IHSS student Stas Yarkov: «I experienced and know where dictatorship leads to»

Anastasiia Stepaniak, Lviv Polytechnic Center for Communication
Стас Ярков у центрі Львова провів мирну акцію на підтримку білоруського народу

Recently, Stas Yarkov, a third-year student at the Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences, held a peaceful action in support of the Belarusian people in the center of Lviv.

With the poster, the student called on the residents and guests of our city to hug him if they are against the dictatorship of Lukashenko in Belarus. According to the Polytechnician, he understands Belarusians better than anyone, as he comes from Donetsk.

It so happened that I experienced and know where the dictatorship and the reaction of the «brothers» to the discontent of the nation lead to. I was born and raised in Donetsk. A few days after the occupation, I urgently had to move to the territory controlled by Ukraine, and I know how important the support of people from other countries is.

At the beginning of the protests in Belarus, the Internet and cellular communications were cut off, people were cut off from the world, but we had and still have the opportunity to talk about it and show the real mood in the country. My action is the little thing I can do to help from here: to make people talk about it, to make the deaths were not in vain. Everyone can go out and support Belarusians or, at least, make a post on social networks. Indifference and silence are the best weapons for a dictatorship.

I major in International Relations at Lviv Polytechnic, and I was taught a lot here. In particular, that, according to the Constitutions, power in Ukraine and Belarus belongs to the people. Therefore, only the people have to decide how to live and who to elect, says Stas.

According to the student, people reacted to the action quite positively. For two hours, there were only two supporters of Alexander Lukashenko, but they were not aggressive. The next day, the activist left his installation near Lviv City Council.

It should be noted that this is not the first action of the Polytechnician, earlier Stas Yarkov conducted a social experiment in support of people with HIV-positive status

Стас Ярков у центрі Львова провів мирну акцію на підтримку білоруського народу