Vinahradau Lays Out: What's Normal and What's Not in Imprisonment

Pavel Vinahradau on the day of his release from the colony on September 11, 2026. Photo: Nasha Niva

1. If you wrote a petition for a pardon — it's nothing terrible. No one in their right mind will condemn you for it. Only your name is there and only your signature is there, which means it's solely your business. You decided to make life easier for yourself and your family this way — please do.

The only thing is, if before serving your sentence you pretended to be a 'chief', were a leader of something there, claimed to be a cool revolutionary, then that's also nothing terrible. You are simply neither the first, nor the second, nor the third. But I will only be glad if you continue to help and work for Belarus.

2. If you recorded a video for GUBOPiK — it's nothing terrible. Only you are there, which means it's solely your business.

They took me practically gently. But someone else wasn't so lucky. I would like to say that I would never have filmed myself in any compromising videos, but the truth is, I don't know that. So far, I have never been locked in a closet with pepper spray liberally sprayed inside, not beaten all night in the basement of 'Amerikanka' and not raped in a maximum-security prison.

3. If you filmed yourself in some propagandistic bullshit — it's nothing terrible, if no one received a sentence after your words. You considered it necessary to make life easier for yourself this way — that's solely your business.

Would I wish you hadn't done that? I would. Can you be a 'chief' after that? No. The 'chiefs' should be those for whom Our Cause is more important than personal comfort and safety. But that doesn't mean you are bad people, and I, again, will only be glad if you continue to work for Belarus.

4. If you testified against people during the investigation and/or cooperated with the colony administration — then that's absolutely not 'nothing terrible'. In the first three points, you were doing worse/better (depending on how you look at it) only for yourself. This point — that's an entirely different matter.

Making your life easier at the expense of worsening others' lives — that's DISGUSTING! You cannot convince me that this is normal. And no 'we survived as best we could' will fly here. Because while unofficial employees avoided isolation cells, made calls, and went on visits, those they snitched on froze in punishment cells (ShIZA) and even received additional criminal charges.

This will be unpleasant, but approximately a quarter of political prisoners cooperated. Strict regime or general regime — it doesn't matter. I talked with the guys, and the situation is roughly the same for everyone. The exception, probably, is the prison regime. The contingent there is specific, so the number will be smaller. As for women's colonies — I don't know.

Does this mean it's time to take up pitchforks and light torches? Of course not. I am about as far from Christianity as I am from a healthy lifestyle, but everyone deserves a second chance. It's just not 'nothing terrible'.

5. If you have served your time and believe that colony staff are great guys, but deep down, they're doing wild things because 'such is the time now' — then you need to refresh your memory on the symptoms of 'Stockholm syndrome' and, most likely, see a psychotherapist.

Are there people there? Yes, there are. Did they help me, risking, at minimum, their shoulder boards (rank)? Yes. But they are a minority.

And I, Pavlik Vinahradau, the barber from Berezino, — forgave everyone a long time ago. I don't like to carry grudges with me. That's not great wealth, as Lyavonau said.

But citizen of the Republic of Belarus Pavel Vinahradau knows that if crimes are not punished, there is a high risk of recidivism and an increase in their number. This same citizen does not seek revenge. He is practical and restrained in his emotions. He simply wants to live in a country where it's never 'sometimes not up to the laws'.

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