Despite the pressure and the repressive measures that grow harsher by the day from the state and the Belarusian Railway leadership, they have failed to stamp out the spirit of protest among railway workers.
It has become routine for HR and IT staff, accompanied by “unknown” individuals, to inspect offices and personal computers and to go through the personal belongings and smartphones of Belarusian Railway employees. Offices and computers are also inspected without the people who work there: they are simply shown the door. And refusing to show the contents of a smartphone, including the Telegram messenger, can get a person taken away to an unknown location. We know for certain that all these “unknown” individuals are KGB officers, but no one bothers to explain this to the staff, in breach of procedural rules and of citizens’ rights and freedoms. It is also no secret that the Belarusian Railway Administration and its divisions have recently acquired deputy chiefs for security. Seven overseers for repression, with some of the highest salaries at the Belarusian Railway.
We welcome the latest outcries on pro-government Telegram channels about “spies” and “traitors” at the Belarusian Railway “leaking information about troop train movements”! These tantrums keep appearing on various platforms, questioning whether the head of the Belarusian Railway and the Minister of Transport are competent or fit for their posts, criticizing the “warm offices and soft chairs” these officials work in, and making other complaints 😄.
So besides the practical value of monitoring the occupiers’ troop movements, there are other benefits: these criminals can no longer sleep soundly or quietly get up to their “mischief”. This is unlikely to get the criticized managers fired any time soon, but it certainly diverts the resources of pro-government figures and the security agencies.
