Young Belarus
Young Belarus is the youth political block, founded by "Young Front" and some leaders of democratic movement on March 14, 2004. In 2009 Young Belarus became just another youth political organisation in Belarus; later that year Young Belarus has divided on two separate wings, both claiming to be the real Young Belarus:
- First Young Belarus is registered in Lithuania and led by Kaspiarovich and Dranchuk.
- Second Young Belarus in not registered but counted as a member of Belaruski Nezalezhnicki Block, supports Milinkevich and led by Finkevich.
Chairman: Artur Finkevich
Information about the movement
Time of founding
Founding of the movement “Young Belarus” was officially declared on September 28, 2008, on the day of conducting of the parliamentary elections in Belarus. The idea of creating a youth movement belongs to Artur Finkevich- the former political prisoner and ex-Vice-Chairman of the “Young Front”. The name “Young Belarus” first appeared in the year 2004. It was the name of the pre-electoral block created before the parliamentary elections in Belarus. Artur Finkevich was then one of the leaders of the above-mentioned pre-electoral block.
Aim group
Youth in the age of 16-35, students of higher educational establishments, technical and professional schools, secondary schools, working youth.
Aim
Mobilization and uniting of socially active Belarusian youth, building up of the civil society on the grounds of democracy and free market, helping to form the all-round and harmonically developed generation on the basis of Belarusian national history, language and culture.
Platform
The organization was created in order to unite politically and socially active young people of different views. The political specter of the organization is conservative, with a clear orientation toward national values. Activity for the period October 2008 – 2010: Conducting of a series of street actions and pickets dedicated to victims of political repressions in Belarus, in Minsk (action in memory of the missing ex-Minister on Internal Affairs Jury Zakharanka, action in memory of deceased human rights activist Jana Palyakova) and in different cities of the country (Solidarity Days), art-performance on the anniversary of adopting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, action against violent military drafts, pickets in protest against the results of the referendum of the year 1996, hanging of the national white-red-white flags on the roofs of buildings in the central streets of Minsk and the regions, participation in mass street actions and demonstrations organized by Belarusian opposition structures (Day of Freedom -2009, Charnobylsky Shlyakh-2009), conducting of voluntary street actions aimed at cleaning up the territory of the city; action-performance “Throw at me if you don’t like the regime!” on December 2, 2009.
Conducting of the campaign “For Independent Belarus!” aimed at popularization of national symbols and conceptualization of independence as the most important value for a country and its people. The time frames of the campaign have been 3 months since November 3, 2009.
Participation as a subject in the organizational committee on preparation of the Belarusian-European Forum in November 2009; creator and subject of the Belarusian Pro-Independence Block created on October 27, 2009; a subject of a series of local democratic coalitions at the regional level; participation in the elections to the local municipalities in 2010.
Quantity of activists
Approximately 350 people
Representativeness of the movement
At present moment the movement “Young Belarus” is represented in the following cities of Belarus: Minsk, Magileu, Zhodzina, Horadnia, Polatsak, Navapolatsak, Vitsebsk, Smaliavichy, Masty, Zelva, Ushachy, Shchuchyn, Navahradak, Vaukavysk, Homel, Vorsha, Brest etc..