«Belarus loves you.» Report from the farewell to Mikita Melkaziorau
Today in Warsaw, people bid farewell to Mikita Melkaziorau, the most famous Belarusian interviewer and author of the YouTube channel «Zhyttsie-Malina» (Life is Raspberry). The farewell gathered several hundred people.
Even half an hour before the start, people of various ages began to gather little by little around the farewell home. Some came on foot, others by car or taxi.
Initially, only Mikita's closest relatives were allowed into the hall, while others waited outside. On a frosty day, a hot tea point was set up near the entrance. Here, among themselves, one of the groups quietly remarked: «It's good that we gathered in such a company… but for such an occasion.»
Black funeral service cars slowly drove past the crowd. Someone in the queue quietly said: «They left several years ago, but black tinted vans still make you uneasy.»
Closer to 12:00 PM — the designated time for the farewell — significantly more people arrived. Politicians, bloggers, actors, singers, journalists, and ordinary Belarusians came to bid farewell to Mikita. In the queue, one could spot politician Pavel Latushka, Dzianis Tarasenka from the band «Razbitaje Sertsa Patsana» (Broken Heart of a Boy), leader of «J:Mors» Uladzimir Pugach, blogger Ivan Prus, journalist Nasta Rahatko, Tsikhanouskaya's advisor Dzianis Kuchynski, recently released lawyer Maksim Znak, writer Sasha Filipenka, the band Naviband. Most carried flowers, predominantly white and red. Relatives had requested only fresh flowers be brought.
A wreath was also sent from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. «Belarus loves you» was written on it.
People greeted each other, often like old acquaintances: shaking hands, hugging, patting each other on the back encouragingly. Some hid their faces — either from the cold wind or from a desire to remain unnoticed.
Exactly at 12:00 PM, people from the street began to be admitted into the hall, where only close relatives had been until then. Inside, there was silence. Only sighs and the quiet, almost muffled sobs of those sitting closest to the coffin could be heard.
The hall smelled of incense. The coffin was simple, wooden. White and red roses lay on the body. Attendees were asked to place their flowers not in the coffin, but simply on the floor. Behind the coffin, photographs from a personal archive changed on a projector: family moments, work shots, video fragments. In the background, Mikita's favorite music played: the lyrical song «Minor Earth Major Sky» by a-ha, and the heavier «Down with the Sickness» by Tetra.
Gradually, more and more people arrived. In total, about 200‑300 people came to say goodbye. Those who had already bid farewell were asked to leave the hall — there wasn't enough space. The queue stretched for almost 50 meters and extended beyond the area near the farewell home: some people were already standing on the access road, so the police controlled the queue and monitored traffic.
From time to time, someone close barely held back tears. At the same time, it felt like even people who hadn't known each other before tried to support one another. There were more hugs than words.
Among those who came to bid farewell were Mikita's friends and colleagues. Boris Goretsky of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, in whose football team Nikita played, remembers him as an uncompromising man. «Many journalists and public figures are professionally Belarusian-speaking — they work in Belarusian, but switch to another language at home. Mikita was not professionally Belarusian-speaking. He simply decided to live in Belarusian — and switched entirely to Belarusian in everything,» he says.
According to Haretski, this was also felt on the football field. «Mikita knew how to pull through even impossible situations. He never just came to play. Even in friendly journalistic football, he always came to fight and win. This was his style of life — to be genuine.»
Pavel Latushka emphasizes: Mikita was not an indifferent person.
«Mikita was a personality, whether in global matters or human affairs. I, of course, today bow my head before his transition to Belarusianness. A person is happy in moments, and I had the honor to speak with him for a moment. Unfortunately, only a moment. I am confident that his star is already in the firmament of Free Belarus.»
Those who knew him only through the screen also spoke of Mikita as «one of their own.» Femactivist Nasta Bazar recalls that off-camera, he was lively and very sincere. She was struck by how tenderly and warmly he spoke about his wife, dog, and family. «I can't even say 'was' — he is. The phrase 'My name is still Mikita Melkaziorau,' it seems, will stay with us forever,» she says.
A similar feeling is expressed by viewers of his YouTube projects. One girl admits that on the day of the farewell, she feels as if a very close person has passed away. «Every Saturday I waited for his interviews and programs — 'Zahliane Sontsa' (The Sun Will Shine In), 'Neshta Budze' (Something Will Happen). I can call Mikita my friend,» she says and offers her condolences to his loved ones.
The Warsaw prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation under the article of involuntary manslaughter. Its results will be known within several months from the date of death. Mikita's body will be cremated.
On the day the farewell took place, the sun suddenly appeared in Warsaw's usually cloudy sky. Its rays occasionally peered into the windows of the farewell home.
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