The Scars

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project © Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project © Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project View all images ↓
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  • Dates
    2020 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Topics Portrait, Documentary, War & Conflicts
  • Locations Minsk, Belarus

“The Scars” is a record of what is now known as the largest anti-government unrest in the history of Belarus. Massive protests started in August 2020 and left deep traces on Belarusian society.

“The Scars” is a record of what is now known as the largest anti-government unrest in the history of Belarus. Massive protests started in August 2020 and left deep traces on Belarusian society. President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in office for the last 26 years and his state apparatus, responded with extreme brutality to the Belarusian resistance. The protests against Lukashenka's regime became violent on the night of August 9-10, 2020. It was then that the preliminary election results were announced, which stated that Lukashenko had won the election with a huge majority of votes. The scars left from these events, which are also the subject of this story, vary in sizes and shapes. There are physical scars - bruises, abrasions, fractures. But there are also psychological scars - traumas. What is now happening in Belarus will also leave deep scars in the social fabric - this division into two Belarusian states is already emerging. The protagonists of these photos are protesters beaten by the regime, families whose relatives have been tortured by the security services or citizens who oppose violence and want freedom. But also teenage soldiers dragged into the middle of a conflict that was never their aim.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Alexander - one of the detained protesters - poses for a portrait in front of arrest on Okrestina street in Minsk, Belarus. Alexander was going to his friend's apartment when he was caught by the Belarusian military on the first night of the protests (Aug. 10, 2020). He spent 4 days in custody. He was beaten multiple times. Alexander studies at the Minsk Polytechnic.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Police officers from OMON units stand on the bridge in Maksima Bahdanovic Street in the first hours of mass protests. The protests began on the night of August 9-10. The blockade formed by the police on the bridge was the site of the first direct clash between the protesters and the police.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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A woman stands near arrest on Okrestina street in Minsk, Belarus. She is holding a bouquet of white flowers and white ribbon. Red and white flowers and ribbons became a symbol of the Belarusian protests.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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A woman kneels in front of the line of special forces protecting President Lukashenka's residence. Thousands of protestants marched through the streets of Minsk heading presidential quarters on the outskirts of the capital.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Daria (posing for a portrait here) was held in Belarusian custody for 5 days. The guards nicknamed her Rose, from the colour of the jacket she was wearing on the day of her arrest. Daria talked about the scenes that took place behind the walls of the detention facility on Okrestina Street in Minsk, Belarus. She spoke about rape, beatings and torture.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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A doctor treats one of the released protesters in front of an arrest in Okrestina Street in Minsk. Volunteer doctors have set up an emergency medical aid point for people released from custody. Many of the detainees were severely beaten by the security services of President Alexander Lukashenka.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Hundreds of people were waiting in front of the arrest in Okrestina Street for their relatives. Many of the detained were taken here. People who ended up arrested were beaten - up to 60 people were kept in cells designed for several people.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Artiom sits on a bed and poses for a portrait in the 2nd Department of Surgical Diseases in Minsk, Belarus. He was arrested by the Belarusian militia as he was walking home with his friend on the second night of the protests (Aug. 11, 2020).

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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The walls of the arrest at Okrestina Street in Minsk, Belarus. It is here that many protesters caught by the security forces were detained and tortured.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Siergiey - a former soldier who was caught and beaten by the OMON forces as he was on walking to the shop on the second night of the protests (Aug. 16, 2020). In the photo, a man poses for a portrait next to a hospital room in the 2nd Department of Surgical Diseases in Minsk, Belarus.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Soldiers stand in line in front of Stella monument in Minsk, Belarus. Young soldiers were involved in suppressing the revolution by Lukashenka's services. Many of them had never participated in any actual military operation before.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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One of the protesters stands with a flare fired on the ladder of a city bus several dozen minutes before the brutal intervention of special forces in this place on the night of August 10-11. The events of that night are considered the most brutal in the history of the protests in Belarus. It was here that Alexander Taraikovsky lost his life. He was the first victim of a wave of protests.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Friends of Nikita Krivtsov carry a coffin with his body on the municipal cemetery in Molodechno. Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Molodechno during the mourning ceremonies and the funeral of Nikita Krivtsov. Krivtsov was missing for 10 days after he was last seen on Aug. 12 protesting in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk. His body was found hanged in the forest on the outskirts of the capital. Police said there was no evidence of foul play, indicating it was a suicide. But the public opinion had no doubt that Krivtsov was killed by the state forces during his detention.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Protesters create a 'chain of light' near the entrances to Pushkinskaya metro station several dozen minutes before the brutal intervention of special forces in this place on the night of August 10-11. The events of that night are considered the most brutal in the history of the protests in Belarus. It was here that Alexander Taraikovsky lost his life. He was the first victim of a wave of protests.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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A boy hugs his sister as they stand in front of Okrestina arrest from where he was just released. The arrest in Okrestina Street in Minsk became a symbol of the oppression of the Lukashenka regime. Here, protesters detained by the security services were beaten and tortured.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Mourners stand in front of a funeral home in the centre of Minsk. Mourning ceremonies took place in the capital after Alexander Taraikovsky was killed by the security forces near Metro Pushkinskaya during massive protests.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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Mariya, a volunteer who helps as a paramedic, poses in front of the arrest on Okrestina Street. Hundreds of people were waiting in front of the arrest in Okrestina Street for their relatives.

© Jędrzej Nowicki - Image from the The Scars photography project
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The flower drifts in the city fountain near the Stella monument during one of the biggest protests in August, which gathered tens of thousands of Belarusians in the centre of Minsk.