People in…Belarus are mocking their leader’s authoritarian ways and apparent verbal flub by stripping naked at work. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as Europe’s last dictator, delivered a speech last week urging the country to innovate its way out of an economic crisis. “We must get undressed and work,” the autocratic leader told the summit in Minsk. According to Russian broadcaster RT, Lukashenko may have meant to say “develop and work,” as the two phrases sound similar in Russian. But some people in Belarus delighted in taking their repressive leader’s words literally, posting photos of themselves on social media in various stages of undress while at work, using the hashtag #getnakedandwork. Many wrote tongue-in-cheek comments alongside their posts, along the lines of “The leader says we should,” according to RT.
Living under a repressive political system in which a (not so benevolent) dictator rules- often brutally- one becomes conditioned to doing what one’s told out of self-preservation. Understandably, when Pres. Lukashenko said, “We must, in short, undress at work,” many Belarussians did as instructed.
In a repressive and reactive political system like Belarus, speaking out and expressing an opinion can be a very dangerous undertaking. For those who chose to have some fun with a de facto “Clothing Optional Friday,” it was a chance to safely have a light-hearted moment while also underlining the absurdity/anachronism that is Alexander Lukashenko.
When freedom of thought, speech, and expression are radical and risky acts of resistance, people must pick and choose their battles with care. In this case, a little light-hearted fun seems a relatively safe way to spotlight the absurdity and repressive nature of Europe’s last remaining dictatorship.
The good news? At least Lukashenko didn’t misspeak in January.
