Milinkevich left behind a concept that remains viable and relevant. Writes Mikalai Buhai
Milinkevich's calm, intelligent political style contrasted with the populism characteristic of many post-Soviet politicians. A viable political concept also remains as Milinkevich's legacy. He sought to plant a mycelium from which, it seemed to him, mushrooms would grow on their own in a favorable climate.
Alexander Milinkevich's election poster, 2006. From the collection of the Museum of Free Belarus
Politics is the art of the possible. Milinkevich the politician faced a difficult period. Going into the 2006 elections required not just courage, but bravery. This was after Paznyak's emigration, after the establishment of dictatorship, and after the assassination of opposition politicians. And, most importantly, after Putin's group came to power in Russia and Moscow embarked on rebuilding the empire.
The victory of Maidan in 2004 gave people hope, but also showed Belarus's captors what could happen if the nation was given freedom.
In 2006, Milinkevich saw his task as awakening society, inspiring youth to action, and at the same time avoiding bloodshed and not provoking repression.
He was a proponent of gradualism — in the spirit of Anton Lutskievich in this sense.
He was not prone to grandstanding statements. Milinkevich's calm, intelligent political style contrasted with the populism characteristic of many post-Soviet politicians. At the same time, he managed to create an attractive personal alternative to the autocrat.
"The 2006 elections were the only ones where I symbolically voted not just for an alternative to Lukashenka, but for a person who perfectly matched my ideal image of a leader of Belarus. And I wished this leader would be exactly like that," wrote historian Alexander Pashkevich.
For years, Milinkevich traveled around the country in his, as I recall, old two-hundred-series "Mercedes," building a network of social and cultural centers — planting a mycelium from which, it seemed to him, mushrooms would grow on their own in a favorable climate. Not the kind someone might need or wish for, but the kind that the climate and natural conditions would allow. Mycelium is hard to fight — even if the forest is cut down, it remains.
Milinkevich's roots are from Bershty, which he loved immensely and where he would have liked to live out his days, but was ultimately deprived of this. He was a conservative politician, in love with his land, language, an independentist who saw his goal as leading his people out of Russian captivity. But gradually.
The "Milinkevich line" — caution in tactics with a firm orientation towards the West and a belief in the self-organization of society — remains viable and relevant.