With Violetta Savchits and Ingo Petz 
Presentation Gemma Pörzgen 
Text samples read by Ruth Reinecke
In German and Belarussian

As the mass protests against the rigged Belarussian presidential election in August 2020 grew, working conditions for journalists and media in the Eastern European country, which has been ruled authoritatively by president Alexander Lukashenko for more than 25 years, also deteriorated massively. Journalists were arrested, interrogated and beaten. Many have lost their work permits. Even foreign reporters hardly enter the country anymore. 
On International Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) discusses the situation of press freedom in Belarus. Despite the danger of being arrested at any time, the Minsk-based photographer Violetta Savchits documented the demonstrations in her home country for many weeks. Berlin-based journalist and Belarus expert Ingo Petz has travelled to and reported on the country many times, maintaining close contacts with cultural workers and critical voices. The event will be moderated by Gemma Pörzgen, journalist and RSF board member. At the same time, Reporters Without Borders will present its latest picture book, PHOTOS FOR PRESS FREEDOM 2021. It contains selected works by Violetta Savchits and almost twenty other photographer*s on special hotspots in 2020.

An event by Reporters without Borders e.V. in cooperation with the Maxim Gorki Theater

Photo: Violetta Savchits