and spitting on his back."
Journalist Ales Piletski decided to write jokes again about Lukashenka's phone calls (his posts in 2020 with the hashtag #davajpaka were popular):
— Hello, Natasha?
— Yes, Alexander Grigoryevich.
— Natasha, turn off the switch.
— But... Alexander Grigoryevich, why? It's dark, it's winter. How…
— We will solve the demographic problem. Darkness is the friend of youth.
— But Alexan...
— What else is on our agenda? Inflation?
— Yes, Alexander Grigoryevich.
— Close all shops.
— But, Alexan...
— No shops, no inflation.
The thought that the lights were turned off to solve the demographic crisis occurred not only to the journalist: "Darkness is the friend of youth. Nothing is visible in the dark... This is a new program to boost the birth rate, and the economy at the same time!"
Blogger Gypsynkov (Mikhail Tsygankov) reacted with a series of memes.
Other Belarusians who have left also couldn't resist joking — and it's no wonder, as people have grown accustomed to propaganda news constantly talking about the difficult life in Europe:
"In Europe, there are three days of heating left, and the lights were turned off in city M. What a situation..."
"In Minsk, they deliberately turn off the lights. Not because of saving, not because of an accident — but out of humanism. So that runaway 'fighters' from Poland, looking towards the Motherland, wouldn't be blinded by how good it is here. Because if the lights were turned on, they would see: happy people, stability, warm entrances, confidence in tomorrow, and perhaps even free parking."
But this is already harsh. Poland is not ready for such a thing. That's why it's dark in Minsk. Dark — means caring. Dark — means humane. Dark — so as not to hurt those who left for a bright future and now live by an IKEA light bulb. So if the lights suddenly go out again, know this: it's not a power cut. It's patriotism with concern for your eyesight."
"FLASH: A truck with contraband flashlights has been detained at the border. OMON stopped an attempt by extremists to treacherously place lights along the roads. The goal of the diversion is to disrupt the decree and prevent Belarusians from enjoying the presidential darkness. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated: 'This is an act of aggressive illumination of sovereign territory.' Contraband lumens have been confiscated. Remember: an attempt to light the way without top-down sanction is state treason. A true patriot does not need a flashlight; their path is illuminated by loyalty to the course!"
And on the fan page of Belarusian singer Ap$ent, it was mentioned that he has a song called "Darkness," which could be the soundtrack to yesterday's situation in Belarus.