Author of Hope

Svetlana Aleksijevich (67) is the first author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature since Winston Churchill was awarded the 1953 award. Advisor to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Inna Sangadzhieva, believes Aleksijevich's literature provides important testimonies of human living conditions during the Soviet Empire.
"The special thing about Aleksijevich is precisely that she draws lines between past, present and future. She puts the spotlight on the individuals, not least on the women. One can not help but identify with the fates Alexeyevich describes, "says Inna Sangadzhieva to Ny Tid. "Now I speak like a Russian – I grew up in the Soviet Union and know the post-Soviet and post-totalitarian. We all carry a heavy trauma; we are destroyed by the totalitarian state, and we are afraid: afraid to admit the truth, first and foremost to ourselves. We are afraid of the state, and of freedom, ”she continues. "This applies to not just one generation, but many more, considering that, despite the long time gone by, we have not finished post-Soviet. Aleksijevich's style processes our wounds, expresses the truth, and helps us out in the light – giving hope, ”she believes.
Aleksijevich made his debut in 1985, but the books The war has no female face og Prayer for Chernobyl came out in norwegian first last year. This year came The end of the red man. Time second hand, and in a few weeks will be released Chests of zinc, which deals with the disastrous war of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
"Alexeyevich already felt the pulse of the changes in the 1980s, documenting them to show what the Soviet regime never said, and what was completely new at the time – about how the individual had felt," says Sangadzhieva. "Much of what Alexeyevich wrote then is very relevant even now, for the popularity of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stems from their ability to abuse and manipulate a common 'Soviet' memory to govern their respective countries." says Sangadzhieva.

Reactions. Since the award was announced on October 8, many have wondered how the Belarusian regime will react to the fact that Alexeyevich has been awarded the world's most prestigious literature award. Lighter censored versions of her books were bestsellers in the Soviet Union. Several Norwegian newspapers have since the award been able to tell that her books have been banned in Belarus since Lukashenko came to power in 1994. After a trial in the early 90s, Alexeyevich was convicted of defamation for some of the passages in Coffins of Zinc, and in 2000 she chose to leave her homeland. She lived and worked for several years as a free city writer in various cities in Europe, including Sweden. But Sangadzhieva says that Alexeyevich's literature has a central position in Belarusian society. "Her books have never been banned. They are on the curriculum at universities in Belarus. "Now the Belarusian authorities are considering introducing the books at the school, and you can buy them in the shop," she says. "But her books were censored and have not been published in Belarus for 25 years. She is also not interviewed in state media, and she is not an author that official Belarus expresses pride in. "Lukashenko congratulated her, but did so in a way that would demonstrate that there is freedom of speech in the country – something it does not do," Sangadzhieva said. "A lot of attention is being paid to the country these days due to the election on 11 October. In this way, Lukashenko has used the awarding of the Nobel Prize to promote himself. But it is still good that he has congratulated her, "says Sangadzhieva.

"Alexeyevich's style processes our wounds, expresses the truth, and helps us into the light."

In 2011, Alexeyevich moved back to Minsk, where she now lives in an anonymous small apartment. Sangadzhieva does not think the awarding of the prize will change the situation. "I would assume that in the worst case, Alexeyevich will be treated as before, and as previous prize winners under the Soviet Union – Boris Pasternak, Josif Brodsky and Alexander Solzhenitsyn – namely with indifference. But it is also conceivable that the authorities will really bet that her books will now be on the curriculum at school, possibly still in censored versions. I also do not think Svetlana Alexeyevich herself cares what the authorities think of her, "Sangadzhieva concludes.

carima@nytid.no